I really liked the show format but yes not worth me taking an adult or neuter there when the judges are so unfamiliar with the breed. Yes the breed is championship status with almost every other worldwide registry and as you can see Softee has been quite successful

The problem is that Fife for some reason wants us to be breeding 5 generation Selkirk to Selkirk in a young breed with a small gene pool. EVERY other worldwide registry recognises the need for outcross breeds for genetic health in our young breed. Softee is a Selkirk to Selkirk mating but has British Shorthairs in his 5 Generation pedigree so would not be able to be registered with FIFE - in fact even the US where the breed is now 24 years old, still uses outcross breeds to ensure a healthy genepool.

It's a catch 22 but I firmly am against cutting off our outcrosses and the fact that Fife is so out of sync with the other registries is a negative point.

That said I did LOVE the wonderful friendly atmosphere of the FB shows and I will take my Selkirk kittens out as it is a great experience for young kittens but not much point me taking Softee other than as a learning experience for the judges? He did elicit an awful lot of interest and the judges were fascinated and took lots of photos of him

Is that him in your avatar?

Couldn't it be argued that all domestic cats started with outcrosses to their wild cousins or is that considered totally different? I can totally appreciate the risks of over breeding with a limited genepool - although I have no experience of this with cats, I do with other species.

Do outcrosses have to be from certain breeds?

How many generations are there at present?

Sorry for all the questions - genuinely interested It must be quite exciting (whilst obviously frustrating at times) being involved in a relatively young breed.

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