I agree. I have british shorthairs and have no problem with them being called moggies ... in fact lots of people do, including the vet. To me it is just another term for cat

ok no need to get funny... it was only a question... if its a pointless post then dont reply... yes i know its probably worded poorly i said im no good with words... it was just a question as to why they are called it which some people answered so thank you for that........ and as for a name they are mixed breed or a cross breed surely... but anyhow i was just wonderin and statin that for some reason i dont like the term not critising or anything...
anyway im off to bed now got an early start tomorrow... night everyone

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Emweeze

Hello Emweeze. To me it seems you feel passionately and I can absolutely understand that, a lot of people feel that way when it comes to animals. If you have listened to the first part of my reply above, then perhaps you will have had a penny dropping moment, and realise either that you had misappropriated the word and / or others had and in turn led you to feel that 'moggie' was somehow doing an injustice to every cat branded that name.

In fact in the USA, a mixed breed cat is commonly called an 'alley cat'. Of course, many of the mixed breed cats reasiding in the states will never have seen a dark alley! But as BritishBlue says above, clearly some sort of distinction is important to some people. At a very basic level, the way we might commonly shorted the name Elizabeth to Beth or Lizzie, people probably find it easier to use a simple word with meaning rather than spill out a sentence like 'my lovely cat is not a pedigree, it is of mixed breeding' ;-)

I am sure a moggie has every potential to be a delightful pet as a pedigree cat, the distinction is that pedigree cat breeders will be involved in the 'cat fancy' and as such, their beloved pets are a way for them to realise some sort of vision for their chosen breed, be it colour, type, to eradicate genetic defects, to improve the gene pool by importing and exporting cats to fellow breeders abroad. And then there is showing. Also, the other thing that personally appeals to me a great deal about pedigree cats is that you can reasonably predict temperament e.g. a Siamese and Sphyx are known to be gregarious and very energetic whilst a Persian or BSH less so. And within these type sets, there is still room for each individual cat to have their own personality.

IMO some of the world's finest breeds have originated from random moggie or even moggie / feral breeding - the Cornish Rex, the Devon Rex, Sphynx, Scottish Fold, Russian Don Sphynx / Peterbald. As pedigree breeding 'fixes' type, it is, I think, harder to see spontaneous mutations appearing and being championed by dedicated breeders the way those aforemwentioned breeds were.

So to me, random breeding of moggies has resulted in some wonderful things and I am grateful that those occurances in the 50's and 60's has now led to some amazing pedigree breeds. But to address your specific point, perhaps these days, some frown on moggie breeding not because they are any lesser cat than a pedigree, but because there are perhaps more lovely kittens than there are loving homes to welcome them. Perhaps you already know, an unsterelized female cat is somewhat akin to a rabbit or a mouse in that a single female can, given the chance, have numerous litters a year. So as not to make the rescue situation any worse, many people therefore feel is is more responsible as an owner to neuter moggies.

If you are aware of any of this information I shall apologise, because it is not my intention to seem patronising. Forums exist to share knowledge and that's my aim, I hope this reply helps.