Is Ben the Vet right about the four cat breeds he would never own?

Ben the Vet is a UK veterinarian with a healthy social media presence. He can speak to his followers and it gets picked up on the news media. It's always interesting to hear the views of a veterinarian. They can have a slightly different perspective on companion animals because they interact with them in their clinic's consulting rooms.

They see a different aspect of animal behaviour and of course they are tuned into the health of these animals including inherited diseases. Ben criticises: Bengal cats, Sphynx cats, Scottish Fold cats and Persian cats.

He's picked out four purebred cat breeds but, to be perfectly honest, he could have picked out more. But is he right to be critical of these four cat breeds?

Ben the Vet would not purchase 4 cat breeds. Image: his TikTok page.

Bengal

He makes it clear that this is his opinion. He finds the Bengal cat too aggressive. This is why he wouldn't adopt this purebred cat. And he says that the aggressiveness comes from the fact that this is a wildcat hybrid, and the wildcat component of this hybridisation is the Asian leopard cat, a very independent-minded small wild cat species living in Asia.

When this breed came out as long ago as the late 1960s (Jean Mill founded this breed), the cat fancy was reluctant to accept it because of what they perceived as its inherited aggressive character. The breed standard stated that Bengal show cats must not show any aggression. It was unusual for a breed standard to specify a standard concerning aggression. This indicated that this cat breed could be aggressive.

Things have moved on and the F5 Bengal cats are now considered to be like standard domestic cats. But Ben has a point. And also, many people have higher filial Bengal cats, and they possess more of the leopard cat's DNA which means they potentially import more of that instinctive aggression. So, Ben is essentially right in respect of the Bengal cat.

What do Bengal cat owners think of their cats?

Sphynx

With respect to the Sphynx cat, he doesn't particularly like them because there's no fur on them! He prefers a fluffy cat. He wants to feel the fur. Perhaps he likes cats to be more natural and hairlessness is distinctly unnatural. He doesn't mention the other quite extensive problems with hairless cats namely that they need washing all the time because they become grimy because, in turn, the sebaceous glands deposit oil on the skin where it picks up grime.

In addition, hairless cats can't go outside normally because they get sunburned or get too cold. The Sphynx cat is basically an indoor cat and not everybody wants to confine their cat to the home full-time. There are other problems with this hairless cat namely the ear canals get dirty because there is no hair in the ear canals to repel dirt coming into them.

That means you have to clean the ear canals and you have to do this with extreme care and expertise. Ben is correct.

18 facts about the Sphynx cat

Scottish Fold

The Scottish Fold is well known to be a problem cat breed. The recessive genetic mutation affects the production of cartilage to the point where it loses stiffness which means the ears gradually fold down a certain time after being born. This makes the face of the Scottish fold attractive to some people. It is because these cats have an owl-like or baby-like appearance.

But the problem with the cartilage affects other parts of the body and this can be a major disability and a source of pain and discomfort for a Scottish Fold. The Germans would call this torture breeding. They don't allow this cat breed to exist in Germany as far as I remember.

Scottish Fold cats health problems. Beware.

Persian

The Persian cat, too, has health problems to do with extreme selective breeding where the flat face of this popular breed affects the anatomy of the cat to the point where it is detrimental to their health. There are several issues namely tear duct overflow and poor breathing.  And the Persian cat suffers from a high preponderance (35%) of polycystic kidney disease.

The Persian is popular, but people are often unaware of the extent of the health issues concerning this cat breed. If they were they might think twice.

Conclusion

My conclusion is that Ben the Vet is correct in his unwillingness to adopt cats of these breeds. Although Bengal cat followers of which there are many, might argue that he is being a little bit unfair with respect to Bengal cats because over many years of selective breeding the cat fancy has created a beautiful cat with a good character. 

They just tend to be a little bit more aggressive on occasions and certainly compared to another breed mentioned here, the Persian, which is unassuming but a bit nervous. The Bengal is more active and demands more input and consideration as to a suitable environment. So called 'environmental enrichment' is more of an issue for Bengals.

Are Persian Cats Healthy?

Postscript: Ben also makes it clear that if an individual cat of one of these cat breeds was available at a rescue centre, he would not be against adopting that animal. It is just about purchasing a purebred cat of one of these breeds from a breeder. That is a different matter because you are adding to the sum total of domestic cats when there are already unwanted cats in rescue centres.

What domestic cat looks like a bobcat?

