Is kitten farming a worry like is with puppies?

[Lovepancakes]

Just after some advice please! I am finding out as much as I can about cats especially main coons/ any less likely to trigger asthma. And if we do make the decision to get one is it wrong to look on Gumtree as rescues are less likely to offer a particular breed (DH reacts to most cats but was ok with a main coon and we'd need to do an allergy test visit too in case).

I just am aware puppies can be bred in awful conditions pretending to come from families and is this as much an issue with cats?

And does anyone have any further advice / tips for good books also to consider? Our landlord's happy with pets and we have been around cats but never looked after one.
Thanks so much!

[Toddlerteaplease]

Suspect my two had been bred from over and over again. Out of the group of six rescued from a breeder 1 died, 1 almost died and the rest were in really bad condition. Poor girls had lived their entire lives in a 'chicken coupe cattery' don't think the lady who collected them will ever forget them.

[Toddlerteaplease]

There are several specialist rescues. Some specialise in specific breeds, some in any type of pedigree.

[Lovepancakes]

That's so sad and exactly want I want to be sure safe from supporting. I saw such a harrowing programme on the tricks dog breeders used to sell puppies as if from normal homes when they were kept in unspeakable conditions

[Lovepancakes]

Thanks as that is helpful. I've seen occasional rehoming of Main Coons on Gumtree but none near enough, maybe this might be ok as an option

[NattyGolfJerkin]

Places like gumtree and pets4homes are classic breed farming territory. Tbh, I'd avoid like the plague

[cozietoesie]

It's almost entirely a cash business and some of the 'in' breeds are fetching hundreds of pounds each. You're always going to have people who take advantage of that sort of situation, I fear.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Meet Paddington

[Lancelottie]

God, Paddington has the true Hard Stare of his namesake, doesn't he? Wonder if he'd get on with a cat who also doesn't much like other cats... no, OK, maybe not.

[Fluffycloudland77]

No, you have to stay on the only cat bench with me.

[TrionicLettuce]

If you decide to go down the breeder route I really recommend asking for advice on these forums. There are some excellent responsible and very knowledgeable cat people (including breeders of various breeds) on there and they would be able to give you advice on finding a decent breeder.

[FuzzyWizard]

The Maine Coon that I've just adopted has been bred from (likely more than once) and she's only 2. It appears to have stunted her growth a bit as she's very little. She must have had kittens very young according to the lady at the shelter. So there definitely are unscrupulous people out there breeding them. Whilst they are known for being less allergenic Maine Coons aren't truly hypoallergenic (no cats are). I'm taking antihistamines every couple of days and a visitor with cat allergies definitely reacted to her last week. I just get mild hayfever symptoms and have lived with cats before so know that it's manageable for me but she certainly isn't allergen free.

[cozietoesie]

It seems to be a quick and easy cash generator for some people. Sadly, not only do they often breed too young and too frequently, but they often pay no heed to the conditions that some of the breeds have in the old bloodlines. As for dogs, a cat obtained from an unscrupulous breeder may not be healthy.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Fuzzy, I suspect my Persians were the same and it's definitely stunted them. They don't have a clue about being cats.

[FuzzyWizard]

Toddler. It's definitely made me view the Gumtree and Pets4Homes selling pages with a much more critical eye. The owners told the shelter that my cat was used to going outside and hadn't used a litter tray so she was clearly not part of a proper breeding programme instead just allowed to wander round the neighbourhood without being spayed (she is spayed now). The reams of ads for Ragdoll X, Persian X, Maine Coon X etc kittens being advertised, sometimes for hundreds of pounds, used to make me go aww but now I just think about the poor queens who are probably just being left unspayed and then 'bred' over and over with all the neighbourhood Toms. Why bother with the hassle and expense of being a responsible breeder of registered pedigrees (which is not all that profitable apparently) when people will pay hundreds for crossbreed cats if you can show that the mother is from a fashionable breed.

[Lovepancakes]

This is such a help. I think I might leave the idea for several reasons (bit worried about dh's allergy too and that we're near a road) but I will remember this (and really wish more people understood the risks of pets on Gumtree as I really wasn't sure).

If we ever rethink I'll try your forum trionic and thank you all!

[neonrainbow]

I would say re the allergy i never used to be allergic to cats. I got a cat and about 3 years in i started to develop an allergy and now if i get too close to her for too long or theres lots of hair around i react really quite badly. So in my own experience a mild allergy can get worse with exposure. Even hairless breeds can set me off so i assume it's the saliva/dander as well as the hair.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Look up the Maine Coon breed society and look for a member of the club in the registered breeders list. They should be following the GCCF guidelines that kittens should be fully vaccinated ( at least 12 weeks of age) before they go to a new home. A good breeder should only offer you a kitten on the inactive register ( you can not breed from cat).

[cozietoesie]

Here's some guidance on inherited disorders in Maine Coons. The ICC site also has similar pieces of guidance on other main breeds.

[thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts]

Don't buy from gumtree. Maine Coons are really fashionable at the moment and many of the kittens advertised online are not pure bred. My builder bought one and was conned. Lovely cat but not as described. Go to a cat show and talk to the breeders. We have had two wonderful Maine Coons and I'd have another one in a heartbeat as they are such fantastic pets. They had very different coats. One moulted in one day and didn't really matt up. The other was much more heavy coated and had to be groomed every day in the moulting season.

[yeOldeTrout]

imho, and from what I know about a local cat breeder, yes, as bad as the puppy industry.

Supposedly, if a puppy is KC registered then the breeding conditions are much much better. Because there are all sorts of restraints & rules to follow about how often the mother breeds, and how the animals live in meantime.

I don't know how an intact tom can have a very happy life rarely actually breeding & living entirely indoors all his intact life, possibly in a large cage since he will spray a lot which isn't a nice thing for cat to do in a family home. But with access to outdoors he'll take dodgy risks, roam far, fight with others a lot, so that's not good either. Even in farm or feral conditions, I don't think intact toms have a great or long life.

[cozietoesie]

I saw a documentary, recently, about the breed-puppy selling business, and they just had piles of different 'pedigree certificates' ready to hand over with the outgoing puppies. I imagine that it would be very easy to print up a good few on a home printer.

[cozietoesie]

I believe that non-domestic cats have an average lifespan of between 3 and 5 years, Ye - although it's difficult to be precise. Happy to stand corrected on that of course.

[cozietoesie]

ye

[OhTheRoses]

I bought ours fro. Pets4Homes. Mother and daughter were BSH cream girls who had supposedly escaped. I then saw ads at regular intervals so they were being used as incubators. The two I bought for £80 each (they are nearly 9 now) are gorgeous, healthy, friendly and well behaved.

I wouldn't have wanted different cats but I wouldn't buy like that again. Long story short dd had been very unwell and all she wanted for Christmas was a kitten. Not the right way to go about things but in this case they are much loved and well looked after.

[thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts]

My Maine Coons were show quality and the boy lived to 10 and the girl to 13. He had kidney disease which racked up thousands in vet bills and we were very glad to have had pet insurance. My lovely girl had cancer. My first cat was a BSH who lived to the ripe old age of 16.