Sphynx Woes

jamiekitty

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Hey Everyone,

I need some advice. I have found my breeder and I am going to get a kitten from her which is GREAT but that being said I feel a tad out of the loop. I love my breeder and I think she is doing amazing work within the Sphynx community but she is SUPER busy so it's hard for me to get ahold of her to figure things out.

I want one of her kittens that came from one of her GORGEOUS show Mommies and since these kittens come from this Mommy's blood line my breeder would like to show the kittens for a certain period (til almost 1 year old) then adopt them out. Now that being said there is a possibility that out of these 6 kittens she will leave one for adoption at 14-16 weeks as oppose to 1 year old but she isn't sure which one yet (it's between two girls who look somewhat similar).

Now, I am so torn on this... the one kitten I love out of the bunch is one she knows for sure she is going to show till the little girl is close to 1 year old. I am unsure if I should wait for this kitten (since I'll miss out on all those kitten moments and get a pre-teen kitty; also this is my first Sphynx and I'd like a kitten to see those moments) or get one of the girls who will be ready at 14-16 wks (they are cute too). I am so torn - what should I do?

I mean she has other kittens that I'd be able to adopt sooner but it's really my fault for falling in love with the Mommy of these kittens since she is a super high class show kitty and the breeder of course would like the opportunity to show the babies.

What would you do?
 

goldenkitty45

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That's tough - but I'm into showing and if it was up to me, I'd be showing the kitten. But I'm assuming you are NOT interested in showing at all? Would you be willing to show the kitten? Or are you strictly out for a pet only?

My breeder is breeding 2 of her girls to the same male so I can have a better choice of my show male I want.

Its hard to have a kitten in mind that is out of a top show parent cause I can understand the breeder wanting to hold on to kittens and show them herself because they are that good. If you were more willing to show, I'm sure the breeder would be very willing to work with you. I know my breeder is thrilled that I'm wanting to show her cats - breeders don't get enough people that want to show and they are producing top quality cats.

I was in the same situation - produced a lot of quality cats that were never shown. If I had the room, I'd have held on to some of them and shown them myself.
 

mews2much

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Thats a hard choice.
Our Breeder is keeping some of the Kittens to show also.
The kittens are due July 22 or around there.
I can not wait to get my Sphynx .
I am number 4 on the waiting list and she expects around 6.
Most of the people want a certain color and sex so I might get lucky.
 

ferriscat

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Kitten moments are great, but cats are only kittens for a relatively small portion of their lives. I think you should get the CAT you like the best, but I'd first want to know a few more things before making a decision.

My question is if she is planning on showing the cat until it is a year old, what are her goals with it? Does she just want to grand the kitty? Or will she be campaigning her for a breed award? Or even a regional award? Will the cat be shown in the alter class, or as an unaltered Champion? All of these factors would have a huge bearing on my personal advice to you
 

epona

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I'd be offering to show the cat for her if it were me (I'd be champing at the bit to do so too!) This is one of those threads where I can't help thinking that we do things very differently here in the UK, I can't imagine a breeder keeping a kitten themselves to show and then adopt out as an adult it if they weren't going to breed from it. They'd adopt it out to someone who was going to show it for them. Maybe that is due to housing and other costs being so high here, you'd have to be ultra-rich to be able to have a big enough home to keep kittens back for that long if they weren't ultimately going to be part of your breeding programme!

On the other hand if you are not interested in showing, take a kitten that is not show quality - there is little point in holding out for a top quality cat if you are not interested in taking it to the show bench yourself! I wouldn't want to miss out on having the chance of doing that myself.

Personally I adore kittens, they can be a huge energy drain, but I like to see their personality develop, see them grow into your home, grow to love you etc. I got Jacob as a young adult, I love him to bits but it did take me longer to bond with him, and it took him longer to settle in too. I very happily gave him a home because he needed a new one and he is a super-adorable cat with an amazing temperament, but I am going to be quite honest even though some people may shoot me down - if I were specifically looking for a new kitten from a breeder to add to my family that is what I want to end up with, I wouldn't want to miss out on their kittenhood and only get to take them on as an adult. If you were looking for an adult due to your own circumstances and preference it may be different. But if you're not at all interested in showing, why hold out for a show quality cat that you have to wait for?

Ultimately, go with your heart. If you particularly bonded with one of the ones the breeder wants to hold back then it will be worth the wait, but if you have not bonded enough with a particular individual to find the wait tolerable, then keep looking
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by Epona

I can't imagine a breeder keeping a kitten themselves to show and then adopt out as an adult it if they weren't going to breed from it.

On the other hand if you are not interested in showing, take a kitten that is not show quality - there is little point in holding out for a top quality cat if you are not interested in taking it to the show bench yourself!
it's not how things are usually done here either so doesn't make much sense to me.

