Cat DNA Day
Cat lovers that we are at WMG, we are always amazed at the glorious variety of felines there are in the world. With the exception of Angel and Cheeps at WMG’s Promotion Central, none of our cats has any pretensions to purity of breeding. They are generally shelter cats adopted at a variety of ages, although Shoes and Buddy were feral kittens who just walked into the house of our publisher, Allyson, and took up residence. They have settled in quite nicely.
There are reasons on both sides of the purebred vs mixed-breed cat divide. Cats have been companions to humans, at least to some extent domesticated, for an estimated 10,000 years or so. It wasn’t until 1871 that the first cat show of five breeds was held in London. And it was in 1887 that an official registry was created of cat breeds by the National Cat Club in England. Since then, cat lovers have bred cats for various qualities, such as color of fur, length of fur, size, eye color, and a variety of personality traits such as playfulness and liveliness. And the International Cat Association now recognizes fifty-seven breeds.
But here’s the thing with cats as opposed to dogs; cat “pure” breeds were all developed from mixed-breed cats rather than pure breeds going feral to produce mixed breeds. And mixed-breed cats have much to recommend them. They don’t have the health issues that continual in-breeding tends to produce. A lot of them are readily available in shelters and homes all around us, and they are for the most part, despite the stereotype, affectionate and a lot of fun to have around.
Some people are fascinated by their own and their pets’ ancestry, and with the developments in genetic analysis, it is fairly easy to find out. There are now services that can trace the breeds of your cat or dog, if you are interested, just as you can find out your own genetic makeup. You can get a kit from any of the large pet-supply stores.