In the year preceding this report, sales of pedigree cats overtook non-pedigree cats for the first time* while a Cats Protection petition calling for the regulation of cat breeding has also attracted over 50,000 signatures.

“Some pedigree cats are bred with extreme traits which may look pleasing to us but can actually have a disastrous effect on the cat’s health and welfare or its offspring,” says Madison Rogers, Associate Director of Advocacy, Campaigns & External Affairs for Cats Protection.

“For example, the mutation that causes the striking folded ears of the Scottish Fold cat can also cause debilitating pain when the cat moves, jumps or plays.

“Cats Protection has been calling on the Government to urgently introduce regulations to licence cat breeding. Following engagement earlier this year with the Animal Welfare Committee we are delighted to see they have released an independent report recommending that the government regulate cat breeding and ban the breeding of cats with known and harmful extreme traits. 

“We are also pleased that following a post-implementation review (PiR), the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (LAIA) Regulations 2018 will be retained. These regulations updated the licensing requirements for selling cats to better reflect the modern sale and acquisition of pets. However, further updates are needed to these regulations to ensure they are properly enforced and to consider the growing sales seen online, especially on social media.”  

•    *From Cats Protection’s CATS And Their Stats Report for 2024, involving over 10,000 cat owners and cat lovers across the UK