Pedigree cat

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A pedigree cat is a cat that has been bred according to the guidelines of a felinological umbrella organization ( FIFe , WCF , GCCF , CFA , TICA ) according to a breed standard . Your race affiliation is documented by the pedigree or the family tree of a recognized breed club in whose stud book it is entered. The standard breed a race defines the essential characteristics found to be possessed by a cat a particular race, in particular those which differ from their relatives cats other races.

Pedigree cats are usually pure bred over many generations , i. H. neither with other races even with non-purebred cats crossed . A pedigree cat is called purebred if it has the essential characteristics of its breed (breed characteristics) and is regularly inherited and is descended from purebred parents that can also be proven.

breed

The predominant breeding method in pedigree cat breeding is pure breeding . Through pure breeding with constant selection for the desired traits, many characteristics of a breed are anchored homozygous . Therefore there is a high degree of uniformity in both phenotype and genotype within a breed . This ensures that the offspring of pedigree cats in turn (with a very high probability) correspond to the standard of their breed.

The breeding goal specified in the breed standard can also be achieved in phases with certain breeds through crossbreeding. This is particularly possible with young breeds, so-called new breeds. Crossbreeds can also be allowed to expand the gene pool as a countermeasure against an inbreeding coefficient that is too high and thus to keep a breed healthy in the long term. The breed associations regulate whether and which crossbreeds are allowed for which breed for which period. This emerged from a purposeful crossbreeding concept animals are not the stud book, but in a register - (RIEX R egistration I nitial et EX registered and receive a pedigree appropriately marked perimental). Only those animals are used for further breeding which largely correspond to the desired breed standard. In subsequent generations, the desired traits are genetically reinforced in such a way that a high degree of heredity is achieved again. After several generations, the offspring can then be transferred to the stud book. In the so-called natural breeds , especially the forest cat breeds ( Siberian cat , Norwegian forest cat , Maine Coon ), crossbreeding with foreign breeds is generally not permitted, as they should be preserved in their originality. With these breeds, however, there is the possibility of breeding animals from the original population that has not been influenced by breeding in the country of origin in order to expand the gene pool. These animals and their offspring also receive RIEX-labeled pedigrees.

A pedigree cat is therefore the result of long-term, targeted, fully documented and also cost-intensive breeding work. This explains their higher (market) value compared to similar looking animals without this proof.

A cat whose origin cannot be proven cannot be considered a pedigree cat, even if it phenotypically suggests a certain breed.

In Germany there are currently over 120 clubs that are dedicated to breeding pedigree cats. They are either affiliated with the above-mentioned umbrella organizations or work as independent associations.

History of pedigree cats

The historically young breed of cats , i. H. The cattery has, since the first half of the 20th century. a whole series of races from the domestic cat bred. The majority of breeds are based on the systematic further breeding of a spontaneously occurring mutation , which can affect coat color, coat pattern, hair length, hair structure but also (less often) the body structure: z. B. Point cats breeds, the Manx cat , various Rex cats or the Sphynx cat . Such mutants usually do not spread further in the wild because their special characteristics represent a disadvantage in the struggle for survival. Even before umbrella organizations for cat breeders were founded around the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, regional types with such special characteristics manifested themselves within the group of domestic cats, regardless of breeding interventions. Examples are the Angora cat in the Middle East , today's Norwegian Forest Cat in Scandinavia or the Siberian cat type in Russia. In the second half of the 20th century, the corresponding so-called natural races were bred from these regional types .

See also

Web links

European organizations

American organizations

Others

Remarks

  1. ↑ Kennel name protection center, participating associations
  2. ↑ Kennel name protection center, clubs not involved