Suggestion: Gender before birth

[Callie Cline]

hey destiny,

let me clarify what i wrote above we have talked about it and it was an initial decision but we have talked again about it.

as i put in the post above, "We may not have a "yes", "no" or "maybe" to give on some issues at some of the times they are asked for. And if it is a "no" as in KittyCats reply, please also know that we often bring various ideas "back" to the table to discuss them, which is why your input is so appreciated "

so again thank you for your input.

sincerely,

KittyCatS Princess aka, Callie

[anna Acanthus]

Posting here as this thread definitely deserves to be kept alive and meowing.
And i don't have much to add even except a resounding amen to all the posts in favor of this proposition.
Not being able to know sex before birth is'nt really any source of excitement or thrill to KCAs, more of aggravating frustration than anything else, and could well dampen enthusiam for those allready struggling to deal with prim counts, sales etc ... so i can only see an all round benefit for everyone in being able to to know sex.
Also i don't know which source the 50/50 random scriptline draws from but it certainly seems a bit off somewhere.
I've been told it's down to "luck" when i've had a run of over 10 boys or girls but i'm sure if i tossed a coin 10 times i would't get x 10 the same side each time, so it would be cool also if this could be better adapted somehow.
Apart from this , totally amazing work, the best customer service, and attention to clients wishes.
I have over 60 kitties on my sim (homestead) atm, i'm registering well under 3 in script time and almost 20 in free time and my basic stats are perfection, this is evidently including me and i prob weigh more than all my kitties put together =^_^=. And this with ALL menu opts active. Totally AMAZED lol !!
Thanks for such a wonderfull product and keep up the great work

[Kayleigh McMillan]

Totally vote for this one also to figure out when it is time to unbox them or keep them in stock to wait for the other gender.

[JC Aferdita]

I think one of the reasonings to why this isn't stated is because you can't possibly know the gender before opening the box. And I kinda agree with it, but a suggestion that might make both sides happy. When you click the box there could be a button saying 'peek in the box' and the gender could be stated in open chat. That way the owners still loving the thrill of a surprise could choose not to 'peek in the box' before opening the box and the breeders that depend on prims and whatnot could take a looksie and get to know. And if the text is only stated in open chat and not on the hovering text, the next owner would still be able to be surprised if they wanted to.
Whatchoo think?

[Midi Reifsnider]

Just adding my voice in support of this. When I only had a few cats, I thought it would be a bad idea, but now that I'm up to my prim limit I think it would be a terrific feature. I'm sure it could be made optional to preserve the surprise for those that like it.

I think it would help with the secondary market too, I know I've decided against buying boxes because I need a cat of a particular sex (usually boys - I have a crazy amount of girls). It might also help stop prices from falling, I know I've reduced prices just to try and get rid of some of the girls!

Anyway, fingers crossed we'll see this in an update soon.

On a side note, I'm totally addicted to these things, and the customer service is amazing. Thanks!

[Kimberly Warwillow]

I know I have replied to this thread before, but I am going to add another 2 cents.

I am a very small breeder, I breed because I love the kitties, not to sell, though on occasion I might try an auction here or there. I usually keep my kitties between 6-8 and my pairs have to even up or it doesn't make sense.

I save my boxes until I get two that are improvements over what I have, and then I birth them and hope beyond hope that I get a boy and girl.

[Adrienne Arliss]

I want to add my amen vote to this. PLEEEEEASE give us the ability to know the gender. There are too many 'unwanted' kitties out there people are selling for dirt cheap and killing the market. Not to mention the boxes that never get opened or sold. Knowing the sex would improve the experience for buyers AND sellers. PLEASE!

[Kayleigh McMillan]

Amen to this one! I'm not so sure about the pregnancy test I think it is costy enough to have cats I rather would see this as a service or even in the dialoge of the box a way to set the gender.
Also it could be cool if it was a boy it was marked on the box visa versa for best cat management.
I'm a starter just because I love cats and perhaps one day I want to be a pro breeder but this sure wasn't the reason I started with KittyCatS I just got overwelmed by the breathtaking cats I saw during RFL.
My love for cats is deep and KittyCatS are just the most irresistable cats I have seen considering I never believed in virtual pets.
But I ended up with a massive amount of girls,... no I should say a girls invasion and to be able to keep it nice I needed to heaven loads of my cats.
This I found so nasty I got letterly sick in the stomach and I ended up considering to quit having cats as it was just to hurtful.
So yes for a hobby breeder, collector and huge cat lover this is rather harsh.
Also I find myself sending back not so much promising boxes before opening them just so it would not feel so bad as when I actually saw the kitty while they did have some traits I could eventually breed.
I send more boxes to manegerie than I would if I knew the gender so I could know how to mix them best.
But a pregnancy test I vote against I believe some things should just be service.
I can imagine for pro breeders it is indeed frustrating they can not plan when to open boxes to make sure their ideal couple is the same age.
This though is not so much the problem I face right now although I symphatise with this.
My problem is basically an emotional one.
Also because I like to breed with my own cats I feel it as a nice challenge to breed with my own cats only and not buying high end cats on the market to breed with my cats.
So yes for pro breeder, hobby breeders or just cat lovers this would be an essential feature.

