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Original poster

Contracts when buying pedigree cats

42 replies

Pennies · 09/05/2010 19:49

I'm looking into getting a British bluecat and have found that many breeders stipulate that you have a contract by which you commit to keeping them as indoor cats.

I really don't want to have an indoor cat. How enforceable are these contracts?

OP posts:
Original poster
Pennies · 09/05/2010 20:32

bump.

OP posts:
BooBooChicken · 09/05/2010 20:33

why must they be indoor cats? what reasons do the breeders give?

kormachameleon · 09/05/2010 20:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Pennies · 09/05/2010 20:49

I want one because they're beautiful and we need a cat with a docile temperament.

A lot of the websites say that they reserve the right to refuse to sell a cat to someone who will not keep them inside and I've seen references to contracts, but annoyingly can't find a link now.

OP posts:
Babieseverywhere · 09/05/2010 21:22

Breeders will want their cats to be inside only, so :-

: They don't breed (especially when too young to do so safely or with cats which might carry STD's etc)
: Don't end up in fights, getting run over, stolen.
: Certain breeds can be bred to be very gentle or downright dozy and they are more likely to get lost, runover, stolen.

If you want an inside/outside cat, why not get a cat from your local cat rescue centre.

Vallhala · 09/05/2010 23:11

Babieseverywhere has fair points that I'd never have thought of. However, wrt contracts, I can't see them being more than a deterrent. The reason why I say this is because of similar ones made by rescues which insist on the animal being returned to them if the owner keep the pet.

Whilst any reputable rescue will indeed willingly take back a pet under such circumstances if asked, I've yet to hear of one which has set a precedent in law by enforcing a contract. It would doubtless be just too expensive to resort to the law and fraught with difficulties.

All that said, I'd fear that an outdoor, pedigree cat would be a prime target for theives and heaven knows how a theif would treat him/her. In view of this I'd seriously recommend if you buy a pedigree you comply with the breeder's requirements and advice.

Vallhala · 09/05/2010 23:13

Sorry, that should read, if the owner can't keep the pet.

scurryfunge · 09/05/2010 23:15

Cats should not be kept indoors....ever....they are cats, your cat becomes an ornament if it is kept indoors....the only way to stop this breeding of ornaments is to ignore contracts such as this, which are completely uninforceable, cruel and irreleveant.

scurryfunge · 09/05/2010 23:17

irrelevant*

sharbie · 09/05/2010 23:21

We bought our beloved Siamese four years ago (no contract) fully intending for him to be an outdoor cat like our other moggies.So we made sure we went to a breeder where their cats were allowed outside, but having had him for a few weeks I just couldn't imagine how he would survive out in the real world. We bought,like you,for temperament and personality and these creatures are just not suited for life outside.It would be like letting a rabbit out on the roads. I agree with Val, they would be a prime target for anything outdoors, theives, other cats and traffic esp - mine is lovely but soooooo dozy and gentle and in a world of his own.Good luck.

expatinscotland · 09/05/2010 23:21

'Cats should not be kept indoors....ever....they are cats, your cat becomes an ornament if it is kept indoors....'

It's commonplace in many places for cats to be indoors only.

They don't die over it.

We've had our cat for 8 years and she's been both an outdoor and an indoor cat.

First an indoor cat because we were living on a rough council estate in a second floor flat.

Again, now, because we're in a first floor flat in a council building. She can't access the flat, it's got a security door downstairs.

She's healthy and happy.

She's not an ornament because she doesn't go outside. She's a pet and a part of the family.

