Cats and Kittens Magazine

hoo.Has anyone ever worked with this magazine, or Pet Publishing in general? I put in for an article query that was promptly rejected (not a big deal since it happens all the time). But what disturbs me is that the article was for a Munchkin breed profile and the editor made a highly rude remark about the breed saying she would never use them in Cats and Kittens. Now, this isn't a man made breed, it's been around for a good while, and there are thousands of owners worldwide; so I don't quite understand why the editor would act so replused by the idea of a breed profile. She did come across as though she just personally didn't like them, and that would be descrimination in my book. This is a poor attitude to have when you're the editor of three animal publications.

I am personally going to boycott Pet Publishing, and forward her e-mail around to some Munchkin breeders since it was so uncalled for when a simple "no thanks" would have covered the issue completely. Has anyone else had a good/bad experience with Pet Publishing?

I do agree that I need to cool off. I have some very close Munchkin friends and that was just completely uncalled for in my opinion.

The second half of my problem with her comment is that I had several queries on breed profiles in that e-mail. The other two breeds of cats she simply said a "No thank you" and "We've already ran those profiles," but she went out of her way to say she wouldn't print ANYTHING on the Munchkin by anyone. I wouldn't be upset at all if it was simply that she didn't like my query or my perspective on it (that happens, no big deal, and yes I will query other magazines about it), but how she chose to respond was very disrespectful to the breed. It's unprofessional for anyone in the Cat Fancy world to exclude a breed.

But if I'm understanding her line of "I'm not interested in ever publishing anything on the munchkin" correctly (how else can I take it), then she just doesn't like them. Again, if she had said "at this time I'm not interested" or just said no thanks like she did for the others I wouldn't be upset. But never? There are only so many breeds to go around and all the other major cat mags have used the Munchkin. She's free to have her own opion, but that doesn't mean the magazine should ignore the breed because she dislikes it - I run a photography studio that works with mostly cats, I hate Persians and Sphynx, I would never own one, but I'd never refuse one who came to my studio for pictures, that would just be silly.

They are a natural breed of cat that was discover in Germany in 1944. I guess they would be the equivelant to the Cardigan Welsh Corgi - they have short legs with long bushy tails. They've been eligable for Championship status in most registries since the 1980s, so they're new for cats, but if you think about it the Bengals were developed around in the same time period. www.kittyantics.com has pictures on their cattery area (Shortstuff's) if you want to look.

I did wait about a day and a half to cool off, but I ultimately forwarded the exact e-mail (mine and the editors response) to the president of the breed council, my exact words "Maybe I'm over reacting, but please look at this and give me your thoughts." It is a big deal by TICA's standards, mostly because the editor went out of her way to insult Munchkins.

Apparently, there are false rumors about the health of the breed that may account for the editors reaction, which I know from experience is unfounded lies. I was also informed that Cats & Kittens magazine has mutalated the adds of Munchkin breeders repeatedly without any reasoning (replacing pictures, changing URLS and phone numbers, etc) while other breeder adds would remain untouched. This is even more horrendous considering 1) those breeders are paying for those adds, and 2) the adds are in a format that you only have to scan them in or open a file, they don't need to be edited like that.

A person under the disguise of a cat generalist should not be allowed to cross out established breeds. I'm not talking about the subject as someone whose query was rejected, but as someone in the cat fancy who works with a minority breed herself. I wouldn't touch Pet Publishing with a 40 foot pole, just as I knowingly wouldn't work for a member of the KKK, breed with someone who sells their animals to pet stores, or other such types of people I wouldn't want to be associated with. My priciples and doing what I feel is the "right" thing have to stand above all else, and, in my opinion, no article or amount of money is worth throwing that in the toilet.