(no subject)

[threeplusfire]

I had a thought that pleased me immensely, and it's been percolating in the back of my head for some time.

There's no reason to buy animals from breeders just to have a pet, in my opinion. Now if you need a dog to herd sheep, a police dog, a seeing eye dog, or a race horse then you probably need one bred for that task. That makes a certain sense, as tiny yapping dogs don't hear sheep well, and big dogs don't hunt little mammals in tunnels well.

But just a pet? My mom has a beautiful Abyssinian cat because the breeder dumped her at the clinic. She couldn't be bothered with an animal that wasn't physically perfect, and the poor kitten had a tiny white cowlick on her back.

I have to wonder if those people who insist on having little perfect pets will be the same people who insist on little perfect genetically designed and bred babies one day.

How many animals at a shelter could be saved with the money spent on a "purebred" animal? People should have to watch all those animals be executed.

I'm well aware my opinion on the subject isn't a popular one. I'm well aware people on list on LJ have animals they bought from breeders. I don't give a damn if people think I'm overly critical or harsh about the subject. It's been on my mind lately, with all the stray sad beasts.

Comments

[meallanmouse.livejournal.com]

One of my cats is shelter acquired. For several of my friends who moved out into their own place for the first time, I offered to buy them their first cat ~ from the shelter.

That still stands for most of my friends and they know it, too.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Aww, that's a nice thing to do for your friends. I'm always sending my friends to my mom's clinic for vet care.

[pisceandreamer.livejournal.com]

My two cats are mudbloods and I love them. :) One rescued as a stray from a friends parent's farm and the other came from a local small pet store that took in "unplanned pregnancies" and adopted them out for the cost of their shots.

I was at a cat show this weekend, and it was neat to see all the different breeds out there. There were lots of purebred kittens for sale, but there were also two rescue groups with kittens for adoption. I was pleased to see that there was much more interest in the kittens from the two rescue groups than in any of the purbreds for sale.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

My mom's clinic does something similar, because they end up with so many stray kittens on their doorstep.

There are so many beautiful cats out there, and I love to see all the colors of Siamese. My cats have always been rescue kitties and mutts of all colors.

[siria.livejournal.com]

My cat was on his best way to the shelter when we told the owner to give him to us instead. My mother's horse on the other hand was bought because we liked its bloodline.

I agree with you, though. None of my pets are perfect, and I love them all exactly like that.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Horses are so different, because you do so much with a horse that depends on the animal's physcial abilities that often you have to have animals bred. I like the way they chart out the bloodlines, because it makes the horses and dogs sound so regal. ;)

If I had a perfect pet, I would feel inadequate. :P

[jonqui.livejournal.com]

It all makes slightly more sense with dogs. Different breeds have fairly predictable traits and temperments. But cats? They're all insane, I don't the breed matters much.
I think the only way I'd ever pay money for a cat is if it came from a shelter.

My soap box has more to do with people not spaying/neutering outside cats and not wanting to be responsible for the resultant offspring.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Dogs are working animals, and so it only makes sense that you would need to encourage certain traits. With cats, most all of them can catch mice and you don't need to train them. ;)

[mielikki.livejournal.com]

I agree 100%. My cats are all found or shelter kitties.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Rescue kitties always have the best stories!

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

I'm all about the shelters. When I was born my parents had a dog from when they first got married which was this awsome German-shepard mutt named Allegra. My Ladydog was actually a pure-bred, with papers and all, but from a shelter (go figure).

I'd really love to see a teacup chihuahua herd sheep though. Yip yip, Wonderdog!

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

You would be surprised how many purebred fancy dogs end up in shelters. It's weird.

Those mutant tiny chihuahuas totally give me the creeps.

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

Nope, I agree with you--the thought of someone abandoning a purebred animal 'cos it ain't pure enough fills me with rage. Of our three family cats (two mine, one my mother's), one we adopted from a shelter two days before her scheduled euthanizing, one from a no-kill shelter who'd been abandoned at age six by the family that had her since she was a shut-eyed kitten, and one the wyfe's family found as a woodpile stray. Personality plus, all of them.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

People never cease to amaze me with the ability to do horrific things and pretend it is okay. Like dumping helpless animals because they don't fit an arbitrary standard.

Stray kitties do come with the best stories.

[sammka.livejournal.com]

I was raised never to buy an animal from a breeder, with the possible exception of working animals like horses or seeing-eye dogs (though I've even heard of seeing-eye mutts - you just have to put them through a bunch of exams to make sure they're fit before training them). Okay, maybe I've bought fish and hermit crabs. But it's not like there are many "fish and hermit crab rescue" sites, and if I ever found one my next fish would be from there.

Even if you want a purebred dog because you like the appearance or temperament, there are PLENTY of rescue sites that deal only with one breed. Lots of animals are just abandoned by breeders because of imperfect coloring or something, and unless you want to show them they're just as good. You can even adopt puppies if you really want to bond with your dog when it's still a baby.

Then again, I'd even feel guilty about breeding on my own. Certainly I want to adopt at least one child, particularly a kid who's a bit old to be adopted, since those kids usually have a real hard time finding someone who's willing to take them in. If I bred one of my own as well, I'd be worried that I'd accidentally treat them differently, or that they'd think I loved them differently, or something, but all the same I have this strange urge to pass on my genes. Eh.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Exactly! There are so many options, so many people & organizations. I love the greyhound rescue people especially, and one day I hope I can adopt a greyhound because I hear they have great laid back personalities.

The thing about people breeding - we should do it for love and not to create "perfect" kids. Can you imagine if people went around dumping kids because they didn't have the right hair color or hip ratio? I hear though, that you love your kids no matter what even if you do adopt some of them.

[sammka.livejournal.com]

I would never breed my own kids in hopes of making them "perfect"- after all my genes are pretty shitty already, and the best I could hope for is that they'd get some of the better ones, like a good metabolism, without getting as many of my genes for cancer, heart disease, and anxiety...

I hope that if you adopt kids and feel like they're your own, you'll love them just like if you had them yourself. Unfortunately I have family members with adopted stepkids and they claim they just don't/can't love them like they love their other kids, no matter how early they adopted the kids.

I also though have a really good friend who was adopted, and then his parents had a kid of their own making quite by accident. He doesn't seem to feel like they treated him any differently, so I guess it might work out after all.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

I have some friends who adopted children, because they were unable to have them on their own. I think because Larry & Caroline had to go through so much to adopt, they love the kids all the more. Some of my close friends were adopted, and they are all shockingly well adjusted. ;)

I think it all depends on the emotional investment you put into that relationship.

[maldeluxx.livejournal.com]

Agree.
We have an Aby too, from a breeder. He's so sweet. :)

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

They are such lovely cats! I love the way their fur looks like sand.