What are the new cat breeds: benefits or utopia?

New breeds of cats appear regularly. How are they created? What purpose ? Are they subject to a framework regulatory ? Our answers.

How Are Cat Breeds Created?

The creation of a breed of cats requires that the phenotypes (set of visible characteristics of an organism) are unique. This imperative excludes in fact the crossing between two already existing breeds. Research is therefore aimed at verifying that the new characteristics will not disappear. A major work of selection thus consists in stabilize these particular traits over the generations and to avoid the transmission of genetic diseases excessive inbreeding and the appearance of flaws. If the kittens retain their distinctive appearance, breeders will seek recognition of the breed.

How Is A New Breed Of Cat Recognized?

Before benefiting from a acknowledgement the breed is observed for a long time in order to ensure that the physical criteria are fixed in a way persistent. During the observation phase, felines can only participate in exhibitions in the “house cats” category (without pedigree). If these public events offer breeders an interesting showcase to present their new breed, they cannot claim to obtain titles. When several generations have been examined and the evolution of the breed is considered stabilized, the associations give it the status of “new breed”. A standard is written to guide breeders in their breeding selection.

Is The Creation Of Races Supervised?

Since the law of January 6, 1999, a cat born in France can be considered as “purebred” if it has a pedigree issued by the Official Book of Feline Origins (LOOF), the only organization authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture to keep an official genealogy. The cat not being a utilitarian animal, only criteria aesthetic president to the creation of a new race. However, France has the principle that the characteristics do not jeopardize the health or animal comfort. The development of a new breed is more or less well supervised depending on the country, hence the recent appearance of varieties with traits singular : curly hair, curved ears (towards the front or the back), hairless, without tail, dwarf size.

What Is A Hybrid Cat?

These last decades have been marked by the marriage of cats servants with felines wild. Mating resulted in specimens donning unusually patterned coats, high cheekbones, and imposing physiques. The first and second generation animals (called F1 and F2) still have characteristics that can be problematic: fearful, they do not allow themselves to be approached by strangers, are nocturnal and easily get their claws out. Booming in many countries, the sale illegal of hybrids had the consequence of putting felines of unknown generation on the market. Today, French regulations consider all animals resulting from hybridization as wild up to the fourth generation. The fifth becomes domestic, on condition of proving a filiation with the LOOF. Examples of hybrid cats:

• The Chausie is the first hybrid breed resulting from the cross between the Abyssinian and a wild cat (Felis chaus) from Egypt and Southeast Asia. The animal achieved “new breed” status in 2003 with TICA (The International Cat Association);
• The Savannah was recognized by the LOOF in 2007. This panther-like breed was born in the United States twenty years earlier following a mating between a Bengal domestic cat and an African savannah serval;
• The Toyger a mixture of “toy” (toy) and “tiger” (tiger), was developed in 1980 in the United States with the aim of finding in the domestic cat all the physical characteristics of the tiger.

Dwarf Cats: A Creation?

Achondroplasia is a constitutional disease of the bone producing a dwarfism with shortening of the root of the limbs. Some forms of achondroplasia have been used to develop new breeds of cats with adorable stature. In view of the ethical questions raised by this practice, certain national and international feline groups do not recognize or support the miniaturization felines. Other breeds originate from a genetic mutation, that is to say from a biological modification registered in their hereditary heritage and therefore, transmissible to their descendants. Among the small breeds, we can mention:

• The Munchkin : appeared in the United States in the 1980s, it is the result of a genetic mutation of an alley cat which had short legs, a feature maintained by breeders to give birth to the breed;
• The Minskin: short on legs, it is devoid of hair but can wear a light satiny down. It comes from the cross between the Munchkin, the Sphynx, the Devon Rex and the Burmese;
• Singapore : weighing only 2-3 kg, it is considered the smallest breed of cats in the world. Discovered in 1970 in Singapore, it was imported to the United States and then reproduced;
• The Korat : native to Thailand, it measures up to 25 cm and weighs an average of 2.5 kg. The first imports of the breed to the United States date from the sixties and 1979 for France;
• The Skookum: it is distinguished by its curly hair and its height of 15 centimeters in adulthood. It is the result of a cross between Munchkin and Laperm made in the 1990s.

5 New Cat Breeds To Discover

Resulting from genetic mutations or hybrid crosses, new breeds of cats have appeared in recent years such as:

• THE Donskoy : with the Peterbald and the Sphynx, this feline from Russia is one of the rare hairless breeds;
• The LaPerm : born in the United States in the early eighties, he is characterized by his wavy coat. It comes from a cross with a cat with a curly coat due to a natural genetic mutation;
• The Lykoi (wolf in Greek): devoid of undercoat and bare around the eyes, nose, ears and mouth, this feline results from a natural mutation that appeared in a domestic Shorthair cat;
• The American Bobtail : developed at the end of the sixties, this breed is distinguished by its truncated tail which is approximately one third of the normal size of a cat’s tail;
• The Ojos tiles (blue eyes in Spanish): he comes from the United States and stands out with his azure gaze regardless of the color of his dress;
• Ceylon : this cat borrows some characteristics from the Felis chaus. Discovered in the early eighties in Sri Lanka, it wears a short-haired coat with a Ticked tabby pattern.

Developed for commercial purposes, the new breeds of cats aim to satisfy feline lovers in search of exoticism. However, as seen previously, their recognition intervenes only at the end of an observation carried out on several generations. For ethical reasons, some national and international organizations ensure that the manipulations do not cause harm. harm to the animal, even if it means not recognizing a breed, not authorizing it in competitions or exhibitions. Vigilance aimed at placing boundaries sorcerer’s apprentices!