 Purred: Tue Jul 10, '12 11:42pm PST |
 | |  | | From what I understand about FIP, it isn't entirely understood, and kittens from any background can get it. To knowingly sell a cat with FIP is unethical, but just because a cattery (or a vet's office, or a private home) has produced a kitten who later develops FIP, it doesn't necesarily mean that that breeder/caretaker's care is lacking, although cleanliness is important for keeping cats healthy.
You know, I have been away from breeding, and Catster, for a long time, and it seems to me now that a lot of the fuss made about cat breeders is sort of irrelevant. Not in this case, obviously. But cat breeding occurs on such a minor scale compared to dog breeding, and the vast majority of pet cats have no breed whatsoever. Many breeds are owned almost exclusively by cat show enthusiasts, breeders, or regular owners who just have a yen for a certain "look." The world of cats and dogs is entirely different. The world of breed cats is quite small, and the depiction of breeders as evil (yes, this woman sounds evil, but that doesn't mean that all breeders are)seems exaggerated. As far as I can tell, there really aren't many kitten farms equivalent to puppy farms, and the average breeder is a hobby breeder who is not contributing to the cat overpopulation problem. Then again, I show with the CFA, and most of my cat show buddies are breeders--they are an intense group who dominate most of the breeds in Japan (you are not going to find some fly by night breeder selling Selkirk Rexes to a pet shop, for example). I haven't been very active on Catster lately, but I remember that when I was, I was always trying to defend breeders. Now I realize that the prejudice against breeders is (1) largely influenced by the dog breed world, and (2) based on very little actual malfeasance on the part of pedigree cat breeders. Pedigreed cats are mostly a non-problem, unlike the case of pedigreed dogs (if you are inclined to think that pedigreed animals contribute to the overpopulation problem).
That being said, this woman sounds like a bad breeder, which IS a problem, and I feel sorry for the people and cats who have been victimized by her.
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