Cat Breeders.

Someone restrain me. But WTF is this creature? Am I the only one who doesn't think this is cute?

These Munchkin cats go for $600 a piece! Who in their right mind pays $600 for a cat? A mutant cat, at that. This really torques me because there are hundreds upon hundreds of cats in shelters with their days numbered if no one takes them home. And even more on the streets.

I'm a frequent visitor at the Animal Control here. Their cages are always at maximum capacity and they're practically falling over backwards to get these cats homes. You walk in and see three dozen healthy, beautiful, normally- proportioned kitty cats staring up at you with these big sad eyes and it's enough to rip your heart out. Hundreds of cats are put down every year in my city alone. It's bad enough breeding dogs like crazy, but cats? Their numbers are out of control.

Why pay hundreds of dollars for a disfigured weenie cat when you can pick a healthy one up off the street for free? I see tons of kittens running around in alleys all the time. If you want a cat, adopt a homeless one! If you find a stray one, that's fantastic. If you adopt one from a shelter, great. Adoption fees run at about $40. That's $40 versus $600.

Munchkins aren't the healthiest cats in the world. And they can't even do the things normal cats do, like jump up on the sofa or run around and chase birds.

All of my cats, with the exception of Annabel (who is from a shelter) have been straight off the streets. They make amazing pets. Miss Kitty was thrown out by her owners in the middle of winter -while pregnant- and she had to sit on top of the dog house otherwise the dog would chase her. She'd had a litter before, and the damn dog had killed one of her kittens. We took her home, and she had her kittens days later. That was when I was little, and now she's about 17. Best cat I've ever had. She's just perfect. Living proof that adopted cats are the best ones you can get.

Anyway, back to breeding.
I find the breeding of "Twisty Cats" particularly disturbing, even more so than Munchkins.

These poor creatures have no use of their front legs whatsoever. Their legs are about three inches long and the only way they can get around is to hop or scoot on their back legs.

But isn't this kyoot??? Look at those little bitty legs!

Bagh. That's cruel, that's what it is. There's nothing attractive about it.

This is likely the height of human atrocity. Deliberately breeding an animal for deformity. It's despicable, to say the least.

I'm aware that nature sometimes produces a deformity and Munchkins originally appeared as feral cats in the UK. They eventually died out in the wild, but people thought they were cute, so continued to breed for that particular mutation. A natural deformity is a rare occurrence, and feral/wild animals often don't survive because of it. Which is ultimately a good thing, so they don't pass on their mutation.

Breeding cats in general is just stupid. It's like the breeders are completely unaware of the number of cats in shelters and on the streets. Or that they just don't care.

I'm not as opposed to breeding rare breeds like Abyssinians and Burmillas. In moderation. Moderation is the key word.

I'm also going to pick on the irresponsible sons of a bitches who don't spay or neuter their cat(s) and just let them reproduce like bunny rabbits. That's why you see free kittens advertised in the paper all the time.

I will never ever ever buy a cat. As much as I love Turkish Angoras, I would never buy one. It would be pretty awesome if I came across one in a shelter one day, but that's a one in a million chance. There are still plenty of young, pretty kittens waiting for homes. I did see a beautiful white kitten with one blue and one green eye that I would have taken home in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, everyone else in my family are dog people, and it wouldn't have gone over well.
Darn. I had a name picked out and everything. She was pretty.
The kittens always go fast, though, so I'm pretty sure she got a home. :)