breeeding

Question
I own 9 cats which are persian,himalayan and ragdoll.I have found for the last few years that my himalayan kittens tend to be small and some end up dying.I have bred her with my male himmy each time but i have read on the net that breeding himmy to  himmy actually decreases the bloodline therefore later on your may have small and sometimes sick kittens.I have recently purchased a male ragdoll and had my male himmy neutered and  I am now using him.I am wondering is this true what I read?My himmy/persian kittens were always healthy with the same father cat but himmy to himmy havnt been especially  the smallest ones.I also have a ragdoll female she is now 8 months old and I expect she will to come into heat soon.How many kittens do ragdolls usually have?My himmie usually has 6 and my persian just  no more then 4.I also have a question regarding breeding.SOmeone asked me if you can breed father cat to daughter cat but I really couldnt answer and Id ont know for sure if you can or not.I know doing that with same cat family can cause birth defects.Ty

Answer
Rose,

What you are describing is called inbreeding depression.  If your lines are too close, you will get inbreeding depression.  Also, the older the males get and the older the females get, the smaller and less viable the litters seem to be.  We do not breed our females past the age of 6 years.  Also, our males are retired by age 6 years.

The rule of thumb is inbreed to set traits and outcross for health.  The experienced breeder knows how much of each to do to retain both health and the desired traits.

As to size of ragdoll litters, I do not know, but I would guess 6 - 8.

I would avoid father daughter breedings as they are way too close!!!!!  Breedings which are too close can result in a double up on undesirable traits which could result in defects.

Best regards... Norm.