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What makes me different than breeders? Other than the money I charge, that is?
Well let me take a whack at answering that one.
You know nothing about breeding,
You are contributing to a "market" that is already saturated.
How can you in good conscience breed mutt kittens KNOWING that there are kittens and cats of the MUTT variety being put to sleep because there is no one to adopt them?
Let tell you about what I saw pass me on the road one day when I lived in Texas. It was a Ford truck, late model, no cap on the back or tarp. The entire back was filled with dogs and cats in full rigor that had been put to sleep at a local shelter. IT was the stuff of nightmares.
What makes me different than breeders? Other than the money I charge, that is?
It's already been said, but clearly needs to be said again. What makes you different is that REAL breeders are experienced, educated, financially prepared for the costs (a good breeder doesn't make much money from kitten sales), and they are doing it to better a BREED. You are simply trying to make money, and I don't buy the reasoning of "I want to give people healthy kittens." I have adopted many kittens, and they have all been perfectly healthy... usually much healthier than the few purebreds I've owned. Were you vaccinating your kittens for leukemia? Seems odd that two would die of FLV, so I'm wondering if you followed the recommended vaccine schedule. Or do you have a lot of feral cats living nearby? They can carry FLV and FIV, so if that's the case you need to keep your cats indoors.
What you are doing is called Back Yard Breeding, and it is something most of us on this forum adamantly discourage. Breeding should be done by experienced, professional breeders who are doing it for the purpose of bettering and maintaining pure breeds. Right now there are so many cats and dogs in shelters and on the streets I think even licensed breeders should be restricted as to how many litters they can breed. But to breed mutt anything is absolutely unethical, even though your intention may be to provide healthy kittens to the people in your area, the reality is that you are adding to the pet population problem and without license or training to boot! Do you know what to do in the event of an emergency besides bring the animal to the vet? Have you ever had cats before the ones mentioned in your post? Are you going to be prepared to shell out hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars if something goes wrong or if she needs a c-section? These are things licensed, professional breeders are trained and/or prepared for if they are in it for the right reasons, and these are the breeders who produce healthy, well-socialized animals people wait months or even years to adopt. Please reconsider your plans...there are plenty of healthy kittens out there, you had a few bad experiences but an inexperienced breeder could just as easily pass on an unhealthy kitten without even knowing it, there is no guarantee yours will be healthy either...do you know that most kittens contract coccidia from the mother cat while nursing because she sucks the poop out of their butts to keep them clean? These are issues you should screen for & treat prior to adopting out. What if the mother decides not to nurse the kittens, (rare, but it happens...) would you even know what to do? What if your plans for potential homes fall through and have to keep the kittens well into adolescence...are you ready for the impending insanity? From your post, it sounds like you barely have any experience with cats...take it from me, you will not believe the damage multiple kittens can do even UNDER supervision, you really need to know what you could potentially be getting yourself into. Unless you LOVE, love, love cats and all their mischievous, crazy ways you will most likely be ready to tear the hair right out of your head before long. Please leave the breeding to the breeders...please help us get the numbers of homeless pets going in the right direction...down!!!
What makes purebred breeders any better than me? They're doing the same thing, only charging a hell of a lot more. I would argue that the cats I breed are healthier and stronger because of the larger genetic pool.
This is utter hypocrisy to say that it's OK to breed purebreds than mutt cats. If the world is supposedly overpopulated with unwanted cats, then that argument applies against purebred breeders as well, does it not? And let me turn this marvelous little quote around. "For every pure bred cat that's bought, that's one less animal shelter cat that will be put to death".
Now if you want to call for the banning of ALL breeding, then you can talk. But you don't get to annoint yourself "the decider".
It's already been said, but clearly needs to be said again. What makes you different is that REAL breeders are experienced, educated, financially prepared for the costs (a good breeder doesn't make much money from kitten sales), and they are doing it to better a BREED. You are simply trying to make money, and I don't buy the reasoning of "I want to give people healthy kittens." I have adopted many kittens, and they have all been perfectly healthy... usually much healthier than the few purebreds I've owned. Were you vaccinating your kittens for leukemia? Seems odd that two would die of FLV, so I'm wondering if you followed the recommended vaccine schedule. Or do you have a lot of feral cats living nearby? They can carry FLV and FIV, so if that's the case you need to keep your cats indoors.
