Just for general chat I suppose ...

What would you class as a hobby breeder and why does the term seem so attractive to many who are quick in making a point of being a HOBBY breeder as opposed to a plain old 'breeder'. I would consider myself to have a number of cats that it would make me a plain 'breeder'. They take up most of my time and require my presence every day. Yet I have seen a few breeders with a similar number of cats (and sometimes more) claiming to be hobby breeders. Is it just an empty term or does it carry some kind of kudos or exemption?

To me, a hobby breeder would have a couple of girls and thus a couple of litters a year by an outside stud.

I was speaking to a 'hobby breeder' who claimed that they didn't need to HCM screen as they just bred pets and were only 'hobby breeders'. Obviously I have seen the term dotted around websites etc but this recent conversation got me wondering if it was felt that by claiming to be a hobby there is no onus of responsibility. Am I reading too much into it?

Steven

The distinction I would make is that there are hobby breeders and there are business breeders, as in some people breed on a small scale with less cats, possibly kept in the home whereas for other people breeding is a business and they have many many cats and breed on a large scale. As far as I'm concerned any breeder should health screen their cats regardless of how many they have and what type of breeder they class themselves as. I feel we fall into the hobby breeder category as we have only two queens and will not have kittens constantly available throughout the year, we are certainly not a business.

Yes to me also a hobby breeder is someone who breeds for a hobby - i.e. loves the breed and enjoys raising kittens in their home. I guess a business breeder is someone who does it for a living.

I'm not sure in either circumstances whether one is better than the other if a hobby breeder doesn't screen or whether the business breeder doesn't put their heart and soul into the 'business' and the cats are more a breeding money machine.

I guess its all down to the individual and categorise yourself as a 'reputable breeder' instead.

I see where you're coming from but I wouldn't class myself as a hobby breeder or a business breeder - well, if it is a business it is a very poorly functioning one Also, in my experience with the very large 'business' breeders they, too, have little interest in the health side of things as it takes up money.

Our cats are a mixture of indoor cattery and in house and this usually rotates depending on who has kittens, who is being shown and who can mix with others etc Kittens are always 'in house' and we do have kittens throughout the year, though not constantly but at various times of the year.

I haven't ever given thought to giving myself a label and just classed myself a breeder but that conversation did stir something in me to ask people what they thought made a hobby breeder and if the term carried some kind of appeal or exemption.

in my opinion there are three types of breeders

1. Back yard breeders, have little knowledge of the breed, do not health screen, do not register, cross breed(without purpose or for saleability) sell cheap often sick kittens

2. hobby breeders, sell registered kittens mostly as pets, have a set price, often do not have a stud of their own and often used the same stud service again and again, make absolutely no contribution to the breed

3. breeders, have a breeding program with real goals on the improvement of the breed, have stud(s) on site but also seek out outside stud service to promote genetic diversity, always breed litters with a goal in mind not a profit (also only outcross with a goal in mind)


please note I am a old style Siamese breeder and I do make money it just is not at all my end goal and never will be

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Lollo

I classed myself as a Hobby breeder when I bred all be it shortly .......I think its unfair also. I bred 3 brown boys from 2 different litters - all Championed on their first show, one even got a Best cat in TICA under a very experienced judge....two of them also are on their way to their first GCCF title and have won BOB's .........They might not be breeding cats, but they are positively promoting the breed in the UK by showing what fantastic cats Bengals are - how loving & friendly and handsome.......I wouldn't say thats nothing personally.

I now use my time to promote HCM - as you can see from the banner in my siggy - we have already had 8 screening clinics (60 screenings!) ......so again I don't see I've made no contribution to the breed there also.

