When I started as a Pedigree Cat Breeder in 2017, I learned very quickly that it was a very protected space. Newcomers weren’t welcome. In fact they were bullied out of the business by the scariest of breeders. Several Maine Coon breeders tried to do it to me.
Luckily, people don’t intimidate me.
In an effort to combat the cat hags for everyone, Cat Breeder Sensei was born in 2020. By providing positivity alone, the message is being spread in the community and there are changes being made little by little. More breeders are talking about making profits, kitten prices are increasing, and breeders are helping each other.
Thank You To All Cat Breeders Who:
- Live in a Positive Mindset
- Are willing to help others without discrimination
- Aren’t keyboard Warriors
- Mind Your Own Business
- Aren’t Judgemental About How others Run their Cattery
- Don’t Gossip about Other Breeders
- Freely Share Your Knowledge with Others
When Things Became Easier for New Cat Breeders
The capability of importing breeding cats from Europe opened the opportunity up for anyone who was willing to take the risk on buying cats from overseas. This brought tons of frustration and anger to the old schoolers, since they’re no longer able to keep the breeds down on lock and key. They began to lose control over what was once theirs and tried using scare tactics on people.
What happened was newbies decided they would go about it without a mentor. They’d figure things out on their own. AND THEY HAVE!!
More information about breeding cats is being published every day. You’re no longer limited to taking the ONLY course for breeders that has a 2 year waiting list (PawPeds). You can now find on-demand training courses for all levels of breeding cats. Social groups and communities are being formed that support cat breeders. Basically, you don’t really need a mentor any more. Technology has brought us to a place where we can learn how to do anything at all, with the help of YouTube, podcasts and people who are willing to share.
Here is a screenshot of the comment that was made during a live training event I was a guest speaker at for cat breeders on Jan 19, 2024. (His name was James not Jason as I stated in the video).
James is exhibiting what we call cat hag syndrome. He’s making false accusations and just being hateful. James obviously didn’t “look me up” or he would see that i only produce about 30 kittens per year. James needs to mind his own business.
James is part of the problem. Don’t be like James.
Why Breeders are So Mean to Everyone
It will always be a phenomenon to me, and no reasoning will ever make sense why they act like they do. At first I thought it was a competitive mindset. But that makes no sense when a Bengal breeder is attacking a Maine Coon breeder. Then I thought maybe they’re like this because they’ve spent years struggling with getting the knowledge themselves, and they don’t want to just “give it away”. But in general, people are willing to share what they know in an effort to help others.
So what is the problem with the majority of cat breeders? Why are they so mean? Why do they look down their nose at everyone else? I think they’re just lonely women (AND MEN) who are just miserable with themselves. For some reason, this type of person is heavily associated with cat breeding. It has to be the only logical explanation. If you can think of another reason, PLEASE comment below and let me know your ideas.
Our Journey to Educate and Inspire will Continue
Training and education for breeders at its highest demand. We’ll continue to provide help for new and experienced breeders alike. We hope that you ‘ll be part of the positive movement that we’ve fought for since 2020, and will continue to do so. Thank you for your support!
Man I just love ya Lady! You’re a breath of fresh air. Thank you for being you and real!
-Beth
I have experienced all of this, too. I also started in 2017 and I came into the market of these scary personalities around 2020… To be honest, I dont even want to wonder why they are so mean and rude… no sense wasting mental energy figuring out something that probably has not real answer that would genuinely make us feel better. I just imagine them disappearing and us SWEET newer breeders changing the tone for everyone. We got this!
I started in 2023 and there are SO many rude breeders who are unresponsive. I’m aware that my message might get buried under all that is cat breeding, but after sending 3-4 follow ups and no response, or getting seen on blue-ticks, why would I throw my hard earned $$$$ at them who don’t seem the least bit interested in me? And don’t even get me started on the show breeders who try to bully the newbies just because they entered 8 -10 cats in one go. Paying thousands doesn’t mean you’re automatically entitled to a coveted table spot if you don’t arrive early to grab it… It’s insane to me that they tried to bully a newbie with one cat away by demanding they move.
Then there are those established breeders who lie like it’s second nature. Selling a blood type B queen and claiming it is type A, while the blood test came back type B and it is too expensive to return the cat. Selling clearly unfit for show (think severe under/overbite) cats to novice breeders who thought they would get a good cat (and truth) from someone who knows the breed inside out and have a large, very well-known cattery, and telling said novice breeders the cat is a show quality one.
Or such a story: the established breeder who advertised multiple cats from a litter as available to a novice breeder. Then, the novice breeder, after a week of mulling over budget and space, decides they would buy the more expensive, nicer kitten. The novice gets turned down due to “another buyer has placed a deposit and the nicer kitten is reserved, but you could reserve the sister.” The novice breeder thinks about it some more and decides to reserve the sister. Days passed, and yet, the nicer kitten is still shown as “available” on the website, and shockingly, in a curious enquiry from someone else, the nicer kitten is still magically available for sale! But to this novice, the established breeder says, the nicer kitten has been reserved. Clearly, the breeder wants to sell the rest of the litter before selling the star. Or for whatever reason, they don’t want to sell this kitten to a novice but does not want to say it aloud upfront. Does the novice want to risk getting bullied out of the cat fancy if they confront the more established breeder for their lies? But they are still a novice and just beginning! How would they survive if they get on the blacklist and no one would sell them a good quality kitten anymore?
The list goes on, and on, and on.