Creating new breeds

I visited my vet yesterday (just the basic shots and earmite treatment to a stray that I've found - nothing serious!). I told him about this site and we got to discussing about breeding. He told me he had a dream of creating a new cat breed. He had a few ideas and it kind of got me thinking.

I wonder how many people are trying to create new breeds? Would you consider that? If so, what new breed would you try to create?

Oh boy have you opened a can of worms. Creating a new breed is not as easy as you think. 1. Most breeders will not sell you a registered cat of one breed to breed to another breed which is how you get new breeds. Most of the new breeds are being imported or are mutations. Most breeds allow no other breeds as outcrosses. There are many breeds out their now that have severe problems. I remebr in my first days of showing the SIberian I was up against Ojo Azules - a new breed - short haired cats non pointed traditonal colors with blue eyes - they have since been pulled due to deformities. Their is much debate over the Munchikn, the Manx, the Scottich Folds. Much thought woud have to be given and much knowledge og genetics before any new breed should be started. Linda

Yeah, I can see the problem there...

I know that even a popular breed like the Persian have problems with PKD (kidney disease). I do belive breeding is a matter for professionals, with a good knowledge of feline genetics.

I know that quite a few breeders are involved in creating new breeds through cross-breeding woth wild cats.That's how the Bengals and possibly the American Bobtail were created. I guess there are still plenty of wild cats to try with.

My vet was actually considering creating a breed of "miniature cats". He wants a well proportioned cat (not like the Munchkins), that would just be very small like a 2-3 months old kitten.

I told him I guess there are already breeders trying to create such a breed somewhere... People love playing with genetics, don't they? It does seem interesting.

What your vet is talking about are already around much to the dismay of many breeders , they call them " tea cup cats" or something like that - folks taking their runts and breeding them together - does not sound to healthy to me - Linda

I don't really have an opinion as to whether to miniturize them or not. I can say though, judicious breeding has given us healthy miniature horses and donkeys, dwarf rabbits and hamsters. Aren't the cattle breeders working on miniature cows for some reason?