14/10/2026
The side of breeding we don’t talk about enough. 🤍🐾
In a perfect world, every animal would survive. Every little life would have the chance to grow, to explore, to be loved and to live a long happy life. But the reality is, even in small breeding programs where health, welfare and wellbeing come first, sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. No matter how much love you give, how carefully you plan, how much time you invest or how hard you fight for them, loss can still happen. And when it does, it leaves a mark on your heart that is difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it. Within the breeding world, we often see the beautiful side of things. The adorable kittens, the exciting announcements, the milestones, the playful videos and the joy of watching little personalities emerge. And those moments are absolutely worth celebrating. But the hard moments, the challenges, the unexpected losses and the heartbreak aren’t shared nearly as often. And I think we need to be more honest about that. Because when we only see the beautiful side, it’s easy to believe that everyone else is getting it right. That everyone else’s kittens thrive, every pregnancy goes smoothly and every little life makes it through. Then, when something goes wrong in our own program, the questions begin.
What did I do wrong? Could I have done more? Did I do enough? Should I have noticed something sooner? You replay things in your mind. You question yourself. You search for answers, even when there may not be any clear ones. And sometimes, alongside the grief, comes shame. A feeling that somehow you’ve failed, that you should have been able to prevent it, or that you have let down the little lives you promised to care for. But why should we feel ashamed of grieving? Why should we feel that we have to hide the hardest parts of something we have poured our hearts and souls into? We are human beings behind these breeding programs. We aren’t robots. We don’t switch off our emotions when something goes wrong and we don’t simply move on because there are other cats to care for or another day to get through. These animals are part of our everyday lives. They become part of our routines, our homes, our families and our hearts.
For me, this has never been just about breeding kittens. It’s about the lives entrusted to my care, the responsibility I feel towards them and the love that grows through every little moment. And that is why the losses hurt so deeply. I even found myself considering taking their videos down because watching them brought so much emotion to the surface. But then I realised I didn’t want to erase those memories. For six weeks, they were part of our every single day.
Not just mine, but my family’s too. My children adored spending time with them, playing with them, watching them explore and having little naps with them curled up beside them. Those moments happened. That love was real. And their little lives mattered, regardless of how long we were fortunate enough to have them. I don’t want to hide their existence simply because remembering them hurts. Instead, I want to be honest. I want to share the lows alongside the highs, because if we continue to show only the perfect picture, we leave others feeling alone when their own reality doesn’t look the same.
I want people to understand that small breeding programs can carry an enormous emotional and financial toll. Behind every litter are countless hours of care, sleepless nights, decisions, expenses, hopes and sometimes heartbreak that never makes it onto social media. And when loss happens, we’re not only dealing with the grief. We’re often left questioning ourselves, our abilities and whether we can find the strength to keep going.
So, if there is one thing I hope people take from this, it’s this ~ please be gentle with breeders who genuinely put the health and wellbeing of their animals first.
You may see a photo, a video or a happy announcement, but you rarely see the whole story behind it. You don’t always know what someone is carrying quietly, what they’ve lost, what they’ve questioned or how much of themselves they’ve poured into the lives in their care. This isn’t about seeking sympathy. It’s about awareness. It’s about honesty. And it’s about making room for the conversations that remind people they aren’t alone when things don’t go as hoped. We can celebrate the beautiful moments while still acknowledging the painful ones. We can love what we do and still find parts of it incredibly hard. And we can give our very best, do everything we know to do and still experience a loss that breaks our hearts.
Because caring deeply doesn’t make us immune to heartbreak. Sometimes, it’s exactly why it hurts so much. For every little life that has touched our hearts, however briefly, their life mattered. Their memories matter. And the love we gave them will always be part of their story. 🤍🐾
— Majestic Paws Bengal Cats Rhiannon
