It is unconscionable to allow a FeLV+ cat outside, not only because she will get pregnant - she will spread FeLV to all cats that mate with her, and the cycle will continue.
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Lee Evans Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 10:22 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Charles Adams - Breeding cats Charles, I don't agree with anyone who calls you a jerk or any other nasty name. Most of us on this list are overworked and have constant shortages of funds. We tend to get impatient with people who are trying, for whatever reason, to bring more cats into the world. We rescue these FeLv+ cats because they are unwanted and usually killed at so-called shelters, which usually shelter no one. Can you imagine a children's shelter that killed the children if they couldn't be adopted? Can you imagine breeding children for skin color, eye color or other characteristics that were popular at any given time? Usually breeding is done for certain characteristics - fur length, the "pug nose" look, no fur, curly fur and any number of characteristics that create "designer type" cats but have nothing to do with improving the health or happiness of the cats brought into the world by breeding. I know that you weren't spending $300 to get a breeding female so that you could have more Bengal cat pets. You would eventually have sold the offspring, possibly not neutered or spayed to other people who want to breed Bengal cats to sell etc.. Please be honest with yourself. You did write in one of your first posts that you didn't want a pet cat in your house. Allowing the female FeLv+ cat to be outside invites any roaming tom cat to impregnate her. So if you think that it's unfortunate to have purchased a FeLv+ cat, just think about a pregnant FeLv+ cat full of mixed breed kittens. Not a good plan. I understand why you have the male cat outside in a cage. Before they are neutered, male cats stink. I have had a few in my house waiting for a neuter appointment and it wasn't pleasant. After they are neutered, however, the marking scent disappears and they are wonderful pets again. You can actually sell your male Bengal after he's neutered and recoup some of your $300 loss. You can't sell the FeLv+ cat but do get her spayed before you have the additional misery of a pregnant cat who mated with some roaming outside male. One more bit of information Charles, we don't buy cats from shelters and we don't "sell" cats that we rescue. By the time we get the cats ready for adoption we have sometimes spent hundreds of dollars on getting them "fixed", getting their shots, feeding and housing them until they are adopted. Food, litter and time spent in their care cost way over the adoption price of $50 to $80 per cat. The adopter gets a good pet that they can enjoy and love "right out of the carrier". They don't have to first start to haul the cat to the vet to get him/her fixed and vaccinated. You probably didn't know this. Anyway, I'm glad you joined this list. I hope you have learned some facts about breeding and cats in general. I won't be posting on this topic any more so good luck to you and I hope you will do the right thing by your lovely cats.
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