So You Think You Want To Breed? (article)

[Phoenix]

Before you even start breeding, there are several things you seriously need to consider. You need to be aware that this is a very time consuming and expensive thing to do. There is a lot you need to consider, outlined in the following article.

You NEED to make sure ALL the kittens have homes BEFORE you breed. If you decide to let your cat have kittens you need to bear in mind YOU will be responsible for making sure your kittens have homes and won't be among the many cats and kittens that are put to sleep every year due to there not being enough homes to go round. You will also NEED to be sure the kittens your cat has (should you still want to breed at the end of reading this) won't go on to breed and add to the overpopulation problem. Currently in the UK there are 2.5 million strays in the UK alone, many of these will never find new homes and will end up either dying miserably on the streets or be put to sleep at the vets.

Breeding will also affect the mother cat's health; she could end up with LIFE THREATENING conditions, for example Pyometra, which is a condition where the uterus fills with pus. Spaying is the only treatment, without which SHE WILL DIE. She is also at a much greater risk of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Mammary Cancer.

You need to get her to the vet for various checkups as well, which gets very expensive. It will be YOUR responsibility to get her checked by a vet for FeLV, FIV, Feline Coronavirus and make sure she is parasite free. You need to make sure her vaccinations are up to date; e.g. Feline Panleukopenia, Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Feline Calicivirus (and Rabies, if necessary). You need to have her checked for Peridontitis and dental infections, because bacteria can be passed from mother to kitten through the mother biting the umbilical cord.

You also need to consider the tomcat. Has he been checked for FIP? Feline Leukaemia? Feline Immunodeficiency Virus? Is he of a good temperament?

DO NOT breed from a female during her first season, she is still too immature both mentally and physically. Bear in mind cats can give birth to 4-6 kittens a litter and have 3 litters a year. She can be responsible for 20,000 kittens in 5 years(don't forget it will include her kittens having kittens, their kittens having kittens etc), if she can't get outside to mate, she will mate with her father, siblings, offspring etc. There is no benefit to her having kittens, in fact it's a lot kinder to have her spayed.

The cost, time and effort is another thing you need to consider. You will need to get up at all hours to feed the kittens, take time off work for observing the kittens, the vaccinations for both mother and kittens, food costs double, the vet bills will increase dramatically, she may need a Cesarian Section, she may get Enclampsia (which is an emergency and will mean the kittens need to be raised by hand), she may get an infected uterus (metritis), you will need to pay the stud fee and the cost of registering the kittens (if you are breeding pedigrees) and you will need to pay for defleaing and deworming for the kittens. All the treatment could run into thousands of pounds.

The best thing to do for your cat is to get her spayed. It costs £30 - £50 to neuter a male (tomcat), £40-£70 to spay a female (queen). Some charities can help with the cost.

Any additions to this article welcome

[Elaine]

Monkey , you beat me to it. I just put this together...

Neuter and Spey TODAY

Are kittens adorable? Of course they are, they are the cutest, funniest, cuddliest and entertaining little creatures but before long they become mature enough to have kittens of their own. Some can mate as early as 4 months old. It would be a very irresponsible thing to allow happening however as in the UK and all around the world the cat population is soaring and there simply aren’t enough homes to go round.
This problem begs the question, are breeders to blame for the soaring cat population crisis? Certainly a substantial number of people would think so. Cat breeders produce a “desirable” product. Consumer society responds and buys, more cats are bred. Irresponsible owners abandon and neglect their purchase and stray cats are the results. But the biggest problem by far is one of neutering and neglect. We therefore can’t blame the cat breeder (seller) for the problem but the cat owner (buyer). A responsible cat breeder will neuter and Spey before selling or atlease have the customer sign an agreement to neuter and Spey. A responsible breeder will of course be breeding pedigree cats. Most of the cats in shelters/rescue are moggies, although pedigrees find themselves in rescue too, but there are not too many pedigrees found in feral colonies.
Feral colonies are mostly made up from the moggy, abandoned, lost and neglected. Most are un-neutered and fighting for survival each day of their lives. 95% of cats in the UK are non-pedigree (moggy), they are capable of producing large families. A female cat can in 5 years be responsible for 20,000 descendants - all requiring good caring homes and many of these must inevitably become homeless, with a life that offers only misery, hunger and disease. The risk of a “plague” of cats, fuelled largely by unwanted and abandoned kittens, is now so great that the Cats Protection launched a nationwide neutering campaign to prevent the problem becoming an epidemic.
There are an estimated 7.5 million pet cats in Britain today making them the nation's number one pet. But, despite their popularity, tens of thousands of unwanted kittens are being born each year only to be thrown onto the streets condemned to a life of starvation and disease. The public, especially so-called cat lovers need further education to understand that by not neutering their cat they are destroying its quality of life. The Cats Protection and other cat rescues/shelters are under tremendous strain, trying to alleviate the problem. They often come under attack from the public for not being able to help every cat in crisis but it is the public who should be under attack for creating the problem by neglecting to neuter and Spey their cats.
The harsh reality is that unless cat owners and breeders take a responsible attitude to this problem even greater numbers of cats will be abandoned and in the long term may succumb to disease, starvation or culling. Immediate steps need to be taken to curb the numbers of unwanted kittens being born, which ultimately end up in the care of rescue centres like the Cats Protection. Currently veterinary surgeons neuter about a million cats every year. Cats produce incredibly efficiently and a single female can be responsible for over 20,000 offspring in just five years. This means that only a few cats need to remain un-neutered to cause a phenomenal problem. Realistically it is necessary to neuter about 1,250,000 cats annually to get matters under control. Neutering is the only way to control the increasing problem of unwanted and stray cats without having to resort to the destruction of healthy animals.
Thousands of cats are euthanized in the UK each year, why don’t we prevent the unplanned litters of today so that they do not become the unwanted cats of tomorrow.

