I'm a pedigree cat breeder/exhibitor of 30 years. I shouldn't, but still feel the need to say it as 'cat breeder' for many still conjures an image of an old lady, smelling of cat pee in a home overrun with cats. OK, I'm only 8 years off of being pensionable but my home is immaculate and using your nose only, you wouldn't know there was a single cat in my home.
The problem as I see it is the massive over population of non-pedigree cats (or moggies though the word offends some) and lack of education that indoor only cats can be (by and large) perfectly happy.
You simply would not believe in 2018 the sheer level of ignorance about spaying/neutering - ie its kinder for them to have a litter first; a female cat needs to experience motherhood; my male cat will lose his dignity if his testicles are removed; I want my children to experience the wonder of birth... are just a few. Others cannot be bothered to spend sixty odd quid to neuter their cat... and so the rescue shelters, etc, struggle to continually mop up what is an out of control problem. It's lack of education. Someone in our village posted on the village Facebook group... "if anyone sees Sooty five miles down the road near the shop, please don't pick him up or worry. He likes to travel far and wide this time of year looking for females to mate".
New legislation just went through Parliament and becomes law in October this year. It seeks to licence "cat breeders" and control the sale of kittens - bear in mind this will apply to me, Sooty's owner, and to someone down the road who cannot be bothered to spay their free roaming cat who will invariably end up pregnant by 10 months old and her kittens sold by the owner on Gumtree... generally to people who have the same views on 'cat care' as the owner of the kittens' mother.
I may well need to apply for a licence (at great cost, including home inspection/veterinary inspection) once the regulations become clear. My kittens leave here at 13 weeks old, fully vaccinated, health checked, microchipped, wormed, registered and insured and go to indoor only homes. I have no objections whatsoever to being licensed and inspected. The big fail is this - only the tiny percentage of 'visible' pedigree cat breeders will be licensed; pedigree cats make up 2% of the overall cat population in the UK and the huge, huge majority which comprises the 'couldn't be bothered to spay/neuter' brigade will continue to grow.. decimating our wildlife, fouling your gardens, dead on the road by a year old or if they're lucky, they'll wind up in a no-kill shelter.
You need to start a new thread for that Well I've actually learnt quite a bit and changed some of my viewpoints, as have others, both cat owners and non-cat owners from some of the comments so I think its been a really worthwhile discussion. The name calling and arguing achieves nothing, but most of it hasn't been that to be fair.
@blameitonthedog but sounds like a really good step forward. As you say, its the responsible owners/breeders who will apply it, rather than the problem ones, but that all helps change general attitudes imo
You choose to keep cats, treat them as broodmares and sell the kittens for profit @blameitonthedog. I am shaking with rage reading your post where you try to justify yourself by making out that people like me, who have given a good home to two moggies are irresponsible.
I don't know how much longer this discussion will go on before people accept that there is no legislation for cats and there won't be in the foreseeable future. Get a watergun and skoosh them if they get in your space.
Get a watergun and skoosh them if they get in your space.
...and that's an irresponsible suggestion too. As irresponsible as the people who suggest 'getting a dog'. I'm afraid some of us have better things to do than stand on guard with a water pistol 24 hours a day...
I used to have cats. If I'd known how much killing they did, I'd never have had them, or they'd have been kept indoors.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I am sure many cat owners who read this forum are as responsible as they can be. However my first experience of a cat was a Siamese who had been bred so much her tummy was trailing on the ground. The owner stopped breeding her so she was let out to do as she wished. She spent most of her time with me poor little mite.
Another example of pedigrees and the promise of not being allowed out doesn't seem to apply to the big Bengal who thinks she can sneak into my house anytime she likes. And yes, I have no problem with turning the hose on her. It doesn't hurt.
Can't resist stepping into the firing line here! I've always been a bit doubtful about the "pedigree good, moggie bad" attitude having come across a few pedigree cats with inbred health problems. And if people like me didn't let their moggie have the occasional litter yhen where would the healthy moggies come from? I let my cat have 1 litter but then had so many friends wanting kittens that I went on to let her have another so we could keep a kitten. I did have to advertise 1 kitten and received 46 calls for him so was able to be extremely fussy a bout where he went. (Ducks beneath the parapet again)
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@blameitonthedog but sounds like a really good step forward. As you say, its the responsible owners/breeders who will apply it, rather than the problem ones, but that all helps change general attitudes imo
I don't know how much longer this discussion will go on before people accept that there is no legislation for cats and there won't be in the foreseeable future. Get a watergun and skoosh them if they get in your space.
I'm afraid some of us have better things to do than stand on guard with a water pistol 24 hours a day...
I used to have cats. If I'd known how much killing they did, I'd never have had them, or they'd have been kept indoors.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Another example of pedigrees and the promise of not being allowed out doesn't seem to apply to the big Bengal who thinks she can sneak into my house anytime she likes. And yes, I have no problem with turning the hose on her. It doesn't hurt.
(Ducks beneath the parapet again)