If brother and sister cats breed, will the kittens be disformed?

Question

i have these two cats. they are brother and sister. they really love each other, love to cuddle and play and all that good stuff. i alway wanted to breed cats n but i want to know if their baby would normal. my friend did it to her dog n said everything was fine. but my aunt said it's not the same for cats. is it?

Answer 1

you should only ever breed brother and sister if you are an experienced breeder! if this would be your first time i would not recommend it. something could go really wrong then you would end up have to put the babies down anyways.  

Answer 2

Its not good.  Go on wikipedia and search "inbreeding"

Answer 3

Inbreeding reduces the genetic variation, so if there are any genetic diseases or deformities in their family history, they would be more likely to appear.   It takes several generations for an animal to be considered "inbred," though.  The first litter from a brother and sister probably wouldn't show anything.

However, the more important question is why you would want to breed cats at all when the country is overpopulated with them.  Thousands of cats have to be put to sleep every year because there aren't enough homes.  If you sell kittens, that takes the home that could have gone to a shelter cat.  Be a responsible pet owner, get your cats neutered and spayed, and don't add to the problem.

Answer 4

They may be and they may not be.  It's not a good idea though.  Inbreeding for any kind of animal, be they human or cats, is wrong.  It ables recessive genes to come more prominent and can lead to increased diseases and/or deformations.  If they both of genes that would make them more prone to, say, bad hips, it will become more prominent in the children, and thir children, etc.  And I'm sure they love eachother, but you love yuor siblings, but would you want to have children with them.  It is morally, physically, and ethically wrong.  Do not do it.  If you don't know much about breeding, then leave it to professionals.

Answer 5

No

Answer 6

i dont think so... i guess they would be fine... nuthin to worry about^^

Answer 7

yea for some reason it doesnt matter if t hey are brother and sister ... kittens would be just fine .. i saw my cats do it and had normal kitties :)

Answer 8

Don't breed them.

Your cats, while the most wonderful things in the world, your precious angels....  they're probably not purebred pedigreed anything.  they're probably the cat equivalent of a mutt--a moggy.  There are millions of moggy kittens out there that need a home.  You don't need to add more to it.  You'd need to find homes for all of them (that can be a lot of kittens!) and you'd have to pay for shots and deworming and all the things that a responsible breeder and pet owner NEED to do.  My cat had 4 kittens and the vet bills for them were enormous...  a 10 dollar rabies shot over 4 cats is still 40$...  

Your cats do love eachother.. but tha'ts because they're siblings.  they've ALWAYS been with eachother.  My kittens are the same way.  That doesnt' mean that they should mate and produce a flock of kittens on their own.

Inbreeding owuld probably be 'okay' for a generation or so, but the fact of the matter is, that it's bad news.  Genetic diversity is REALLY important.  Even purebreed cats and dogs suffer problems from the limited genetic pool of animals.  Some breeds are better then others, but a mutt/moggy will generally be healthier then a purebred animal...  And purebreed animals are carefully picked and bread to prevent inbreeding as much as possible.  

While it's possible that your kittens will be fine, the possibility also exists that they'll end up deformed and unhealthy.  If both your cats are predisposed towards, say, hip problems...  and they pass it along, then it's likelty that ALL your kittens will also be predisposed, as opposed to just half of them if you'd bred with an unrelated cat.

However, the fact still remains that you'd be creating kittens that don't have homes and taking homes from kittens who are already born.  

You sound young...  no offence meant.  My cat, in fine health. had kittens--  of the 7, 4 of them lived.  Willl you beable to deal with that?  will you beable to deal with walking into the room one morning and finding a dead kitten that didn't make it?  it happens, even in healthy cats with good breeding.  

If you REALLY want to raise kittens, talk to your local shelther or rescuse and ask if they have any kittens or expectant mothers who need fostering.  

do ALOT of research too, and learn about what your'e wanting to get into.

and if you REALYL want it to be YOUR cats having kittens... then please look into buying some purebreed animals that you can register for people to show, or such.  That's the only way they'll be worth anything... you'll have better chances of finding them homes... etc.

get your little ones here and now fixed...  it'll be better for everyone.  

Plus, if your cats havn't had kittens yet, then they're still very young...  a cat shouldn't get pregnant with her first heat.  it'd be like you getting pregnant when you have your first period.  jsut because you CAN doesnt' mean you should.    at that age, they're barely more then kittens themselves.    so, you'd need to keep them seperated from each other during her heats so that 'accidents' don't happen... and the cycle of going in and out of heat can be very stressful for the cat...  and the whole household.  

Answer 9

In general, it's not a very good idea to breed brother to sister or parent to child as probelms could arise in problematic pregnancies, difficult birthing to kitten deformities,mental issues or still borns.

I know of only a handful of very experienced breeders who have, on rare occasions, mated a queen to their grandfather, but matings of any closer than this can show genetic and pregnancy problems. You need to know what the health of the lines you are using to secure a positive and healthy outcome for the offspring and only experienced breeders with 15+ years have the knowledge for this sort of complex line chasing genetics and inbreeding.

You need to get your cats neutered as as soon as possible, as you could inadvertantly, through your inexperience, put your girl and her offspring at great health risk.

Please get her spayed as she will make a healthier and happier pet for you.

All the best.

Answer 10

odds are about 50/50 they will be fine. but it is a very cruel thing to do to the losers. deformed, retarded. missing eyes, limbs.

dont do it. find a friend with a male and use him to breed with.

or, better yet, go help out a shelter by taking a pregnant mom in for a few weeks. you get to play with kittens and get them used to humans, then, they find them homes.

you really should get your cats fixed. shelters have plenty of kittens you can adopt.