Wow that comment completely blew me away!!! From what I have seen most "hobby" breeders I have come across are actually more particular about the cats they breed! Most have few queens but those few are usually from " reputable breeders" that breed on a larger scale. The hobbyist don't have a stud but would be wiser in making a decision as to what stud they pair their queens with, because they simply have the option of choosing from many studs!! I would also think a hobbyist would also have kittens that are more socialized because they are raised indoors without an abundance of other cats taking the breeders precious time and energy! I am not a breeder and I am offended! Another note to add is most hobby breeders only breed for certain cats like rosettes, marble, snow, or brown not an array of colors and patterns like most breed. They have to produce what kittens sale instead of having those few cats they are breeding and making a concentration of genes that stand out above all! Look it up!!! If you want a high quality marble Bengal you are more than likely going to find the " better" cats from small breeders that have been working with those lines for YEARS to
Impove the trait they are breeding for!!!

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This is a silly argument. The term "hobby" is well understood:

From Dictionary.com: "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation"

From Wikipedia: "A hobby is an activity that is regularly undertaken for pleasure, typically during one's leisure time....Generally speaking, the person who engages in an activity solely for fun is called an amateur (or hobbyist), as opposed to a professional who engages in an activity for [[remuneration], or pay"

From merriam-webster.com: " a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation ".

Brian's definition: A hobby is the thing you work hard to be able to do, when you are not at work. I don't think there is any implication of your skill, or your dedication, or the techniques or equipment you use. It just means that you don't rely on it to pay the bills. Which could mean that you don't take it as seriously, or it could mean that you can afford to "do it better" because you don't care if this is a positive-cash-flow activity or not.

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The little monsters 3

1. Back yard breeders, have little knowledge of the breed, do not health screen, do not register, cross breed(without purpose or for saleability) sell cheap often sick kittens

2. hobby breeders, sell registered kittens mostly as pets, have a set price, often do not have a stud of their own and often used the same stud service again and again, make absolutely no contribution to the breed

3. breeders, have a breeding program with real goals on the improvement of the breed, have stud(s) on site but also seek out outside stud service to promote genetic diversity, always breed litters with a goal in mind not a profit (also only outcross with a goal in mind)

lollo2304 - if you are showing and regularly seeking different studs you are contributing to the breed and you have what i would consider a small breeding program, you are making good decisions coming from the right place your trying different combinations and i would imagine keeping or selling as show prospects the truly exeptional examples of the breed

Lacemoat - your certainly are making contributions to the breed and most importantly the health of the breed which is wonderful

Taylorbaby - point well made, when i said "often do not have a stud of their own and often used the same stud service again and again" a half dozen hobby catteries all using the same stud and breeding pet kittens for the pet market is in MY OPINION hobby breeding. a breeder making well thought out choices and getting stud service is not hobby breeding

bkilgore - seriously? you are applying your definition of a hobby breeder over mine and saying i am insulting hobby breeders that you respect when in all likelihood i would consider those people breeders


perhaps i should have stipulated that a true breeder can very easily run a wonderful program with only a few (or even one) queens and no stud but in MY OPINION someone making a meaningful contribution to the breed is a breeder even if they only have one cat

Interesting debate and one most novices would shy away from for fear of being classified as one or the other. I am a beginner. I am just starting out. I would like to be a breeder.
I have been breeding dogs for 30 years and only now having bred for 29 of these years think I may know a thing or two about my breed .I would like to ask for advice but reading some posts decide to keep most of my questions for the lady who bred the 2 girls I own, just in case some of you don't think I should be breeding, or I am not doing this or that or the other .You can scare people away by being superior, I bow to you knowledge as you, or most of you, have been in the breed for years and years and know a lot more than I do which is why I sought this site out to find the true custodians of the breed to ask and learn.A lot of people breed dogs for money I find if you do it right and show your dogs, (as I hope to show my kittens) profit soon goes out of the window I bought one of the girls I have to show she would not be handled for any price so she didn't get to be a show girl ,I hope with socialisation in this very busy house her kittens will be more agreeable to the idea. BUT. who knows, as I have said about breeding dogs ,breeding is not an exact science, things can and will go wrong,if the kitten doesn't like it ether I will try again and hopefully become a show going novice breeder with my own affix and kittens I am proud of.

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