The cat fancy is filled with caring, responsible people, who believe at heart in lofty goals such as bettering the lives of all cats, improving the health and quality of our breeds, and brightening up people’s lives through the love of animals. However, it is easy in any competitive hobby to form opposing groups and lose track of what we are really here for. The Fanciers list helps us transcend the barriers of status and competition so that we can work towards our real goals, for the benefit of all cats and the people who love them.

We are committed to providing an open forum for all cat fanciers to discuss the issues that concern them. Strong emotions can sometimes surface in email, especially when difficult topics strike close to home. Yet these emotions tell us that we are dealing with issues, not ignoring them. We remain firm believers in the power of the Internet to open channels of communication and foster understanding between people with different backgrounds.

We have found the Internet useful as an aid to world-wide research, improving both our medical and genetic knowledge and our animal husbandry practices. Talking about our concerns and problems in a wide forum has helped us to find practical solutions, as well as the sympathy we sometimes need. We have found this particularly powerful in sharing our experiences with dreaded diseases such as FIP, but it has also touched our lives in countless smaller ways.

We also use the Internet to make our collective expertise available to the public at large, and to present a balanced picture of ourselves and our pursuits in a time when animal husbandry itself is under attack from radical movements. Good factual information helps individuals to make better choices and take better care of their animal companions, and is our best method for improving the lives of people and animals.

Orca Starbuck
with input from Fanciers List members
January, 1996