mixed breeds and purebreds........ do you ever feel guilty?

[tigger]

I am sure there are a lot of you on here who have either mixed or purebred cats, or both! My hubby and I have 3 bengals and 2 mixed-breed females. I feel bad for the cats who are sitting at the shelters waiting for a home, and wish I could rescue all of them. As much as I

purebreds, I still

mixed-breeds as well. My question is, do you feel guilty for buying a purebred over a mixed-breed? I used to, but I don't anymore. I rescued 2 (Fluffy from the AZ Humane Society and Cinnamon from the AAWL No-Kill shelter), so that makes me happy. But, there will always be a part in my heart when I go to PetsMart and see the kitties in the cages.

 

[Anne]

I never bought a cat and I don't think I will ever do so. I think I will always be adopting either from shleters or the kittens I find in the streets. That goes for purebreds as well as mixed. The shelters usually have their share of purebreds as well...

That said, I enjoy visiting cat shows and appreciate everything that decent breeders are doing for the benefit of their cats.

 

[sandie]

I don't feel bad about owning or breeding pure breed cats at all. Out of my 11 cats I have 6 domestic cats that had been rescued. As harsh as this sounds, I should not be made to feel as if I need to take into my home the cats that someone has dumped at the pound or the result of humans not spaying and neutering their cats. I do what I can with Rene's rescue and do my best to educate people on the importance of spaying/neutering as well as pets are a lifetime commitment. Pure breeds and domestics will always have a place in my home.

 

[kittyfoot]

First off,I think purebreeding is important to keep a base for each breed in the genepool. However I do see the extremes that some breeders are going to...destroying "imperfect" animals that don't meet a criteria. For example a white German Shepherd is considered a "freak" by many breeders and is killed at birth. That practice is sickening. Also,some breeds have been bred so closely for so long that they are showing all the bad traits of the gene line. Again a non-cat example is the thoroughbred horse. It is a recorded concern of horsemen that today's runners are breaking legs,etc at a growing rate and the fear is that they are becoming inbred since all thoroughbreds are descended from a half-dozen sires.

On the other hand..I just choke a little bit when I see $700-$1000 pricetags on puppies or kittens...this is getting ridiculous folks.

I'm reminded of a little joke... A lady in NYC buys a lambs wool coat from a fashionable furrier for $10,000. She's very happy until she sees an exact duplicate in a dept store for $200. She rushes back to the furrier demanding an explination. "But Madame",sneers the furrier,"Obviously that was not Virgin Wool". "At these prices",snaps the lady,"Who cares what the sheep do at night????":LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

 

[bubbles]

to all domestic cats. Not the controllable kind of allergies. The really bad kind. If I adopt a cat, it will be a purebred Siberian (provided the allergies to them are less). In spite of the fact that I don't see another option at this time, I still feel like a sellout. I wish I could adopt a shelter cat. But my option is a less-allergenic cat, or nothing.
Please don't flame me for this. Maybe in the future things will be different for me. I know this goes against some of your beliefs, but at the moment, this is the option I am going with.

 

[chloe111]

Well, I got both o my cats for free. Chloe was planned...(I called about an ad in a newspaper). And Romeo I rescued myself. He was abandoned in my parking lot living in an old car that had a cover over it. Thinking back, to hear my little boy scream at the top of his lungs would have pulled at the biggest cat-haters heart-strings! But the way I see it, you rescued 2 from the shelter. Most people have only 1 pet. I think you did your part by adopting 2! And sometimes, I wish I had the money and space for a Russsian Blue. I will get 1...one day. Whether it's pure-bred or not. And Tigger, look at it this way. From reading your posts, I know you give your cats a WONDERFUL home. Well, what if you wouldn't have bought little Scooter, or Gizmo or Tigger? Any of those 3 cuties could have ended up in abusive homes or homes not as good as yours. Whether you payed for your cats or rescured them, you gave 5 lucky cats a good home. And that you should be proud of!!

:flower: :flower:

 

[bodlover]

Hey Bubbles, have you ever considered a Cornish or Devon Rex cat? For some allergy sufferers these cats are fine, (not all though) they are great cats, I have a black Cornish Rex named Monty and boy is he a character!! Never a dull moment when hes around!! - if you want to see some pics of Rex's let me know and Ill see if I can post some for you.

I have two Pedigree cats and three moggies (previously 5 moggies..

) I would like another pedigree cat some when but I am always looking at the rescues at the animal shelter near where I live - the trouble is the worse they look - the more I want them!! :laughing: Previously when we've been to adopt "a" cat, we have gone home with TWO every time!! But I'll always be that way I guess!! cos I just LOVE

them all!

