Index

Cat breeding can be a minefield of problems even for the more experienced breeder. Pedigree cats usually call every fortnight as regular as clockwork if you are unlucky it can be every other week. This has to be lived with as obviously the 'she' cat cannot be mated all the time, some girls will urine mark when they are calling, this is just one of the so called 'joys' of having breeding girls. Stud fees have to be considered, along with the journey to a suitable stud, if you have one within an hours drive then you are extremely fortunate, if he is available just when you need him then your luck is really in. Blood tests are required before your queen is taken to stud, she should be healthy and in tip top condition. The journey to stud must be made at least twice, once to take your girl and next to collect her a few days later, assuming that she gets in kitten first time. If not you have to repeat the process.

Then follows nine weeks and two days of good general care of the expectant mother, a suitable kittening box and nerves of steel as you sit up all night comforting your girl and offering her reassurance that all this is normal. You yourself will have read the print from every cat text book you could find, unfortunately your girl has not read the books and you can only hope she will turn out to be a good mother, she will have a full milk bar and that everything will go to plan.

When things do not go to plan, and there is a multitude of things that can and do go wrong, then you know why some breeders are reluctant to sell kittens for breeding to inexperienced people. There is so much involved and so much that can go wrong, whilst showing and breeding can be a fabulous experience, breeding and heartache go very much hand in paw at times.

For years, I have been adamant that breeders should not be breeding from their cat if they are not showing as well. My reasoning being, when showing, you learn more about the standard you should be aiming for, whilst getting to know other breeders, problems in certain pedigree lines, advice and support from breeders more experienced than yourself etc.

There are many cat breeders who have never seen a show hall yet genuinely believe their kittens are super, when in fact they are far from the required standard. Does this make them less worthy of their pedigree, probably not.

In many ways the showing aside, it is much more important to have a healthy well socialized kitten who will be a very important part of your family for many years.