It's true that there is no official place to learn these things. The real professional breeder that knows genetics and have studied animals behavior have a treasure trove of information but you don't just stumble upon them like you do all the BYB's and internet ads.
It has been over 20 years since I stopped show/breeding Himalayn cats and we also never sold a kitten before it was 12 weeks old. As Yorkiemom1 said it is physically stressful and emotionally stressful on the baby. Truly someone who is breeding to get exceptional quality out of their stock are going to want to watch those babies to see if there is a potential show pup/kitten there as well. You cannot usually determine that for sure at 6 or 8 weeks of age.
Animal behaviorists have said that the pups/kittens are not socially or mentally mature enough to leave the nest before 12 weeks. At 12 weeks the babies stop needing their litter mates so much and are ready to strike out and investigate the big world out there without so much stress. They hardly ever look back at that age. Any breeder that really cares about the babies they are breeding want the babies to have the very best and easiest start in their new life as possible. This goes way beyond just being able to survive because they can eat on their own. |