I often get enquiries from people
wanting to breed Ragdolls, so have put up this page to give
some insight as to what it actually involves. Most people are
of the idea that breeding cats is an easy way to make money,
however this is simply not the case, as any quality breeder
can tell you. There are many factors to consider BEFORE
purchasing breeding cats.
The cat breeding community is one
of considerable ethics, maintaining awareness that we are
bringing into the world live little souls, and also being
aware of the massive problem of unwanted cats in pounds. The
ultimate reason for becoming a breeder should only be for the
betterment of the chosen breed. Anyone doing the wrong thing
by their cats or the breed in general, comes quickly to the
notice of registered breeders and they are swiftly denounced
through internet chat groups.The internet provides a wonderful
highway for this sort of thing and chat rooms are full of
conversations naming back-yard breeders who are doing the
wrong thing by their animals and their breed. And there are
always moves to get these back-yard breeders shut down.
Anyone thinking of breeding
needs to do thorough research BEFORE they purchase cats
- because they will get burnt and may lose a lot of money into
the bargain! Most reputable breeders will not sell their
animals to new unknown breeders, to protect the integrity and
standard of their breed. However, there are unethical people
who will - to make a buck - sell you cats of pedigree but of
dubious quality and health status, which may cause heartache
down the track. These animals should never be bred from. Only
top quality cats should be bred from, and then only by a
breeder with a basic understanding of genetics and their breed
standard.
My main piece of
advice if you go ahead, is please be very, very
careful about what cats you buy, and I can't stress this
enough. I have been burnt badly as have many other
new breeders, and breeding cat prices are certainly not
cheap. Buy only from a registered breeder who shows their
cats and does well, and has been breeding for a good length
of time. There are backyard breeders out there who will sell
you animals for thousands of dollars, assuring you they are
show quality, and in perfect health etc etc etc, and
down the track you may get people who bought kittens off you
two years ago and their much loved kittens have died from a
genetic disease, with huge vet expenses. This has ruined
breeders before, can you imagine what that must be like? Get
any new cats health screened before you
bring them onto your property. And make sure they are of
excellent quality.
There are many thing to consider, as breeding
cats absolutely takes over your life. Cattery visits are wanted by people thinking of kittens and the kitten
buyers don't just appear, buy a kitten and walk out the door never to be seen
again; they call with problems, wanting advice and giving
updates all the time too. Some want to come and visit the
kitten they have purchased at two weeks old - every week until
they pick it up at 12 weeks. They
may even want you to take their kitten or cat back for some
reason and you are ethically bound to do so. There are kitten buyer
enquiries and visits at all hours, emergency vet trips, litter
trays all over the house, the simply daily maintenance of a
cattery.
Kittening requires the breeders presence, even if it
starts at 2.00am and even if you had a dinner out or a school
performance to attend. And you need to remember that any
kittens you sell are being purchased for good money by people
relying on you to provide them with a healthy family member
for up to 20 years. What will you do if you cannot sell your
excess kittens?
Here are some insightful links which
give information on some of what breeding
entails.
Links regarding breeding cats:
Where the Money You Pay for a Kitten
Goes
Difference between Reputable Breeder and kitten
producer
Breeding from your
queen
Keeping a stud cat
And below, after a discussion on an
internet group about new breeders expecting to make money, I
have saved some current breeders thoughts and advice here for
you to read. Please do look through them.
******************************************
...New breeders tend to
idealise breeding: they have visions of cute perfect litters, and
happy wonderful people paying $$$ for each one.
Established
breeders know that unusually, but not rarely, something goes wrong:
a stud gets an infected bite, a kitten dies, a queen won't have
anything to do with any other cat, a kitten dies suddenly after
their shot, a prospective client has to be turned away. Will they
keep the cat warm, inside, loved? Do they have children who will be
supervised with the kitten who is still, at 12 weeks a new
baby?
I personally feel quite stressed as each kitten is placed -
I feel such a responsibility for every feeling it might feel,
especially on that first confusing day or so in their new
homes.
If you bring life - then you have to face death. And death
isn't pretty. And expense far outweighing any income - and that's
difficult and confronting at times too. In the end we decide to take
the highs for the lows and make the lows as infrequent as our
experience allows.
I'd stress the death aspect out of proportion
to break through the rose-coloured glasses of the 'kittymoon' she's
probably in.
Maureen Tully
...I honestly believe that
novice breeders should do it for a few years before they ever
consider having their own stud and all the responsibility that comes
with an entire male. Many newbies are wanting to start with Ragdolls
because of the rather high price of pets in that breed and they see
this as a huge money making sideline. Very sad for the cats who
don't live up to their expectations.
I am sure another novice
breeder will provide her with what she wants for around $4000 hence
it continues on.......
caesar.... $500-$1000
intrusuception of
kitten $1000
ringworm.... start at about $1000 to treat all... do
tell her what happens if ringworm gets into the
house!!!
vaccinations for a litter
flea treatment
dead
kittens
weanling diarrhea
cat flu and carriers
FIP
FeLv
& FIV
food bills
cat minding if hols are wanted about $20
per day per cat
neighbours and noisy studs
council regulations
and by-laws
cleaning costs
etc etc etc.
