It could be successfully argued that there would be a lot of demand for a domestic cat who had no wish to hunt or to wander far, and who had a perfect temperament, one specifically, selectively bred to fit in with the lives of people and other pets. This new cat breed would not have any particular appearance: any coat type, eye colour, ear shape etc. would be acceptable. The only criteria would be temperament.
The point that I’m making is that there aren’t any cat breeders anywhere in the world who are currently breeding specifically for temperament and not for appearance.
And yet, you could also argue that one of the failings of the domestic cat is that he/she is not yet sufficiently domesticated to fit into modern human life in a completely successful way.
In addition, one of the prime characteristics of the domestic cat is that he likes to hunt. This characteristic creates many problems for both cat lovers and cat haters; particularly cat haters, of course.
Nearly all the arguments in online articles against the domestic cat refer to predation on wildlife, particularly native species which are always under pressure from human expansion resulting in habitat loss.
Therefore, if humans are to breed cats then they should be breeding cats that do not wish to hunt. You then add to that a temperament which makes the cat more likely to be socialised to very high degree and also more likely to get on with other pets. You would have a very marketable cat of monetary value.
As there is no justification for introducing a new cat breed, if such a domestic cat were to be bred then it would be sensible to reduce the number of cat breeds already on the market, specifically the ones which are bred with inherited health problems, the classic example of which is the flat-faced Persian.
It has always surprised me that cat breeders almost exclusively focus on appearance while temperament is a secondary objective or is almost ignored. The reverse should be the case. The domestic dog is more domesticated than the domestic cat. It seems sensible, through selective breeding, to make the domestic cat more domesticated. That does not mean that I favour cat breeding. But if we are to accept the breeding of cats, which regrettably it seems we must, then let us introduce a new cat breed which would be pure-bred, of any type or colour but with the temperament which makes him/her a perfect fit for the modern human environment.
Such a cat breed would silence detractors, ornithologists and cat-haters generally. It also would demonstrate to the world that cat lovers wish to do something about domestic cat predation.
P.S. Of course I realise that a cat’s temperament comes from both genetics and experiences. This does not detract from the argument presented here, in my view.
P.P.S you may say that we already have a domestic cat with the perfect temperament, the Ragdoll. But this is not true. Please read this.
The old tribe of feral cats here before my SIL dumped dozens of kitten’s she ‘ rescued ‘ over the years kept the ground rodents 100% under control Birds only became a viable opportunity to them when a) same sister in law released her herd of flying rats she got tired of taking care of. They are fair game in my book. b) when I put my first birdfeeders up and often misplaced them in regards to trees and other land features making it possible for the clever cats to take advantage of an easy food source. I have since fixed that and birds in my yard are seldom victims of anything but her loose dogs that kill anything for fun. Unsupervised untrained dogs often resort to their residual behaviors shared with their common ancestor the wolf. Dogs can and do go rouge I’m not going to get in to any breed debate. They need to be trained. Start messing with the natural makeup of the cat which has served mankind well and are beloved pets to millions as they are and there is disaster around the corner.