What are dangers of breeding from cats that are brother and sister?

Question

I have suspicions that a litter of kittens i am going to look at are the result of a brother and sister mating - will the kittens still be healthy?

For all the idiots that cant read - i am not breeding the cats - i am thinking of buying one from a litter where i think the parents might have been siblings!

Answer 1

I (at this moment sitting next to me) have a cat of 12 years old who is the result of brother and sister mating and he has the size of his mother and the colouring exactly of his father he is a healthy (only been to the vets twice for illness) and intelligent cat who has me wrapped around his little paw and knows exactly what buttons to press to get to do things for him. And before anyone says anything I didnt breed him ex-friends of mine did and it was an accidental breeding and I got the father fixed immediately and his son as soon as he was big enough

Answer 2

It happens all the time... but it's not the best thing.
1 - I know it's expensive, but PLEASE invest in spaying/neutering. Just look on www.petfinder.com. Then you will know there are no kitten shortages. Your cat will also be healthier and happier - you will definetly too.
2 - We have a cat we suspect is inbred. We got her from a horse auction (free, a guy shoved her in a little boys arms and I rescued her) so we don't know her background.
3 - The kittens may have some problems. For instance, our cat has no back claws. They are all short and dull. She's always been like that. Also, her hip bones are extremely close together. If she were to have kittens, she and the litter would almost certainly die. This is another reason why I recommend fixing your cat. She has impossibly huge ears. Also, her nose is very oddly shaped and gets really dirty easily. She is also a very skinny cat because of her hip bones.
4 - but she is the best kind of cat! Her personality is unparalled.
5 - if the kittens appear healthy, I would go ahead. Some may not be. Most likely, they'll have defects if they're inbred but will be otherwise healthy. Often they have extra claws. Not a big deal.

Answer 3

Some of the other answers are correct in that inbreeding will cause both the negative aspects to be amplified, as well as the positive. Occassionally pedigree breeders do this. There is a risk involved in that respect.

Many of the other answers are pure hogwash. This does NOT make difficulties delivering the kittens, for one thing.

If the kittens appear to be healthy, I would go ahead and take your pick. They should have clear, clean eyes, no sneezing and hopefully they are vaccinated. They should be about 8 weeks old and eating premium food.

Encourage whoever had these kittens to alter the mother and father. There are 10 million dogs & cats put to sleep every year because there are not enough homes.

Enjoy your kitten!

Answer 4

Probably. Matings of brothers and sisters do not usually result in defects- they may not have ANY genetic material in common. However, inbreeding successive generations does proliferate defects down the line, so the likelihood of getting 2 copies of a bad gene increases, whereas if they were no inbred they would get a copy of a good gene and that owuld usually dominate. If the parents of this brother and sister are also related, there could be problems. Common problems associated with successive inbreeding are unusual numbers of toes, eye problems, deafness, and heart problems. I would not fear the worst, but do tell the vet when you take the kittens. And there is even more of a reason to make sure all of the kittens are neutered or spayed.

Answer 5

Why would you want to do that? If you want kittens, inbreeding is not the answer. Inbreeding can form difficulties with the birth and the kittens may have vital health problems, and the may be unnaturally small. Ask a friend or a member of your family if you can borrow their cat (as long as that is not a member of the cats family too) and you can make them two have kittens. Or there are some special places where you can take your cat and they can make them have kittens with cats you have never even met.

If you really do want to inbreed that is your choice but would you like it if you were in that cats position, it just isn't fair. i would also seek advice from my local vets and see what they think about breeding cats.

Answer 6

If you are planning to neuter or spay your kitten, no problem. It will be a good kitten to love.
I have seen inbred cats in my area; it is hardly ever a problem, except, as some have mentioned in their answers, they are sometimes stunted and small.
Biggest threat, I think, is the "common-sense" factor - the "memories" that are inherited from conception from both female and male genes. An in-bred cat will be deprived of much infromation. A cat with unrelated parents will have better instincts; inherited from the experiences of both parents.
Eventually inbreeding causes weakness and is a barrier to evolution of the species, but in-bred kittens can be as lovely as the rest.

Answer 7

Im sure they will be fine. The same litter of kittens can be from several different fathers. The cats should get fixed as soon as possible. There are so many unwanted animals in this world it is sad.

Answer 8

While they might be perfectly healthy, mating littermates can allow recessive traits otherwise hidden or masked by dominant genes to surface, and some of these can be abnormalities or health issues. There's nothing inherently risky about the mating, only the possibility any poor trait might be amplified.

Answer 9

They should be ok from a first cross, but any consequent cross-breeding, say father it daughter etc. can result in deformed or dead kittens. Can you persuade these people to take their cats to be neutered???

Answer 10

Inbreeding will accentuate negative (and positive) recessive genes, some of which will kill the kits.

FYI, a good example in humans is the Russian royal family, which had an abnormally high incidence of hemophilia.