Kitten sellers taking the piss!!?

[Jamandbreadd]

I am thinking about getting a cat after the lockdown eases, my cat is really in need of the company I think. Had a quick scan of gumtree London (where I got my cat 2 years ago, from a family home where their moggy had kittens). To be honest I was at the prices of cars. I haven’t been in the market for a cat for 2 years but I remember I paid £50 for a litter trained moggy kitten. Now every similar kitten on gumtree appears to be upwards of £200 each, and £400+ is equally as common! Am I missing something? They are either from private homes or I guess breeders, and it seems incredible to charge that much per kitten. A litter of 4 will net some of these people over £1000!
I’m a good pet owner- have good insurance for my cat, she has a de flea and de worm subscription from the vet, enough food and lots of attention. We don’t have a garden so were turned down by our local cat rescue when we contacted them.
I just don’t believe that people should profiteer from kittens like this. It’s mad.. and has definitely got worse since I got my cat 2 years ago.
£200-£400 for a moggy kitten?!? AIBU?!

@viques it’s a well known cats shelter so surprised if it had the wrong details but no it definitely stated that.

Puppies are just the same.
What makes me laugh is a cross breed puppy that 10 years ago would be considered a mongrel is now given a fancy new name and people pay ridiculous sums for them.
Yet they are still mongrels - crazy !!

My best ever dog was from Battersea dogs home, a "cross breed" and cost little.

It's just a fashion thing nowadays.

Don't buy a kitten of gumtree. Just don't. It is sites like gumtree that fuels bad breeding practices.

Rescue centres often have puppies and kittens available to adopt, try there. There are likely to be a lot more animals taken to shelters due to the current lockdown/furlough situation.

I do have a little sympathy here. These sorts of sites thrive often because of rescue shelters rather than in spite of them. So many shelters have intransigent rules and won't apply any flexibility, so people end up being pushed to alternatives, some of which are the worst end of the spectrum.

Last year I looked to adopt a "sticky dog" from the Dogs Trust (which I have been a member of for decades). I have a 4 year old Border Collie who is impeccably trained and has a wonderful temperament. I own my own home and my "back garden" is huge. My dog is exercised daily (I do at least six miles a day with him regardless of weather - he does more!), totally fit, insured, registered and regularly health checked with a local vet. I have owned Border Collies my whole life. They were looking for an experienced owner of Border Collies with a stable dog that could support the dog that they were looking to rehome - it was blind due to irresponsible puppy farmers trying to create blue merles by crossing two blue merles.

I was told in no uncertain terms that I could not adopt this dog or any other (unless I wanted a lap dog which I certainly didn't) because I am disabled! I pointed out that I have an all-terrain mobility scooter, more land than some parks. The vet backed me up that their decision was ridiculous. That dog is still in their care as a sticky dog because nobody else has wanted it, despite a perfect home being available for it.

Thanks all. I think I will contact our rescue again and ask their views.

@ivfgottostaypositive perhaps, but I think some scrapping would be inevitable if you introduce a new cat into a flat where another cat already lives... I wouldn't take the risk.

I'd definitely try a shelter. My friend fosters cats and she lives in a flat with no garden access. I wouldn't buy a pet from gumtree.

The selling of animals on gumtree is unethical. Big difference between selling a pushchair and selling/buying a cat. They are not objects. They are animals. The mothers of puppies and kittens sold on gumtree are often overbred and then either sold or abandoned once they have served their purpose and can't breed anymore.

You can rescue a cat that isn't a kitten... they need homes even more so and you may find one that is already used to flat-living with another cat :)

I thought the reason for the higher prices was to deter people buying them for awful reasons such as bait for dog fighting. I might have got that completely wrong though but I’m sure someone told me that.

I bought a kitten from Gumtree about 5 years ago when I lived with my parents. We already had two cats (brother and sister) and they all got on fine. When the kitten was small they would snuggle up together and the two big ones would bring him in dead mice to play with and eventually brought him in a live one to teach him to hunt! Now they are all adults they each have their own ‘spots’ for peace and quiet but often snuggle up still. If anything the two boys who aren’t related get on the best. So it’s not always the case that they don’t like company.

I wanted to get a cat when I moved out but we were rejected from all the rescues for working full time so looked on Gumtree again and also thought the prices were mad.

Contact the Cats Protection League if you want to give a cat a home.

Sorry forgot to say think he was £25. He was the last of the litter and think it was because he was mostly black. He is bloody gorgeous though.

It might be worthwhile to have a look for a small local rescue in your area, as they might have more sensible rehoming criteria than some of the big charities. The Rescue Review website lists many (but by no means all) rescue organisations by area: www.rescuereview.co.uk/

Just wanted to add from the perspective of a reputable breeder.

