My parents have a kitten. My father thinks it would be a good idea for her to have kittens

[NormaStanleyFletcher]

Obviously not right now, she is only 18 weeks old or so. But am I right in thinking that this is really not necessarily a good idea, even in the future?

Background.

My mum has parkinsons, cancer, fatigue

He is not much help.

I have said that if he thinks this is a good idea then he should do ALL of the kitten care, clearing up shit, staying up with birthing cat all night etc.

The cat is a burmese blue, so the kittens could well find homes, but can you tell me or link me to reasons why this is not a good idea, or what is involved in having kittens from your cat?

Thanks in advance.

[NormaStanleyFletcher]

Should have said how much work is involved in having kittens

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I always say to clients they must factor in hundreds of pounds of vets bills if a section is needed and should always bear in mind that sometimes the mother dies. If they are prepared to take these risks and give up 8 weeks of their lives then they should consider it.
Also bear in mind that kittens can be registered as not to be breed from so if they have offspring they can not be registered - inactive register. This is the case with the vast majority of pedigree kittens sold to pet homes.

[cozietoesie]

As Lone said, most pedigree kittens are registered as not for breeding purposes so having her mated to a registered pedigree stud would be nigh on impossible (a responsible Burmese breeder would not go along with it) and even if you could find one, there is a deal of expense in doing that. Even then, the kittens, without proper documentation and without the ability to register them, would not be worth the sort of money your father might imagine - if any money at all. You could be left trying to find homes for a whole litter where you couldn't quote them as full Burmese even if they were.

Breeding pedigree cats is not something to be entered into either lightly or quickly. (Actually, breeding any cats is not something to be entered into on a whim.) And I haven't even mentioned the sort of money which might be involved in raising any kittens and possibly, as above, having to fund vets bills for the cat's pregnancy or for illnesses/problems with the kittens.

Or the effort needed. I don't see how your mother could possibly get involved with doing all that is needed even if the mother cat is there and hopefully taking care of them. (Some cat mothers are hopeless.) Or your father - who you say is not much help anyway.

Please try to dissuade him from any thought of it. There are enough unwanted kittens in this country looking for homes without bringing others into the world deliberately. If he's still even half-minded to do it, I would be trying to get him, gently, to think about why he wants to. With your mother's illnesses (for which I'm sorry for the family ) I can pretty well guess the reasons but I think he needs to face up to those as a separate issue.

Best of luck with your situation.

[cozietoesie]

PS - that would mean you 'assisting' your parents to make an appointment to have her spayed at the earliest possible opportunity as agreed by your vet. Otherwise, you could get little 'slips' in keeping her contained in the house when she first comes into heat. Remember that they can come into heat and have kittens at - say - 6 months old when they're nowt but a kitten themselves really. (And it can be dangerous at that age for both mother and kits.)

[Fluffycloudland77]

Click onto any cats protection website or independent shelters websites, there will be plenty of reasons, all looking for forever homes, just because they are found homes doesn't meant they will be looked after.

When she comes into season they make such a racket, he'll be ringing around vets trying to get her in for spaying.

Plus some cats kill kittens, no obvious cause they just cannot be bothered and trample them! I've known breeders lose 3 litters before conceding that the cat just didn't like motherhood.

[NormaStanleyFletcher]

Thank you all.

Will try to get some info together about cost (which probably would not be an issue for them tbh), and what work is involved.

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

Lonecatwithkitten
cozietoesie
Fluffycloudland77

[StatisticallyChallenged]

As Lone and Cosie say, the kittens won't be registered and most people who actively seek cats of particular breeds look for registered kittens. I have pedigree cats (Maine Coons) and would not even contemplate buying an unregistered kitten.

I know there are always debates as some people don't agree with breeding cats at all. Personally I think there is a huge difference between responsible breeding of pedigrees and backyard breeding and I know a lot of people who feel the same. I wouldn't buy a kitten from your dad.