I herd they inbreed pedigree cats ?

Question

i was told by a friend that pedigree cats are inbred is it safe to do this, do they use bro and sis or uncle and niece

Answer 1

In order to "fix" type into a breed it is often necessary to breed close relatives together.  That can mean mother/son, father/daughter, brother/sister or more distantly related cats (niece/nephew type relationships, grandparent/grandchild).  When the cats are more distantly related, it's known as line-breeding.  Unlike people, cats don't worry who they breed with and don't take any notice of whether it is with their own parents or brothers/sisters.

If done carefully by someone knowledgeable in genetics this fixes the desired type into the breed without fixing defects in there as well i.e. only breeding from genetically and physically healthy stock and never from genetically or physically unsound stock.   Inbreeding has to be combined with careful selection of breeding stock.

The problem comes when cats are bred together than have harmful genes.  The offspring get a double dose of the harmful genes.  If the cats bred together have beneficial genes, the offspring get a double dose of the beneficial genes.   The more and more a breed gets inbred from only a few individuals, the more the genetic diversity is reduced.  However, if the breed was derived from a wide gene pool in the first place (lots of foundation stock) it will be healthily diverse.  Breeds such as the Singapura are very inbred (derived from only 4 or 5 founding cats) while breeds such as the Maine Coon are genetically diverse even though they are only mated to other registered Maine Coons.

Some breeds allow out-crossing:  breeding to an unrelated cat, sometimes a randombred cat, to introduce new genes and keep the gene pool healthy.  Some breeds have entirely closed gene pools and don't permit this.

There is also a problem of bottlenecks.  Once in a while a really attractive cat turns up in a breed.  Lots of breeders want kittens from that cat to improve their own breeding lines and its genes get widespread.   Sooner or later its descendents get bred together and it's only then that breeders find out if it carried any harmful genes (this occurred in the American Burmese).

The Pros and Cons of Inbreeding

http://www.messybeast.com/inbreed.htm

Lipinski and other researchers (there's a summary on that webpage) analysed a lot of cat breeds and found out which ones were most inbred and which ones were least inbred (so if you're choosing a purebred you can check to find one that isn't so inbred if that is a concern to you).  Being inbred doesn't automatically mean the cats are unhealthy as that depends on what genes were in the foundation stock of a breed and how many foundation cats there were and how intensively breeders have used inbreeding over long periods of time.  A good breeder knows from pedigrees what genes their cats carry (even if they are hidden genes) and they can also use mathematics formulae to work out how inbred their cats are and whether it's a good idea to find unrelated cats to breed to.  Usually they look at pedigrees of other cats when choosing which ones would make good mates and provide good genes to complement the genes in their own cats.

Breeders of pedigree dog breeds, rabbit breeds, farm animals, laboratory animals etc all use inbreeding to ensure they breed true to a type.

Answer 2

Yes, it is quite common to inbreed in order to maintain a pure line.  The inbreeding is not necessarily done on purpose (i.e. they don't mate a brother to its sister), but is a by-product of a very small gene pool.  Purebred lineages are usually established by very few animals.  This means that, over time, there will be a lot of "mixing" between families.  This is because the line will no longer be pure if the animals are bred outside the line.  Purebred animals are usually at risk for a number of genetic disorders and are not as healthy, because of their genetics.  You can see the same problem in European royal families over the last five hundred years, because they never bred outside royalty and they're all related.

Answer 3

yes, its true. you always have to look at the breeders cats health because some are horrible breeders; they only care about the looks. i was at a cat show once and i over heard 2 ladies talking. One was saying that the other should breed her little girl because she might get pio (short for a disease in female cats that cause them to die) and the other lady answered that its Ok because she has the sister. and FIP is another bad disease! its bloating to the tummy! so always make sure you dont pick a backyard breeder because, like humans, in breeding weakens the cats imune system and your left with a cat that only lives for a year and a half!

Answer 4

It is done sometimes, but the breeder should be extremely careful and have a comprehensive knowledge of genetics.  Unfortunately, some breeders are not responsible and the results can be tragic.