 

[hell603]

I personally have a bengal and my mom will sson have a somali. Sometimes I do feel like a snob, so in order to make myself feel better I keep reminding myself that I adopted my Loki before he was turned into a barn cat (he was tooooooo shy to sell) and Piper, the Somali my Mom is adopting is a retired breeder who also needs a home. But all the other cats we had in our lives were all moggies and we loved them/ treated /cared for them just the same.

 

[bubbles]

I've looked at Rexes, but they still have the dander, and I still have the allergies.

I love their curly coats though. And you are always welcome to post kitty pics.

 

[hell603]

Maby I mispelled - Moogies - mixed breed -

 

[cleo]

I know that Moggie is a term used for a mixed breed cat....but can anyone tell me where the term came from?

Cleo

 

[kittyfoot]

First off let me say Thank God for everyone here who loves cats whether purebred or justa cats.

You are all special people.

One thing confuses me tho..the reference to " Barn Cats" as something horrible. Most Barn Cats I have known are treated pretty well. A barn is usually a pretty warm place even in the coldest weather. I've often seen a barn cat curled contentedly atop a cow sharing body heat..the cows never seem to mind. I remember my grandfather has a bull who had a hellish temprament..but he had a buddy,a big grey tomcat who slept on his back every night. That bull would not move a muscle while his buddy was sleeping.

Food is seldom a problem..lots of mice in barns and cats seem to get fat and sassy on cattle feeds.

So please clue me in on why you think barn cats is a terrible fate if you please??

Not trying to pick an argument here..just curious.

 

[gap]

Bubbles, no one should ever blame you. You can't help if you are allergic. I just think it's great that you have investigated enough to find a breed you can tolerate.

Pure breed cats are wonderful just like all of them. You are better able to get the personality traits you prefer.

But as for me....I have decided to give a home only to those kitties I am convinced will not get a home otherwise. Everyone in my family has to drag me by the cute little kitties in front of the markets because I do find them irresistable. I always say, "if they are not gone when I come out then maybe..." So far however, I have only gotten abandoned, shelter and stray cats.

I don't think anyone should be condemned for their preference. HOWEVER, everyone needs to get kittes spayed and neutered. I just read that 20 million animals are put down each year for lack of homes.

 

[sandie]

"barn cat" is just a term used when describing a domestic or feral mixed breed cat. I suppose it came about because a lot of farms have cats running around unspayed and neutered. They produce quite a few offspring that create a great amount of mixed breed cats. Being a barn cat is not a bad thing as long as you are talking about a barn cat that has been fixed,eats well and has vaccines.

 

[nena10]

Sometimes I wish to have a purebred cat. The three that I am most interested in, is the Pursans, himalayans, and siamese. But they cost too much. So I prefer to rescue the shelter cats and give them love. They don;t cost much.

 

[rene]

I have both domestics and purebred cats - most of my cats, purebred or domestic are rescues - but, my selkirk rex, oriental and my two abysinnians are not rescues and I do not feel bad about having them - nor do I feel bad about breeding the abys. I show both my rescues and my non rescues. My rex (that's Fraggle, the cat of the day) and my other babies all have special places in my heart. I have two feral cats living in my home -five outside cats and 18 others - 8 of them purebred. If I wanted to buy a Sphynx or another breed that I love, I would do so as I have rescued more than my share of cats - and I continue to rescue and place. But I also do purebred rescue and placement - purebred cats who have been used as breeders for a few years (which in many cases means they lived in a cage) also deserve good homes - and many people retire their Siamese, Persians, etc, that end up not being as top show quality as they thought and can be adopted for the price of the altering. Right now I have sixteen purebred Turkish Angoras, a LaPerm and three Siamese and one Oriental up for adoption - as well as domestics. Anyone who wants a specific breed but wants to rescue can have it - it just takes a little more time.

 

[bodlover]

Oooooh if only I wasn't in the UK!!!! darn!!! Id adopt all your Turkish Angoras as I LOVE

them!!! Such beautiful cats.....I wish I could have as many you Rene, it would be a dream come true to be able rescue so many precious babies

 

[dodo]

Rene, what is a LaPerm ??

I have got 2 rescued kitties, but I also love purebreds. Especially, Abbysinians, Bengals, Maus & Ocicats...Rexes with curly hair are also soo cute I think

I want to have one purebred cat & a dog (Golden Retriever) at sometime in my life

And I want 2 more rescued kitties.

I wish I were living in a cat farm or something

 

[bodlover]

Sorry, I know Im not Rene, but La Perms are like long haired Rex's!! - they have longer curly fur!! so cool!

Im sure Rene will be able to give a much better description than I can!! so I'll leave it to the pro's.....

:LOL:

 

[bodlover]

Im gonna try and post a pic for you, hope it works!!