Lola
Proud mother of- the Fab Four!
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 | | Purred: Sat Sep 6, '08 6:32am PST |  | |  | | >"I have been wondering why, everyone trys to choose a really high pricey Cat? When you can get a cat out of a shelter.. Cats, are needing homes to, my family helps alot of people in "Choosing the Right Dog", but thats a dog, sometimes you gotta get a sertian breed of dog for something you wanna do. But, a cat, I'm not trying to say that I don't like cats, cause I love them. But couldn't you just get one out of the shelter that needs a home, instead of buying one that could stay with the breeder."
(1) You seem concerned about price. Some people find it worth it to pay for a purebred cat, because they like its look and personality traits, or because, on the whole, a cat from a decent cattery is more likely to be physically and emotionally healthy than a rescue cat. (Notice that I qualified this with "decent" cattery and "more likely.") I have both rescues and purebred cats, and my most recent rescue has cost me almost as much money in medical bills as the price of each of my purebreds. He's also got some incurable health problems stemming from lack of medical care when he was a kitten that will continue to cost money.)
(2) I find it curious that many people think that wanting/owning a certain breed of dog is acceptable, but that all cats should be mutts adopted from shelters. As I wrote above, I love both, but I do think that people should be able to choose, say, a Siamese, the same way a dog person would choose a Labrador. Yes, there are breed cats in shelters, but purebred cats are rare.
(3) Moggies are healthier than purebreds. Yes, cattery cats often have health problems. Mine came to me complete with roundworms and a tendency toward hyperplastic gingiva. However, from what I've read on Catster, and from my own experience with rescued ferals, many shelter cats are/have been sick (herpes, calicivirus, mites, fleas, not to mention FIV and FeLV). Moggies are probably, in general, stronger genetically than purebred cats, due to natural selection, but that doesn't mean that all cattery cats have inbred health problems. In fact, conscientious breeders are constantly trying to improve the health of the cats they breed.
(4) "But couldn't you just get one out of the shelter that needs a home, instead of buying one that could stay with the breeder." Well, cats who come from breeders also deserve homes. The worst nightmare for a breeder is not to be able to sell his cats--not so much because he loses money as because the chances of finding a home for a kitten decrease the older it gets, and sometimes a breeder with perfectly fine cats finds himself unable to find homes for them. Hobby breeders usually can only manage between 10-20 cats at one time; the last thing they want is a cat that they can't find a home for. My Harvey was almost six months old when I adopted him from his breeder, and there was certainly nothing wrong with him that caused him not to find an owner--it was just karma. He's now a prize-winning cat on the show circuit.
(5) One could ask the same kinds of questions about almost anything. Why buy a big, expensive gas-guzzling car when you could buy a cheaper, more environmentally-friendly one? Why do so many people think their DNA is so special that it must be replicated, when they could save the lives of children who need to be adopted? When you carry the argument to its extreme, it gets ridiculous.
(6) Although this is not part of the original post, I continue to be intrigued and amused by people on Catster constantly asking, "What breed is my cat?" It is estimated that only around 2-3% of all cats in the U.S. are purebred cats, i.e. cats with a recognizable breed. People seem to long to be able to say that their cat is a certain breed, yet at the same time are quick to criticize breeders and the acquisition of cats through any process but rescue. Without breeders, there would be no purebred cats. Or is this a manifestation of the American love of getting a bargain, something for nothing--"Hey, I went to the Humane Society and got a Birman!" Which brings us back to my original comment--that I am struck by how concerned you seem to be about the fact that purebred cats cost money. Any cat costs money, if you care for it properly, especially when it comes to food and medical bills. |  |  | |  |
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