From: dbriggs@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Daniel Briggs)
Subject: Re: What kind of cats do I have?
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 92 05:24:18 GMT

In article <1992Sep4.105833.27835@super.org>
  judith@super.org (Judith D. Schlesinger) writes:
>So get off your breeders' high horse (even if you gave it up, you still
>sound like one on this subject), Crystal.  I like you a lot better
>when you're not on this subject.  (And yes, I am a little irritable
>right now--I've been up far too many hours.)

Actually, I think the anti-breeder sentiment I've read in this group has
been far more obnoxious than anything I've heard come out of a breeder's
mouth.  IMnsHO, both sides could stand to come down off of their high horse.

As to what does or does not make an animal a given breed, I take more of a
middle ground personally.  Recognize that the same word can mean different
things in different contexts.  We deal with this concept in all sorts of
other aspects of life, so why not here too?  Breeders certainly do not have
a monopoly on breed names, much as they might wish otherwise.  In casual
conversation about a house pet, I don't have any problems with saying that
an animal is a Persian or a Seal Point Siamese or whatever.  They're not in
a show ring, and the names certainly do convey more information than
shorthair household pet.  Now I think it does show some class to reserve
the breed names for animals which have most of the defining points of a
given breed.  Not every long hair animal is a Persian.  A Maine Coon and a
Persian both have long hair, but the texture is very different.  But if an
animal has about the right coat and body and face -- sure, it's a Persian.
Of course, if you said that to a judge in a show ring, they'd likely laugh
at you.  The same word means a different thing in that context, and your
animal is likely not a [CFA | ACA | TICA | Cat Group X] registered Persian.
It likely doesn't have the right characteristics for one, at the level they
care about.  So what?  The situation isn't comparable.  If the animal isn't
so obviously a given breed, one can say Persian-like if you just want to
conjure up the basic image of that type of animal and feel like being more
precise.  Persian-mix also works, though it can imply that the animal has a
"real" Persian somewhere in its background.  And if the breeder wants to
make the distinction clear, they can say registered Persian, or CFA-Persian
or [Grand]Champion Persian.  (Incidentally, for those who are nit picky
about papers, how do you deal with the fact that there *is* no universally
recognized cat registry in the US?  We have no version of the AKA.  CFA may
be the biggest, but it's by no means universal.  And the breed standards
do indeed vary between the different organizations.)

So let's just recognize that an unqualified breed name is can mean different
things based on context, and that if it doesn't agree with the context you
habitually use, it may not be "wrong".  If you want to be unambiguous, there
are aditional terms you can use to make your meaning crystal clear.

-- 
| Daniel Briggs  (dbriggs@nrao.edu)                      |        USPA B-14993
| New Mexico Tech / National Radio Astronomy Observatory |            DoD #387
| P.O. Box O / Socorro, NM 87801   (505) 835-7391        |
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