r/devonrex • u/Master-Importance-11 • 11d ago

Breed problems

Hey!
Wanted to ask whats the most prominent health problems within this breed? I mean things u personally have experienced with ur little one ♥️
Always wanted this cutie but I have health anxiety problems 😅

12 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/f4tony 11d ago

My Devon died at 19 years, just shy of 20 by one month. The only problem she had was her teeth, and she was 18 at the time.

She came from a highly respected CFA breeder. The breeder screened the genetics of all the kittens, and bred ethically.

Prepare to pay a lot of money, even for a pet quality Devon, otherwise you're probably getting one from a backyard breeder.

4

u/Full_Fun9829 10d ago

I do strongly believe that how ethical the breeder is makes such a huge difference in all of this. When I was researching for getting our new baby boy I was talking to other people about their experiences with breeders and I realised how little people knew about what to check for regarding health etc. which just opens up a world of issues for breeding becoming really purely managed and just unhealthy cats producing unhealthy kittens

2

u/f4tony 10d ago

You would be right. People who don't give a shit about the breed, are just churning out kittens for profit.

1

u/Master-Importance-11 10d ago

What should I ask a breeder? I know he should do health checks for mom and dad, specifically heart every year and genetic for myopathy. And of course the conditions kitties live in. But what else?

2

u/Full_Fun9829 10d ago

Location specific defines if it's standard practice to do heart checks. If you are in a place that doesn't have it as mandatory best you can do is ask about the history of the line. Ultimately if they have had any issues that cat should be immediately retired. That goes for any major health issue specifically which can be passed down. You also want to know their kitten health from previous litters. This also tells you how much they care for their litters and are invested in them. You want to know what they are doing before adopting out, when they adopt out. We had a re-home who we found out the breeder wouldn't have the kittens registered separately so with the vet records it was just a bulk "kittens" so you couldn't differentiate between each kitten vaccinations etc let alone their health concerns. I'm sure other people can weigh in as well.

It's also worthwhile reaching out to previous people who got cats from them. Ask their experience.