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- #21
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On neutering
- Thread starter billie
- Start Date
Unfortunately, that is the mindset of a lot of people; they want the kittens or puppies because "they're so cute", but they grow up, the novelty wears off and it's "out the door". From there it's usually starvation, sickness or death. I know people like that and it infuriates me. The funny part is they are usually the ones who say "I'd love to have one of your cats" (we have LaPerms and Norwegian Forest Cats), like they would even have a chance at one of ours!
Pete
Pete
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- #23
Dear Pete,
I hope you don't mean me by talking about such people
I've never been irresponsible towards a pet and i love my baby, and indeed all cats, dogs and whatever animals one can imagine, and I can never harm any of them let alone dump an animal that has been loved.
Please tell me isn't it difficult for your to part with your kittens?? And how do you make sure their homes are good enough for them? I'm sure I would miss them immensely....
And thanks once again for all your support and advice
I hope you don't mean me by talking about such people
I've never been irresponsible towards a pet and i love my baby, and indeed all cats, dogs and whatever animals one can imagine, and I can never harm any of them let alone dump an animal that has been loved.
Please tell me isn't it difficult for your to part with your kittens?? And how do you make sure their homes are good enough for them? I'm sure I would miss them immensely....
And thanks once again for all your support and advice
I'm sorry for any confusion; I was not referring to you but rather some "friends" who feel that providing food and water satisfies the requirement of "taking care" of their pets!Originally posted by Billie
Dear Pete,
I hope you don't mean me by talking about such people
I've never been irresponsible towards a pet and i love my baby, and indeed all cats, dogs and whatever animals one can imagine, and I can never harm any of them let alone dump an animal that has been loved.
Please tell me isn't it difficult for your to part with your kittens?? And how do you make sure their homes are good enough for them? I'm sure I would miss them immensely....
And thanks once again for all your support and advice
It is always difficult for us to sell one of our babies as we are with them from the time "Mom" gives birth, assisting if necessary in their delivery, and having them "underfoot" until they leave. We do the best we can to screen a potential buyer and if we feel too many things are contradictory to our beliefs they don't go. It is amazing what people will tell you about themselves with a little prompting and we read and listen to what they say. We inform them of our requirements and if there is ANY objection that ends the negotiation. There are no "what ifs", or "how about this...". People are willing to tell you about their former and current pets. Statements like "our last two cats died unexpectedly" sends bells ringing and red flags waving. Or "we have tried several breeds but can't find the right one for us". No, Billie, we are very protective and are quite willing to say no rather than let one of our kittens go with any doubt in our minds. Maybe we are overprotective, but at least when a kitten leaves here we feel we have done everything possible to assure their safety and well-being. The tone and questions in your posts would tell me you care about your pets and you are trying to do what is right and best for them and you.
Pete
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- #25
Dear Pete,
Breeding sounds fascinating but I don't think I can do such a thing. I can be so mothering at times and teart even stray cats and dogs as my own children and often scald people for msitreating them
I don't think I'll have the power to part with any of my kittens.
But still it should be such a great experience watching those little babies being born and growing.
And what kind of cats do you breed?
Breeding sounds fascinating but I don't think I can do such a thing. I can be so mothering at times and teart even stray cats and dogs as my own children and often scald people for msitreating them
I don't think I'll have the power to part with any of my kittens.
But still it should be such a great experience watching those little babies being born and growing.
And what kind of cats do you breed?
That's where Donna has problems as well; she treats everything as a pet and tries to find excuses for not letting the kittens go. At that rate we would have a house full of cats and we would be living in a tent! I certainly don't mean to sound cold but as a breeder you need to keep what meets your breeding program and sell the rest. The whole goal of breeding, in my opinion, is to produce cats which fit the standard as closely as possible. Obviously not all will and those are the ones you sell as pets or breeders to someone starting out or to another breeder who needs certain characteristics your cat has that theirs don't. Sometimes you can breed a fault out of the line if you have good stock and patience! Many times the difference between a Grand Champion and a pet quality cat comes down to a slight dip in the nose or ears too close/too far apart. To someone who likes the breed and wants a pet this makes no difference and in a lot of cases only a trained eye could see the fault. That does not mean these cats are not as wonderful and loving, only that in appearance they are not quite what the standard call for. Many times a breeder has a hard time deciding what to keep and what to sell, only to have a cat they sold become a Grand Champion because it was a little slower developing and the breeder either didn't recognize the potential or didn't have the patience to hold onto it for a while longer. I am not going to tell you it doesn't bother me to sell a cat because it is never an easy thing to part with a kitten you brought into the world, fed, loved and played with, that slept in your lap or climbed your pant leg when you walked into the room, etc. We screen our potential buyers and I will be the first to tell you we turn down more people than we sell to based on the information they provide and a gut feeling I get from their email or phone calls. If I have any doubt about their sincerity our kittens do not go. I would rather be wrong 100 times by not selling to someone wonderful than to be wrong 1 time and have one of our babies mistreated, abused or worse. Sorry that I got off on a rant here but this is one area of breeding I am very passionate about. As for our cats, we breed a relatively new breed called the LaPerm, a curly coated cat which has only been in existence since 1982 and which there are only a few hundred in the world at present (a natural mutation and unlike the other Rexed breeds). We also breed Norwegian Forest Cats, a wonderful cat with a very loving personality and disposition (as is the LaPerm). We show in CFA, TICA, ACFA and possibly AACE this September if all goes well.Originally posted by Billie
Dear Pete,
Breeding sounds fascinating but I don't think I can do such a thing. I can be so mothering at times and treat even stray cats and dogs as my own children and often scold people for mistreating them
I don't think I'll have the power to part with any of my kittens.
