Think seven times and one ... cut
As the president of the big Moscow WCF club and as the owner of a huge kennel with various breeds, I can't help but say...
I see quite encouraging statistics on the reduction of stray cats in cities and suburban villages in recent years. But at the same time, the mass reproduction of cultured cat breeds is shocking in its scope. Especially the so-called "fashionable" breeds...
There are a lot of castrati in my kennel (both cats and cats) - of all breeds, their photos can be seen on websites, and they themselves at exhibitions in the castrati class... "Why did you do THAT?" — visitors to exhibitions often ask me, making "scary" eyes. And they don't believe my honest answer: — "For the good of the breed and this cat in particular."..
There is such a thing as "animal welfare culture"... So - the concept of castration is its main component. People should take a cat (cat) for love! And not for non-profit "commercial" reproduction...
In practice, even tax inspectors who keep breeding cats are convinced of the non-profit of this event... And the fact that today most clubs and would-be breeders, when selling a kitten, give the argument "buy a kitty, you will knit, you will sell kittens, you will buy Mercedes like Aunt N ... from the city of M..." is sad...
Clubs can indulge the aimless breeding of cats, as they are often interested in increasing the number of members. After all, even the minimum membership fees can allow the granny chairman to receive a tangible increase to his pension... But this is already quackery and fraud! Well, not ALL kittens born from pedigreed producers can be suitable for breeding. This is the law of selection!
I hope that soon, as in America and Europe, we will come to the conclusion that all kittens not planned by the breeder for breeding will be sold with vaccinations and neutered... We'll be there! In this bright future, I tell you, as an incorrigible optimist!
Now briefly about the purpose of castration of cats / sterilization of cats :
1.Eliminate the smell.
90% of full-fledged cats and 40% of unsatisfied cats are marked. It's no secret to anyone. They mark - from lack of demand, i.e. they want, the poor, and do not give... Hence the second goal of castration:
2. Out of pity.
Out of pity, we castrate them... That is. Imagine your husband, who needs to "fast"... well, let's just say... 1/3 of life, i.e. 20 years like that!!!! IN! How will his face change? Ah!!! So that's it! And we condemn the cat in city apartments to this very thing!!!!! Castration is our payment for the domestication of cats. Therefore, convince your husbands, ardent supporters of "fullness" to be in solidarity with the cat and feel sorry for him... Otherwise, see point 1. he will start shitting the defender and the authority and the head of the family in his shoes, so he will call him a doctor himself! And here some opponents come to point 3...
3. Castration due to the inability to accept brides.
That is, how? There is already a bride, or a bunch - as the hostess will spin... But no! For many cat owners, it turns out to be a revelation that brides are being taken to YOUR HOUSE! Because on the territory of the bride, the cat falls into a stupor and gets under the sofa... And how does the process work? A couple sings serenades for a day (loudly!), and then the "process" happens no less loudly... And this is repeated every 10-40 minutes when cats are not sleeping and not eating... At the same time, many cats begin to behave inappropriately, aggressively... Then the hated (for you) daughter-in-law is taken away and the cat howls for another day and tries to find her under the cabinets and sofas, because he still wants to... How do you like this prospect?!
4. After sex, children happen!!!!
Which need to be put somewhere!!!!! In a year or two, all your friends and acquaintances will be gifted with the free offspring of a terrorist father... And they will look at you askance... like a maniac and a pimp... And, most unpleasant of all, most of the children become unhappy... Because... having received such a kitten as a gift, they do not appreciate it and can easily bring it back to you (a one-year-old, like we've played enough) or, even worse— throw it out on the street! Or the owners of the cat will throw out all the litter on the street at once. Yes, yes, it happens often! Believe my experience, a lot of people call the club, who report babies found in garbage cans and stairwells... But I'm not just talking about mongrel or half-blood mating.
It turns out that breeding kittens in such quantity as one active male can make, with an active owner, are not needed by anyone in fact... That is, you harm the breed by excessive reproduction (this concept should not be confused with breeding). Moreover, the owners probably did not think about the type, but rather thought about the possibility of satisfying the cat or getting money for mating... Moreover, at the same time, the prestige and price of the breed (and its breeding value) decreases... Which is just painful for professional breeders and experts to see!
Breeding should be done by professionals, or fanatical amateurs under the strict supervision of professional felinologists! This truth is known all over the world and has been proven by the practice of many animal breeds (not just cats). Cynology and hippology has more experience in breeding...
5. But there is also the ethical side of castration...
Well, a cat / kitty took a walk in the dacha. Rested-walked up...
And do you remember those numerous offspring left under the sheds and in the basements? The unfortunate Exepuri hiccups a hundred times a day for his words about "responsibility for those whom he tamed.".. Or do you prefer to follow the opinion "the cat is not a girl, it will not bring in the hem... That is, you don't see the "result" yourself, so there isn't one?!
And there are also in the 6's and in the 7's... But I prefer to continue this to you yourself in order to understand the necessity (and not the benefits or harms of castration).
Just about the benefits of castration are numerous studies in foreign countries and here. In the same civilized America and Europe, revered by us, they talk at the same time about the benefits of early castration...
benefit:
1. an increase in the life span by 1.5 times. A cat, freed from hormonal stress, lives longer!
2. reducing the risk of MBP (urolithiasis) by 20-30%!
3. increasing the size of the body (not fat, but dimensions), which is so beloved by a Russian person!
And about the character.
When I castrated my first cat, it was a miracle for me that he looked at the world for the first time!! Then he didn't see anything — he only had sexual dreams... And then - wow! Birds! Wow, sunny bunnies! Wow, and the hostess is affectionate, not an evil aunt with a broom, it turns out!!!! In short, the cat, having lost his preoccupation, becomes himself!!!
And all these are fairy tales that after castration the character deteriorates! The men came up with this out of false male solidarity. On the contrary, a worried cat has a bad temper, not a neutered one! And rare cases demonstrating the opposite are not an indicator with such large statistics...
So think now...
And I would like to make suggestions to all breeders, felinologists, club administrators to introduce the concept of a BREEDING CLASS of an animal. Everyone understands perfectly well what we are talking about. Pat. Brid. Show... But no one wants to use this concept objectively. The breeder and the club president should value the reputation of their kennel/club. And not the number of members or kittens sold. Club felinology does not want to offend the breeder (especially the novice), putting his kittens in the level of pets. But in vain! This is where we get most of the problems. For serious, experienced breeders who are members of the American feline systems, this is a solved question. A decent breeder will never give his "trademark", i.e. the name of the kennel to a low-quality kitten. It will be a shame when THIS incomprehensible creature is brought into the ring... And the Russian members of the American systems also keep the price of paperwork. Not everyone will pay $ 10 for a card on "murzik". And in Russian independent clubs, including those from the VCF, the concept of breeding ethics has completely devalued. Although many of these clubs became independent out of good intentions...
Therefore, I suggest that club presidents think about the need to include the column "breeding quality" in the forms of pedigrees... And time will show the benefit or harm it will bring to the breed or to a separate nursery...
The practice of my kennel has shown that when you honestly report on the breeding level of a kitten, you are insured against unreasonable quibbles of buyers, and the buyer - about bitter disappointments after visiting the first and last exhibition...
That is, I urge you to be honest with yourself and with your animals...
Svetlana Ponomareva,
President of the club - "Alice-Best",
WCF expert of the international category on DN and KSH cat breeds
A source: https://www.oldbluzcoon.com