Just for Breeders: PawPeds PawAcademy

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.


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For those interested in learning more, the following is taken directly from the PawPeds website:

Courses at the PawAcademy

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…