How to Become Cat Breeder (25 Easy Ways & Helpful Tips)

Learning how to become a cat breeder will be easy for you, after reading this article.

It contains 25 easy ways and helpful tips for anyone thinking of becoming a cat breeder.

 

Importance

You can 73, 45, and 48 are numbers associated with standardized breeds of cats.

The International Cat Association recognizes 73 breeds, the Cat Fanciers’ Association recognizes 45 breeds and the Fédération Internationale Féline association recognizes 48.

Whether we are talking about it raining cats and dogs or the nine lives associated with cats, cats are a popular household pet.

In America alone, it is estimated that there are 58 million cats that are owned by pet owners.

Additionally, the cat population consisting of self-sufficient feral cats ranges between 30 million and 100 million cats found across America on American streets.

Consequently, because of this stunning statistic and the reality that many American shelters have an overcrowding of cats in their facility, there are many laws that are enacted by individual states regarding breeding.

It is important that when looking at breeding cats you check with your local laws and policies regarding cat breeding.

Having said that let us look at how to become a cat breeder and see how you can make the process purr.

 

25 Easy Ways & Helpful Tips to Becoming a Cat Breeder

 

1. Know all about being a Cat Breeder

A cat breeder is an individual that purposely breeds a cat with a specific pedigree in mind.

Generally, the intention of the cat breeder is to protect and preserve that particular breed of cats and earn revenue.

 

2. Responsible

A cat breeder is a responsible individual that understands the importance of purposely breeding cats to maintain the pedigree line.

The responsible breeder will also ensure that the proper protocols are followed, proof of the pedigree, and ensuring that the litter that is produced is taken care of and ultimately placed in a caring home.

 

3. Terminology

There are many terms associated with the breeding of cats and being familiar with those terms is important.

For example:

• The female cat is known as a queen
• A cattery is a specific area that is conducive to the breeding process
• The offspring of the female cat is known as a litter
• The male cat is known as a tomcat

 

4. Cat Exhibitor

One of the important first steps in looking into the business of breeding cats is to become familiar with the cat world.

A good way to start out on your journey would be to take on the role of a cat exhibitor.

At these exhibitions, you will get to meet other breeders, judges, and stewards.

Each of these experienced individuals will help you with the showing of cats, the standards that should be met when breeding, and the actual process.

 

5. Register

As part of the cat breeding commitment, it is important that you be registered as a cat breeder.

Your registration as a cat breeder would be with governing bodies that are charged and take their role seriously as it relates to the breeding standards of cats.

Also, registered breeders are bound by a code of ethics as outlined by your chosen counsel that you are involved.

Failure to comply or not follow the breeding processes may disqualify you as a registered breeder.

Those councils include:

• Cat Fanciers Association
• The International Cat Association
• Fédération Internationale Féline

 

6. Time

A precious resource that is involved with cat breeding is time.

Depending upon the size of your breeding operation the involvement of your time will increase.

The time involved surrounds the socializing of your cats and their kittens, the process of breeding, and the time in raising the litter.

Added to the mix of time involvement is cleaning, marketing your website, and managing your social media platforms.

It is anticipated that a 20 to 25-hour investment per week will be required as it relates to the breeding of cats.

 

7. Space

Another important aspect of the breeding process is space.

You will need a separate space to house the male cat as well as the queens that you have for breeding purposes.

 

8. Build a Cattery

Most breeders build a cattery.

If you follow this plan of action it is important to know about local laws as they relate to breeding cats.

 

9. Separation

Obviously, it is important to keep the tomcat separated from the females the majority of the time.

Also, the female cat or the queen and her litter will also require the appropriate space.

It is important to note that when breeding cats, the female prefers solitude and an area where they feel secure in order to raise her kittens.

 

10. Regulations & Law

As you might suspect there are laws, regulations, or ordinances as it relates to cat breeding.

Each state is different and may have different requirements.

A site that you can access to determine what laws may apply to your given state of residency can be found at https//theanimalcouncil.com/BreedingRegState.html.

 

11. Money to Purchase Cats

It is important to know that breeding cats are an expensive business.

A good formula to indicate what the cost will be is if you purchase a cat from a registered breeder the expense to acquire that cat is typically double the purchase price of the cat.

The other part of the formula is then to multiply that amount times four and you have a ballpark idea of what the total breeding cost will be just to purchase the cats for your breeding program.

 

12. Budget 

In addition to the breeding, costs will be the other expenses associated with the care of your queens and tom.

Those expenses will include:

• Food
• Grooming
• Vet care
• Toys

Obviously, the more cats that you have as part of your breeding business the more expensive will be the operation.

 

13. Patience

Another important tip or challenge to consider is that the breeding of cats is a business that requires significant patience.

The factor of patience comes into focus because there aren’t any standard processes as to when the cats will mate and produce a litter.

Some adults, depending upon their breed, may not have their first litter until they are two years old.