Florin · 09/05/2010 23:26

Don't even think about keeping them inside. I have 2 ragdoll cats although they were rescue cats, we were told to keep them indoors however it wa a nightmare. Dh and i nearly went mad. Cats shouldn't be kept indoors they have far to much energy, cat litter always smells they have the amazing ability to do a big poo just as guest arrive and you can't open any windows or doors which is such a pain in the summer. If they heard us outside having a bbq or something they could cry at the window for 3 hours straight. I can't imagine how any breeder would know if you did let the cat out and even if they did how they would enforce it, it would cost them a fortune and just wouldn't be worth it. I think the only thing we have had to accept is you will have a pretty cat roaming the streets so there probably is a higher chance of them being stolen. This is what worried us, but seeing how happy they are outside and how much happier we are we reckon its worth the risk! British blues are gorgeous enjoy!

scurryfunge · 09/05/2010 23:27

I'm sorry but a cat's natural way of life is to be outdoors...you'd never argue the case for a dog being indoors forever. Breeders have created animals that are unsuited to do what should come naturally. Why would anyone consider a second floor flat suitable for a cat? That is more about what you want, not what a cat needs

expatinscotland · 09/05/2010 23:29

It might be easier to keep them indoors if you live, like us, in a flat.

Hence, millions of cats in place like Hong Kong and Japan living their lives entirely indoors.

My foreign exchange sister, and she really is a sister now it's been 23 years and 14 visits back and forth, lives in Yokahama and she has an indoors only Siamese cat in her one-bed, high-rise flat.

Just about all her friends do, too.

And they are all living in flats.

expatinscotland · 09/05/2010 23:30

'Why would anyone consider a second floor flat suitable for a cat? That is more about what you want, not what a cat needs'

So she should have gone to a kill shelter than a loving home?

How do you know the cat's not happy? Did she tell you that?

scurryfunge · 09/05/2010 23:34

You are absolutely right, a cat's natural habitat, where it feels most secure and happy, is in a flat...David Attenborough will concur undoubtedly

expatinscotland · 09/05/2010 23:34

We had another one, too. A pedigree Persian.

Actually, DH got him before I came along.

This cat had been visiting a rural vet surgery in N. England, coming back to be fed as his coat and health grew worse and worse.

A vet nurse finally took him in.

His coat had to be shaved.

And when her landlord wouldn't let her keep him, she quite happily gave him to DH, who was living in that second floor flat.

He lived with us for years, happily, before developing cancer and having to be put down.

So people in Hong Kong or Japan or other densely populated areas shouldn't be allowed to keep cats?

Many keep tiny dogs, too. And don't walk them.

expatinscotland · 09/05/2010 23:35

Did David Attenbourgh also factor in air rifles, BB guns, deliberately tainted meat, antifreeze and cars?

No, I didn't think so.

expatinscotland · 09/05/2010 23:36

she's purring away right next to me, getting stroked.

sharbie · 09/05/2010 23:37

Yeah mine too sat on the mouse next to the pc.One very happy siamese.

scurryfunge · 09/05/2010 23:38

There you go... over bred pedigrees cannot cope....ignore the breeders...let moggies live where they are supposed to

scurryfunge · 09/05/2010 23:40

Yes, he did, survival of the fittest! I hope you don't let your children out onto the street then.

expatinscotland · 09/05/2010 23:44

'I hope you don't let your children out onto the street then.'

Well, I can't speak for yours but my children are definitely not cats . . .

expatinscotland · 09/05/2010 23:45

I also don't let David Attenborough dictate how I live my life.

How bizarre.

wannaBe · 09/05/2010 23:45

my cats are practically indoor cats through choice.

They have the option to go out but generally choose not to.

Tbh op I would say that on the whole there's nothing wrong with having an indoor cat. But equally there's nothing wrong with wanting a cat that goes outside either. The only thing I'd say is that if you're buying a pedigree you need to be aware that they are prime targets for thieves, that they are often docile and will follow pretty much anyone home (there is a local British blue that does exactly that - he lives at the back of the school, and he's been picked up so many times that the local vet now have a poster in their window that says he's not been lost - he's just friendly. And tbh, if you paid upwards of £400 for a cat you need to think about how you feel if it then gets hit by a car.

The rescue shelters are full of unwanted cats. And they don't have to be pedigrees to have docile natures.

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