Found this really disturbing

[Alison]

I've just been on a pet forum where a guy was trying to encourage his male & female cross-bred cats to mate. I adviced him that the Cats Protection are rescuing hundreds of cats a day because of these kind of matings & that the rescue encourage all cats not intended for breeding should be neutered/speyed. The administrator of the site then informed me that a rescue has no right to determine that cross-bred cats should be neutered/speyed. She more or less said that I indicated that cross-bred cats/kittens shouldn't exist, that was not what I was getting at all. I have now decided to leave that forum because I feel I don't belong there anymore.

What are peoples thoughts about this? Not about me leaving of course lol

[Emmaandhercats]

Originally Posted by Alison

I've just been on a pet forum where a guy was trying to encourage his male & female cross-bred cats to mate. I adviced him that the Cats Protection are rescuing hundreds of cats a day because of these kind of matings & that the rescue encourage all cats not intended for breeding should be neutered/speyed. The administrator of the site then informed me that a rescue has no right to determine that cross-bred cats should be neutered/speyed. She more or less said that I indicated that cross-bred cats/kittens shouldn't exist, that was not what I was getting at all. I have now decided to leave that forum because I feel I don't belong there anymore.

What are peoples thoughts about this? Not about me leaving of course lol

My neighbour is a volunteer for CP, and I know how full the centres are, and the fosterers houses are literally full to the brim with rescue cats waiting to be rehomed, especially lots and lots of kittens. So I have to agree with you. There are so many moggies out there that allready need to be rehomed, cat owners need to think responsibly, as soon as my two kittens (not got them yet! only 3weeks and 2days to go!) are old enough I wil lbe getting them 'done'. Because it is the responsible thing to do.
As for leaving the forum, I dont blame you. I am also on another pet forum, and I tell ya, some people just DO NOT LIKE OTHER PEOPLES opinions...which, isnt that what forums are about...people sharing experiance, asking questions and offering their opinions.
Good for you for sticking up for what you believe in.

[meep]

I know there is a huge majority opinion that all non-pedigree cats should be netured asap to prevent unwanted litters, as there are far too many cats in shelters needing homes. And I agree with the prinicple and morality of this.

However, I also personally believe that any owner has the right to not neuter their pets and breed them if they so wish. Sadly, many people don't neuter possibly due to laziness or neglect, and as such their cat can get pregnant many times, at the cost of their health and as a result, there are many unwanted kittens.

But in a way, I've thought of my two boys and how it is sad that they will never be able to have kittens. In my opinion (maybe slightly biased!) they are both very healthy, strong cats with good genes and also uniquely large for moggies. If possible, I may have sourced a female for them and bred them so as to have kept a kitten as well as continue their good genes. But I would only have done this once, and then neutered, and made sure there were homes for the kittens lined up before breeding. (And may have one bred from one of them, not two at once!)

I don't want to cause controversy, but that is my own personal feeling for my own cats. Sadly, I know that many cat owners with unneutered cats wouldn't have such a set 'plan' in mind, and are also out to make a tidy sum from the kittens. Had I had the option to breed from my two (and say I had the female to, so thus had 'ownership' of the kittens) I wouldn't have charaged for the kittens at all, and would have given them to friends, as well as keeping one kitten for myself.

I know it is nigh on impossible that moggies will become 'extinct' and that pedigrees will be the only breeding cats left, but it does occasionally confuse me that pedigree cats are 'allowed' to breed yet on that same principle, surely owners shouldn't be fussy and should rescue a moggie anyway instead of a bred pedigree, as on the same token, if they buy a pedigree kitten there is one more moggie cat still in a shelter; just in the same way that if they'd bought a moggie kitten there'd be one more moggie cat in a shelther unhomed. I do understand pedigree owners are registed, generally more responsible, and I admire a lot of breeds of cats.

