Breeding a Cat
You may want to breed your cat to produce various colors or color combinations. Color breeding can become complicated, and it’s therefore better to limit yourself to the simpler examples. Suppose, for instance, you have a white long-haired cat and would like some white kittens, but have been unable to find another white long-hair tomato with your cat, a friend has a red long-haired cat. If you breed your white cat to this red one, what can be expected in the way of color in the kittens?
White is dominant over red if the white cat is a natural white and not an albino, so the chances are good that at least some of the kittens from such a mating will turn out to be whites. Whether there can be red kittens will depend on whether your cat inherited a gene for anothercolour besides white.
Black and tabby belong to the same color group and neither is dominant over the other. Years ago, when the modern house cat’s ancestors lived in the wild, the banded tabby was the natural colourscheme for cats. It afforded excellent camouflage. Through evolution, the tabby has given way to solid black.
Therefore, you can breed tabbies with black cats and expect to have some tabby and some black kittens in the litter.
If you were to breed a Siamese cat with a solid black short-haired cat, the kittens probably would turn out to be blacks with grey under-coats. The reason for this is that black is dominant over all othercolours except natural white, red and tabby. (Bear in mind that white usually predominates over all other colors.)
LENGTH OF HAIR
Should you want to breed your cat for length of hair, remember that short hair is dominant over long hair? Two short-haired cats may produce long-haired kittens, but two long-haired cats may never produce short-haired kittens.
ABSENCE OF TAIL
The tailless feature of the Manx cat is inherited and is due to the presence of dominant genes for this trait. Actually, it is only imperfectly dominant and might be considered a deformity. When two Manx cats are mated, some of the kittens may be crippled. They rarely survive to maturity. Harelips are another example of this kind of inherit-acne. Occasionally, a pure Manx, when mated to a cat with a normal tail, will produce all tailless kittens, but usually the kittens have tails or stubs.
EYE COLOUR
Breeding for eye color has not received the study accorded to the production of coat color. Thus, obtaining a specific eye color is still matter of luck.
DEAFNESS
Deafness in cats (barring disease and accidents) is generally associated with blue eyes, although all cats with blue eyes are not deaf.
POLYDACTYL CAT BREEDING
Polydactyl’s, or extra toes, is an inherited trait stemming from dominant gene. A cat with a pair of genes dominant for this trait will have kittens with extra toes. A cat with one of these genes mated to abnormal cat may have half her kittens with extra toes and half with normal toes. A pair of cats with inherited extra toes, each with only one gene for the trait, probably would produce approximately 25 percent of their kittens with normal toes.
BREEDING FOR OTHER TRAITS
Other traits are transmitted, of course, including size, shape of the head, neck ruffs and general appearance. Do not expect to obtain all the characteristics you are seeking from the first few mating. It will take time and experimentation; Breeders have spent years trying to produce one trait.
Suppose you have a seal-point, straight-tailed Siamese female on the small side and would like her kittens to be like her. If you try mating her with a small, seal-point, straight-tailed tomcat, you will probably get some kittens closely resembling her. But don’t be surprised if kinky-tailed kitten appears in the litter, as there may be a crooked or kinky-tailed ancestor somewhere in the family tree of the father or mother.
Breeding cats for disposition is not reliable. First of all, environment plays an important part in the cat’s disposition, as does its state of health. Even so, some cats are born with a highly nervous and excitable temperament. Mating two calm and docile cats in it does not ensure that the kittens will not be nervous or excitable.
The science of genetics is a fascinating study. For sources of more detailed and advanced information. For a general idea of breeding, however, keep the following in mind:
Decide which of your cat’s characteristics you want to see transmitted to kittens.
- Locate a mate with similar characteristics.
- Do not expect to become an expert breeder at once.
- Avoid trying to breed for unusual or abnormal features.
- Use line breeding whenever possible; otherwise use out crossing or crossbreeding.
Remember that white, red, black and tabby are dominant over all other colors.
Keep in mind that long hair is recessive and that short hair is dominant.
In general, try to mate your cat with one that possesses as nearly as possible the qualities you would like transmitted to your kittens.