Important for my breed is absolutely healthness of the breedingcats.
Before the breeding, all cats are examined, specially also on genetic inherited diseases.
A
cat with even a very mild gingivitis or HD for me never can be a
breedingcat. The death of my kittens is the proof for the truth of the gene-test.
All three kittens died of clinical HCM and were heterozygote positive
on the gene-test.
Breeders, ignoring the test or breeding
with
positive cats, are not breeders for me, but kitten-factories. It is
misusing
wonderful cats. The price has to be paid by the cats and the pet-owners
and I
want to make very clear, that I am not accepting that. Nobody knows,
when a
positive cat will die, but whoever once had feel the shock, finding an
obviously healthy cat suddenly death, will never forget it and never
come over
it. It is even worse, if a cat is suffering endless, crying of pains
and
oneself can only stand helpless beside it. To keep a line, it may be
necessary
in some few cases, to use a positive cat in breeding once (if there are
no potent and negative tested litter- or halflittermates available),
but then it is the
duty of the breeder, to keep the positive kittens and not to sell them
to
pet-owners, especially not without telling about the test-result. If we
all
will be honest, the HCM will loose their horror within some years.
Nobody can
say, that he is breeding the Maine Coon out of love to that breed, when
acting
different. Then it is only the own breeder-pride, that is not
acceptable. The
kittens are growing up in my house totally free with the other animals, to
develop a social temper and to be used to everything in the house.
Certainly, after the gene-test on HCM is available,
also that test, being negative, is for me necessary for a breeding-cat.
I had
to feel myself the pain, brought through the sudden death because of
HCM. More
about that on my memory-page.
