by Michael
(London, UK)
A1 Savannahs - probably the world's best cat breeders - photo by Michael
In praising and criticizing cat breeders, visitors who have first hand knowledge of dealing with breeders can assist people who are thinking of adopting a purebred cat. It might be argued that people who have bought a cat from a breeder have an obligation to tell others about the experience as it will benefit purebred cats generally.
It seems to me that there is little out there on the internet or indeed in any form of media where potential purebred cat adopters can research cat breeder reputations and make an informed choice.
There is no regulation of cat breeders by the major cat associations. There is no governing body that vets and checks cat breeder standards and grants, lets say, a license to breed.
You would have thought that when people are concerned with bringing into the world a new life that there would be some form of control. Kitten mills are controlled in some states in the USA as far as I can remember but I am thinking of the regular purebred cat breeder. There are thousands in the USA, the UK and in Europe. Yes, some states demand licenses for hobby breeders who have a certain number of cats but standard checks on cat quality are not made.
It is essential that cat breeders only work to the highest of standards. Without high standards their existence cannot be justified because over 2 million healthy cats are killed each year in the USA for want of a home!
This is in no way to criticize anyone. There is a place in the world for breeders I feel I also feel that a high level of responsibility should be shown.
I would hope that visitors can find a few minutes to make a comment about a breeder by clicking on the link below. If some data is acquired in this way, I will make a list of cat breeders in the form of a performance table.
Over to you.........lets start praising and criticising cat breeders - but politely please and no defamatory remarks..:)
Update 8th Nov. 2010:
Regrettably (and perhaps predictably) some people have an uncontrollable urge to go too far when commenting and throw mud rather than sticking to hard facts or giving their considered opinion. Opinions can be given but the sentence should begin.."In my opinion.." Unsubstantiated fact should be an opinion or an allegation..."I allege" or "It is alleged" etc.
Comments that are badly drafted (e.g. potentially defamatory) will be edited or deleted but I don't want to get involved in this. It takes up unnecessary time. Please make comments - I love them. But make them moderate and reasonable. Hold back on the heavy stuff as you will simply get an even heavier response from the person you are criticising. Do you want that? Are you prepared to deal with that?
Best

Praising and Criticising Cat Breeders to PoC Forum