Breeding preactices

Factual Questions
1

My girlfriend is interested in buying a kitten, and since she wants a specific breed, this requires the buying through a cat breeder. We visited the breeding grounds of the kittens and were horrified by the conditions of the “cattery.” There was one locked room in which there were about 10 cats, in that room was a cage with 1 male and 1 female, and the female was crying horribly to be let out. In another room were 5 cages of mothers and their young, 3 of the cages were stacked on top of each other and all were at different stages of development. I really got the feeling that selling cats was this woman’s livelihood which seems highly unethical…not that breeding has any ethics anyway, but there should be a certain level of tolerance.

Are these conditions normal? My girlfriend really wants the kitten, I am stuck between what she wants and supporting such breeding practices. We’ve both think that bottom line we would be providing a loving home, and saving a kitten from a life in that house.

2

Sounds like you got someone who’s more interested in the monetary aspect of cat breeding than furthering the breed itself. I don’t know what the feline version of the American Kennel Club would be, but I heartily recommend looking them up and finding who they would rate as a reputable, caring breeder. Also find out if they might be able to get some action taken on this woman, or call the local SPCA branch.
This woman shouldn’t be allowed to continue the way she is if it can be helped.

3

Well, as a cat breeder myself, I guess I should supply a little information.

First of all, the brief description given by Snetho sounds like a typical small cattery. There are other very important questions here, and some may involve more knowledge of cats than the average non-breeder has. It’s very important not to be too judgemental without knowing all of the factors involved.

First of all, was the cattery area clean? I don’t mean sanitary, because it’s an unwritten rule that at least one cat will have an extremely stinky bowel movement, smear some of it on the side of the litter box, and throw litter across the room either just as the visitors are arriving, or while they are actually visiting the cats. But did it look reasonably clean?

Did the cats look healthy? Any of the kittens have runny eyes or noses, and if so were they isolated from the other cats to prevent spreading of any virus? Did any of the kittens or adults have bald patches (possible ringworm)?

Did you ask any questions about the living situation of the cats? For example, were the kittens released from the cages at regular intervals for exercise, exploration, and socialization? Were the adults released to a larger area, such as the house, at least once daily for an exercise period?

This is not my idea of an ideal cattery, but as long as it is clean and the animals appear healthy, it probably meets the requirements of most cat registries. Bear in mind that the situation you see as a visitor may not be the normal living situation of the cats. Many breeders cage their cats and alternate who has run of the house or access to an exercise area to prevent transmission of diseases, fights, etc.

Also, many breeders cage their cats and kittens whenever there are visitors in the house - I often do this myself, for several reasons:

  1. Prevent escapes to outside or other unsafe/off limits areas - visitors cannot be expected to know about leaving doors open, etc.
  2. Prevent ‘disappearances’ - many breeders I know have had kittens stolen right under their noses because several were running around the house, under the furniture, etc., and the ‘visitors’ were long gone before the breeder even knew a kitten had disappeared.
  3. Prevent injuries to both visitors and cats - kittens stepped on, visitors bitten from trying to handle a frightened cat, etc.
  4. Make sure that all of the kittens/cats are available for viewing by the visitors. I don’t know how many times I searched the house for a particular kitten to show to visitors that was asleep under the couch the whole time! Most kitten buyers also want to see the parents of the kittens if they are available, and some cats are very shy of strangers. Hard to see what they look like when they are hiding under the bed!

Okay, re: the yelling, caged female. There are several possible reasons for this - the female may have been in heat, in which case she is certainly trying desperately to get out of her cage, and likely to be screaming the house down. It’s what female cats in heat DO! If not in heat, she was probably raising hell because she wasn’t normally caged! A cat that is used to being caged doesn’t pitch a fit about it - a cat that is used to running free does. She may have been caged because she is prone to race through any open door, or to keep her from being underfoot or aggravating everyone to death. I have a girl that will leap unexpectedly onto the shoulders of total strangers and insist on being allowed to ride there. Not everyone appreciates that, or the scratches usually involved!

I’m not sure what you are talking about when you mention the ethics of breeding - do you mean the ethics of individual breeders, or simply the ethical considerations of producing more kittens/puppies when there are so many out there already? I can address either topic, or both, but that would be another very long post - I’ll be glad to discuss it if you would like. Briefly, in the first case, yes, there are many, many unethical breeders and far too few ethical ones. In the second case, even if every kitten and puppy breeder in the world stopped breeding, we would still have a pet overpopulation problem, because the shelters, pounds, etc. are not being filled by breeders - they are being filled by irresponsible pet owners.

