Expert: Marcia Owen - 5/5/2008

Question
Hello there, I have what is known as a Tiffany (I think a mix between a Burman and Burmese)he is over a year old and I am thinking about studding him. Can you please tell me the best way to go about this? Thanks. Jen

Answer
Dear Jen

To keep a boy for stud you need to consider a whole variety of things and one of the most important is that you yourself have enough girls to keep him happy.  You will need to keep at least 3 girls yourself to make sure he has enough girls to mate with  in case your cat is not suitable to be used in other breeders' breeding programmes.

Have you checked with his breeder as to whether he is suitable to used for stud?  Most boys are sold to pet homes as they are not quite perfect enough to pass on their genes to improve the breed generally.

Most unneutered boys do spray in the house and their spray does smell very strongly.  Are you ready for that?

Do think very carefully before embarking on this as it requires commitment and a working knowledge of breeding which can only be gained by breeding with the girls yourself.  You will be responsible for giving advice and practical help to novice breeders who may bring their girls to him and you won't be able to do that unless you have had the practical experience yourself.  

Having a stud boy is an enormous responsibility and should not be taken lightly.

Marcia.