People often ask me how you actually become a cat breeder — not the romantic version with a basket of kittens, but the real one: the prefix, the health tests, the first mating, the paperwork. I’ve been breeding and showing Siamese and Oriental cats for over twenty years, I’m a GCCF Full Judge, and I sit on breed advisory committees, so I’ve seen how the breeders who do well start out. This is the honest, step-by-step version.
1. Choose your breed first — and choose it carefully
Breeding starts with a decision most newcomers rush: which breed? Don’t pick on looks alone. Live with the breed first. Go to shows, talk to established breeders, and be honest about what you can house, afford and cope with. A vocal, people-demanding Oriental is a very different commitment from a placid British Shorthair. The breed you choose dictates your health-testing obligations, your registration policy, and the breeders you’ll rely on for stock and advice. Spend a year here and you’ll save yourself a decade of regret.
2. Learn before you breed
The best breeders I know all served an apprenticeship of sorts. Join the relevant breed club, get to a few shows, and find a mentor — ideally the breeder of your first queen. Stewarding at shows (assisting a judge) is the single fastest way to learn what a good example of your breed looks like, because you’ll handle dozens of cats and hear judges explain their decisions. You’re not just learning to win rosettes; you’re learning the Standard of Points you’ll one day be breeding towards.
3. Register your cattery prefix with the GCCF
Your prefix is your cattery’s name — the word that goes in front of every kitten you breed, for life. You apply to the GCCF for it, and once granted it’s yours and yours alone. Choose something distinctive, easy to spell and not too long; you’ll be writing it on pedigrees for years. You don’t need a prefix to register your very first litter, but if you intend to breed seriously, get it early so your kittens carry your identity from the start.
4. Buy the right breeding queen
Your first breeding cat should come from a reputable, registered breeder, be GCCF-registered on the active register (the one that permits registration of offspring), and come from health-tested lines appropriate to the breed. Ask to see the parents’ test results — PKD, HCM scanning, PRA and so on depending on breed — and ask why the breeder paired those two cats. A good breeder will happily talk you through the pedigree. If they won’t, walk away. You are buying into a bloodline, not just a pretty cat.
5. Understand the genetics before you pair anything
This is where new breeders most often come unstuck. Before you commit to a mating you should understand the coefficient of inbreeding (COI) — how closely related the proposed sire and dam are — and keep an eye on genetic diversity across your programme. A little line-breeding can fix type; too much, too fast, stores up health and fertility problems. You don’t need to be a geneticist, but you do need the numbers in front of you. Tools that calculate COI and let you run a trial mating before the cats ever meet take the guesswork out of it.
6. Your first mating
Queens are seasonal breeders and usually call (come into season) from spring through autumn, though indoor cats can cycle year-round. Most studs are owned by experienced breeders who will expect your girl to be the right age and weight, fully vaccinated, and tested for FeLV/FIV before she visits. Agree terms in writing — stud fee, number of matings, what happens if she doesn’t conceive. Pregnancy runs around 63–67 days. Don’t breed a queen on her first season, and don’t over-breed her; her welfare comes before any litter.
7. Register the litter
Once the kittens arrive, you register the litter with the GCCF, recording the sire, dam, dates, colours and sexes. Each kitten goes on a register class that reflects its breed and breeding status. Registration is what gives your kittens their official pedigree and lets their new owners show or breed in turn. Get the colours right — this is where the EMS coding system matters — because errors on a registration follow a cat around for life.
8. Keep proper records from day one
The breeders who last are the ones who keep good records: every cat, every mating, every litter, vaccination and weight, and a clean pedigree for each kitten that goes to its new home. In the early days a notebook feels like enough; by your third litter it isn’t. Keeping it all in one place — your cats, their pedigrees, COI figures and the certificates you hand to buyers — saves hours and makes you look like the professional you’re becoming. That’s exactly why I built Perfect Pedigrees: a browser-based system that stores your whole cattery, builds GCCF- and TICA-correct pedigrees, works out COI and diversity for you, and produces a beautiful certificate to send home with every kitten.
A realistic word on the commitment
Breeding pedigree cats well is rewarding, but it is not a money-spinner and it is not a hobby you can do by halves. There are sleepless nights, vet bills, and the occasional heartbreak. Do it because you love the breed and want to improve it. Start with one good queen, learn from people who’ve done it properly, and build slowly. Get those foundations right and the rest follows.
Ready to keep your cattery the easy way? Perfect Pedigrees builds your pedigrees, checks your matings and stores every record in one place — free to build, pay only when you print. Join the founding members or see the pricing.
Written by Ross Davies — GCCF Full Judge, breeder and exhibitor of more than 20 years, and a qualified feline behaviourist. Perfect Pedigrees is a breeder’s record-keeping and pedigree tool, not a registering body.