But still it should be such a great experience watching those little babies being born and growing.
And what kind of cats do you breed?
Pete
I too am a breeder and will agree with Pete. I LOVE all of my kittens and it is very hard to say goodbye. It is part of breeding though. There are breeders out there who hoard their cats and end up with unkown pregnancies and lots of disease. You have to give yourself a limit. You have to make sure you can financialy take care of every need. I breed these guys to help better the breed and provide people with healthy happy cats. I have a VERY strict contract that states among other things, not to be declawed, to be spayed by the age of 6 months and if at anytime even 10 years the cat is no longer wanted or cared for it is returned to me. I keep in touch with owners and receive pictures. Yes, sometimes you may misjudge someone, but I havn't had it happen yet. We will go as far as getting refrence letters from their vets or friends. It is hard to say goodbye to them, but it is also rewarding to make a cat and family very happy.
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- #28
That sounds really intriguing!!!!
So as far as I get it you sell all kittens that do not meet breed standards and you keep the rest, is that so?
Then you must have a lot of furbabies!!!! That's so nice
And do you show all of them?
So as far as I get it you sell all kittens that do not meet breed standards and you keep the rest, is that so?
Then you must have a lot of furbabies!!!! That's so nice
And do you show all of them?
Billie
I try to only keep 1 from every litter. I keep the one who best meets the standard. There may be a litter that I don't keep any because I am out of room. As for showing..I show all my munchkins along with a few of my rescued cats. I show the ones who like it and will tolerate it. The ratio in my house right now is 4 munchkins and 7 domestic rescues.
I try to only keep 1 from every litter. I keep the one who best meets the standard. There may be a litter that I don't keep any because I am out of room. As for showing..I show all my munchkins along with a few of my rescued cats. I show the ones who like it and will tolerate it. The ratio in my house right now is 4 munchkins and 7 domestic rescues.
Billie,
Partially correct. Each cat is judged individually by me to determine the characteristics and traits it has in relation to the standard. Those that are too far away from the type are speutered and sold as pets. We alter all pet quality before they leave here; they are pets for a reason and we don't want any more breeding of them. The ones that have traits we want or fit the standard we keep either for our own breeding program or sell as breeders to other breeders. The really good ones, and they are few and far between, that are definite show quality we either keep for breeding and showing or sell as breeder/show quality. As Sandie said, you can only properly care for so many.
Pete
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- #31
HattKatts, Sandie
I went through your websites and your cats are just gorgeous!!!!
I absolutely loved all of them!!
You know I have a dream of setting up an animal shelter if I had enough money to afford it. But I'm afraid here in Bulgaria it will be a heart breaking job as there are too many homeless animals and too many that are kicked out of their homes. This has always made me sad seeing animals on the street. I often tell my friends that if you feel troubled you just have to look in a stray dog's eyes and see what unhappiness really is about. The way they look at you when they know you're friendly and the hope in their eyes and the love they need to share it is so sad. I'm used to feeding a couple of feral cats and several dogs (stray dogs are much more common here than cats)and they are such a joy to me.
If I only could I'd take some of them in. My Eric is a rescue cat. Do you have any rescues? I wish I could even volunteer for such an organisation but their main purpose here seems to be putting animals to sleep rather than finding decent homes for them. I know it sounds horrible but it's true.....
I went through your websites and your cats are just gorgeous!!!!
I absolutely loved all of them!!
You know I have a dream of setting up an animal shelter if I had enough money to afford it. But I'm afraid here in Bulgaria it will be a heart breaking job as there are too many homeless animals and too many that are kicked out of their homes. This has always made me sad seeing animals on the street. I often tell my friends that if you feel troubled you just have to look in a stray dog's eyes and see what unhappiness really is about. The way they look at you when they know you're friendly and the hope in their eyes and the love they need to share it is so sad. I'm used to feeding a couple of feral cats and several dogs (stray dogs are much more common here than cats)and they are such a joy to me.
If I only could I'd take some of them in. My Eric is a rescue cat. Do you have any rescues? I wish I could even volunteer for such an organisation but their main purpose here seems to be putting animals to sleep rather than finding decent homes for them. I know it sounds horrible but it's true.....
I think I answered the rescue question already. If you go to the page about us, it gives all my cats stories. I do volunteer with a rescue, but she is a no kill non profit. I could not work with an organization that euthanizes animals on a regular basis. Maybe someday you will also have a no kill shelter in the area.