Answer 5

Inbreeding is very rarely done in pedigree cats as there is no need to do this due to most breeds having a large and good quality gene pool. It might only be done if a certain line, that was outstanding in temperament, health and looks, is in threat of coming to an end and the best choice for inbreeding might be grandfather to granddaughter/grandmother to grandson. Breeding father to daughter or son to mother isn't the preferred practice of inbreeding as the genetic closeness of the offspring and parent are too close to guarantee a safe pregnancy and healthy kittens, so it's not worth trying for that reason. It's usually only the very experienced breeder of a specific breed that they have been working with for 10+ years so that they know the breed and pedigree lines down to a tee that might consider inbreeding or line chasing, but it's something that they don't take lightly. ( There are other reasons for line chasing, such as tracing the health of a particular line for certain diseases such as HCM, HD, PKD and breed away from any lines that may have these diseases. This then, helps to guarantee a healthier pedigree breed for future breeding generations). In the 5+ years I have been in pedigree breeding circles I have heard of it done only once and this was grandfather to grand daughter. There are very strict rules that a pedigree breeder must adhere to due to the laws put down by governing bodies in the UK such as the GCCF and FIFe. If a breeder is seen as breeding to the detriment of any specific pedigree breed, the breeder can be fined, struck off or reported to cat rescue groups who could take charges against an individual, if bad practice or treatment of the cats has been seen.

http://www.gccfcats.org/ethics.html

In general, ethical, responsible & reputable pedigree cat breeders tend to shy away from inbreeding as they have watched and learnt from the mistakes that have taken place in the pedigree dog breeding due to over inbreeding just to get that perfect look when temperament and health has been set aside. There is nothing MORE important than a healthy well temperamented cat first and looks come in last to these. This is the code that I adhere to in breeding as the health and welfare of my chosen breed comes foremost to looks.

See link below about an upcoming BBC1 programme all about over inbreeding in the pedigree dog world and the ramifications that it could mean to BBC pulling away its support in Crufts -

http://cat-chitchat.pictures-of-cats.org...

EDIT To Bottomlesspit - Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on what you say that inbreeding is common in pedigree cat breeding. Pedigree cat breeders, in general, and there are the odd few who are unscrupulous, do not practice inbreeding for the very fact that you state.... "animals are usually at risk for a number of genetic disorders and are not as healthy, because of their genetics." The genetic diversity and gene pool of most pedigree cats are wide and varying, so there isn't the need for inbreeding, but I will agree that there are a few breeds that have been developed by us humans and have a tiny genepool, such as the Singapura. There is far more awareness, proactive scanning, screening, genetic testing and the sharing of these genetic tests through cat governing bodies such as FAB cats and breed specific clubs who supply shared registration of results and info of tests available to any specific pedigree breeds to stop any unnuecessary manipulation like that has happened to some dog breeds. The Persian & the Siamese have seen the  most changes to their breed standard over the past 30 years, with the Persian nose seen to shrink and eye sockets made larger and the Siamese with much larger ears and finer body, but now they are finding that there are health problems in some lines which have produced some of these more extensuated physical traits through these manipulated mutations. For this reason, all the breeders I know, and that is many, do not inbreed for these reasons. the whole point of breeding any pedigree breed is to maintain it's original look. There is also a huge difference between inbreeding, line breeding, pedigree and purebred. Inbreeding is breeding grandparent to grand child at most close, line breeding is looking at the health of a particular line and maybe breeding greatgrand parent to great grand child to enhance or get rid of a health issue, pedigree is a knowledge and record keeping of all previous parentage for several generations but original parentage is unknown, and purebred is a form of inbreeding where only known pedigrees from the beginning of the pedigree breed is used categorically (such as the Singapura), but no cat breed can be proclaimed a purebreed as all cats have unknown parentage somewhere down the line.

All the best.

Answer 6

A COMMON MISCONCEPTION  is that all PEDIGREE CATS are LESS HEALTHY than RANDOM BRED cats due to INBREEDING.

Not all PEDIGREED cats are EXCESSIVELY INBRED, HOWEVER IN PAST SUCH was the CASE IN SOME BREEDS, before the MODERN OF understanding of GENETICS was widely CIRCULATED..



BREEDS have different ORGINS, some are MANMADE or the result of MUTATION, while others are FOUND IN NATURE..There is not really any such thing as a 'PUREBREED' cat since all REGISERED BREED began as RANDOM BRED CATS. In this case, 'PEDIGREED' is a more accurate term.

