I have a question :)

My cat is I think a marmalade tabby. She is orange with brown stripes, and a bit of white under her chin. Now I have some questions, being I am not a cat breeder at all.

My cat Shorty, tis her name. She happens to be the runt in the litter she came from. Um, she is a year or so old now but is still rather small.

I have been wanting to breed her, but I have been told she is too tiny for breeding. She came into her first heat rather late, and doesn't seem to know how to let the male do business. She just kind of moves her butt out of the way of my boy cat who is also a marmalade tabby. Fixed also.

Well I am concerned, because I do at some point want her to have kittens. But I also don't want to lose my best friend should anything serious happen. Is surgery the correct way to go if I were to breed her? So she doesn't have to give birth naturally?

2. Please make sure to spay and neuter your cat. Unless you are a professional breeder and your cat is part of a professional breeding program, please educate yourself to the importance of spaying and neutering by the time your cat is 4-6 months old. By spaying and neutering you enhance your cat's quality of life and improve his or her health. You are also proving your love for cats because in acting as a responsible pet owner you are minimizing the problem of cat overpopulation.

Please get her fixed / spayed

Originally Posted by sharky

2. Please make sure to spay and neuter your cat. Unless you are a professional breeder and your cat is part of a professional breeding program, please educate yourself to the importance of spaying and neutering by the time your cat is 4-6 months old. By spaying and neutering you enhance your cat's quality of life and improve his or her health. You are also proving your love for cats because in acting as a responsible pet owner you are minimizing the problem of cat overpopulation.

Please get her fixed / spayed

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This really didn't answer any of my questions. It more or less told me that I am doing something wrong. And I have not done anything yet. I wasn't aware that I couldn't breed my cat unless she was involved in some sort of breeding program, which makes me rather upset. I wanted to seek some advice with Cat breeding, and get some info.

I want to know what I have to do to get familiar with cat breeding, I know I could go read some books at the local library but some help would be appreciated. I assure you, that my cat is in great health. I have not bred her with any sort of tom, and the male cat that I do have is fixed even though he is still sexually active. Shorty is NOT an outside cat, she is an inside cat and has not had access to none neutered toms.

One thing that is bothering me as to what I had just read, is that I know people breed special breeds of cats, but with all do respect. That doesn't help the population any better then breeding an average marmalade. Not spaying her, doesn't mean I don't love my cat. But I do want her genes to live on, because she is special to me. She has a great a personality, and isn't mean toward anyone. I admire that in her, and so by breeding her I thought she would live on in some way or form.

Call me obsessive, but that is how I feel. If I get her spayed, and then she passes on. That will be the end of her, and all I will have is old memories. If I could allow her to have at least 1 litter of kittens, I would get her fixed after so that I would get my wish, and there wouldn't be somany cats.

I think that sounds fair.

Breeders often breed cats to better the breed of the cat. I would seriously consider this as there can be all sorts of complications, it can be quite expensive and is not all plain sailing.

Hi Soanla Welcome to TCS.

The response from Sharky above was quoted from the forum rules, which you can read here.

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15184

I'm afraid you are unlikely to find any support for breeding your cat on here. I don't know where you live, but most western countries have a major problem with cat over population and are struggling to control cat numbers. I'm not actively involved in cat rescue myself, but I know of people who are and they are under incredible strain, both personally and financially,trying to cope with the never ending stream of cats they are expected to take in. Most of these cats are from people who 'just wanted one litter' or thought it was ok because they could find homes for the kittens.

That's why most of us on here only support the breeding of pure bred cats as part of a planned breeding programme. Not because pure bred cats are better, but because there is then an additional reason for breeding - to preserve and improve a specific breed - and not just producing yet more kittens. Our kitties are all special to us, but there's no guarantee that your cat's kittens would look or behave like her. In fact, temeperament tends to be inherited more from the father, I think?

Please consider spaying your cat. There are so many health benefits to spaying too (considerably reduced risk of mammary cancer for one) that it really would be best for her.

If you are determined to go ahead and breed her, please select a male carefully and make sure that both he and she are tested for diseases such as FIV and Feline Leukaemia. But I do hope you'll have a rethink.

Originally Posted by Soanala

Well I am concerned, because I do at some point want her to have kittens. But I also don't want to lose my best friend should anything serious happen. Is surgery the correct way to go if I were to breed her? So she doesn't have to give birth naturally?

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This right here is why this cat should be spayed. Surgery is to risky imo. Why breed a cat that you know has a good possibility of c-section. Do you really want to risk your beloved kitty? Being a random bred cat there is no way to know her genetics or the fathers to know what qualities would be passed down. Is that a risk you want to take? You are concerned for good reasons. I would not breed a random bred cat especially a runt. It is just to risky.

While your intentions might sound good to you (to preserve her genes), its not the right reasons to be breeding a mixed breed cat. If you are looking for a kitten to be just like her, think again. It doesn't work that way. The BEST thing you can do if you really love and care about her, is to get her spayed. You have your male neutered, so why not her?