I have 3 queens and one stud. They all live within my home as cherished pets. I breed once a year as I like to keep a kitten for myself to show, which is my passion. I only show my cats if they actively enjoy it (not all will). I have 3 litters from a queen and then she is neutered, the queens will have been shown and will be titled first, they will have also had ALL relevant heath testing, for example heart scanning. The queens I have are excellent examples of the breed (2 have achieved best in show and all three are titled higher than Champion), they are negative for all known diseases within the breed and all have wonderful temperaments. I have 5 cats in total as I couldn't rehome a queen when she is no longer entire. I know that there will come a time when I will stop breeding as I will not have too many cats who I can't give individual attention to. The cats sleep in my bed and want for nothing. My kittens are fully vaccinated, microchipped, treated with advocate, neutered, fully registered and insured. They are fed a premium diet and are raised entirely in my home. I have just spent 10000 on a brand new catio kitted out with amazing cat trees and all sorts. They have multiple trees, scratchers and high level climbing and sleeping areas throughout the home. My boy lives inside as he does not spray, he is separate from the girls. My kittens sell for £850 but I spend far far far more than this on my cats. Good breeders don't make a profit, they do it for the love of their breed. I am an active member of our breed society, I co ordinate a breed rescue and am an advocate for early neutering. I adore my cats and their happiness and welfare is my top priority. I hope this gives some insight into how a good breeder should operate- also I don't advertise my litters. As I have 1 litter from a queen per year those kittens already have homes from birth, usually- people i have met at shows, word of mouth and so on. Every decision I make has the welfare of my cats at the heart and I truly adore them.

I have lots of very strong views on this which I won’t impart. Just, please don’t get a kitten, get an ‘indoor only’ older cat. Only get from a rescue or rehoming centre or from someone who needs to get rid of their ‘indoor only’ cat.

No one should ever be getting kittens on their own, only to be kept indoors or from a ‘family up the road’ or a dodgy ‘breeder’.

Anyone who claims to be an animal lover and/or a good pet owner should have no problem doing these simple things- they are what’s best for the animals.

In your situation, I wouldn't get another cat.

Be honest with yourself about whether you are wanting a kitten for yourself & your DC, rather than for your existing cat.

One cat in a flat with a large balcony - OK. Two cats, who haven't grown up with each other so aren't bonded - most likely not.

OK, there will be exceptions, but they are just that - exceptions. I really wouldn't do it in your circumstances.

We have 2 unrelated rescue cats, and a dog. All the animals 'get along' OK, but none would miss any of the others if they suddenly buggered off! It's human attention they all want, not the company of each other. We have a large house and a garden (and 2x litter trays).

Pets are being abandoned due to the effects of people losing jobs and being ill, someone on one of our local groups is offering to take them in.

Not sure what she is planning to do with them which is a concern.

Local rescue is not open at the moment so there is going to be a real problem for pets needing homes, the reserved ones aren't going and they are only taking emergencies in. Not long ago they had to close one of their branches for financial reasons, it is going to be a lot worse for the pets.

Myself and my husband thought this the other day. We’ve brought two kittens Off a breeder on Gumtree as I’m off work now as I’m high risk so can devote time to them as kittens and get them settled in, and some of the prices were ridiculous and we did some research and it’s to prevent people who will abuse them and resell them from buying them. We paid £175 per kitten , but the guy said he’ll let us have them for £150 each as we were buying them together and he liked that we weren’t splitting them up. I was still shocked as I genuinely thought cats were about £50!
Xx

That sounds great Floofy but how on earth can you justify breeding on purpose when there’s so many kittens and cats living in cases due to accidental pregnancies? How can you justify keeping the cats indoors when their instinct is to run and chase and climb in proper space and fresh air? What do the cats get out of being ‘shown’? Wouldn’t they be happier just pottering around at home with lots of attention and a garden to run in?

*cages

if you're in a flat with no garden, having a second cat is insanity. They need their own space!

Agree with this, your cat will hate you bringing another cat into their territory, will probably end up stressed and start peeing everywhere to re-establish their territory. Most cats in multicat households experience constant low level stress which mostly goes unnoticed by owners. You'd need 3 litter trays for a start, separate feeding and sleeping area, do you have the space for that?

Whilst I don't deny that there are many unscrupulous breeders on these sites, it doesn't apply to absolutely everyone. I wanted to get 2 sibling kittens, tried all the shelters (for several months), no luck. Went on pets4homes. One woman interviewed me and it was worse than a job interview! The list of rules she had for having one of her kittens was long. No way was she in it just for the money. In the end I think she just kept the kittens. There was another guy who did sound dodgy so I didn't go to him. In the end I got 2 sisters from a really nice family. Checked it all out using the guidelines. I paid just shy of £500 for the two. Honestly I don't regret it. I wfh and they have transformed my mental health. They make me happy every single day. They are also very much loved and very well taken care of. Maybe it's because they're from the same litter but they are best friends. They don't like to be apart and do everything together. If that makes me an evil person, so be it.

I was naive and bought a kitten on pets4homes last year for £50.

I saw same as you, loads of the same moggies for £250 upwards.

Turned out when I picked up kitten that it wasn’t 10 weeks old as stated but 6 weeks old and really shouldn’t have been separated from its mother.

He’s fine now but does make me sad that people do this.

The thing is though, what happens to the kittens that don’t get bought?! The amount that get dumped around here is shocking and so sad and often they are not found alive

Blue Cross?
CPL?
Battersea Dogs?

They do home checks (obviously can't atm) and will see that your current cat is doing fine. Many people have indoor cats these days. I don't understand what they're cavilling about.

So many generalisations that mean many cats don't get the chance of a good home. Many cats are happy in flats. They might be happier in a house in the countryside but so would children growing up in flats. Should they be put up for adoptions because they couldn't possibly be happy in a flat?

I also had two cats, siblings. Then one day appeared at our door in the middle of the winter, emancipated, looking frail so we took her in. We did everything to find their owner to no avail so she stayed. The two siblings accepted her perfectly, often all three cuddles together.

In the meantime, shelters are overwhelmed with too many cats...