[MrsH]

Perhaps the inclusion of something like "Often the people who have agreed to have a kitten then change their minds, cat charities are already overwhelmed with cats and kittens needing homes, are you sure you want to add to this number?"

Good article RR Well Done!

edit - Just seen Elaine's article, I'm just off to my daughter's house right now, I 'll read it later, promise!

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by MrsH

Perhaps the inclusion of something like "Often the people who have agreed to have a kitten then change their minds, cat charities are already overwhelmed with cats and kittens needing homes, are you sure you want to add to this number?"

Good article RR Well Done!

And Elaine

[dandysmom]

Both excellent,informative and should be a must-read for all prospective new members! Thank you both for the time and effort you took preparing these.

[Velvet]

Good reading - is it worthwhile including somewhere that female kittens can come into season as early as 4 months, I realise its not the norm but it does happen

[dandysmom]

Good point, Velvet!

[Elaine]

Done but could perhaps be worded in a little better.

[Phoenix]

Which title do you all think is best - mine or Elaine's? Or could they be merged for the final title of the article?

[Elaine]

Neuter and Spay TODAY

Are kittens adorable? Of course they are, they are the cutest, funniest, cuddliest and entertaining little creatures but before long they become mature enough to have kittens of their own. Some can mate as early as 4 months old. It would be a very irresponsible thing to allow happening however as in the UK and all around the world the cat population is soaring and there simply aren’t enough homes to go round.

This problem begs the question, are breeders to blame for the soaring cat population crisis? Certainly a substantial number of people would think so. Cat breeders produce a “desirable” product. Consumer society responds and buys, more cats are bred. Irresponsible owners abandon and neglect their purchase and stray cats are the results. But the biggest problem by far is one of neutering and neglect. We therefore can’t blame the cat breeder (seller) for the problem but the cat owner (buyer). A responsible cat breeder will neuter and spay before selling or atlease have the customer sign an agreement to neuter and Spay. A responsible breeder will of course be breeding pedigree cats. A responsible breeder would have also made sure that all the relevant health checks had been carried out prior to mating. Breeding pedigree cats responsibly is a costly business. Most of the cats in shelters/rescue are moggies, although pedigrees find themselves in rescue too, but there are not too many pedigrees found in feral colonies.

[Feral colonies are mostly made up from the moggy, abandoned, lost and neglected. Most are un-neutered and fighting for survival each day of their lives. 95% of cats in the UK are non-pedigree (moggy), they are capable of producing large families. A female cat can in 5 years be responsible for 20,000 descendants - all requiring good caring homes and many of these must inevitably become homeless, with a life that offers only misery, hunger and disease. Disease is often rife within a feral colony, disease such as FIV, Felv, Corona virus, Calicivirus and FIP to name but a few. The risk of a “plague” of cats, fuelled largely by unwanted and abandoned kittens, is now so great that the Cats Protection launched a nationwide neutering campaign to prevent the problem becoming an epidemic.
There are an estimated 7.5 million pet cats in Britain today making them the nation's number one pet. But, despite their popularity, tens of thousands of unwanted kittens are being born each year only to be thrown onto the streets condemned to a life of starvation and disease. The public, especially so-called cat lovers need further education to understand that by not neutering their cat they are destroying its quality of life.

It is better for a cat's health to be spayed or neutered. For example, female cats that are spayed before their first heat will have a reduced chance of mammary cancer, and will be unable to develop pyometra, which is a serious uterine condition that can cause death. Also, an unwanted pregnancy in an already ill or aging cat can be fatal. Male cats which have been neutered have less chance of being injured in fights over females, or of developing prostate problems.
The Cats Protection and other cat rescues/shelters are under tremendous strain, trying to alleviate the problem. They often come under attack from the public for not being able to help every cat in crisis but it is the public who should be under attack for creating the problem by neglecting to neuter and spay their cats.
The harsh reality is that unless cat owners and breeders take a responsible attitude to this problem even greater numbers of cats will be abandoned and in the long term may succumb to disease, starvation or culling. Immediate steps need to be taken to curb the numbers of unwanted kittens being born, which ultimately end up in the care of rescue centres like the Cats Protection. Currently veterinary surgeons neuter about a million cats every year. Cats produce incredibly efficiently and a single female can be responsible for over 20,000 offspring in just five years. This means that only a few cats need to remain un-neutered to cause a phenomenal problem. Realistically it is necessary to neuter about 1,250,000 cats annually to get matters under control. Neutering is the only way to control the increasing problem of unwanted and stray cats without having to resort to the destruction of healthy animals.
The national average cost of neutering a male cat is £35 and a female £60, this is a one off cost and is a lot cheaper than raising kittens or ongoing veterinary treatment for illness. There are many cat charities that can and will help with the cost of neuter and spay.
Thousands of cats are euthanized in the UK each year, why don’t we prevent the unplanned litters of today so that they do not become the unwanted cats of tomorrow.