What is a reasonable price for a kitten?

[radiosignal]

I have just been to se a lovely kitten but the owner wants 180 for her. After some discussion she came down to £150, for a lovely kitten, but she is still a moggy, not a pedigree! They have two cats which they breed every year and sell the kittens. I am fairly appalled at this, but have not had any success getting a kitten from a rescue. Is this totally over the top?

Yes it is an outrageous price for a moggy. I thought the £100 we paid for each of its was pricey enough. They have a nice little earner there, poor mummy cat . Have you tried any rescue centres?

Oops never read the end bit

Yes totally over the top. We paid £20 for a kitten the lady was charging that just so she could cover the fee to have mum cat neutered. Shelters will normally ask for around £50 to £60 for a kitten.

£20/£50

Our local cat rescue is crying out for homes for kittens. We've recently adopted two 20 year old cats so sadly can't offer any kittens a home.

That's crazy
I paid a £20 contribution towards getting the mum spayed.

If you're appalled don't buy. People using their cats to make a fast buck like that make me sick.
Why haven't you had success with rescues? There are still rescue kittens after homes.

just can't find any rescues with kittens. I have been registered with one rescue for months. I really disagree with breeding for financial profit, but don't feel I can really lecture the woman.

Does it have to be a kitten? We rescued a year old cat and she is just as friendly and loving (if not more so) than the kitten we got at 8 weeks.

People GIVE kittens away free round here! I've never heard of anyone charging - or at least, only a token amount.

Contact more rescues. Ask at local vets, they sometimes acquire kittens. If this woman keeps getting takers paying her ridiculous prices she will keep breeding those poor cats so please don't buy. I am guessing they are breeding more kittens than they claim.
There is a recent post on here where someone bought a kitten via Gumtree who sadly died not long after going home so I would think very carefully.

I've never paid for a kitten. Our latest addition will be collected next weekend. Free, like all the others who've come before him.

I have the bests cat in the world ... £20 from a family to cover costs. He's so lovely, currently stretched out in my lap. :)

Depends on which part of the country you are in. I paid £150 for mine, completely over priced but 110% worth it- best cat ever and everyone who knows her say that too. So I don't mind paying that too much now.

I have asked in vets. I think it's true it depends where you are. I have seen other kittens advertised around £120 . I think it's a ludicrous price but this particular kitten is really lovely. The others in the litter are £150. I do think think if i really love the kitten maybe I should just pay it...

It's generally £20-25 from what I've seen. Just a token amount really.

No you bloody shouldn't line the pockets of a person who breeds their pets for money. A responsible owner would protect their pets by neutering.
Register with more rescues.
Maybe consider a slightly older animal. (Why does it have to be a kitten?)
Wait? There's a kitten season.

Never paid.... 2 from an advert in a pet shop, 1 from an old boss, 3 strays who adopted us and 2 who had been dumped and taken to a Vet.

It is a ridiculous amount for a non pedigree kitten and by paying it you are encouraging her irresponsible breeding.
I would wait for one from a rescue or even consider adopting an older cat.

It's a ridiculous amount, but I guess at least these kittens will go to good homes. Better than giving them away for free on gumtree and them ending up as dog fighting fodder.

And then the stupid person will breed more and flog them too. Miserable existence for the female being used to line their pockets.

I wouldn't pay them for a kitten, I'm not ok with people randomly breeding their cats, so there's no way my money is funding that.

I know, I totally agree about paying for a kitten bred to make money. I have had two rescue cats in the past and both had a lot of issues so this is why I would prefer a kitten this time, Kittens at rescues seem to go before they are on the website. Maybe I just need to keep looking, but I did really love this particular kitten. No questions from them about us and what sort of home we would be offering!

Of course they won’t ask any questions. They aren’t interested in animal welfare just easy money. The car is probably kept cages for long periods too.
If you buy the kitten, it just encourages them to keep abusing the mother cat.

How about young cat from a rescue, e.g. last kitten season's "left overs" that find it harder to get a home than the new babies? When I went to look at mine there were loads of cats around the 9-18 months age so still very young, fit and healthy but past the cute but destructive age.

One advantage of a very slightly older cat is that it's personality will have started to emerge so you have more chance of getting one who suits you, whereas with a young kitten you have no idea whether it will be aloof or a cuddle monster.