Cat Behaviour and Inbreeding

Cat Behaviour and Inbreeding

by Rudolph.A.Furtado
(Mumbai, India)

Kitten

Kitten "Matata" and dam "Matahari" lazying in the house.

My cats "Matahari" and her kitten love sleeping and lazying on the chairs, bed or table for most of the day. Queen cat "Matahari" is now 2 1/2 years old while her kitten is 8 months. One thing I have observed is that cats love companionship of their own kind, especially if kept in pairs.

Prior to littering kittens, "Matahari" was a restless cat and would also "Meoow" loudly when in "heat". After delivery of the kittens and now with the company of one of her own kittens she has become aloof and less restless. Some active time is spent with the two cats chasing each other around the house, otherwise they are absolutely at peace with each other even eating from the same plate.

Agreed, later on there would be "IN-BREEDING" and if so, is it harmful for the progeny? I have read that most breeders do breed the best of their kittens back to either the dam or sire for preserving the 'Breed Profile" as required in "Cat Shows". Require advice on the same.

Rudolph

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Cat Behaviour and Inbreeding

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Dec 05, 2009 Cat behaviour and inbreeding.
by: Rudolph.A.Furtado

Thanks a lot for the educative information on "Inbreeding" in cats. My cats "Matahari" and "Matata" are doll-faced Persian cats and true to the breed standard of the "Traditional Persian cat(Doll-Faced Persian)".They do not possess "Cat Pedigree Certificats" as "Cat Shows" are non-existent in India,just kept as expensive pets at home unlike dogs which do have "Dog shows" and "Pedigree dog certificates"."Cat Fanciers" and "Cat Breeding" is still in its infancy in India compared to Country's having "cat shows" and a "Cat breeding industry" akin to "Pedigree dogs".Kitten"Matata" is definitely of excellent pedigree as certificates are not the only means of judging, true to the "traditional Doll-Faced Persian" profile and robust in health.


Dec 04, 2009 I'll chime in too!
by: Michael

For what it is worth I'll chime in too! I don't like the idea of inbreeding. Its purpose is solely to fix an attractive appearance trait. It is unnatural.

In the wild, male wildcats roam (new window) ensuring more healthy genetics and therefore a better chance of survival.

The problems of inbreeding of captive tigers both white and orange (tiger farms) is well known.

And there are many examples of isolated island habitats causing inbreeding. Two cases come right to mind, the Florida Puma or Cougar and the Siberian tiger. There are many others.

On the domestic front the GCCF (the premier cat association in the UK are considering issuing fresh guidelines to breed less for appearance and more for health along the lines of the Kennel Club (the No.1 dog association).

In short I think the concept of inbreeding for appearance has had its day (almost) and a more considerate approach (from the cat's perspective) is commencing, slowly, to focus on health and personality, with appearance coming second rather than the first priority.

I talk about the genetic diversity of cat breeds on this part of a page on cat genetics.

You will see that the Singapura and the American Burmese cats are the most inbred.

Thanks for the article, Rudolph. Of course these are only my views. There are many opinions on this subject.


Dec 04, 2009 Inbreeding
by: Mary H

Hi Rudolf!

Beautiful pair of cats you have there 🙂
I thought I'd chime in here, too, as we have many feral cats dropped at our farm and, though we try to catch and fix all some we cannot catch and they breed; father to daughter etc.. In our case they are all red tabbys and flame points that result from the cross of the one female we have yet to catch and the wiley Tom! The kittens are large, beautiful and healthy, easy to place in homes with all the kids here for lessons. I feel guilty for adding to the overpopulation problem, but we didn't cross them on purpose.
I'm sure there is a wealth of information on the internet about in-breeding for improving the breed etc... that said, please be sure you can place all resulting kittens in good homes before you actually try it 🙂


Dec 04, 2009 Inbreeding
by: Lisa James

Rudolph,

Yes, the behavior you describe about an in heat queen is normal, & they do normally chill out after that, especially if they have feline company to do what I call "cat stuff" with. However, since you have NO idea of her pedigree, or the pedigree of the male you bred her to, you have NO idea of what the genetic health is of either cat. Without being armed with that knowledge, there is NO way that I would recommend that you breed the son to his mother. You are doubling up on gene pairs that you don't have a clue about. They could easily be hiding undesirable recessive traits that could spell a death sentence for the kittens. Quite honestly, I would spay the mother, neuter the son, & search out a breeder in your half of the world that has a pedigreed program, even if it means paying a fair amount of money for the cats, & paying the import fees to do so. That way you KNOW that what you are starting with is correct in type, bred to the written standard, and genetically sound.


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  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. Saturday(22/8/2020) DEMISE OF ICONIC CAT MATAHARI, A CATALYST IN FORMATION OF CAT CLUBS IN INDIA :- Its with deep sadness that i Rudolph Andrew Furtado announce the death of my 13 years old non-human companion “Queen Cat Matahari” .She expired today morning at approx 0800 hrs after suddenly taking ill yesterday morning with the most probable cause being cancer combined with “Old age”.In human terms she was 68 + years old.She died peacefully surrounded by her human family and with her 11 year old kitten now “Tomcat Matata” keeping a vigil over her. 13 years + is a long lifespan and she filled my life with “Cat humour” and entertainment besides being the inspiration role model for creating “Cat Clubs” as well as a catalyst in formation of India’s first “Cat Show”.Now there is one less member in my household but the memories will live on.The image of her sitting on the window gallery ledge for the last 12 years will be missed by one and all.To quote Lord Alfred Tennyson , quote, “Its better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”.She was buried at iconic “PRABHADEVI BEACH” which is the sea facing graveyard of my previous two dog’s “Blondie” and “Lucky” as well as cat “Trixie”.Thanks to fisherman Shri Mahadeo for digging the grave at a time when the “Coronavirus Pandemic” is creating havoc and a scare among us all humans.Yes, the SEA always beckons the living as well as the dead . R.I.P “Matahari”.

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