Robinsons Genetics

I use Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders & Veterinarians (4th Ed). I know a bit about it. It is a book that is frequently referred to within the cat fancy when talking about cat genetics.

It is a compact book. My first and overriding impression is that the layout of the book could, I suggest, (with respect) be improved. I just think that the editors had problems getting it all into a nice logical order. Anyway, I don't think it is set out in a particularly logical order.

Secondly, if one were to be critical then it could be argued that it is dull. Here is an opportunity to use color and diagrams to explain an extremely complex area of cat breeding that is still, it seems to me, work in progress. In other words there are still areas where there is a lack of full understanding, which makes things less clear sometimes. An example of using color diagrams to got effect can be found in the excellent book, Legacy of the Cat, which covers cat genetics but less completely.

In addition to diagrams, photographs of cats etc. might have assisted and brightened up the text. All that said the book is still the definitive work on cat genetics. It covers a wide range of issues including basic genetics (principles of heredity), cat coat genetics, breeding systems and practices, inbreeding, coat color, the breeds and defective genes causing inherited diseases. I find I use parts of the book only and for reasons of layout sometimes find it hard to find stuff.

I find this book useful and there are additional useful sections such as the dates of creation of the cat breeds, that I found helpful. It is also good to confirm what one reads on the internet. Not everything on the internet is correct and lots of it is simply "incestuous" (meaning copied from one site to the next ever more distorted and watered down). This book keeps us on the straight and narrow path of accuracy.

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Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians