A lack of hunting opportunities, an increased risk of disease and financial burdens make them unsuitable as pets, as the animal welfare organization Vier Pfoten reports on World Cat Day (8 August).
In Austria, private ownership of hybrid breeds is only permitted if the mating between a domestic cat and a wild cat took place five generations ago, because before that they are officially considered wild cats. “Forced mating of a wild animal with a domestic animal, as is done in the first generation, is the beginning of the global illegal wildlife trade and is highly problematic from an animal welfare perspective. The current trend in social media to keep hybrid cats as pets is further fueling this often criminal cycle,” said Four Paws campaign manager Veronika Weissenböck.
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The question is also raised as to how controls over the generation of animals are handled in practice. “Buyers are largely unaware of this, especially if they buy the animals online. Although reputable breeders have proof, information about this is often lacking.”
In any case, hybrid cats are not suitable as pets. They carry the genes of their wild ancestors, which means a miserable life in a private household because they cannot live out their natural behavior. Hybrid cats can be a big challenge, especially if you have no experience with keeping animals. The most common problems are destroying furniture out of boredom, eating disorders or urinating outside the litter box. And of course the potential safety risk for humans must also be taken into account: a wild animal is far more dangerous than a pet, in terms of its physical appearance alone.
In addition to the suffering of the animals, there is also the financial burden on the owner – generally a common reason for giving them to an animal shelter. Another argument against breeding hybrid species is the pain that the mating process means for the much smaller female domestic cat that is crossed with a male wild cat. This process, which would never occur in nature, sometimes even results in the death of the domestic cat, as male wild cats often bite the females on the neck. In addition, the unnatural size of the hybrid puppies can lead to difficult births that the mother often does not survive. Wild cat mothers, on the other hand, run the risk of rejecting their young as being too small.
Weissenböck appealed to anyone considering purchasing a hybrid cat to refrain from doing so: “Keeping hybrid cats is animal cruelty and a safety risk for their owners.”
