The Down Side

For all the joy in having kittens, and the pride in showing your cats, there is also the bad times. You wait patiently for a litter, and something goes wrong. You lose some or all of the kittens, and mom needs a C-Section. A C-Section can cost anywhere from $200 to $500 depending on you location, or if the surgery is needed during office hours, or at the emergency vet. You can have a perfectly normal litter, and at 2 weeks one of the kittens suddenly starts to fail, and nothing you do can make it live. In just two weeks, you will have gotten very attached to the kittens.

Then there is going home time. That’s the worst time of all. After 12 weeks (I don’t recommend kittens leaving before that time) you get very attached to them. Even if you have picked out the very best family for them to go to, it is still hard to see them go out the door. I know of breeders who have kept the whole first litter, because they couldn’t let them go. The second litter goes to all relatives so they can visit often, and then they quit breeding, rather than face selling the kittens to strangers.

It does get a little easier after a while, when you know the people will just love them, and you get the pictures and notes back about how they can’t imagine not having the kitten. But you still miss each one for a while.

Another downside is losing a kitten you sold. This does happen, no matter how careful we are. Accidents at conception do happen, and a kitten is dealt with a poor immune system or congenital abnormalities. Cats do come down with diseases. As much as we screen for healthy cats, we are bound to lose a few. The worst phone call you will ever get will be the one saying a family lost their wonderful cat. It’s heartbreaking to hear the grief in their voices, and it breaks your heart as well. That never gets easier. It’s always hard.

Last, but certainly not least, is your spouse’s reaction to you becoming a breeder. Many spouses are fine with the thought of a ‘hobby’ at first. After a while and lots of money and time…they may not be as happy with it. A large number of breeders have had to stop their hobby, to keep their marriages intact. It’s too easy to get in too deep and too hard on the rest of the family when you do. Cat breeding can be addictive. A person could easily make cat breeding their whole life. That isn’t healthy for you or your family.

If You Make the Decision