For more information:
The two largest cat registries in the world are The Cat Fancier’s Association and The International Cat Association. Visit their websites to learn more about different cat breeds, breeding cats, catteries, feline health and nutrition, and links to many breed associations and breeders. Most cat breeds have one or more official breed organizations that provide lists of breeders, detailed info about the breed, etc. For what it’s worth, my breed association requires that I sign and adhere to a strict code of ethics, and my cat registry (TICA) has a voluntary ethics program of which I am a member.

Also, if you will tell me what breed your girlfriend is interested in, I might be able to recommend a website for the breed or even a responsible breeder of that particular breed - for example, I know of several cat show judges that breed Maine Coons, or Havana Browns, or Pixie-Bobs, and a friend of mine who is also a research biologist breeds Singapuras. Breed association websites I will post to the board, as they are basically information sites - individual breeders I will have to e-mail to you privately, as I think this would violate the rule against advertising on the board.

One last thing - a brief list of some things to look for in a responsible, ethical breeder:
Written contracts specifying the rights and duties of the breeder, and the rights and duties of the purchaser.
Health guarantee.
Spay/neuter requirement or early spay/neuter (kitten is already altered when you take it home).
Health records for kitten (vaccinations, etc.)
Breeder ‘interviews’ you as a prospective owner and explains quirks, features, etc. of the breed that you should be aware of.

Snetho, or anyone else interested, I would be delighted to help you search for and/or recognize an ethical breeder, locate information about different breeds, explain aspects of cat breeding that may effect your perception of the cattery or explain the costs involved, etc. Some of the same information can be applied to those searching for puppies, also.

And I won’t try to sell you one of MY kittens - I think that would be a violation of the intention of this board. I’m here to fight ignorance, not drum up customers.

4

In addition to the protective measures for cats, kittens, breeders, and visitors mentioned by coosa, it should perhaps also be mentioned that toms will kill kittens that they did not sire (this behavior is not restricted to the domestic cat).

Not being a cat breeder, I don’t know how much access to litters a tom is permitted in a well-run cattery, or if this is ordinarily reckoned a problem. I imagine, however, that it would be extremely depressing for both breeders and visitors to have the former invite the latter to look at a litter, only to find that a tom has already killed four of the kittens, and is busily engaged in killing the last one.

5

You’re right, Akatsukami. Actually, one of the major headaches of cat breeding is maintaining stud cats. They usually spray (and tom cat odor is very distinctive and penetrating!), they are often very vocal, they can and will kill young kittens, they will fight viciously with each other and sometimes with the queens, and some of them will not even tolerate the presence of a spayed or neutered companion cat. They can’t be allowed to simply roam the house as a pet (except for a few rare individuals), and they MUST be kept away from the queens if you have any kind of controlled breeding program. Queens will come into heat and get pregnant again when their kittens are only 5 or 6 weeks old - unless you are running a kitten mill and/or don’t care about the health of your queens, you will soon be inundated with more kittens than you can imagine.

A fellow breeder recently posted a tragic story to one of my e-mail lists as a warning to other breeders. A queen with a litter of young kittens had been housed in a spare bedroom, and since the weather was nice a window had been left open a couple of inches for fresh air. The breeder’s visiting son heard a commotion in the bedroom, ran in, and saw a strange tomcat fighting with the queen and several dead kittens on the floor. He grabbed the strange cat up, raced to the back door, and threw it out (and was seriously scratched and bitten, BTW). The breeder also heard the commotion and ran to see what was happening - while her son was trying to explain, screaming again erupted from the bedroom. The tom cat had simply circled the house, squeezed back through the window (son was too panicked to think of closing it, and figured the strange cat would run like hell after being thrown out), and killed the one surviving kitten.

The breeder’s son required medical attention and rabies shots, the entire litter of kittens was killed, and the queen was seriously injured and required veterinary attention.

BTW, was it the breeder who was allowing an unaltered male to freely roam the neighborhood, fighting, killing kittens, and siring unwanted ‘mutt’ litters on any willing female he encountered? No, it was an irresponsible pet owner!