Was I being unreasonable to ask this? re buying a kitten

[Whatscooking1]

Hi everyone

im looking to buy a kitten. Can’t seem to get anywhere with rescues as the ones I have seen seem to be snapped up quickly.

I saw some lovely 11 week old ones on pets for homes so I enquired about them. I asked if the kittens had been flead and wormed up to date and she said ‘no. I will not be doing this. It is down to the buyer. They are not registered with a vet’. I said kittens should be dewormed and she said they haven’t been done and would not be doing it for them. She said she had 12 cats excluding the kittens and has never had any issues.

Aibu to think if you are breeder you should know that kittens need deworming and was I being unreasonable to ask? She has now blocked me on the site

Noooooo - that's the best bit!

Yeah that's a bad breeder! There's lots in a rescue near me, I can give you details if you PM? Might be miles away though!

We had a kitten from a rescue centre several years ago (advised to have a kitten as we already had an older cat). Her litter were never advertised online. We went to the centre to see about having another cat and they showed us the kittens then. I would speak to the centre directly if you want a kitten. Also, we have also rehomed a 2 year old and a 4 year old and they are wonderful pets too so don’t rule out an older one if you have no other cats!

If you're in London/SE, check out Celia Hammond Animal Trust - we adopted the most wonderful 1 yr old cat in January. CHAT do amazing work and a lot of cats are being abandoned right now

Sounds like a terrible breeder. If you do want to go down the breeder option as opposed to a rescue it might be worth looking at some of the breed specific clubs/FB groups/web sites. Some assured pedigree breeders will have some kittens who aren't show quality who will be available to good homes and they will be health checked/vetted/neutered/vaccinated. You'd still need to be on a waiting list and it won't be cheap but I feel like that's an ethical way of getting a kitten that isn't from a rescue.

We rehomed a 5 month kitten from the RSPCA. The previous owner appeared to struggle coping with a kitten, chewing cables, vomiting and minor kitten type stuff. This was 18 months ago. He settled with us very quickly and is the loveliest cat I've ever owned. Really affectionate and sweet.

If you wait for kitten season, getting a kitten likely won’t be an issue. The dates vary by area, but we have gotten all but one of our cats in May. We are slightly crazy people who gave 3 cats of various ages. We have used the same medium sized rescue for years. Sometimes they go months with no kittens, but then kitten season hits and there are a couple dozen ready for adoption every week.

I foster for a really small cat charity and we always flea and worm our kittens/cats. We also agree to neuter/spay them once old enough and make a diary note for the new owner. This is all paid for by us.

Rescues are overrun with kittens due to vets not neutering/spaying during lockdown so have a look for a local one

Apparently there is a law now called Lucy’s Law where you can’t sell kittens if you aren’t a registered breeder

Report her

Absolutely THIS!

We wanted to get a kitten from a rescue centre and they all seemed to be reserved, we just waited a few weeks and kept enquiring, one came up very soon!

A good breeder welcomes a knowledgeable owner with open arms and is happy for questions like this. Avoid this lady.

Backyard breeder only interested in money.

Shes not a breeder, she's a money hungry dickhead and there's actually laws against what she's doing! Lucy's law

YADNBU
Professional breeder here.
They should ALWAYS be wormed appropriately.

We don't use flea treatments because our cats/kittens don't have fleas (thank goodness) and I don't like using chemicals unless it's actually necessary.

Lots of small/informal pet rescues have facebook pages so we'll worth looking on there.

Our local rescue farms the mothers and kittens out to foster families, who then get first dibs on kittens from that litter if they want.

Could you foster? You could get your kitten fix multiplied by five or six if so, and choose one with a known personality.

As a matter of idle curiosity OP, how much was the breeder planning on charging for the kitten, considering that she has incurred no additional expenses apart from upping the pregnant cats food intake ( and probably feeding it the cheapest you can find). When rescues rehome kittens they charge for vet checks, flea and worm treatments and in the case of older cats for neutering as well, and no one in their right mind resents paying . Your breeder was going to bypass all those essential details and pocket the difference. I can only hope her untreated kittens drop flea eggs on her bedroom carpet!

YANBU
They should always be wormed as a matter of course.

When I got my last cat I told a local rescue place that I was looking for a kitten and they got in touch with me a few weeks later when they had one.

I don't know where you live, OP, but the local rescue places around here seem to be overrun with cats and kittens. As others have said: try local rescues rather than just he 'big names'. Facebook is full of them.

@viques the kitten were tabby and she was wanting £85 each for them

google cat chat forum on this you can put in where you live and search for rescues in your area then get in touch with all of them and ask to be on their waiting list for a kitten if that is what you want good rescues flea and worm them some like the one i work for Yorkshire Cat rescue does not let them go till at least 12 weeks but they spay/ neuter. vaccinate, flea and worm and i think their fee at the moment is around £100 for a kitten which if you think how much that extra would cost you at the vets is good value for money, a shame your not near leeds a rescue friend of mine has two kittens shes looking for homes for at the moment

Of course she was and the mum cat will probably be pregnant again very soon after that. And after that. And after that.

Yes and with 12 cats I’m sure there will be lots of new litters all the time that she is profiting on.

I have found a few small cat rescues on Facebook so I can going to get in touch with them! One of which catch feral cats/kittens and look after them until they are healthy and ready for new homes. Their adoption fee is only £75 too so cheaper than most of the kittens I have seen on the selling sites. This includes vet checks, they have been flead and wormed and also chipped