The cat’s name is Dimples. He was bred in Australia. It is claimed that he can’t eat and breathe at the same time which I can understand. This is a brachycephalic-headed cat breed with an extremely flat face which distorts the nasal passages which negatively impacts breathing. And also, because their muzzle has disappeared completely, they have to thrust their entire face into the food bowl to get at the food. This makes for a very messy eating experience as the food can end up all over their face when feeding. It’s a disaster actually.
RELATED: Flat-faced Persian cat can’t eat conventionally because the food goes all over their face – this describes the same problem. Please take a look at the page by clicking the link.
Although it’s not been explained, I think this is why Dimples can’t eat and breathe at the same time. The food is getting into his nose, what’s left of it, thanks to extreme selective breeding.
The report is on Yahoo News!. It’s described as a “horror blunder” by the reporter. The cat would be described as an example of “torture breeding” by the German authorities.
He’s been taken to a veterinarian, Dr. Patricia Carnovale, and the vet said that it was distressing to deal with this cat and added that it “looks like it’s been cut off” in reference to the face.
She believes that people need to be educated about the flat-faced breeds namely the Persian and Exotic Shorthair but there are other breeds with faces which are flatter arguably than they should be such as the British Shorthair.
She said, “We need to educate people. Just because things look pretty or they look cute, having them appear that way may not necessarily be in the animal’s best interest”. Yes, I heartily agree but I disagree that they are pretty. This is a subjective preference but for the life of me I don’t see how people can call this cat pretty. Do you think Dimples is pretty? 🙄
Also, as is not untypical for badly bred Exotic Shorthair cats, their tongues sometimes plop out of their mouths because of the distorted anatomy. The mouth can’t keep the tongue inside the oral cavity.
We are told that he prefers to lick the gravy from his food rather than eat the chunks of wet cat food because it’s easier to do that. He’s put off eating normally. This must be a health problem.
Dimples is eight years old and he was surrendered to what appears to be a rescue named Mini Kitty Commune. The rescue organisation is trying to raise AU$3,500 to pay for a veterinarian to carry out surgery on him to allow him to breathe more normally.
I’m not sure that’s a good idea because all Exotic Shorthair cats and all contemporary Persian cats have this extreme flat-based and they will all have breathing difficulties to various extents and arguably eating difficulties as described.
And when they breathe, they can sometimes breathe with a rasping noise. I’ve heard this noise on French bulldogs in the park where I walk. I guess their owners think that it is normal but it isn’t. They, too, have similar flat-faces.
A spokesperson from the rescue said: “The poor thing has been bred so badly that it’s like he’s suffocating all day, every day. Honestly, I don’t even know what to say. This has to stop.”
What is the solution to this torture breeding!? It is for the cat associations to change their breed standards. These are guidelines which tell breeders what kind of body conformation and head shape they should create through artificial selection. It’s taken decades to produce this flat-faced pet and it will probably take about 20 years to undo the work if the cat associations changed their breed standards which they won’t.
RELATED: Flat-faced cats take longer to be rehomed than moggies after being dumped over care bills