But also after watching the BBC programme on pedigree dogs (slightly different but same principal) and understanding that heriditary problems in pedigrees are only increased as there are no new genes to strengthen the breed, and it is technically inbreeding too close within 'family' genes, I believe moggies can often be healthier and think their genes should be allowed to be spread and therefore moggies should be allowed to breed to ensure there are healthy cats.

I hope that wasn't too complicated! And I by no means am attacking any pedigree owners or breeders; I personally would love to own one or two pedigree cats myself! It's more my confusion at technically double standards: "don't buy a bred moggie kitten, think of the poor rescue cats! oh but you can spend £400 on a pedigree, and not rescue, that's fine". Again, not a personal attack, but at an objective distance it does seem to be a bit hypocritical.

I think it's sensible of rescues to neuter any cat that comes into their care as there are a huge number of homeless cats or cats in shelthers, and the cost of keeping them is very large for the rescue shelters. But an owner of a moggie cat should not automatically be condemned for wishing to breed from them. Really, it should be done on a case by case basis. I'm nots ure waht the guy on the other forums motives were, and if it were at the expense of the cats health I would be worried; but personally I like the idea of being able to continue the lineage of a beloved pet whether they are pedigree or not.

[meep]

Having read that over, I know from experience that it will clash with some people's opinions and I want to say; please don't take it as a personal attack or contradiction! It is my own personal opinion, I am not praising all the many moggie breeders that pop up on Gumtree and the likes trying to sell as many kittens as they can at such a high price.

But morally I do not like double standards of it being acceptable to spend £400 on a pedigree and not be condemned for not adopting from a shelther instead; but if someone buys a moggie kitten they should have adopted instead. At the end of a day, a cat is a cat!

(Again, pedigree owners do not take offence! I personally would love to own a Bengal or Abysinnian. And if I could afford it I would. It's not the owning of them I am arguing with. It's the attitude toward breeding pedigree vs breeding moggie.)

[meep]

I also want to add that I am all for the immediate neutering of cats when taken into care by CP and other shelters, and completely appreciate that there are too many cats in shelthers. I got my two from the CP myself, rather than bought kittens. But I still maintain that an owner has the right to choose without immediately being condemned for breeding a moggie!

[Alison]

The one thing I was alarmed with was the guy put that thread up then a few minutes later put another thread up saying that the male cat had become ill & was struggling to breathe. Other members told him that he must take the cat to the vets, but he informed them that for him to take the cat to the vets it was going to cost him £100, money he didn't have until the following Monday (he posted this thread on the Saturday), luckily for him someone lent him the money, but if they hadn't that cat would have suffered for 2 days because as it turned out the cat had kidney failure & had to be pts. What that tells me is if the guy hasn't got the funds to take his cat to the vets, how can he even think of letting his female cat have kittens because doing that isn't cheap I'm sure. None of my queens have ever had babies because I've always had them neutered, toms too.

[meep]

Ah, well that entirely changes everything. As I said, I would treat each situation on a case-by-case basis, and in this instance, I would have taken your tactic and subtly suggested he adopt a kitten from a shelter instead of breeding his own as he certainley doesn't sound like he has his cats health in mind and I would think has ulterior motives for wanting to breed.

It makes me so sad that people take on pets without considering the financial burden, and as a result the pets can suffer I know owning cats can be expensive, and as a result I have insurance in case of any hefty vet bills. At the end of the day, it comes to one coffee and cake outing a month (£6 per cat) which is affordable.

This guy should definately not be considering breeding if he can't afford to take a cat for a routine check to the vets. I would fear for the health of the mother and kittens

[Moli]

It sounds as if he just wants to make money from them, without giving them the proper care they would need!!!

[Emmaandhercats]

Originally Posted by Moli

It sounds as if he just wants to make money from them, without giving them the proper care they would need!!!

I actually read the thread in question too...it sounded that way to me too.

[Alison]

And that's how I see it too & believe me it has certainly made my blood boil