Rescuing a cat… found out he is inbred?

[chatterbug22]

Would you go ahead with the rescue anyway?

We’ve paid the adoption donation fee and had our sights set on him but have discovered he was neglected at his previous home (volunteers managed to bring him to rescue)

He is 2, litter trained, apparently extremely affectionate. He’d be a house cat and he is neutered. We are due to collect him Friday but only just found out the deeper history behind him, and he is the result of his mum mating with her brother. All cats lived together.

I’m mostly worried about genetic problems. The vet says he has a clear bill of health and is really really well, shiny coat and bright eyes. I am just anxious there’d be something wrong with him as a result of his genes that would come out later in life? What would you do?

I’d go ahead. As pp say many cats are inbred.

I cant quite believe this is a question

Our dog is inbred (accidental brother/sister mating). He’s 14 and still going strong. He’s a dick, but I’m pretty sure that’s nothing to do with his family tree.

Even humans who are inbred are usually okay first generation. It's subsequent generations where it leads to issues

Your cat will be lovely.

It’s unusual to know the lineage of a rescue cat.

this is no big deal - but are you sure you are equips to care for a pet cat. The first people most people would do is ask the shelter, google it or ask a vet. It seems odd to ask on mumsnet - and not even on the area for cat owners.

cats require more care than some people realise. My cat is four - she is great and healthy but I have spent over a thousand pounds in vets bills since I got her, she tends to get in fights! They need to be flea and worm treated every month, need regular check ups and vaccinations.

there is no guarantee they will be in good health for their whole lives.

please think carefully about the home you can offer this cat

My little cat was an inbred farm cat - she was very small because of this. Extremely gentle, loyal and affectionate. She lived to be 16 and was very much loved. Adopt that cat and give him the best life.

Oh wowser he sounds gorgeous 😍

As long as you don't intend to breed from him, which you won't be, it's fine.

my cat is inbred

he is quite dozy and nervous at times. He is a big cat (6kg) but not a fighter at all

he is the most loving cat I’ve ever known my friends are always happy to come and cat sit he has a lovely gentle nature. He isn’t aloof though does have that killer instinct

he is 18 now and still in very good health

And no health issues

My parents have an inbred cat and he's lovely and healthy if a bit dumb, but that's probably unrelated

I've only just found out that many thoroughbred horses are inbred including the number one rated horse in Europe at the moment, Baeed, who has the stallion Mr Prospector 3 generations back on one side and 4 generations back on the other side. See
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baaeed

Apparently 97% of all thoroughbreds are descended from the stallion Northern Dancer who won the Kentucky Derby in 1964.
The belief is that inbreeding concentrates the genes and that it's fine until it goes wrong!

I suspect my 2 cats were the result of brother and sister inbreeding. Barnaby had struvite crystals, he was killed in the road aged 3, and Troy developed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and died just before his 6th birthday.

I came back to ask how on earth a rescue cats parents are known?

I recently bought two pedigree kittens from a highly reputable breeder. They come with 5 generations of history and there is loads of inbreeding which I really was not expecting. The cats seem healthy enough.

It is much, much, much more likely a cat that has issues, has issues because its mother was a kitten/wasn't cared for properly during pregnancy, than because of one generation of inbreeding.

Pedigrees are always inbred. That’s kind of the point of them.

My cat was inbred, she was lovely but she had a lot of health issues / defects since birth. I had her pts at 14 so still a good age. Obviously health problems is a risk and it could cost money in the future but I think any major issues would have been picked up by now.

My mother's neighbour died and he had over 20 cats living in his upstairs flat. All inbred from the litter of the first cat, one cat evaded capture and my mother took her in. That cat is over 15, never been to the vets and so affectionate. She looks like an owl, has this funny face and has this thick fuzzy furr.