Purebred cat rescue

Breed Specific purebred cat rescue operations - lists. There will be some overlap on the following pages where you'll see breed specific operations. Better an overlap than an ommission. {go to top of page}

Savannah cat rescue
Siamese cat rescue
Bengal cat rescue
Persian cat rescue (USA)
Persian cat rescue (UK)
Norwegian Forest Cat rescue
Abyssinian cat rescue
Maine Coon cat rescue

Why Purebred rescue exists {go to top of page}

It is sometimes hard for people outside the cat fancy to understand how purebred cats can end up as purebred cat rescue cases. Well, purebred or not they are still cats, the same as the rest. In fact, they are probably more likely to present problems to "buyers" especially the wildcat hybrids. Lets take the Bengal cat, a very popular cat, in the top 5 of popularity in the USA, I'd say.

There are a lot of Bengal cat breeders. The Bengal has pros and cons. She is a wildcat hybrid (exotic). Their behavior is not quite typical of the classic mixed breed cat. They are also bred to type. Purebred cat breeders sometimes have to (in effect) inbreed to produce a cat with a good typey appearance. You get a great looking cat but there is a downside. The defective genes are more likely to make themslves known in defects such as heart disease.

Similar issues exist for all purebred cats. Breeding cats has a brutal element to it. We don't hear too much about the failures and "culling" of "defective" cats. Cats that carry a gene that produces an undesired appearance, for example. In the light of the potential difficulties in adopting a purebred cat (and the vast majority of purebred cats will be fantastic) breeders really need to provide a lifetime of aftercare. After all we are selling a living creature that we decided to bring into the world. But here lies the problem.

A rescue cat; not a purebred cat rescue but as I said
they are all equal - photo is © sneakerdog

Cat breeding is not highly profitable. Most breeders are small, hobby type breeders who are not really in it for real profit, big bucks. Some, though, are more concerned about profit. When you mix profit and cat breeding you can get a problem and potential irresponsibility.

The buck starts and stops with the breeder. She decides to create the cat. She decides to whom she should sell. She controls the breeding standards for her cattery. She provides the after care (or not). Where profit takes precedence over care the breeder will pass the buck of a problem cat (ill or behavioral problems) to the "buyer". The buyer will be sometimes be unable or unwilling to cope.

The purebred cat rescue center has then to step in to clear up the problem. It is the breeder who should have done this.

Bottom line? We are producing a living, loving creature. A fine vulnerable creature. If we do this we must take full responsibilty for the life of the cat.

Once "sold" the cat is the responsibility of the new keeper for the life of the cat, for better or worse. If there is a problem that falls to the cat breeder to resolve then resolve it she must. If the buyer cannot truly commit to a life time of care for their cat she/he should walk away. Perhaps some "buyers" are feeding the breeding market. If all the buyers were always totally responsible there would be less buyers and therefore less cats bred. Then there would be less feral cats too (although the breeding of purebred cats is not the root cause of the feral cat problem in the USA).

I have always thought that the cat associations should show more guidance and leadership on the issue of cat breeding and cat care. They have the chance to dictate terms and improve the lives of cats and control breeders more effectively. It seems to me that this doesn't happen. Their focus is on the breed standard and managing shows. The more important issues are wider and deeper.

I seems that the rescue centers know the irresponsible cat breeders but are unable to do much if anything about it. They silently pick up the pieces.

This is the story about this rescue kitten a non-purebred cat. The photograph is taken by a well known and talented Flickr photographer whose photographs I have published a lot on this sit. She also rescues cats. She has a connection with or works in cat rescue. This cat is one of 6 offspring of a feral cat that fofurafelinas new about and saw pregnant and then not pregnant. Having seen this cat's mother no longer pregnant she tracked down the litter and was able to get assistance from a stranger to climb a fence and capture all 6. They are now (or were) in her home with the mother. This was in about November 2007.

How big is the problem of irresponsible cat breeding? I don't know but some say it is a big problem and if that is the case organizations such as PETA and HSUS in the States have a right to criticize cat breeding. Cat breeders shouldn't be fighting these organizations but working together to find a compromise position that benefits the cats. Everything that is done is done for the cats. This is where commerce and domestic cats don't mix really. It is interesting to think that HSUS and PETA are convinced that what they do they do for the benefit of animals. Cat breeders think the same. But the two are almost at war. Who is right?

Apparently the cat associations and societies have rules of ethics and guidance for breeders. These should be enforced against irresponsible breeders. I am not saying cat breeders are irresponsible - just some are and for the sake of the good ones the poor ones, big or small, should be weeded out.

One problem is cat health. If the cat becomes ill the new keeper might seek help from the breeder who sold the cat. It should be apparent from the illness as to whether it is the breeder's responsibility to deal with it and the contract of sale should reflect this. The breeder should provide a contract that specifies that she takes care of certain illnessses that occur within a certain time frame as they would be illnesses that could only occur when the cat was in the care of the breeder.

A breeder may not take an ill cat back for fear of infecting cats in her care. She should have facilities to deal with an ill cat in any case as part of the breeding program, I would have thought, and if not she should have facilities to deal with returned and ill cats. This should be in the contract.

The good and responsible breeders are the victims of the bad ones. Perhaps there is a need for a ranking system, a feedback system, which is made public. Perhaps there should be a poll or league table as to who the good and bad are.

Note: In this article I have adopted "she" as a fictional cat breeder. This is because a lot of cat breeders are women but this prefix refers to both sexes.