There is one purebred domestic cat which was artificially created through selective breeding to look like the native American bobcat: the Pixie-bob. This purebred cat is the one to go to if you want to adopt a domestic cat that looks like a bobcat.

Pixie-bob 'Proud Foot'. photo by Helmi Flick.

The Pixie-bob is meant to look wild. And the breed does have that naturalness about it which makes it look wild. This is quite a large cat and often polydactyl (more than the usual number of toes - see picture of Proud Foot above). 

Male Pixie-bob cats way between 14-18 pounds and for females the weight ranges between 10-12 pounds. There are, therefore, larger than usual for a domestic cat.

They are said to be quiet and friendly with a dog-like character. There was a time when people thought that domestic cats could mate with bobcats to create a hybrid. It seems that some people thought that the Pixie-bob was, indeed, a wild cat hybrid. However, this breed is entirely domestic with no wildcat DNA in it.

Pixie-bob Armani by Helmi Flick

In the mid-1980s, a woman called Carole and Brewer acquired two cats that had the appearance of being a cross between a bobcat and a domestic cat. Note the word "appearance". These were not genuine hybrids of a wildcat and a domestic cat. 

ASSOCIATED: A LIST OF GENUINE WILDCAT HYBRIDS.

Brewer bred from these two and produced a female called 'Pixie' who is the founding cat of the Pixie-bob breed. This cat had a long tail but was bred with a Manx cat (a short-tailed cat) to produce the classic Pixie-bob appearance. 

They are a well established cat breed but relatively rare compared to mainstream breeds such as the Maine Coon, Persian or Bengal cats, for example.

This is my cat Leo. My sister says he’s ugly and doesn’t look like a cat. What do you guys think?

Well, the title comes directly from Reddit.com. I kept it intact because I think it's good and the first response that comes to my mind is that there are no ugly cats. I say that even though I have a page on one of my websites in which I show some 'ugly cats'. I defend the cats and the page was written some time ago. I disagree with it now. It's unfair to call cats ugly. We judge appearance by human standards and use stereotypes to do this.

Leo described as ugly. He is not. Photo: Reddit.com

You can't apply those stereotypes to cats. They are sentient creatures and you have to look at the character as more important than the appearance. And if a domestic cat is physically ugly by human standards it can only be because the cat was selectively bred to extreme by a cat breeder who has screwed up and created a cat with an undershot jaw or bulging eyes because they did a very bad job of artificial selection. So, it's a human fault. Or the cat might have been involved in an accident which causes an injury to the face. Under these circumstances it is unfair and unkind to call a cat ugly.

Associated page: There is also cat colour personality type stereotyping - click to read about it.

There are numerous reasons why a cat might look ugly, by our standards, but none of them justify calling the cat on this page ugly. We need to be more sensitive and tender towards fellow creatures.

An interesting point is that the Reddit user who published the photograph shows us a tabby cat who is distinctly not ugly by any standards. This is a perfectly normal tabby cat don't you agree? Many other Reddit users who commented on the picture say that he is handsome. But the question did provoke a heated debate which resulted in the comments section being shut down.

A moderator on the Reddit.com website said the following: "I am afraid to say that I have to lock the comments till this calms down. Be humane to others". And there are 637 comments so I can't read them all to find out what went on, but clearly people got a bit heated. However, the general gist, from what I have seen, reflects what I have said above. They think the cat is handsome and you can't call cats ugly because you got to look at the whole including their personality.

I think the problem was that people who commented started to attack the sister who said that this cat was ugly. It was unnecessary to do this, but for the life of me I can't see how the sister could describe this cat as ugly. They have strange standards. Perhaps they've been looking at too many humongous, awesome, Maine Coon cats which are outstanding. Perhaps they've been trawling through the Internet looking at all these high-profile purebred cats so that a humble moggy tabby cat suddenly looked ugly to them. I'm afraid she's wrong.

A lot of the purebred cats, which have a wonderful appearance, will probably be suffering in middle age and beyond with inherited health problems. Moggies are generally healthier than purebred cats. That's a factor when you assess beauty.

What do you think? Please comment. Thanks.

Picture of Sad Siamese and Sleepy Persian

This little collage of two purebred cats These cats represent the extremes.

Sad Siamese - Sleepy Persian

It is odd looking at them and to think that they are domestic cats. You can see that this a due to selective breeding. In the wild you do not see this sort of variation.

The top cat is a modern Siamese and the bottom an ultra typed Persian (contemporary Persian).