Problems related to inbreeding

[lovely cats]

Hello,

I have a friend who is the owner of a female cat. She has given birth to twelve cats and each litter kittens are smaller. She has one-year-old cats that look like four-month-old kittens in terms of size!

Could this be happening because parents are relatives (brother and sister, father and daughter, etc)? What other effects inbreeding causes on cats' health?

 

[di and bob]

You would think she would get them spayed and neutered! The first generation of inbreeding causes almost nothing in terms of genetic problems, size, crippled hips,etc. But each successive inbreeding, father to granddaughter etc, brings more and more problems until there will be brain damage and kittens with no limbs, no eyes, etc. PLEASE get these poor babies a new home or get them spayed and neutered! The local humane society may need to be contacted because really, if she is aware of this and letting it continue it is a form of abuse. Good luck!

 

[lovely cats]

My friend is already working on spaying and neutering her cats. It is so important to stop this problem!

And the adult cats that she has? Are they more likely to get some diseases? Will they die younger than normal?

 

[di and bob]

It totally depends how messed up their genes are and how 'inbred' they are. There is a new forum  - Lyons cat genetics - that is where you should go for better answers then I can give you!  Most of those poor babies should be OK, after all they may have inherited all the 'good' genes instead of the bad. Keep us posted!

 

[jodiethierry64]

This is so sad!! I'm not going to put your friend down but you see these kind of things in hoarders. They think they're doing what's best but they are not financially able to afford spaying and neutering and as a result things go way beyond their control. One female not spayed will eventually have, considering her babies who get pregnant at 4 months, a total of 4000 in just 2 yrs. Please advice her to keep the males and females, 4 months and older, separated until she gets them fixed and finds them homes. If you see she's not doing this you're going to have to try and get her some help.

 

[profleslielyons]

Howdy,

There are many reasons for low birth weight in kittens, not sure why they are getting smaller with subsequent breedings.  This is more of a health than genetics question. If the cats are a breed, inbreeding would affect all the kittens - but perhaps in different ways, not in a trend.  I would chat with a vet!

Good luck!