How Cat Breeding Began

Breeding pedigreed cats on a serious level did not take place until the 1800s. The first cat show, held in London in 1871, set a trend for exhibiting, which in turn led to a more calculated approach to breeding.

The organizer, an artist and author, set guidelines for breeding which became the basis for standards throughout the world, although different countries set their own rules.

Most of the cats in the early shows were domestic shorthairs and Persians. It was not until later that Asian breeds were introduces to Western Europe. The first Siamese cats were exhibited in Britain later.

By this time, breeders in Europe and America were setting up their own breeding programs. They drew from the best British pedigreed stock and their own indigenous cats. The first American cat show was in New York after that.

There are now more than fifty internationally recognized breeds, and several others that are recognized as established and distinct breeds in some countries but not in others.

The purpose of breeding may go beyond a desire to produce kittens for show or for sale, or even to keep a pedigree line going. Careful and well informed selection of the queen and the stud can improve the type.

Instead of waiting for the natural processes of evolution to select the fittest of a species, a breeder can speed up the process.

Picking the healthiest and most well formed examples of indigenous street cats, and mating them, for example, can led to the development of standard types of British, American and European shorthairs.

Breeders can also try to create a new variety of cat, a new color variation of an established breed, or a new breed altogether. However, this is an area that should be left to the experts who have built up an in depth knowledge of feline genetics, for mutations do sometimes occur.

To establish a new breed takes many years. Only after several mating can a breed be proved to produce healthy offspring’s of consistent type, and only then be officially registered.