Inbreeding is when you breed relatives, pure and simple. Some like to define inbreeding as breedings with only close relatives (breeding a cat with its father, mother, sister, brother, half sister, half brother and cousins) but in it's simplest definition it's about breeding relatives. The more closely related the riskier, but also greater chance of "fixing" the type (that's mostly why you inbreed).

Outcrossing can be used in to ways:
1. When you breed unrelated cats within a breed.
2. When you breed a cat of one breed with a cat of another breed in order to enhance the genetic diversity within the breed.

Absolutely,slowly,slowly what is they say Rome wasn't built in a day

Your not a total dumbo gmg,if you don't ask how will you learnA total dumbo would just assume and go ahead anyways as we have read about and seen,it's great that you want to learn from scratch and understand more about what you may want to embark on....if their were more like you,i for one think the breeding world may be in a better state

Thank you Kelly, that makes me feel a whole lot better

gmj
Cerridwen described it well.
Some also call it line breeding, usually when it is not so close as first degree relatives, however it is really all inbreeding.

If you have a lot of children in a family, you often see a resemblance between them all, they may not be exactly twins but there is some similarity. If you then chose two siblings or two cousins or half siblings who looked alike and bred them together then the children of that pairing would look very like their parents. This is what the whole thing is about in animal breeding.

It is illegal in humans but in animals it has been up till now fairly routine and acceptable

Thank you lauren for that very easy to understand explanation, you made it sound so easy.

What it has also helped me decide is that my feelings about this was always right, inbreeding is wrong, it does not do any favours for the health of the babies and just becasue they look like the breeder wants them to, does not mean it is ok.

It also makes me realise how naive I was when I trusted a breeder and took my girl to her, only to find months later when doing the pedigree's that my girls babies Dad, was also their great grandad. I take responsibility for it happening, I should have known as I should have checked but I did not in a million years this anyone would think this was ok but I kept being told it was normal for this to be done.

She is small but of fabulous 'type' but all the more reason to have her neutured as planned as I am not going to bring babies into the world where they have the same cat as their grandad and great great grandad.

Human or animal, inbreeding brings only brings problems, something I certainly am not prepared to contribute to.

thank you so much

Thanks Liz, for explaining your plans. 6 generations is a huge undertaking.
I think though as more and more become aware of the inbreeding problems then it may be more acceptable for stud owners and breeders to accept these girls especially as you have a program and goal in mind.

If it was possible to import, would the imports be totally unrelated to the UK Burmese?