OK, so you don't buy my reasoning that I want to give people healthy kittnes, and I don't buy your reasoning that "real" breeders aren't in it for the money. Now that we've got that settled, I see that you agree mixed breeds are healthier. So my question for you is, why would these 'real' breeders be so callous that they would intentionally breed less healthy animals for the sake of profit?
As for my following a vaccination schedule for my kittens, I got them from a 'caring' SPCA shelter that presumably would have given them shots, and from a 'caring' vet that presumably would have given them shots. One kitten died the same day; the other died within 72 hours.
As for my following a vaccination schedule for my kittens, I got them from a 'caring' SPCA shelter that presumably would have given them shots, and from a 'caring' vet that presumably would have given them shots. One kitten died the same day; the other died within 72 hours.
You do know that just one unaltered female cat and her offspring can produce an estimated 420,000 cats in only seven years. That is why shelters neuter/spay cats/dogs before they are adopted. How many of those will be PTS in an animal shelter.
Maybe you should check your state/local ordinances. They may require you to spay/neuter any animal being sold.
Geez, all I asked for was a legal opinion. Instead I get this.
Joshie - why on earth would you come to a cat forum for a legal opinion? Just a brief glance through any thread should have given you a taste of what the forum is about.
What were you expecting... sympathy and understanding from a bunch of folks who spend an awful lot of time, effort, energy - blood, sweat and buckets of tears - trying to help cats when you're breeding them willy-nilly an selling them for $20 each?! When you are doing nothing more than adding to a problem that I, for one, spend a lot of resources trying to clean up. You thought... what? you'd get a pack on the back?
It does indicate a certain lack of judgment and common sense - to put it mildly.
And I for one don't buy your shelter story. Please point me to a recognised shelter/rescue - city, county, state, or private - that does not test for FeLV before rehoming. A BYB breeder posing as a shelter though - well, that's a different story.
You are not looking at this subject from the perspective of the (possibly) unwanted cats you could easily be bringing into the world. Personally I hope the SPCA prosecutes you to the full extent they can. And bans you from ever owning cats again. I am so angry and I am exhausted from trying to save a litter of kittens that a mother cat rejected - a mother cat that was owned by someone like you and that I am now cleaning up their mess from. I know I shouldn't be rude but I am exhausted and am sick of irresponsible people like you creating situations that other people then end up cleaning up. I have a hundred stories about rescuing cats from people just like you and putting finances into helping them that I don't even have. Kind people like the people who really, really care end up ultimately paying a worse price for the thoughtless acts of peole like you. I don't know if this falls into the category of stepping over the rudeness line for this wonderful forum - but I'm just telling you the honest truth from the perspective of someone who is sick and tired of trying to make a small dent in solving the unwanted cat problem that is so prevalent today. Only to hear from people like you who want to make the situation worse.
Last edited by Bansidhbabe; 03-14-2009 at 09:37 AM..
Geez, all I asked for was a legal opinion. Instead I get this.
Getting what your asking for. I will not add comments as everything they have said is true. I really don't feel like loosing my temper over someone who refuses to hear the facts!!!
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What makes you different is that REAL breeders are experienced, educated, financially prepared for the costs (a good breeder doesn't make much money from kitten sales), and they are doing it to better a BREED. You are simply trying to make money, and I don't buy the reasoning of "I want to give people healthy kittens." I have adopted many kittens, and they have all been perfectly healthy... usually much healthier than the few purebreds I've owned. Were you vaccinating your kittens for leukemia? Seems odd that two would die of FLV, so I'm wondering if you followed the recommended vaccine schedule. 
Or do you have a lot of feral cats living nearby? They can carry FLV and FIV, so if that's the case you need to keep your cats indoors.
