Animal Care, how important is the bread in selecting a cat?
Rachieeee asked:
what it is, is that i am doing a course about animal care and the cat section doesn’t leave much information, i have looked online and cant find much Information to help me :(, i need to know what problems cats ave for example white cats are prone to sunburn. and that’s about all i know about cats problems. if a purebred or a ordinary cat is better to select ??
i hope someone can help me
Thanks
xxxxx
thank you all so much this has helped me sooo much you wouldnt believe. getting peoples different views as gave me a better understanding, thanks again even tho my 1st comment was a sarcastic one after me not realising i rote bread rather than breed haha
Comments (8)
Bread, while important for sandwich making, isn’t important in selecting a cat at all. Most cats won’t eat bread.
An ordinary cat is a mix (sometimes called a mutt), and a purbred is a specific type of cat.
The more exotic, the more costly, not only to purchase, but to also take care of.
As for main care, they all need food, shelter, grooming, waste management, toys for boredom, and vaccinations.
Those are esential whether it is a purebred or not.
And cats don’t sunburn unless they are the hairless cat.
Depends what sort of cat you want. Getting a pedigree means you have more of an idea of temperment and stuff (personally I have Burmese – who are completely bonkers and v friendly who I would recommend if you are going to get a pedigree) but a rescue cat would be the best thing to do. If you’re certain you want a kitten then it might be more difficult to find one but there are some rescue pedigrees out there. Moggies are just as fun and as cute as pedigrees, except they tend to be cheaper and remember no to cats are exactly the same.
Hope it helped
It depends.
The family history of the cat is important in finding diseases and other problems that are genetic.
The history of the breed itself, was it bred to just look pretty or does it have a job (like killing mice). What disease and other problems are the breeds prone to.
What is the owner willing to do grooming wise, including dental work.
How old does the breed normally get.
How much money are you willing to spend.
Most breeders make you sign a contract that you can’t fix your cat because they want to breed them later.
If you get it from a rescue they may be already vaccinated and fixed.
Selecting a cat to care for and love? The BREED is not important. People shouldn’t pick cats because of their colors or breeds or genders. Too many cats get put to sleep because of that.
Lol. Cat Bread. Sorry, the typo just made me giggle.
Okay, there is a TON of information about how purebred cats are horrible to choose over a Moggie, which is a mutt. =)
I don’t even know where to start!
Okay, well, first off, we’ll cover the non-health related issue:
Which would be cost. Purebreds are much costlier to ‘adopt’ (the real term is ‘purchase’). The fees to buy these fancy cats are through the roof.
Not to mention veterinary bills, which are so much more costly than that of a regular domestic cat.
Okay- leading into the surplus of medical deficiencies that purebred cats have to offer.
1) Pure-Bred cats are very prone to immunodeficiency issues. Their immune systems are not properly developed/protected. They are much more susceptible to viruses, infections, diseases, cancers, heart/lung issues, and digestive problems. Okay, it’s kind of hard to explain why…but I’ll do my best!
When you breed one type of cat to another of the same type, you can only get the immunities of that one breed, over and over and over.
But If you cross-breed one type to a different type, then the kitten will recieve the immunities from BOTH breeds, as opposed to just the one. Over time, the ‘moggies’ have inherited a ton of different genes, therefore, their immune systems are strong and tough, and keep them healthier.
To better explain this- it’s like…say the Himalayans are immune to fleas. (No, it’s not true, but just go with it). When you breed a Himmie to another Himmie, all the kitten can be immune to are fleas.
But say a Persian is immune to…robots…
When you breed the Himmie with the Persian, the kitten will be immune to fleas AND robots.
Does that make sense? (Besides the part about the robots, lol)
2) Yeah, white cats are prone to sunburn, but domestic cats should be kept indoors anyways. And also, white cats aren’t always pure bred.
(Though I think you were jsut using that as an example)
3) Pure-bred cats have tempers! They have a much greater chance of having severe behavioral issues, including things like biting, scratching, aggression, territory-marking, and overall unfriendliness.
With a moggie/domestic cat, those tendencies are ‘bred-out’ of the cat’s genes, and for the most part, all you have is a sweet little buddy.
4) With a domestic cat, the health issues are also less, because of the fact that in-breeding (breeding among cats of the same litter) is very unlikely. With purebreds being only 3% of the whole world’s population of cats, there is a greater chance that the inbred issue will pop up. This causes genetic mutations, mega immunodeficiency problems, and development problems. And that’s just the ones who come out alive. Most in-bred kittens are stillborn (meaning the pregnant cat gives birth to already deceased kittens.)
Ah. Sorry, I can’t type any more..haha. I’m at work, and my 15 minute break is over…hopefully someone else can come round and help you out!
Well, there are a few things I can tell you…don’t know if it will be what you’re looking for!! The breed is very important if you’re looking for certain characteristics- the same as it is for dogs. There are more docile cat breeds, such as Ragdolls and Persians-known for their more laid back nature, cats with more spunk & hunting instinct, like Main Coons, and cats who are more vocal (meow a lot!) like Siamese. There’s tons more breeds, but those are ones I can think of off the top of my head.
As far as your average house cat goes, they are usually what’s referred to as a “domestic cat”. They can be long haired, short haired and medium haired (referring to the length). The colors also have a wide range- they can be striped, solid, Calico, Tortoise Shell (Tortie), Tabby, Seal point, Himalayen, Blue…etc. I’m pretty sure calico cats are only female and the majority of Tabby cats (orange & white) are male.
When selecting a cat that’s not from a breeder, there are a few important things to know & ask about.
1. Meet the parents!!! The mother & father will tell a lot about the future personality of their kittens.
2. Socialization!!! Has the kitten been handled daily? has it been around several different people and/or animals? Kids? It’s litter-mates? Is it at least 8-12 weeks old? All of those things are EXTREMELY important to a cat’s development. If they are isolated, for example, the kitten will turn out more skiddish & possibly hostile. Also, if they don’t get enough time with their mother & litter-mates, they will not learn the basic essentials of being a cat…this can be bad news. They need to learn boundaries, skills, grooming, defensiveness, and so on. They learn those things VERY young- from about 2-8 weeks old.
Bottom line~ whether buying from a breeder or adopting elswhere, do your research. Make sure to do the responsible thing & have them neutered or spayed (so they can’t make babies) and arrange for them to have all of their vaccinations.
I hope some of that helped. Have a good one & take care!!
I think breed can be a guide. For instance if you want a lively, chatty, into everything type of cat you might want to go for one of the oriental breeds. If you want something to look pretty and fuss and groom you might do better with a Persian or Ragdoll. Each of these also have drawbacks: oriental types can be too much for some people, and longhairs need grooming…
Here’s a place to start on health issues for purebreds:
Really any kitten is a gamble to a certain extent. Not all purebreds fit the breed profile. For example the one Ragdoll I look after is actually quite shy and doesn’t like being picked up (though he does relax nicely on the rare occasion he lets himself get picked up!)
It’s much easier to get an idea of an adult cat’s temperament: one reason why adopting from a shelter can be a good idea!
And things that are not actually breed related are also important to consider: long hair or short hair for instance (due to the combing needed by many longhairs). White cats need suncream (including cats with white ears…), and white cats can also be deaf, so needing special care.
When selecting a cat at a shelter it’s probably a good sign if it will take bread from your fingers *grin*