If you like the red tabby cats (that's what she is), and want more "like her", then visit your local shelters and adopt another red tabby. Even if you want to breed her, you should have her tested for FELV, FIP, any other genetic problems. And WHO would you breed her to? The male should also be tested for diseases.

There are enough mixed breed cats out there, that breeding your little female would be irresponsible. Visit a shelter and see the other half of breeding mixed breeds - the half that is unwanted kittens/cats waiting to be killed because there are no homes - and most are there from people like yourself that wanted their pretty little female to have a litter or two.

Breeding should be for the benefit of the breed - to improve and strengthen the lines. Breeding is hard work, its costly. You have to keep the kittens for 10-12 weeks MINIMUM for proper weaning and important socialization with other cats/dogs, etc. You need to have the kittens neutered/spayed before they leave your house. You have to be willing to take back ANY kitten you produce if the owner cannot keep them.

And what if your little girl has problems delivering? What if she needs a c-section cause she can't deliver? What if something happens to her and she cannot nurse the litter of kittens? Can you bottle feed every few hours?

Please reconsider breeding your cat. She will be much happier and healthier if she is spayed. And by not spaying her, you increase her risk for cancer or other problems.

There are 3 - 4 MILLION cats euthanized in shelters EVERY year due to overpopulation.

Please reconsider before you add to that problem.

Eh well, I do know my cats background fairly well. Her mother is a torty and her father is a red tabby like her. Her father has a very playful personality, and her mother has a very calm and loving personality.

I understand what you guys are trying to say now, and maybe breeding her isn't the best way to go about things. I feel I have a lot of thinking to do about this, and I will NOT take any sort of breeding action. But most likely I will probably just get her spayed, even though it would make me unhappy.

I will do it for her, to protect her and keep her save of diseases n stuff.

Thank you for reconsidering.

While you might "know" her background, unless the cats involved are tested you don't know anything about the genetics. Only by the looks of the cats. They could be carrying many hidden lethal genes.

And even if mom/dad are nice cats (personality), that is NO guarentee you will get the same in the kittens. Each cat is unique. I've owned many cats over the years (some mixed, some pedigree). Only a few were worthy of breeding and they were purebreds.

I owned a lovely and very unique black and white odd-eye female. I was very tempted to let her have a litter just to see what I'd get. But I was a responsible person - trying to educate others on why it was not good to breed mixed breed cats - and so she was spayed at 7 months old - never had a litter in her life. She lived to be 18 yrs old - happy and healthy.

Love her for who she is - not what you might get if she's bred. She will thank you for spaying her

Thanks a lot

Originally Posted by Soanala

Thanks a lot

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Thank you so much for reconsidering! I volunteer at a shelter, and know how difficult it is to find homes for all the unwanted cats. By deciding not to contribute to the overpopulation problem, you've done a great service to cats everywhere!

Originally Posted by Soanala

My cat is I think a marmalade tabby. She is orange with brown stripes, and a bit of white under her chin. Now I have some questions, being I am not a cat breeder at all.

My cat Shorty, tis her name. She happens to be the runt in the litter she came from. Um, she is a year or so old now but is still rather small.

I have been wanting to breed her, but I have been told she is too tiny for breeding. She came into her first heat rather late, and doesn't seem to know how to let the male do business. She just kind of moves her butt out of the way of my boy cat who is also a marmalade tabby. Fixed also.

Well I am concerned, because I do at some point want her to have kittens. But I also don't want to lose my best friend should anything serious happen. Is surgery the correct way to go if I were to breed her? So she doesn't have to give birth naturally?

Click to expand...

I think is would be a mistake to breed her if she is too small. I have a purbred Toy Pom, I have not bred her because x-rays show she probably wouldn't be able to birth her babies, I wouldn't take a chance on losing her

This is why I love this forum so much. You are all so kind and helpful when trying to educate people about the benefits of spaying & neutering. Thank you so VERY much. We need more people like you in the world!

Soanala, I totally understand how you feel. I have a cat that lives with my mother & father still. I adore him SO completely. He's such an angel and SO very special. I have never ever met another cat like him. The idea that when he dies I'll only have my memories and photos left crushes my heart. It's those moments that I longingly wish I could own his kittens. The idea that I may be able to see him in their green eyes and tufted ears makes me so happy.....

But then I remember that he was a product of irresponsible pet ownership...his mother went feral because her owners kept forgetting to feed her. We rescued him and his brothers...if we hadn't they would have died. If we'd taken those poor feral kittens to animal control they would have been put to sleep.

It made me think, what if it was MY baby who was stuck in a cage, left without an owner to share his amazing personality with. He would have gone on totally forgotten and unremembered, another casualty of pet overpopulation.

There are cats like this in the shelter, and while they'll never be like your sweet girl that you adore so much, they are special and amazing in their own way.

Many good wishes to you Soanala. I hope you stay with us and share photos of your kitties!