Life is like a box of cat breeders. You never know what you’re gonna get.
I’ll be the first to confess it’s not precisely how the statement from Forrest Gump goes, but I think that perfectly shows the concept. There is a wide spectrum of breeders in this world, ranging from those who should be respected to those who should be avoided at all costs. There are, without a doubt, a great number of catteries that can be classified as falling somewhere in the middle. The fact that some of these classifications are open to interpretation is one of the challenges that we frequently face. What one individual considers to be acceptable in a breeder might not be acceptable to another person. As a result, I felt the need to investigate the topic of breeder ethics and search for a general agreement on the qualities that distinguish a “good” breeder from a “bad” breeder.
Once again, I put together a questionnaire and solicited feedback from the members of Persian-Cats.com. I asked you to share your experiences and opinions about cat breeder ethics through an anonymous form. I have included numerous quotes from the questionnaires but removed any potentially identifying information. So without further ado, I’d like to share my findings.
What are the qualities of someone you deem to be a “good” breeder?
Most respondents mentioned that a good breeder isn’t just in it for the money. They do it because they’re passionate about Persians and are interested in the betterment of the breed. Health always comes first. Here are some qualities that people listed:
- Keeps a clean cattery
- Offers genetic health guarantees
- Answers a buyer’s questions both openly and honestly
- Stays in touch with the buyer post-sale
- Takes the time and money required to properly care for their cats
- Displays knowledge of the breed
- Places cats in good homes and will not sell to just anyone
- Treats their cats like family
- Discloses all records and veterinary opinions to potential buyers
- Prices their cats fairly
- Offers to take back previously-sold cats if the placement doesn’t work out
- Minimizes cages, or better yet, eliminates them altogether
- Follows the written standard of their registering organization
- Socializes their cats
What percentage of cat breeders do you think qualifies as “good” breeders?
Well, not a single respondent said that 100% of cat breeders are good. But more than half of the respondents felt that somewhere between 61-80% of cat breeders are actually good breeders.
| Respondents | Perceived Number of Good Breeders |
| 23% | 0-20% |
| 15% | 21-40% |
| 8% | 41-60% |
| 54% | 61-80% |
| None | 81-100% |
What constitutes a “bad” breeder?
Here are some examples that people shared:
- Keeps a dirty cattery
- Focuses on financial gain and winning
- Breeds indiscriminately and without the minimum genetic requirements
- Becomes lazy on inoculations and paperwork
- Avoids researching the breed and performing genetic testing on their lines
- Has cats in poor health – and knowingly sells them
- Overmedicates cats
- Prices their cats unfairly
- Keeps cats in cages or mistreats them
- Breeds small versions of cats on purpose
- Is unwilling to help or advise buyers or other breeders
- Has a surplus of cats
- Neglects to check out the background of potential buyers
- Lies about anything from the condition of the cats to titles and achievements
People expressed great frustration about the breeders out there running their catteries in such a manner. One of the respondents summed it up best by saying, “If you’re not going to do it right, then don’t do it at all.”
If you’ve ever had a negative experience with a breeder, please describe what happened.
There were many disappointing and scary stories. People talked of sickness, lies, hoarders, and lawsuits. A few people explained how the cats they purchased had unexpected health issues:
“She had evidence of previous ringworm, flea dirt, and roundworms.”
“Bought a stud cat and found out he was PKD-positive.”
“She had earmites, fleas, ticks, ringworm, and was very, very underweight. I paid for the meds to cure her and then it turned out she had an upper respiratory infection.”
Then there were the unfortunate cases where people were lied to. For example, these respondents encountered creative liars:
“Once a breeder sent me false pictures of a kitten to sell – from other breeders or from last year’s litters.”
“I’ve had negative experiences with a breeder who openly admitted to … hanging papers and forging signatures.”
How would you define a “backyard breeder”?
A backyard breeder goes beyond what we have defined as a bad breeder. The breeder does whatever he or she pleases, sometimes not even trying to appear reputable. Respondents described them as follows:
“Someone that pumps out kittens for profit.”
“They buy the cheapest food on the market; they do not vaccinate their cats or test them; they house as many in a small space as possible; they do not show or educate themselves whatsoever on genetics or feline husbandry.”
“A backyard breeder would be one that breeds for … inbreeding, overbreeding, no responsibility.”
“Breeding pet quality cats together and selling cheap as pets. Selling to pet stores.”
“Someone who does not register their kittens or give innoculations.”
Regardless of whether people were discussing bad breeders or backyard breeders, 75% of respondents talked about the money factor. They felt that so many breeders out there are in it to make a quick buck, above all else.
How do you think cat breeder ethics could be improved overall?
There were tons of ideas and suggestions for raising the bar.
“If people would simply follow the guidelines set forth by their organization, instead of being motivated by greed … there really is no money to be made in breeding cats. It is getting harder and harder for legitimate breeders to sell their kittens due to the strain on the economy. People have less money to spend on luxuries.”
“If buyers would become more informed before purchasing, then the bad [breeders] wouldn’t make any money and would be forced out of business.”
“[Have breeders] checked by vet inspection or animal welfare group.”
“Better mentoring by the current breeders. Current breeders should not just sell to anyone who wants to breed. They should carefully interview any new perspective breeder and make sure they are prepared, mentally and financially, to take on the challenges of breeding.”
“I think the cat fancy … would benefit from a little less mean spiritedness and more caring for one another. We need to take responsibility for the cats we produce, consider their fates, and treat people the way we want to be treated.”
The cat fancy is a work in progress, just like human beings as a whole. People have different perspectives on how things “should be” and what’s acceptable among breeders, but this questionnaire revealed much common ground. It’s clear that every person who responded is someone who wants to see healthy, happy Persians being bred. It comforts me to know that there is a large group of you out there who genuinely care about bettering the breed, rather than sitting back and saying, “Cha-ching!”
