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

Thank you everyone for your help. They would have a very loving home here and I’m glad I did not give money over to somebody who doesn’t care about the kittens well being. I just feel sorry for her cats!

Sorry you had a bad experience with Pets4homes. From the photos on there I can tell some of the kittens are being raised by horrible people. 😥

But, that doesn’t mean you can’t buy a kitten, or that there are no good families rehoming through sites like Pets4homes. It does mean you should be very careful, and follow the advice on that site including seeing the kittens with their mother, only buying vet checked wormed kittens etc.

I bought my two cats when they were kittens, from a lovely lady who adored them and let them sleep in her bed. Found her on gumtree, went to have a look, satisfied myself that she was great, everyone happy.

My friend also let her cat have a litter of kittens (so that she got to experience motherhood before being neutered), and then she carefully chose good homes for them. That doesn’t make her a ‘backyard breeder’.

Some people feel that it’s wrong to get pets from anywhere that isn’t a rescue centre, and that’s simply not true. Absolutely do look at rescues and maybe phone round a wider area - the shelters near us are full 😱 but if you find a good person online don’t assume they’re evil.

Only bonus here is that she told the truth.

ByB avoid!

I'm so glad you've found some suitable local rescues! I got all my cats through a small local rescue - they're currently charging £85 for an adult cat (which includes worm/chip/flea/health check/neuter or spay) and £75 for a kitten (which will not yet be neutered but the owner keeps the kitten on her books and funds the neuter for you). You get a healthy, fit cat and you're helping a reputable rescue.

Kittens come in waves, if you can hang in and be patient you will have your pick of kittens. I recommend getting a pair - I have two brothers who I got at 5 months old and they are the sweetest most adorable boys. I also have two older ones who are very bonded, one is a formal feral so is very independent (but can be handled) and one is just the cuddliest people cat you can imagine.

Something to consider OP is that not all rescues may put all their available kittens on their website so it’s worth registering your interest via their contact form.

That happened to me though I would have rehomed an adult cat. The rescue contacted me to ask if I was interested in kittens.

Also OP, have you come across this resource?

www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-rescue-centres-surrey

Please report the listing to pets for homes. Thanks.

Thank you everyone. Yes, I will report her to the administrators at pets for homes

Hi everyone
I have found the ad on my DPs phone to report her as she has blocked me on my account. I’ve sent a report. Looking back through the photos one of the kittens has an incredibly bloated stomach and doesn’t look right. I’m pretty sure I read this can be a sign of worms

Photo here

@HappyHamsters not true, the OP said she tried to adopt a rescue and it was v difficult - this was also my experience.
they go quickly or the demands from the rescue places/shelters are impossible - there was a thread here the other day where many pps shared this albeit related to dogs.

Rescues locally won't let us have a cat either because we both work full time, over 4 days and both have one day WFH, so cat would only actually be home alone one day, and we have a cat flap and a 100ft well fenced garden. This was before we had DC, tried again earlier this year and now DC is an issue to add to all the others!
Current dcat came from Preloved, not what I wanted, but owner wasn't planning on breeding her five month old cat, but went on holiday with parents cat sitting, with strict instructions not to let her out as bit being neutered until after she got back. Her dad felt sorry for the cat and let her out!
Could your dp act like an interested buyer ask to pick a cat up and give the details to RSPCA?

If you’re in London, live in a house or max first floor flat and can secure your balcony, and want to give rescuing another try - I’d recommend Celia Hammond Animal Trust.
If you are not in a position where shelters will let you adopt from them - as we were) - we got a ragdoll kitten from a breeder in Milton Keynes who is excellent. Happy to provide details. Met the kitten with mom and his siblings (and the breeders family and other animals/pets) at home, she had him chipped, dewormed, etc, and he is clearly a cat that’s never seen anything bad from humans. She actually asked me to keep sending her pics as she likes to know how they’re getting on as they grow. She vets the potential buyer and asked us lots of questions.

got another kitten from someone who seemed to regret getting a cat (a rescue of sorts) - his behaviour clearly demonstrates that he’s met some bad humans, it breaks my heart to think what he went through. Eg he is terrified of feet and shoes.