Why Breed is Necessary
The words “Breeder” and “Breed” have a negative connotation attached to them.
Are breeders playing with life to make money? Is breeding unnecessary in the first place?
I don’t like the term “Purebred Animals” or “Full-Blooded Animals” so I use the term “Breeding Animals”.
Breeding Animals must be controlled by humans.
To take an extreme example, if you leave multiple male and female unspayed Chihuahuas and Dachshunds on the same property, and their offspring breed naturally one after another, in 20 years there will be no Chihuahuas or Dachshunds left, as there will be Chihuachshund (Chihuahua and Dachshund mixes) everywhere (If this were actually done, breeding would collapse before 20 years had passed). The role of the breeder is to control this by physically separating the grounds so that Chihuahuas are bred only with Chihuahuas and Dachshunds with Dachshunds.
While you may understand that breeders are essential for maintaining Breeding Animals, you may wonder whether Breeding Animals itself should exist in the first place.
We should separate breeding animals for food, such as cattle, pigs and chickens, and breeding animals for other purposes, such as race horses and hunting dogs, from breeding dogs and cats for pet use. Of course, the need for a breed of animal with a specific purpose is determined by whether or not the purpose itself is approved.
What about dogs and cats for pet use? A breed that is simply competing for odd looks may not win the approval of many people. However, appearance is not the only characteristic of pet dogs and cats.
In the case of the LaPerm, when the breed was first developed in the 1990s, it was already called a “dog-like cat,” and its friendliness to humans was defined as a defining characteristic of the breed. Some people may find it hard to believe that such a cat actually exists.
At our cattery, we are grateful to the past LaPerm breeders who discovered and nurtured this easy-to-breed cat breed, and we will continue to breed with the mission of passing it on to future generations without letting it die out.