KittyCatS! Community Forum

I think we've all asked or been asked the question, what is your best breeding advice. So I thought it would be fun and educational to start a thread on this subject.
Think of me as a new kitty person and tell me what your best tip, trick, or advise is.

Oh nice iniative Dev!
The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this topic was: to breed cats and traits combinations one really loves.
The latest and the greatest is soon enough old news

Tip: Do NOT breed starters to starters!

That's a low-odds move. You'll do better in the long run if you breed starters (including Special Collections) to established, non-starters.

(09-12-2012 09:23 AM)devilness chant Wrote: [ -> ]I think we've all asked or been asked the question, what is your best breeding advice. So I thought it would be fun and educational to start a thread on this subject.
Think of me as a new kitty person and tell me what your best tip, trick, or advise is.

That's a great idea!

My best advice is to join KittyCatS Addicts group and take part in the KittyCatS community. -Oh, and to read my Google Docs ;-) They're there to help with just that: Understanding KittyCatS breeding

I have a request not an advice .

Pleaaaase everyone study the pedigree and the dominance order of the traits before you label your kitties for sale.
I see very clear horrible mistakes sometimes and if I don't check pedigrees and depend on the floating text I'd be fooled many times.
Even if the seller has no bad intentions it is still my loss to buy a kitty assuming a trait is hidden when there is no chance at all to have it hidden (Yes I saw that few times and not by new breeders) or when it is only a possibility.

Find what you love and make goals.
Do not breed starters to starters.
Ask questions!

To develope on starter to starter breeding; i've had up to 7 traits show this way, so i do it from time to time on the first breed just in case i get very lucky and have 2 with very recessive eyes or fur lets say ... but this happens rarely and it's in no way to be recommended in general.
Also if a few traits do show you have no way of knowing which starter holds the shown and which the more recessive trait or maybe can be the same trait so in any case you have to start all over with traited kitties. On the other hand you will have a better idea of which traits to use against these starters.

P.S i hear you loud and clear Sara and second this.
If there's a pedigree for a kitty that claims hiddens and you don't yet know how to read them then get someone to help you. If theres no pedigree ask the owner to provide, if owner does'nt comply, DON'T BUY. If claims for hiddens that don't show in the parents then ask to see the pedigree of a sibling which proves the presence of said trait.

In general; when in doubt get help from someone who's been breeding for six months at the very least, preferably a year to help you out, before spending money on an expensive kitty.
In fact once you've been around for a while you'll get to know the breeders that you can trust on word, and who don't make mistakes or cheat customers. EVER.

Yes I have bred starters with eachother when so many new and way more recessive traits were introduced than the traits which were actual at that moment.
Just to have an indication how recessive my kitties were but in general starter + starter = %$#@!?
And I agree with Anna even if you figure some stuff out that way we have to breed them again with an other cat as there is no way to tell which cat gave what traits.

I expected to see 100 posts! lol

My advise is always the same. Never give up on your starters. Took me 85 days to find the hidden fur on my last one. I was hoping for an ebony. sigh (I don't want much do I?) lol They can be stubborn and there's no guarantee the Kitty Server will give you that ultimate kitty, but it's fun trying!

If you want to take the time and have the room. Don't go by just what a kitty shows or by how many traits it has. A nice background can end up being a gorgeous future kitty.

For the tips and tricks part, there are some things I know a few breeders do, but not sure how much difference it really makes.
Some breeders get the happy stat on their kitties up high well into the 90s before they make a box. I've been told it can make a difference on how many traits pass. I've never noticed a difference, but some of us do have our ways. Maybe it's more like a baseball player wearing his lucky sucks on game day?