Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site opus.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!eagle!harpo!seismo!hao!cires!nbires!opus!rcd From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) Newsgroups: net.pets Subject: Re: info on breeding Message-ID: <352@opus.UUCP> Date: Wed, 11-Apr-84 14:36:15 EST Article-I.D.: opus.352 Posted: Wed Apr 11 14:36:15 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 13-Apr-84 08:19:36 EST References: <232@houxd.UUCP> Organization: NBI, Boulder Lines: 101 >< The following is oriented toward cats because I know the situation - generalize as seems sensible. [My wife & I breed Abyssinians.] If this raises some particular questions, post or mail them and I'll either mail replies or post followups, as appropriate. Basically, there's nothing required to become a breeder other than having a female cat. (Even people who don't even know the sexes of their cats can become "involuntary breeders":-) People who aren't seriously involved in breeding, don't produce pure-breed ("pedigreed") animals, and don't become part of a breeding/showing organization are often referred to as "backyard breeders". This may be pejorative, or it may be just an observation. A RESPONSIBLE breeder needs to acquire knowledge in several areas: genetics, basic veterinary practice, show rules and standards, and business practice. Breeding animals IS a business. It's possible to run a "kitten mill" (which IS pejorative), where you just turn out kittens as fast as the queens (breeding females) can produce them. What you get is a profitable business, high infant mortality and disease incidence, and maladjusted animals which make poor pets. You also give animal breeding a bad name and earn the hatred of every responsible breeder in the vicinity. If instead, you plan breeding, allow plenty of room, care for animals, and give kittens enough handling that they'll be well-adjusted around people, you will be doing a good job, but it will be expensive and you'd better plan it well or you'll lose a lot of money. Business sense is only a background factor, but it's essential. (Example: We sell kittens at prices from $250 for pets to $400+ for breeding/show quality. We make little or no money at those prices. You have to experience going to the store and buying $100 of cat food to understand:-)) Genetics can be tricky. In the process of breeding, you're trying to improve the quality and health of the animals you produce. You also want to work from a large enough gene pool that inbreeding doesn't create problems, which requires care if you're working with an uncommon breed. Occasionally, a serious genetic problem will start to show up in a breed and breeders will have to work together to try to find the source of it and eliminate it (by not breeding the problem animals). A few genes follow the simple dominant/recessive rules we learned in junior-high biology, but there are many cases of incomplete dominance, sex-linking, masking, etc. Breeders need a substantial background of veterinary practice for a couple of reasons. First, you're not likely to find vets with a lot of experience in reproductive problems - there just isn't that much call for it for a vet who treats mostly pets. (They spend a good deal of their time preventing animals from reproducing.) Second, the more animals you have, the more frequently you will have to face illness. You need to be able to recognize the common problems and treat them, or you'll end up paying a fortune for simple visits to the vet. (See business practice, above.) However, you CAN'T get along without a good vet. Breeders generally find it worthwhile to learn enough to give cats the required immunizations and periodic tests for disease. Also, on cat health, I should mention that when you get into breeding, you realize that cats have a significant kitten mortality rate - depending on breed, it may run from 20-40%. You have to handle the heartbreaking experience of tiny kittens dying or of being stillborn. (And you need to know enough about why it happens. You can't cure a cleft palate, but you can cure or prevent a lot of respiratory problems, for example.) It should be obvious that breeders have to know "standards" for their breeds. It isn't enough to register your cats - that by itself doesn't mean a lot. All it says is that you know that the ancestry of a cat is pure in the breed for some number of generations - it DOESN'T say that the cat is at all a good example of its type. Evaluating the animals according to standards is where shows come in. Serious breeders show their animals in order to get exposure, measure their success, etc. There are several associations which register cats, organize shows, and track show results; the largest is CFA. It's worthwhile to go to a cat show once just to see how it works and to see what the range of breeds is. What to look for in a responsible cat breeder: - If you are looking to purchase a cat, the breeder should evaluate you. The breeder should be sufficiently concerned with the health, safety, and happiness of cats to ensure that you can provide a good home for the cat. Also, don't expect to get a kitten before it's old enough to have had the first immunizations. This may be 12 weeks old or so; NEVER before 8. - You should see how the cats are raised. If the breeder refuses or is reluctant to show you where the animals live, forget it. There shouldn't be anything to hide. (One exception: You should not expect to be allowed to handle very young kittens, as a precaution against transmitting disease.) The quarters (or the house) should be clean and relatively free from odor. - Cats should be healthy. An OCCASIONAL runny eye or sneeze is expected, but that should be uncommon in the population. All of the animals should have good weight for their type, have good coats, and be normally active. - Cats should be exposed to people. If cats are caged a lot, or if they live only with other cats, they will become very shy around people. This is often symptomatic of trying to raise too many cats at once. To see: play with the cats. - Where cats are caged (unfortunately necessary for some situations), the cages should be large enough for the cat to run around a bit and should provide places to jump. (Cats are generally excellent jumpers and need that sort of exercise.) - Food and clean water should be readily available. -- "A friend of the devil is a friend of mine." Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303) 444-5710 x3086