By Helle Lenschow, Cattery Yogini, Denmark


Do you want to breed Snowshoes?
If the answer is yes there are several things that you need to consider. Breeding is not easy or always puffy pink clouds and it is your duty to do your homework before you decide. Among the things you need to do is to understand the importance of having good mentors – that means other serious breeders to talk to and learn from. Many other things need to be considered too but for now let us focus on the role of the mentor.

Before you start breeding or even buying your first fertile Snowshoe you need to find the potential mentors. The time spend in the search will bring you close to other breeders of Snowshoes. Email them, phone them – ask them questions about the breed and breeding programme – get to know your colleagues. Among gaining knowledge about the breed you will gain knowledge about the other breeders all around the world and this will help you to find which standards to choose your future cats and ethics from.

Some of them you will find that you talk or write better with than others. Maybe their standards for breeding are the same as yours and maybe the chemistry between the two of you is just better. Now it is time to ask this person to be your mentor – that means to help you get started as a serious breeder. Do not be afraid to ask. We all breed snowshoes because we love this breed and want what is best for the Snowshoe breed as a whole. Most breeders will only be glad to be asked. A breeder only says no if the breeder too is new and do not feel ready to become someone’s mentor yet.

It is a good idea to have more than one mentor and not all of them need to breed Snowshoes. Many of the aspects of breeding – putting together a male and female, living with fertile cats and showing cats are the same no matter what breed you work with. There for breeders of other cat breeds might also be helpful for you to have as mentors.

Of course it is important also to have mentors that breed Snowshoe. Only the Snowshoe breeders know the breeding programme, standard, genetics and names in the pedigrees of the Snowshoe cats.

A mentor will often be someone who has bred for some years and have had some litters her- or himself. The number of years or litters is not the most important thing to choose from. You can easily only have had one single litter and four cats but still be a better mentor for a new breeder than one who has had 10 litters and nine cats. You properly get the picture. Mentoring is about experience, sharing knowledge and helping the breed as a whole.

If you want to breed Snowshoes you shall only do it because you love the specific breed so much that no other breed is an option. If not - do not breed snowshoes.

But if the answer to the love part is yes – then do the breed as a whole a favour and find your self some good mentors among the other breeders and learn from them.

With out a mentor you make breeding Snowshoes too hard on your self. There is no need to go the way alone when you can walk it with a friend and a mentor.