Yes... I think the little cat is cute, but there's a difference between cute and healthy. The breeding extremes in the dog world started off this way too... my crowning speech last year was all about how unhealthy some of those dog breeds have become, and not just because of terminal illness or conditions like HCM -- but because of the very traits the breeders are actively selecting for. Some dog breeds make me want to just cry...

All the breeding shenanigans aside, that cat (TO ME) is ugly! No way would I pay money for that poor thing

extreme breeding only heads one way.............a bad way.

For example, the 'blue' color in staffordshire bull terriers and american pitbulls is terrible. So much extreme breeding just to create this wonderful color, that people forgot how aggressive these dogs can be! 'fighting breeds' are good dogs, very loyal and friendly but one wrong move with their genetics and you're breeding an aggressive and unhealthy pup I've spent a long time with the staffie dog world and breeding like this never turns out good.

I much prefer the original Siamese, these new world types look like bats crossed with a bad vampire movie character, to me there is nothing appealing about them. But it's not to say someone else won't find them attractive. But I personally feel, after reading up on them that they are an unhealthy version.

ah yes PDE - I must say the Cav bit was the bit that upset me the most - especially as the breeder was fully aware of the neurological problem but chose to ignore it and carry on using the dog producing it at stud (happens all too often)

and thanks for that link - quite a list of problems then....very sad.

My kid's godmother breeds her GSD, he is like a big gentle bear, massive fella! He came from a reputable breeder who focused on the temperaments and train-ability over looks. Well, she managed to get the perfect GSD, took out the curved hinde qtrs too. He is suburb, he is an actual nanny dog. Many times when I've gone to stay over at hers with the kids, her GSD would 'Shepard' the kids, if something was wrong, he'd let you know. This is all from breeding correctly, he was not taught the natural skills a dog in his line would need.

She has bred 3 litters from him and all 3 litters are spitting images in their father's temperament and train-ability.

A mutual friend purchased a GSD on it's looks, we told her to avoid doing this and she took no notice. Although her dog was a very beautiful tan/black, she was feisty, hard to train and eventually attacked another dog in a local park. After that attack, her dog tired it's hardest to escape their house/garden and one day when she did, she ran straight towards a child who was eating a hot dog and WHAM, jumped the kid, biting her and then picking up the hotdog and sulked off into a bush. 2 months later, the courts ordered her dog be put down.

I know this is diff from siamese but if it helps point out the issues with wrong breeding, then so be it.

This thread is ridiculous. It's too bad that we don't have any oriental breeders here to defend themselves, but I do find it disappointing that bengal breeders would be in here throwing mud. To me that's definitely the pot calling the kettle black. Extremes? Cosmetic extremes? BS. So when you are evaluating a cat to be part of your breeding program, and you see one that has especially nice markings you turn it down because it's not mundane enough? lol. No, it jumps right to the top of your list.

And since when does selective breeding equate to in-breeding? For gosh sakes, that breeder even posted the lineage right on their webpage for everyone to see. The gene pool is big enough that there is no need for in-breeding, and the only reason to do it would be laziness. Ordering a breeding stud is about as easy as ordering a pizza.

And all this talk about physical defects as a result of "extreme breeding", and then this being particularly present in the oriental breed.... what evidence is there of this? Certainly the insurance companies don't seem to think there is any such connection. Go ahead and go to one of the big insurance companies and see if the rate would be different for orientals than for bengals. There's certainly no difference in my premiums.

This whole argument basically boils down to somebody not liking the aesthetic that some breeders have gone for. Well you know what? Don't own one then. Why go on a witch hunt and try to bully other people into "boycotting" them simply because you don't like the aesthetic?

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The little monsters 3