PART FIVE: DNA Testing and Planning Matings

How smart breeding keeps recessive traits — and our cats — healthy for generations

Recessive genes can be beautiful, fascinating, and breed-defining — but they also require careful stewardship. Modern breeders have powerful tools at their fingertips: DNA testing, pedigree tracking, and strategic mate selection. Used wisely, these tools allow us to enjoy recessive colours and coats without sacrificing diversity or health.

This chapter brings it all together: how to plan matings, protect genetic variety, and make informed decisions for the long-term wellbeing of your breed.

Why DNA Testing Matters

DNA testing allows breeders to see genotype, not just phenotype — revealing hidden recessive alleles that don’t show on the outside.

DNA testing can identify:

✅ Carriers of recessive colour genes (e.g., dilute, longhair, chocolate)✅ Carriers of recessive disease mutations✅ Hidden traits that could reappear in future litters✅ When a pairing risks producing affected kittens

Testing turns “guesswork breeding” into “informed breeding.”

Important: DNA testing doesn’t replace health exams, type evaluation, or temperament — it simply adds clarity.

Planning Matings

Planning a mating is about much more than choosing two attractive cats. Good breeding means thinking several generations ahead — balancing type, health, temperament, fertility, and what each mating contributes to the long-term future of the cattery.

For me, after nearly ten years of breeding, one of the biggest lessons has been that reproductive performance matters just as much as show results. Over time, I’ve learned my own lines well — where the strengths are, where the weaknesses sit, and which traits reliably pass on.

I now place a high value on female lines that:

• birth easily

• mother well

• produce healthy kittens

• have consistently good litter sizes

• recover well after pregnancy

A beautiful queen that consistently has only small litters may not be the best long-term breeding choice. One of my queens, for example, usually has only three to four kittens per litter, so I’ve decided to retire her from breeding. In contrast, another queen regularly produces seven to nine kittens, births easily, and raises strong, healthy kittens every time.

Glitterpaws J'Aime Claude always has 7-9 kittens per litter

Interestingly, that highly productive line doesn't have the best type, but I’ve still kept a daughter from her for breeding because those maternal and fertility traits are too valuable to lose. My plan is to improve type over the next couple of generations while protecting the strong reproductive qualities already present.

That is often how breeding works in practice: you don’t always get everything in one cat, so you make decisions about which strengths are hardest to recreate if lost.

I also choose males carefully to complement weaknesses — whether that is head type, eye colour, coat, or body balance — while avoiding doubling up on known faults within the pedigree. I've also kept and "old-style" (longer wedge) Burmese male stud as he produces the most wonderful healthy pets and that's what pet buyers come back for over and over.

A big part of breeding well is reflective practice -something we are taught to do in healthcare and makes us better health professionals— honestly looking back at each mating and asking what it taught you. Which traits improved? Which faults persisted? Did the kittens thrive? Was the mother easy to manage? Did the litter size justify repeating that line? Reflective practice means using each litter as information for the next decision, rather than repeating matings simply because the parents looked good on paper. I write any reflections in the litter notes on my software.

The longer you breed, the more valuable accumulated knowledge becomes. Pedigrees matter, but lived experience with your own lines often teaches you just as much. Over time, you begin breeding not simply for the next litter, but for the next generation of stronger, healthier cats.