The only reason why domestic cats are selectively bred is to make attractive cats which sell at the maximum price and which win cat shows because they meet the guidelines of the breed standard. That pretty much sums it up … Continue reading →
My belief is that the whole purpose of cat breeding is to selectively breed cats which have as near as possible a perfect appearance according to the breed standard and in order to achieve this the breeder has to ensure … Continue reading →
It is believed that white tigers are white because of the result of a genetic mutation which occurred about 120 years ago causing a pair of recessive genes to signal the coat to be chalk-white, the eyes ice-blue and the … Continue reading →
It is instructional to remind ourselves what a badly bred purebred cat looks like. Here we have an Exotic Shorthair, the shorthaired version of the Persian. The facial anatomy has been distorted by poor selective breeding. The eyes bulge and … Continue reading →
A study lead by a conservation biologist at the Zoological Society of London, Simon Dures, has produced compelling but not conclusive evidence that sport hunting of African lions has made them physically less strong than they were 100 years ago … Continue reading →
Instagram have removed Michael Rapaport’s video commentary on Wilfred the inbred Persian and he is livid. Wilfred has taken the internet by storm. Strange looking cats do. But there is a moral dimension which Rapaport missed. Rapaport, in his effing … Continue reading →
According to a well-respected study the most inbred cat breeds are Burmese, Havana Brown, Singapura and Sokoke. These cat breeds have the lowest heterozygosity values and the highest coefficient of inbreeding (COI) values. At the second-tier level in terms of … Continue reading →
Hybrid vigor (vigour) is also called heterosis. When you introduce fresh genes into a breeding program the offspring may benefit from hybrid vigor. The offspring are healthier and sometimes larger.
Continue reading →Cat inbreeding causes what is described as “inbreeding depression” which is another term for general weakness. Robinson’s Genetics for Breeders and Veterinarians provides a list of signs of inbreeding depression which are as follows: There may be a decline in … Continue reading →
The white lion cub and the white tiger cub are often the major attractions at zoos. You’ll have to go to a zoo to see one because they don’t occur in the wild anymore. They occur at zoos such as … Continue reading →
