Talk:Show cat

Health problems as a result of inbreeding

I have changed the paragraph that discusses this issue from the previous version which stated categorically that this is a misconception. I integrated some but not all of a previous version which stated categorically that it was a problem. I decided to go with a wording which indicated that inbreeding related problems are a concern. The paragraph still does feel quite right so anyone wanted to re-word it would be appreciated. In any event dismissing the issue as a "misconception" is clearly POV and incorrect when preventing this sort of problem is one of the major activities of breeders. This is bore out by the previous version's mention of ethical breeders. Even assuming that this is not a problem at all for so called ethical breeders the existence of unethical ones would still make this a problem so it does merit inclusion as a consideration beyond dismissing it as a misconception. I also linked to the article selective breeding which has a more in depth discussion of the problem and what is done about it (again more evidence that it is not simply a misconception.

Yes it is a misconception and my version was written on the advice of several veterinarians, one of whom has been a cat only vet for 20+ years. Please prove your asertations before changing something like this so dramatically. Also, please check out Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeder's and Veterinarians, the other source I've used.Pschemp 17:46, 3 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ok I wll not change it back with out a more detailed list. But I do not think you will liek the results. Reading through the articles on the various breeds you will see that a number of them are (the breeds themselves) more likley to get a lot of diffrent things ranging from deafness to weak immunsystems to a variety of conditions that prevent them form being able to take care of themselves. Even if for example any of the harless breeds were selected for hairlesness it still causes them health problems. Or on the other end of the scale ca breeds with so much hair that they cannot clean it themselves.

That said your statments cannot be factual as you claim because the way you have written the article it is internally inconsistent, unless you are implying that all breeders are ethical then the implication is that some are not and so it is still a problem. Also the breeding standards established by the various orginazations that do the shows are largly designed to offset this problem while maintainning the "ideal". Refering to these things (which are to be found in most of the articles on pedagree animals on wikipedia) as a misconception implies that there is no truth to them or that the problem is so easially delt with as to have been totally illiminated. In anyevent I will include some specific examples here before changing the article again. Dalf | Talk 18:46, 3 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Specific examples of health problems

Note that even if defects are detected and removed, the article as I had it (and as it originally was) simply stated that the defects happened at a higher frequency then the normal cat population. The occurrence of the defects is relevant to breeders and vets and many others and they read encyclopedias too.

Manx cats born with stubby tails are prone to a type of painfull arthritis.
Manx cats shorter tails can cause dammage to their spinal cords resulting in problems with spina bifida, bowels, bladder, and digestion as well as bathroom hygiene.
From the article on Siamese: Many Siamese are cross-eyed to compensate for the abnormal uncrossed wiring of the optic chiasm. While this may not cause immidate helth problems it is a genetic defect.
All of the hairless breeds including Don Sphynx, Cornish Rex, Devon Rex and Sphynx (cat) have trouble regulating body temptautre, as well as exposure to sun. They also have ptoblems grooming themselves as their skins produce the same oils as if they had all their furr layers meanning that they cannot take care of themselves. Crossbreeding the Sphynx with the with the Devon Rex had to be disallowed by breeding ruls because it caused serious dental or nervous-system problems. This at least indicates that the breeds are likley to see these sorts of problems more frequently then the normal population.
The breeding standard for Tonkinese listed at [1] lists Rapid oscillation as a disqualiafying trait. Why would they need to specifically eliminate this indicatio of nurological problems if it did not happen at a higher frequency in this breed?
This article [2] indicates that larger gene pools are infact a contributing factor to increased health. British Shorthairs are strong cats with few health problems. The large gene pool available in establishing this breed and careful, informed breeding practices have helped insure this.
The Turkish Angora are documented as having a higher rate than "normal" to other cats of hormonal and allergic skin complaints. This is from "Medical, Genetic, & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats", edited by Ross D. Clark, copyright 1992, Forum Publications, Inc., St. Simons Island, Georgia., and is mentioned in [3] which also discusses the helth dangers of inbreeding in the more rare breeds.
Further evidence if you look on google for guides about getting a pet cat. The guides that refer to purebred cats are always more pointed about asking about the cats helth and any problems that might be encountered. This does not seem to be as large a concern for general population cats.