I have two sibling cats (male and female), and they are trying to mate... should I prevent this from happening? I mean, if they have kittens, will they be okay?
2006-12-25 10:14:05 · 15 answers · asked by Saralicious 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
Cats are far more likely to have problems from inbreeding than dogs are because cats have less chromosomes than a dog. It takes a long time for inbreeding problems to show up in a dog line, but in a cat line, in just a couple generations you have problems cropping up like mental retardation, physical abnormalities, organs on the outside of the body, failure to thrive, and reproductive problems. I have one cat who was the product of inbreeding that can't have kittens of her own. Every litter she had died when they were about four weeks old. We had her fixed after her second litter and have learned that her other female littermates have been having the same problem. So, to answer your question, NO, don't let them breed. The kittens might appear normal, but there will be problems on down the genetic line.
2006-12-26 14:13:39 · answer #1 · answered by Bastet's kitten 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, no, no! Prevent it now!
Get them fixed before either are 6 months old. Cats can go into first heat surprisingly early. I've seen a 10 month old kitten have kittens!
Trust me, deformities happen with this type of breeding. I've seen a litter of kittens born of a brother/sister mating that appeared normal for 2 months. They were brought into my vet's office for at 8 week check up. They actually had this horrible deformity of the GI tract - they didn't have anal openings. (How they live 8 weeks I don't know!) They were euthanized on the spot.
And then of course, there's the moral issue of allowing litters of kittens to be born when there's 3-4 million animals euthanized in shelters each year because of overpopulation. Please spay and neuter! You can get the neuter done at a low cost clinic for 50 dollars.
2006-12-25 10:30:34 · answer #2 · answered by maguire1202 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you want inbred pregnancy's. I wouldn't let them mate. I would get them spayed and neutered.
Some highly inbred cats may be more likely to have heritable defects in organ development or function or immune system defects that may limit longevity.2 http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/geriatric-cats.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbred
Results of inbreeding
Inbreeding may result in a far higher expression of deleterious recessive genes within a population than would normally be expected. As a result first generation inbred individuals are more likely to show physical and health defects, including:
reduced fertility both in litter size and in sperm viability
increased genetic disorders
fluctuating facial asymmetry
lower birth rate
higher infant mortality
slower growth rate
smaller adult size
loss of immune system function.
Natural selection works to remove individuals who acquire the above types of traits from the gene pool, therefore many more, in the first generation of inbreeding, will never live to reproduce. In biology, the fittest are those who survive and breed. Over time, with isolation such as a population bottleneck, caused by purposeful (assortative) breeding or natural environmental stresses, the deleterious inherited traits are culled.
Inbreeding in domestic animals
Breeding in domestic animals is assortative breeding primarily(see selective breeding). Without the sorting of individuals by trait, a breed could not be established, nor could poor genetic material be removed.
2006-12-25 10:19:35 · answer #3 · answered by Stephanie F 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No! That would be like you mating your sibling and having a baby.
2006-12-25 11:40:11 · answer #4 · answered by Gulf Coast Pinky 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
while cat genetics are actually diverse enough that it would not be an actual problem for them to have kittens, there is an ethical issue of bringing more cats into the world when there are so many homeless ones who get killed everyday because there are so many. it is so easy to find low-cost or free spaying and neutering services. just ask your local animal shelter for referrals. you don't have to pay a lot to have that done.
then if you want more cats, adopt cats to save their lives. but i think it is unethical to breed more cats if there are so many who will be killed if they're not adopted.
2006-12-25 10:23:54 · answer #5 · answered by Loon-A-TiK 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
NO! Inbreeding is bad for the species as it is for humans. They will have more health problems & possibly defects or deformities.
2006-12-25 10:26:25 · answer #6 · answered by Epinions Reviewer. 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I would not allow it..... do you have homes for them to go to? Sons to the mother is ok, but the breed may have complications with eyes and hearing....
2006-12-25 10:25:02 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
if they mate they will not be normal and won;t have a long life as the;ll be sickly;caused by inbreeding.sometimes the have 3legs or no ears;.so no please don;t breed them ;and get them spayed and neutered as the;ll live longer as they won;t have to fight tom cats looking for cat love,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
2006-12-25 13:30:23 · answer #8 · answered by Cami lives 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Most cats are somewhat inbred,the more that goes on the less attractive the offspring !
2006-12-25 10:18:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
yes perfectly fine deformities wont happen unless the cats you have are also a result of incest and thier parents were the result of incest. it has to happen over a series of generations for thier to be complications if it is really bothering you then you can get one or both of them fixed but its really just nature taking its course.
2006-12-25 10:27:18 · answer #10 · answered by chrfou18 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