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Breeding any kind of an animal is an art form. It is not something to be taken lightly. Breeders should put
a lot of time, effort, and planning into each breeding and much thought should go into what the litter will produce.
If you are going to breed, you do so in order to produce an animal that comes closer to meeting the standard of excellence
set out by any of the organizations dealing with napoleons, while maintaining excellent temperaments and striving to reduce
or eliminate health problems.
We hear it quite frequently, and it’s one of those things that truly bothers most responsible breeders. Someone
will tell us that they are breeding their animals and when asked why, the response is, “I want to make more of that
color.” It is true that most responsible breeders will specialize in a particular color or variety; however, breeding
JUST to make more of that color is not an acceptable goal.
If you breed quality cats in a responsible manner and if you provide for all their needs to the best of your ability,
you cannot make money. On the other hand, if you skimp, if you provide the minimum of everything—the least expensive
food, cheap litter, no vaccinations, breed in huge numbers, and sell to the commercial pet industry (pet stores), you can
make money. You would not, however, be considered an ethical or responsible breeder.
Mentor those who would like to pursue the idea of becoming breeders themselves. If you sell a breeding cat you
must be willing to mentor that breeder. These folks are the future of our fancy, and it is through educating them that
we will see the napoleons we love become the best they can be.
No kitten shall be placed before twelve weeks of age.
Naturally, not everyone cares to own a napoleon, and many are very happy to have that wonderful pet that is otherwise
unremarkable. I am in no way maligning those fantastic animals, nor putting down their owners. Instead, I would suggest that
these are the people that should be encouraged to adopt a cat (from a rescue organization or humane society) that is
desperately in need of a home. Breeders should not be breeding cats just to fill this need. There are so many “nice
pets” out there already, there is no excuse for creating more.
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