I have always loved to research and learn new things when it comes to topics that catch my interest. When it comes to feline genetics and husbandry, I learned early on with starting the cattery that it’s super important to be resourceful and set aside time for continued learning.
With that being said, back in 2019 I signed up for courses at the PawPeds PawAcademy and I FINALLY got confirmation today that I was accepted into the G1 (English) Course, wooohoo! Needless to say, after nearly two years of waiting, I am very excited to complete this course, and more specifically, for the more in depth G2 / G3 courses that follow.
For those interested in learning more, the following is taken directly from the PawPeds website:
The PawPeds PawAcademy held its first internet course in autumn 2007. We started with courses in Swedish, but later courses in English, Dutch/Flemish, German, French, Italian, Polish and Czech followed. Our basic course is in three steps about cat care and cat breeding.
General course step 1, or G1 for short, is mainly about cat ownership. It is basically for beginners, but also for more experienced breeders who later want to take the higher courses. The G1 course has the following content:
Anatomy, an introduction
Behaviour
Basic information about food and nutrition
Indoor cat? Outdoor cat?
How to find the right cat breeder
Pedigree cat or mix breed?
Laws and rules regarding buying cats
Contracts
Safe environment for the cat
Poisoning
Litter trays and cat litter
Neuter/spay
Health checks
Vaccinations
The elderly cat
Parasites
Common diseases and health problems
Health programmes
The PawPeds database site
Cat breeds
Cat colours
Cat shows
Breeding?
The G1 course is then running over six weeks. The participants will read articles, do assignments, write, and solve problems related to the availabe articles, in groups as well as individually.
Step 2 of the general course, G2, is mainly about having a litter but also includes basic genetics and breeding plans. The G2 course has the following contents:
Responsibilities of the breeder
Housing and care - laws, permissions and regulations
Mentorship
Breeding plan
Choosing your breeding cats
Owning a stud
Owning a breeding female
Birth control pills
Basic genetics
Color genetics
Genetic diseases and defects
Infectious diseases
Mating
Pregnancy
Delivery of the kittens
Determining the sex of the kittens
Defects in the kittens
Hand-feeding kittens
Color determination
Registration and certificates
Development of the kittens
Evaluating and selecting the kittens
Selling the kittens
This course is running over ten weeks. Also at this course, the students will read articles, do tests, write, and solve problems related to the articles, in groups as well as individually. Note that some group work is obligatory!
Step 3, G3, is more in depth about selective breeding, genetics, physiology, cat food, behaviour, etc. This is for breeders who have had a few litters already and have taken step 1 and 2 of the general course. The content of the G3 course in summary:
Anatomy and physiology
The danger of breeding for extremes
Behavior
Communication
Behavior problems
Reproduction and reproduction disorders
Kittens and kitten problems
Color genetics and pedigree info
Population genetics
Breeding for health
Designing a health program
Working with health
Analyzing a genome
Breeding and selection
Evaluation systems
Breeding progression
Showing vs breeding
Development of the breeds
Keeping cats together in groups
Infectious pressure
Infectious diseases
Teeth and oral cavity
Nutrition for cat
BARF
Economy and selling
Special project
The course is scheduled over 12 weeks plus the addition of two recovery weeks. As in earlier courses the course participants will read articles, do tests, write short essays and solve problems in connection with the articles. There are both group assignments and individual assignments.
UPDATE #1: July 28, 2021
It’s official! PawPeds PawAcademy G1 Feline Education Course was successfully completed and the PawAcademy Award ribbon has been added to the website.
UPDATE #2: Aprl 20, 2023
PawPeds PawAcademy G2 Feline Education Course has been completed.
The PawAcademy Award ribbon has been added to the website.
Now we wait (wait, wait) for G3…