If you really want a young kitten, either get one from another mother or wait for another litter from this mother.
 

ferriscat

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Originally Posted by Epona

I can't imagine a breeder keeping a kitten themselves to show and then adopt out as an adult it if they weren't going to breed from it.
I think a lot of breeders have been burned by giving up show cats to people who at first seem to want to show, but later on decide that the showhall is not for them. What if this cat would DM its mother or father? What if the parents have been altered, and its the last chance the parents have at that title? A lot of the breeders I know stand by the motto that if you want a cat granded badly enough, you have to show it yourself.
 

goldenkitty45

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That is true. In my case, the breeder KNOWS I will be showing. More ACFA then CFA cause very few CFA shows, but will do my best to grand in both. She knows I've shown and granded Charlie, so she's not worried about whether or not I'll show.
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by FerrisCat

What if this cat would DM its mother or father? What if the parents have been altered, and its the last chance the parents have at that title?
So the offsprings results go back to the parents? Doesn't work like that over here, and I assume not in the UK either so that's why it doesn't make much sense to us.
 
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jamiekitty

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Thanks everyone for all the info!

Now, what I know so far is that my breeder wants her kittens to achieve GC status (I am unsure if it is altered or unaltered). Now, do you think me receiving a cat who is a bit older will make it more difficult for the cat to mingle in my family?

Also, how does one achieve DM status through their kittens?

Thanks everyone!
 

abymummy

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A GC = Grand Champion, which means unaltered.

A DM = Distinguished Merit, for females it means the queen has produced 5 kittens that have Granded, either as Grand Champion or Grand Premier, for males, they would have had to have sired 15 Grand Champions/Grand Premiers.
 

goldenkitty45

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Yes any cat that achieves a Grand Champion or Grand Premier(Alter) - the credit does go back to the parents as another cat that has granded from that parent - doesn't matter if its in championship or alter - still counts.

And if your cat is able to produce, they can rack up grands too - the alters of course can't.

An older cat probably will not have that much of a problem adjusting to a new house and will be pretty confident. Only problem you might have is who is boss cat in the house if the older cat has been a top cat. But you shouldn't have any problems.
 

epona

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Yep we have the same here in GCCF - If a male sires 25 GChs or a female produces 5 GChs there is a DM certificate earned - it's useful as a 'proof of quality' for those who are not so great on the showbench themselves for whatever reason (travelsickness, frequent heats or started going into heat very young, a small fault in type that detracts in the showring but with carefully selected matings produces great quality kittens, or variants that cannot be shown in certain classes) but consistently produce top quality kittens, but there would be little point in going for that if the parents already had titles that they had won directly. The DM is definitely seen as a 'lesser' award, but as I have said it is useful for dams that cannot be shown, and that is really the only time it is used, it's not usually sought as an extra award.

I understand that breeders can sometimes face disappointment when homing to someone who says they will show but then doesn't, I do honestly believe that the main difference here in the UK which makes this breeder's decision seem odd to me is due to housing costs, I only have room for 3 pet cats and no space to breed yet the cost of my 2 bedroom flat in a rough part of London at the moment even with the depression in the housing market would be getting close to 1/4 million pounds (half a million dollars) and unless they are extremely rich would not hold back kittens to show - because they need space available for future litters, future breeding queens/studs, and any kittens that return because it does not work out for them in their new home. It's just not feasible for most breeders!!!! You may keep the best one back from a litter with the intention of breeding from it to continue your line, but not to only show and then rehome.

Breeders here who want their kittens shown will actually round up the kitten families, help them to prepare for the show, drive them there, help them on the day, and drive them home again afterwards to make sure that if they have homed a kitten they want shown that it will happen, if you get a potential show cat from a good breeder there is absolutely no wriggling out of your obligation because they will be hammering on your door at 6am on the morning of the show
 

ferriscat

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Originally Posted by Epona

Yep we have the same here in GCCF - If a male sires 25 GChs or a female produces 5 GChs there is a DM certificate earned - it's useful as a 'proof of quality' for those who are not so great on the showbench themselves for whatever reason (travelsickness, frequent heats or started going into heat very young, a small fault in type that detracts in the showring but with carefully selected matings produces great quality kittens, or variants that cannot be shown in certain classes) but consistently produce top quality kittens, but there would be little point in going for that if the parents already had titles that they had won directly. The DM is definitely seen as a 'lesser' award, but as I have said it is useful for dams that cannot be shown, and that is really the only time it is used, it's not usually sought as an extra award.
I had no idea that the DM was regarded as a lesser award in the British Cat Fancy! In CFA, a DM is given just as much prestige as an end of year Regional Award. I know this empirically because in order to apply to the judging program, a certain number of points must be earned by achieving certain titles. Each title is worth a specific point amount; GP/GC - 1 pt, RW/DM - 5 pts, NW - 8 pts (http://www.cfa.org/forms/judging_program_rules.pdf)
In fact, when a cat has achieved a DM, it receives a trophy from the region at the end of the year. Grands only get a certificate in comparison (but still highly treasured!) It's a way of recognizing a cat who has made a significant contribution to their breed and in many ways, a recognition of the quality of the lines.
 

epona

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LOL no I phrased it wrong sorry, late night posting is a bad idea - tbh I think it has more to do with the way the GCCF functions, it can be a lifetime's work in form filling to get things like that sorted out which is a real pain, I think they still insist on everything being done by snail mail which doesn't help, it's just a real headache to get anything like that sorted out.
 
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