Tell her to wait
until kids are at school....
Valerie Cashman
...AND the fact that an
out of hours caesar can cost $1000 and the kittens may not make it.
Could be completely 'dead' money. That she has to be aware of the
fact that she's taking on a hobby which will cost her big bikkies -
is she prepared to pay out with no financial rewards?
(Fibrecycle
bill for 3 cats pw = $10 or so a week.... food bill for 3 cats
pw.... cat litter removal costs... illness and treatment
(unanticipated).... $5000 at least (?) for a decent cattery...as she
is into Ragdolls, HCM scanning for all foundation cats and others...
etc, etc....)
Lesley Morgan Blythe
...Or not pregnant!
Look at
our "Tart", who finally seems she might be returning to normal
following weeks of hyperactive behaviour after her repair surgery
when the internal sutures, despite extra twists in the knotting,
slipped undone requiring emergency AH attention - total bill:
$442.64. Lower than recommended fees because our vet kindly reduced
his cost because we'd had the huge account for Fatso a few days
before, and the second vet surgery - $192.64 - was only AH consult
and a few hours hospitalisation (with cleaning, bandaging,
antibiotic injection and collar). Repair surgery and follow-up was
free. Still cost us $442.64 to end a cat's breeding career after
only a couple of litters. As we bred Tart, the "purchase price" was
purchase price and cost of keep for a stud that sired maybe 30
kittens and lived past 15 years, and cost of keep for a queen that
produced about a dozen kittens before being desexed at 5 and joining
the ever growing ranks of our cats that have changed career
direction from breeding queen to bed cat - and we stopped working
out our losses back in the late 80s: over $3000 loss, plus cost of
showing, that year.
Nell
...Very early in my breeding
life I decided I would work out how just how much profit I made out
of my cats and wrote down for a year all the costs of vets, litter,
showing etc and incoming of kitten sales etc. For some very strange
reason I didn't write down food costs and so I only LOST a bit over
$2000.00 for the year. I decided that for the future I didn't want
to know how much it was costing me and I have never done it again,
but I do have a little giggle when people say to me that I must make
lots of money from my cats.
Marion Cooper
...I kept one credit card for
the costs only eg, vet bills, food, litter etc. After two months of
seeing the monthly tallies I gave that away and just combined it in
with my living expenses!
When people say they think I am making
money I tell them that the vet makes money, not
me!
Carol
...I did a few quick
calculations on money spent before a kitten goes to it's new
home...
2 x vaccinations... $70.00
microchip...
$60.00
desexing... $100.00 approx
worming x 3 $15.00
food
for 6 weeks $42.00 approx
So for 1 kitten alone I am already up
for $287.. That of course if nothing goes wrong.....and I forgot to
add litter...
Jeepers... now I have even scared
myself!!!!!!!
Mirex
Devons
...Not to
mention:
the wee hours that girls decide to give
birth,
assisting the birth if necessary,
breaking the birth
sac if necessary,
cutting cords,
getting bubs to take that
first breath,
helping to clear the kittens throat of fluids so it
can breath,
breach births,
and still-borns
most of which is
yukky stuff that would turn most people off the idea.
Also
knowing how long it can take between kittens so you know if a trip
to the vet is urgently necessary.
Girls who don't produce milk
meaning hand-feeding at odd hours but regular intervals,
And
girls who are not natural mums who reject bubs.
I suppose you
could just about write a book on this subject.
Bob
Campbell
....... and how dirty
and smelly, and how expensive, and what hard work at times, and how
she will never be able to go away on holidays again, and how scary
when the first litters are born, and how may things can go wrong
with cats, and how upsetting when a baby dies. Perhaps give her some
of the recent posts about Ringworm to read because of the hard
work and expense, and the risk that her baby may get
it!
Maureen
...hehehe....and don't
forget to tell her how it will change her life forever. The politics
will nearly destroy her at times, not to mention if she gets benched
next to the wrong person at a show who makes her life a misery. The
competition of showing will screw with her brain and she will
eventually forget why she began the hobby in the first place...the
cat of course!
Plus she will be all-consumed with chat lists and
not able to drag herself from the computer except to feed cats and
birth kittens. The gossip will whirl around in her head and give her
nightmares lest it be aimed at her one day. She will either have a
nervous breakdown and quit or get a bitch attitude and be more
assertive.....LOL.....or join a committee.
Then there's the joy
of being tarred with the same brush as other less scrupulous
stinking breeders who have 24/7 ringworm and constant other health
problems in their cattery......
......are we there yet??
Then
again she might make some great friends, get a bit of a giggle at
the eccentrics of some fellow breeders, enjoy some fabulous cat
companions, meet some wacky judges and get to travel to some really
neat places!...it isn't all bad.
Karen Lawler
...Great topic, I am
loving reading all the replies !
I wont go back over all the
pro's and con's of breeding cats and how much money we DON'T make
but I will make this comment, breeding cats is hard work if you do
it the right way, combine that work with small children ( mine are 5
& 3 ) and some days are mad here.
Just trying to combine
dropping kids off at kinder etc. when you are in the middle of a
girl kittening or waiting for a girl to have her babies is hard,
time splitting becomes an art.
Tracy Appleby