[Theodore Nacht]

I think that when KittyCatS! began, it was part of the fun not to know. At this point, though, with the markets fully stocked and a lot of breeders at prim limits, what was initially a fun feature has become a source of frustration. This prompts a re-evaluation, does it not? One of the most common things I hear from -anyone- I talk to in this game is how much they wish they could be sure if something was male or female.

I wonder whether there is a mercenary aspect to this decision. If we are forced to open boxes to discover gender, then we are forced to feed cats whether or not they are the ones we need, and KittyCatS! as a business depends on the residual income from food sales. Once opened, it is unlikely most will menagerie a wrong gender kitten because most of us open only our choicest boxes, which are also our most saleable and valuable. This means that we will end up putting that kitten on the market for someone who needs that gender. This means that seller (first) and then buyer will be paying for a kitten that would not have been opened by the original owner otherwise.

However... I don't believe this to be an accurate metric of value for the overall idea as pertains to profit for the brand. If those persons are only opening their best kittens to begin with, and only open the gender they most need, they will more than likely place the box (if gender marked) for sale, and this may well attract that same buyer who needs that kitten with that gender. The box will then be opened as surely as otherwise, and KittyCatS will still receive the appropriate profit. In addition, if we were all to know for certain what gender boxes were, we would be more likely to impulse open boxes because the thrill of getting the right gender on a kitten we were waiting on would override the doubt of "but what if it's the wrong gender?" and ensure immediate birthing. I have countless boxes I have not opened (between me and Draco we have well over 700 boxes, and we do menagerie our disappointing ones) and will NEVER open because I have zero impetus to do so when I do not know if I will be able to achieve the pairings I want with them.

There is no longer a thrill or a fun challenge to the surprise, as far as those who are weighing in indicate. There is no overwhelming financial benefit to this model of service that I can see. There are many reasons to make this change, as presented by all walks of KittyCatS lifestyle: hobbyists, "pro" breeders, auctioneers, pet owners, and others. I honestly feel that an update enabling gender revelation on all boxes would revitalize the market and revolutionize the way we buy and sell cats. This would do -so much- to restore the thrill I once felt when my cats gave me a box. Right now, it's only the most epic surprises that I will ever open. A great box may never get opened at all simply because I know the parents are one male, one female, and will continue to make me more of the same. If I could be certain that a box would be the right gender, I would have much more incentive to open it immediately and add that cat to my breeding program.

The only other concern I might have is whether this would inhibit people from buying cats from other breeders in order to achieve a balance of boys and girls. That is a valid worry, I think, but ultimately an unnecessary one. There will always be traits or combinations of traits that people will want and not have, and for that, they will need to buy from other catteries. Along with this is the fact that linebreeding does, after a point, limit the number of new traits being introduced and reduces the versatility of a lineage eventually. This ensures that even should a kitten box be the right gender to breed back to a parent or older sibling, people will need to obtain fresh genes from outside their cattery. This being the case, I can think of no solid reason beyond the time and energy involved why KittyCatS should not revisit this topic and add it to their list of updates.

Thank you for your consideration. As always, I appreciate the KittyCatS staff and all you do for your customer base. I look forward to hearing further discussion on this matter.

[destiny sandalwood]

I know I said it before, but I am going to say it again cause I think now more then ever it needs to be addressed.

The KittyCats market is in a big slump, the biggest I have seen yet. I know my self and others have not been selling anything for over a week. Cats at auctions from what I seen and heard are going for crazy low prices, the lowest that any of us has seen so far to date. Auctions are being canceled due to no sales. Lets face it things are not looking good.

Everyone I talk to feels the same way, with the market falling we are afraid to open new box's if we can't feed the ones we have at home we sure cant feed new kittens that are not the right sex. I my self and many others believe that with the addition of sex on box's that this would boost the sale of kittycats people could then decide if they wanted to keep said kitten for there own breeding program or sell the box. Box's will no longer be sitting in everyone's inventory or collecting dust on shelves cause it will now be an incentive for people to start buying box's if they know the sex and can match up a box in there inventory with a box from someone else. So instead of two box's that might not have been opened for months now will be opened and soon they will be having little box's as well and those box's will be opened faster.

It's a WIN WIN for everyone, KC will profit from this cause unopened box's that have been collecting dust will now be opened, and there customers will be happy cause there sales will boost with the sale of box's.