


Neuter (verb) - to surgically render sterile applies to males and females but is usually used as euphemism for castration. Neuter (noun)- a castrated tom cat or (less usually) a spayed female cat vets often use the terms "male neuter" and "female neuter". Mutt-Cat - mixed breed, cross-bred or random bred cat, not pedigreed or purebred. Moggy breeders contribute greatly to the overpopulation problem by depriving other (accidentally bred) kittens of homes or by offloading their surplus animals onto shelters. Unlike the pedigree or purebred breeder they are not attempting to develop or perpetuate a particular "look". Moggy Breeder - a misguided person who deliberately (irresponsibly) breeds random-bred kittens purely for sale (or to supply pet shops) this person either does not believe in neutering or is simply trying to make money. Moggy (Moggie) - mixed breed, cross-bred or random bred cat, one which is not pedigreed or purebred.
#Animal age terms full size#
The popular definition of when a kitten becomes an adult is based on when it reaches full size and sexual maturity (5 - 6 months of age).

Some cat regulatory bodies define a kitten as a cat below a particular age this is for the purposes of cat show categories. Intact - unneutered, undesexed, unaltered. Inbreeding - mating together closely related cats (sibling/sibling, mother/son, father/daughter) to strengthen desirable traits. Siberian tiger and Bengal tiger (intra-specific hybrid) or two different species e.g. Persian and Himalayan (outcrossing) or two different subspecies e.g. Hybrid - a cross between two different breeds e.g. There are household pet classes in many cat shows, but most are dominated by pedigree cats or pedigree look-alike cats only a few shows have classes for genuine random-bred household pet cats. Household Pet - in cat show terms, any cat which is not registered for breeding or exhibition in a breed category may be random-bred, purebred (unregistered) or pedigree. Some individuals deliberately breed half-pedigree cats for the pet market. Often used when selling accidentally bred kittens as it sounds more attractive than moggy. In true terms, a half-pedigree cat is still a moggy since a cat either is a pedigree cat or is not one, there are no half-measures. Half-pedigree - a term only used by owners means a cat with one pedigree parent. Guardian - another "politically correct" term for a pet cat's owner or a feral cat's caregiver. Gib - a castrated male cat most people use the term "a neuter" instead. Strictly speaking it should be wild-domestic hybrid because a feral cat is not a wild species, it is a domestic cat gone wild.įull Tom - unneutered male cat this term is used to distinguish intact males from neutered males now that the term "gib" has largely fallen into disuse. It means a hybrid between a wild cat species and a domestic cat. It is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder.Ĭat Hoarder - another term, possibly a better one, for a cat collector.ĭesex - neuter (applies to either gender)ĭomestic - an animal which has become adapted to humans over many generations, has a genetic predisposition to tameness.Įntire - unneutered, undesexed, unaltered.Įx-Feral - a feral cat which has been tamed and which now lives as a pet.įeral - an ex-domestic cat which has reverted to being fully wild or the wild-born (never known domesticity) offspring of stray cats.įeral-Domestic Hybrid - a misleading term which should really be changed. They are unaware of their own shortcomings or the distress they cause to the cats they acquire.

A specialist genetics glossary is included as part of genetics articles on the Messybeast website.Īlter - neuter (applies to either gender)īoar Cat- an old term for an unneutered male cat (tom cat).Ĭaregiver - person responsible for a pet cat or for a feral colony these days the term "owner" suffers from political incorrectness.Ĭastrate - to remove the testes (neutering of male cats).Ĭat Collector - person who acquires and hoards great numbers of cats but does not provide proper care. These are the cat welfare/rescue/care terms I am most often asked to define because they are not common in all countries.