CAT BREEDERS are continually COMPETING to find the "IDEAL" OF THE BREED- - the CATS THAT COME CLOSEST TO FITTING THE BREED STANDARD.  Because of this, the PHYSICAL CHACTERISTICS  of a PRIZE WINNING CATS have GRADUALLY CHANGED IN SOME BREEDS. This GENETIC shifting is most obvious in the TWO OLDEST, MOST POULAR AND MOST DISTINCTIVE breeds of SHOW CATS - the PERSIAN  AND  THE SIAMESE.

However, some show cats are NATURALLY OCCURING BREEDS  that are perpetuated to keep the ORGINAL LOOK of a cat from a PARTICULAR REGION. Examples are the cats are the MAIN COON AND THE TURKISH VAN.

I PERSONALLY think that PEDIGREES, and what they consist of, are EXTRMELY IMPORTANT  for every Breeding Program.

QUALITY OF LINE  and their REPUTATION are things to be carefully considered in a Breeding Program and should NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY.

Many people look MOSTLY AT TITLES. If a PEDIGREE is FULL with CH and GC, they immediately think it is a GOOD PEDIGREE. Well, SHOW TITLES ARE IMPORTANT for sure, and they do tell you ABOUT THE CONSISTENCY OF BREED for SHOW TYPES(for breeders of show cats). Yet this is only a PART OF THE PEDIGREE, and there are so many more things to be LEARNED  from one, REGARDLESS OF TITLES.

HEALTH AND FERTILTY, for instance, do not show as any kind of title on the pedigree, and yet they are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT  for a Breeding Program. CONSISTENCY for those is also VERY IMPORTANT, if not more than the SHOW CONSITENCY. This information actually REQUIRES STUDY OF THE PEDGREE AND ASKING PEOPLE ABOUT THIS OR THAT CAT AND IT'S LINE. The more seasoned a Breeder you are, you also KNOW MORE AND MORE CATS in the PEDIGREE PERSONALLY.

And yet, there is MORE to a PEDIGREE than that. You can learn the COLOR GENETICS AND COLOR PROBALITY FROM A PEDIGREE. If you find enough INFORMATION, you CAN FIND  whether your LINES are consistent for high white, nice amounts of silver or nice light color point color. You CAN LEARN WHAT HEALTH ISSUES ARE GOING AROUND  and if THEY ARE CONSISTENT.  You can also learn THE LEVEL OF INBREEDING DONE IN YOUR LINES AND THE AMOUNT OF HOMOZYGOSISTY IN THE LINES  (which would bring to consistency), and this is just for start. If someone ever wants to create their own LOOK, they actually have to USE PEDIGREES TO KNOW which TRAITS COMES FROM WHERE   and try to GUESS which  COMBINATION WOULD GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT.

Pedigrees are a WHOLE WORLD, and LINE CHASING  is NOT done JUST FOR FUN. It is done as a RESEARCH of the BREED AND GENE BEHAVIOR, too. In a way, EVER BREEDER  is a small Genetic Scientist with ONE GOAL IN MIND  - CREATING THE HEATHIEST PRETTIST CAT , ACCORDING TO A SET STANDARD.

IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILTY as ETHICAL BREEDERS  to be PROFESSIONAL about it, for the following reasons:

PROFESSIONAL, CORRECT BREED FOR HEALTH.

PROFESSIONAL BREEDING BRINGS  CONSISTENCY and a way to try and PREDICT RESULTS (even if Mother Nature has her own way with surprises).

So MY PERSONAL ADVISE TO  ETHICAL Doll-Breeders is to be as PROFSSIONAL l as you can, IF YOU WANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. . Also, STUDY YOU PEDIGEE WELL. You need PEDIGREE in order to create a NEW/OLD CONSISTENT LOOK that WILL BE RESPECTED. MAKE SURE THE PEDIGREES you work with are MORE TO YOU THAN THE TITLES IN THEM!  SHOW TITLES ARE IMPORTANT, but they are MERELY THE BEGINING THREAD OF REALLY KNOWING A PEDIGREE  and using it right.  USE TITLES PEDIGREES. BUT MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT DAZZLED BY THEM.