 

14. Education

Before fully immersing yourself in the cat breeding business it would be a good idea to be as educated as possible.

There seemingly is not much educational material as it relates to cat breeding.

However, there is a book entitled “The Complete Guide To Breeding Pedigree Cats.”

 

15. Mentoring

A great way to receive help when starting out in the cat breeding process is to link up with a mentor.

One way that you can take advantage of a mentoring program for breeders is through the Cat Fanciers Association.

The website to be involved with the mentor program can be accessed at https//cfa.org/mentoring-program.

 

16. Earnings

The overall cost of breeding cats can be fairly expensive.

Specifically, the amounts of money expended can go into thousands of dollars.

This is due to the reality that utilizing less common breeds or when importing cats from different countries can add to the expenses due to the various small gene pools in certain regions of the country and world.

The bottom line is that with all of the investment money the possibility of gaining profit can be a minimal reality at best.

 

17. Stud Fees

The other added expense as it relates to the breeding process is the decision that you make regarding the tomcat.

If you choose not to utilize your own stud you will have to pay a fee for the use of a pedigree stud in order to complete the fertilization process as it relates to producing kittens.

The use of the stud can cost as much as hundreds of dollars if not into the realm of thousands.

 

18. Equipment

The other added expense in the breeding process is the various equipment needs pertaining to the care of your cat.

Those equipment needs could include:

• Food bowls
• Nesting boxes
• Bedding
• Food
• Scratching posts
• And so forth

 

19. Veterinary Care

Another important component of the care of the mother to be with her kittens is veterinarian care.

The veterinarian should be seen on a regular basis and the care will include general care for the queen, any potential accidents and emergencies that might arise, vaccinations, the possibility of an emergency C-section, microchipping, and spaying and neutering the kittens.

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20. Blood Type

Also, the blood should be tested for both the queen and the stud so that the blood group is determined before the meeting process is enacted.

 

21. Diseases

As part of the breeding process, it is also important to test the pedigreed cats for any diseases that may be transmissible.

Examples of those transmissible diseases could include feline immunodeficiency virus or feline leukemia virus.

 

22. Genetics

Because breeding and pedigree are so important.

Some breeds have the potential of being prone to various health conditions.

Some of those genetic health conditions could be polycystic kidney disease or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which are genetically transferred to offspring.

As a breeder, you must test all cats to make sure that the offspring that are being produced are not being affected by any of these or other genetic conditions.

 

23. Insurance

As a business, these cats and their litter are an investment.

Therefore, it is important to provide insurance for these animals.

By doing a Google search on cat insurance a number of insurance providers will populate your screen and you can look to see what plans the best suit your needs and your pocketbook.

One such website is https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com.

 

24. Miscellaneous Fees

Fees that can be lumped together under the line item or title of miscellaneous can include:

• Advertising costs
• Use of your website
• Registrations
• Fees associated with shows
• Grooming equipment
• The loss of personal revenue-being away from work

 

25. Finding Homes

Another component of being a breeder is prior to breeding your queen to make sure that there is a market and good homes for the cats that will be born as part of the litter.

It is important to do this research prior to the breeding process so that the kittens that are born will have a healthy and welcoming home.

A possible checklist for finding a good home for the cats that have been bred due to all of your hard work is to:

• Ask a veterinarian
• Ask around
• Invite potential owners to visit your cattery
• Ask questions
• Be prepared to answer questions
• And so forth.

 

Personal Story

Our family has never been one for having cats in the home.

We’ve had parakeets, and guppies, but only once, that I can recall, did we have a kitten.

I can recall one time my little sister was running around in circles going from the living room through the hallway around through the kitchen and back into the living room again.

On one occasion this little kitten that we had latched onto her bottoms and my sister continued to run with the kitten firmly affixed to her clothing.

I can also recall my mother saying something to the effect of my baby brother possibly getting smothered by the kitten due to the milk that was being fed to him.

Subsequently, these things seem to have a matter of sticking with you and cats have never been a part of my household.

Come to find out, however, that there is no truth to a cat stealing a baby’s breath.

 

How to Be a Cat Breeder FAQs

 

What is the Most Popular Breed of Cat?

The most popular breed of cats are:

• Siamese
• Persian
• Maine Coon
• Ragdoll
• Bengal

 

How Much Money Do Cat Breeders Make?

The average income for a cat breeder is over 39,380 and the top percentile of cat breeders make over $80,000.

 

You Can Do It

Breeding cats is an involved process that will take your time, money, and commitment to care for the birth of a litter of kittens.

However, perhaps for you, it is more than just a sacrifice.

For you, as a cat lover, it is your desire to breed cats beyond the monetary benefits that you might realize.

 

Conclusion

Depending upon which association of cat lovers you agree with there are a vast variety of pedigrees of felines that can range anywhere from the mid-40s on up to the 70s.

Cats are a popular household pet not only in America but around the world.

They provide good companionship, are fun to watch, and besides where would we be without funny cat videos?