If You Love Cats
April 11th, 2007 by jessica
Please read the following notice from the Cat Fanciers Association.
It is apparent that many veterinarians, almost all shelter professionals, and even some fanciers are not aware of how devastating AB 1634 would be to the future of the historic and rare breeds of cats. This bill is not just a matter of breeders objecting to paying unknown/high fees for “intact permits”. The bill would end the cat fancy in California and seriously harm the gene pools of beautiful, healthy, well-bred pedigreed cat breeds. These cats are ideal for those families or individuals who want the predictable characteristics
of cats, like the sweet gentle Persian, the lap-sitting Burmese, or the high-energy Abyssinian.
The conditions in AB 1634 (revision dated April 9, 2007) for exemptions from
mandatory spay/neuter are such that those persons BREEDING PEDIGREED CATS
COULD NOT COMPLY AT ALL. See the details here: http://www.cfa.org/exhibitors/alerts.html
Here is the problem: ALL kittens/cats over the age of 4 months must be sterilized.
A. To get an “intact permit” - this is allowed for those cats/kittens meeting various conditions:
1. You need to have a business license (home breeders are not in “business” and may not meet zoning or other requirements to operate as a “business” as these vary with each community) AND be licensed as a breeder by the local jurisdiction or animal control. But, there is no requirement that the local jurisdiction
MUST set up a breeder license program. Breeders, like anyone else, resent having government inspectors in their bedrooms looking for a litter of kittens. Breeder licensing is a money loser for jurisdictions that will not want to set up or enforce a breeder license scheme.
OR
2. You have to meet ALL of three conditions:
(a) The cat has competed in at least one show within the last two years. (This is impossible for a kitten since they can’t be in a show hall until at least 4-months-old by CFA rules and they are supposed to be sterilized before that age. All kittens would be in noncompliance. Most breeders wait to evaluate kittens for breeding potential until they are more mature. Some do not like early-age altering as some breeds develop more slowly.)
(b) The cat is of a “valid” breed recognized by an “approved” registry. (Any local entity we hope would approve CFA, but who knows.)
(c) The cat has earned, or is in the process of earning, a TITLE (conformation, obedience, etc.) from an approved “purebred” registry or association. (If a cat doesn’t like to show - too bad. If the cat is a tailed Manx and can’t be shown - too bad. Many cats are valuable in breeding programs, but cannot be shown for a variety of reasons or a breeder may not want to show for a variety of reasons including personal. Perhaps CFA will have to start awarding “Obedience Titles” for cats.)
OR
3. The dog is a guide dog, etc. (No way to meet this one.)
OR
4. The dog is trained and used by law enforcement, etc. (No way to meet this one.)
OR
5. The owner provides a veterinarian’ s letter stating due to age, poor health or illness it is unsafe to spay/neuter the cat and saying when the cat will be spayed/neutered. (This does not help a healthy breeding cat.)
B. In addition, if a cat were to somehow be able to get an “intact permit” when later the cat no longer meets the requirements above, the cat must be spayed/neutered. (A show cat after winning “Cat of the Year” who is no longer being shown would have to be sterilized. When cats are proven to be of high quality by their show achievements, then that is when they are valuable for a breeding program and should not be spayed/neutered! Cats after showing normally do not go back to shows in the following years - they pass
on their genes to offspring and then they become neutered pets.)
C. In addition –
1. The fee for an “intact permit” shall be “what is reasonably necessary” to fund the administration of this complicated, bureaucratic nightmare program. There is no tested law to know how much this might cost. Several jurisdictions are already proposing $150/cat/year. It could be an even higher excise tax.
2. The jurisdictions MAY adopt a permit differential fee that would qualify for an intact permit. (Some may do this, others may have a higher license fee and charge an additional fee for an “intact permit” that allows the cat to be used for breeding. There is great uncertainty.)
D. The worst of all: No jurisdiction is prohibited from adopting a MORE restrictive spay/neuter “program.” There will be jurisdictions unable to implement the complicated proof of show career, registry approving, title checking plan for dogs and cats. Others may not want to administer an expensive breeder license program. Many could simply say mandatory spay/neuter - NO EXCEPTIONS.
We know the agenda of the animal rights organizations in support of this bill is to eventually stop all purposeful breeding. But it is difficult to understand how the California Animal Control Directors Association (CACDA) would support diverting resources to a complicated breeder-hunter law. We wonder why the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) would want to see the historic and beautiful well tempered breeds of cats with rich history, like Persians, Siamese, Japanese Bobtails, Korats, Maine Coons, American Shorthairs, Russian Blues, Scottish Folds and so many others become EXTINCT.
The cat fancy helps to educate and to raise the value of all cats. AB 1634 isn’t necessary for communities to reduce the numbers of homeless cats in California shelters. Stopping the unchecked reproduction of unowned/freeroaming/feral cats is.
Legislation to help reduce the population of feral cats is a good thing. However, the way this bill is written, we could end up cat-less, and I couldn’t imagine a world without these beautiful creatures. My fur-babies are all rescued, but they are also purebred cats, and if a law like this passed, then the chances of getting more cats will be greatly reduced.
Please join me in signing the petition to preserve the beautiful and historic breeds of cats.
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