The whole “purebred” thing always seems weird to me, “purebred” royal families aren’t pretty but full of genetic defects, why should it be an better with cats or dogs.
Nearly every cat I ever had was once a stray and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.
You don’t to have a pet cat
The cat chooses you as their pet
I was at cat lounge/rescue/adoption place in my area recently (not to adopt, just to pet the cats) and one of the cats, a maybe ~7mo female tabby with a slightly fucked up ear named Maggie, after spending most of the time I was there hiding in a corner, decided she liked me, came up to me, sat down on my lap, and refused to budge. One of the staff members came up to say “hey man you’re at your time limit, but I can see you’re in a situation here so just… whenever is chill”
Honestly it’s always something magical when a cat decides ah yes you are my human. It’s like the dark souls version of getting a dog. And thusly cats in a way are the peak of loyalty because no one else can win a cats favor.
Perchance these competitions should have a points deducted by the animals quality of life. Of the poor thing has a hard time breathing -10 points idk
Norway is doing something about it:
The court ruled that the breeding of brachycephalic (flat-faced) dogs is cruel and results in man-made health problems, and is in violation of Norway’s Animal Welfare Act.
aren’t pretty but full of genetic defects
Nature despises purity.
The concept of breed purity is completely artificial
Hmm two possible reasons come to mind. First, purebred in terms of cats and dogs not necessarily meaning genetic defects. Second, having a defined breed gives the judges something to rate against.
I once was looking to get a cat and found the goofiest looking idiot on Craigslist. Turns out, it was a purebred Exotic Shorthair that was surrendered to a shelter because it didn’t look fucked-up enough (it could still kind of breathe through its nose). New owners wanted to recoup costs because they adopted another cat that was “more playful” and the exotic was getting eye-goop on their white carpets. A wonderful standard for purebreeds!
I changed his name from “Luigi” to “Waluigi”, and he was best best buddy for many many years.
Not necessarily? More like by default. Purebreds are a thing because of certain genetic traits and are bred to not only maintain them, but to enhance those traits. Because of all that inbreeding the propensity for certain diseases and cancers are vastly increased. A purebred dog or cat will with near certainty be riddled with cancer or disease by the time they start getting a bit older. I love both cats and dogs, but purebreds shouldn’t be a thing.
It’s the size of the population and the competence/goals of the breeders. Breeders chasing exaggerated traits at the expense of the animal’s health are the major problem.
There are “pure” breeds of every domestic animal that are healthy – provided it’s a line not perpetuated by selfish idiots. Domestic shorthair cats, various working breeds of dogs, horses, etc.
I like how you put “pure” in quotes because the way they keep those lines healthy is by occasionally mixing in other breeds.
Wait, so I can take my cat somewhere and have them scratch someone else besides me?
Yes, but they may not get an A+ if they do.
We could just have that. A contest where you bring your cat, they get to play around for an afternoon, and the only outcome from the judge is “yep, that’s a cat”.
Random breeds are better than pedigree stuff.
They say pedigree i say inbred.
“Yup, definitely a cat.”
People know about cat breeds?
Orange and non-orange
