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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Kitten sellers taking the piss!!?

226 replies

Jamandbreadd · 04/05/2020 10:41

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 Hmm 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?!

OP posts:
Thurmanmurman · 04/05/2020 20:28

Ducksback. Oh do one you mad cat lady. I've always had cats and whilst they can get along as I've said previously, they are happy on their own and do not need another cat to keep them company.
Therefore, if that's the OPs only reason for wanting another cat she should possibly rethink.

Booboodisney · 04/05/2020 20:40

It’s funny because I have so many friends overseas who think letting your cat out even in to a garden is cruel.

maddiemookins16mum · 04/05/2020 20:55

I too look at Scumtree and their pets for sale. Those poor animals. I’ve been known to message ‘sellers’ with neutering advice, especially ones with 12 week old black kittens who despite not being able to ‘off load’ them, proudly announce more are due in a month.

CayrolBaaaskin · 04/05/2020 21:00

@Jamandbreadd - the price of cats/dogs does seem to have gone up. We got our cat from Gumtree for £80 two years ago. I couldn’t get one from a shelter either because I had young dds. I think lockdown has put prices up

CayrolBaaaskin · 04/05/2020 21:04

Op - you will get loads of abuse on here tho getting a pet from Gumtree. There are loads of nutters that think buying a cat on gumtree is cruel although there is absolutely no evidence of that. My cat was the kitten of a well taken care of family pet and we are a good home for him. There are no welfare issues at all.

MayDayFightsBack · 04/05/2020 21:14

Ducksback. Oh do one you mad cat lady.

Thurmanmurman calling people names 'cause they don't agree with you isn't really proving your case. I thought you weren't going to argue about cats on the internet anyway. Grin

OgoPogo8 · 04/05/2020 21:22

Having outdoor cats seems like a fairly British thing.

It would be neglectful where I am (due to predators).

Outdoor cats are awful for wildlife too.

Flump9 · 04/05/2020 21:28

@mammatino Vets are neutering on a case by case basis. Being highly agitated and attacked by the other cat would be a good enough reason for them to neuter him.

gonewiththerain · 04/05/2020 21:51

I do wonder if people feel as strongly about the breeding and selling of livestock but back to cats. Try your vet and if they don’t know of any they may be able to put you in touch with a vets in a more rural area and you might be able to get a farm kitten.
Often unwanted cats are dumped near farms, farmers feed them, they breed despite the farmers best efforts with trapping and neutering (cats protection often pay) the result is a few letters of kittens every year. We’ve had a couple and they make lovely pets and don’t mind being indoor cats. Usually happy with other cats as there’s a lot on the farm.

EarlGreyT · 04/05/2020 21:53

@WiddlinDiddlin. Very well said.

Thurmanmurman · 04/05/2020 21:57

@MayDayFightsBack Haven’t you got 15 cats to feed?

MayDayFightsBack · 04/05/2020 22:29

Still here I see Thurmanmurman. Grin

OgoPogo8 · 04/05/2020 22:46

Geez, what an odd bunfight

Cats are naturally solitary animals but, in a domestic setting, it really depends on that cat (some do better with another cat, others worse).

Getting a second cat is a bit of a gamble, particularly in a small flat.

I'm inclined to agree with @Thurmanmurman
(even if they're being a bit of an arse...)

CorbynsComrade · 04/05/2020 22:47

We got our cat from Gumtree for £20. Well that was the advertised price but when we arrived we were short of cash so paid about £16 and whatever change we had. Blush He is a strictly indoor cat who is very happy and healthy. In fact, today is his birthday and he’s 6 Grin

OgoPogo8 · 04/05/2020 22:49

Happy birthday to Jeremy Pawbyn.

CorbynsComrade · 04/05/2020 22:49

Oh and he’s an all black cat too. We wanted him because we know they’re hard to home Smile

CorbynsComrade · 04/05/2020 22:50

@OgoPogo8 Grin

Widowodiw · 04/05/2020 22:51

Get one for free from a rescue ??

Nogoodusername · 04/05/2020 22:55

Why do you think your cat needs company?! Unless you’d adopted a sibling pair at the outset, they pretty much hate new cats invading their territory

Bringonspring · 04/05/2020 22:55

I really think it is very unfair to trap an animal indoors.

OgoPogo8 · 04/05/2020 22:57

I really think it is very unfair to trap an animal indoors.
It is pretty normal for a lot of pets, including cats in a lot of countries.

In North America, most vets/experts reccomend keeping cats indoors for their safety. I've known a lot of very happy house-cats.

It's also a lot more environmentally responsible.

CorbynsComrade · 04/05/2020 22:59

I think that depends. Our cat seems to have no desire to go out. You can leave the door/window open and he remains in doors. He has a 3 story townhouse to run around in I suppose. When we first got him the vet assured us so long as he wasn’t howling to go outside there’s no problem keeping him inside

Cookeveryday · 04/05/2020 23:00

I made the mistake of thinking my single cat was lonely a few years ago and got a second cat. He ended up totally miserable and stressed. I Eve tualmy read that cats are not sociable animals. Think about big cat - tigers, leopards, panthers etc none of them live in groups. Lions are the exception, not the rule. Cats will live with family but they do not like living with a random second cat. It might make your current cat really miserable and they could get sick or run away ☹️

firstmentat · 05/05/2020 09:29

It’s funny because I have so many friends overseas who think letting your cat out even in to a garden is cruel.
The equivalent of RSPCA in my home country gives advice that cats should never be allowed outside, and animal shelters (overflowing with abandoned animals) won't rehome to a place where a cat would have free access to the outside, with the exception of semi-feral cats.

AprilJune · 05/05/2020 09:42

A friend and I used to share a flat and we had two cats. One used to come to work with us every day. We worked at a riding school so we’d take the cat in the car (she used to lie on the dashboard), and let her out when we got there. She’d spend a lovely day mousing, we’d call her at the end of the day (or occasionally she’d already be in the car waiting to be taken home) and home we’d go. Sometimes she’d get in a clients car without them noticing and they’d have to bring her back 😁

The other cat was far happier as an indoor cat; he wasn’t even keen on going into our little garden so he stayed in the flat. Odd really as he was born in hay bales at the stables and that’s where my mate found him and his siblings. We never found out where he came from. Obviously he’d had enough of roughing it 😁