Bloody hard trying to get a cat!

[maggiethecat]

First time trying to get a cat and don't know if its bcos of lockdown demand but cannot seem to get one. Have contacted a number of Gumtree sellers (within our price limit) but they don't respond either to availability enquiry or request for viewing information. Even if I respond to ad within hours of first posting. One person did get back to say she had had too many enquiries and that she would update me on availability but has not got back.
I will try a rescue centre although I do prefer a kitten rather than an adult cat which a rescue is likely to be.
How did you get your cat and was it quite a faff?

@70isaLimitNotaTarget

You are incorrect in the assumption many pedigree queens have multiple litters

I said "breeders" and "queens" in my original post , never mentioned Pedigree .

I'm sure there are lots of reputable breeders with waiting lists for their cats who they look after and scrupulously screen their chosen sires to improve the line of their particular cat .

But I have also seen over and over the same advertisers with their Bengal Crosses (see to be very popular round my way) . What is happening to those cats .
There is a huge market for cats , not all breeders are breeding for a select market and improving the line .

I didn’t say you had referred specifically to cats that was just my particular contribution to the debate And your point.

I entirely agree with you regarding the observations You’ve raised here

I have no idea why anyone would cross a BSH with a Bengal. I don’t know why anyone would cross any cat with a Bengal.

I feel very sorry for these poor creatures.
I would also suggest that is fairer to call them backyard breeders as they are exactly like puppy farmers who are scum

A lot of people claim their kittens are a 'cross' to bump up the cost. A tabby litter ooh bengal crosses, a little bit fluffy maine coon/nfc. Also people have sold kittens who are born with fever coat for £500+ I bet the people who parted with their money are shocked to discover the cat is a black moggy and not some rare breed. Nobody should breed cats apart from registered breeders. A lot of registered breeders are now going down the route of neutering their kittens before release.

They are back yard breeders. Who claim the reason the kitten isn't registered is because they are pet only. Which is shit because my pedigrees are non active (pet) but they are still registered.

@OohKittens

Totally agree
All my three / cats and soon be fourth kitten have all been registered as non active and this one is being neutered before she comes home to us. Precisely to drive down this unscrupulous behaviour

Pedigree Cats should be neutered before being sold, people are fuckwits and you can’t trust them.

A beautiful stray cat had kittens behind my shed. All but one died so we have mum and kitten (now one)
The rescue near me often have kittens. Is there any reason you want a kitten. They are very cute but I would rather have an adult that you know the personality of. Have you checked battersea?

We got our cats from gwent cats protection. They usually had pre covid adoption days. But lately they have been putting cats and kittens available on the Facebook page. They don't have waiting lists. It's the first suitable person. Great people.

What breed do you have @stophuggingme it seems to be the way forward now with so many registered breeders. Some of these byb are charging more than genuine pedigrees who are vaccinated and from.health tested parents even though byb let the kittens go at 8wks.

Our cat as others have said "grew out of" being a cute kitten and was chucked out with her two kittens. We got her at 18 months.

My cat was born in a colony living in the back alleys near my house - I first met her when she was about a month old, and brought her home with me when she was about twelve weeks.

She's five now :)

Local accidental litters from fb. Mostly people I know. Or self rescued strays.

@OohKittens

What breed do you have *@stophuggingme* it seems to be the way forward now with so many registered breeders. Some of these byb are charging more than genuine pedigrees who are vaccinated and from.health tested parents even though byb let the kittens go at 8wks.

I have British Shorthairs.

Sadly I lost one of my girls earlier this year and decided to get another kitten. The amount of profiteers out there is amazing and the number that want to sell a non registered kitten for astronomical prices and no papers is appalling.

I have ended up making a six hour drive and staying in a hotel overnight in my quest to find a female BSH of a specific colour and pattern that is non active registered, whose parents I can both see and who is not allowed to leave before fifteen weeks and spayed at that.

I was dismayed at how many “breeders” wanted £800 for a non registered kitten and without any proof of parentage quite happy to get shot of them at eight weeks old

@LST

Local accidental litters from fb. Mostly people I know. Or self rescued strays.

Yes to this. You are politely saying couldn’t be arsed to neuter their cats really aren’t you. It’s so awful

@stophuggingme my kitten is a Norwegian forest his breeder never advertises. The cats tend to have small litters for their size and she usually has a list of people after specific colours. This is Falkor

@stophuggingme it is shocking, but only if they do have a registered queen/sire can you report them but I'm not even sure the cat club does anything about it?

It's surprising how many people pay that sort of money and have done so little research they don't even realise they've been ripped of by a kitten farmer!

What colour did you go for?

I'm waiting for my oldies to go over the rainbow bridge then I'll be waiting for a Cornish or Devon Rex. I'm ready for a break from semi long hairs and eating fluff with every meal and drink and just generally inhaling it 😂

[quote RandomMess]@stophuggingme it is shocking, but only if they do have a registered queen/sire can you report them but I'm not even sure the cat club does anything about it?

It's surprising how many people pay that sort of money and have done so little research they don't even realise they've been ripped of by a kitten farmer!

What colour did you go for?

I'm waiting for my oldies to go over the rainbow bridge then I'll be waiting for a Cornish or Devon Rex. I'm ready for a break from semi long hairs and eating fluff with every meal and drink and just generally inhaling it 😂[/quote]
Oh the hair! I’m forever combing mine and hoovering but I love them so much I don’t (most of the time ! Mind)
My
friend breeds Rex and Spyhnx so get in touch if you are looking they are are amazing cats. She used to breed BsH and I got my first two girls from her. She is a fantastic breeder and a true professional.

Our new girl is half blue half Classic silver Black tabby. Her parents are stunning both gccf champions. She has amazing markings and the sweetest face. We wanted another tabby but couldn’t find a one we were in love with. Then we saw her.
She will never replace my lost tabby but she has an air of her about her being the smallest of a litter and her purrs and face are so similar. When we saw her my little girl cried and said it was like Dolly (our lost girl) had sent back some of her beauty through the rainbow. That was that.
We can’t wait to bring her home.
She has come from such a loving home and will be living in another one

[quote OohKittens]@stophuggingme my kitten is a Norwegian forest his breeder never advertises. The cats tend to have small litters for their size and she usually has a list of people after specific colours. This is Falkor[/quote]
Absolutely stunning!

First cat we adopted, second cat was handed to me by a random man who knocked on my door and said "I know you will look after it cos I've seen your cat in the window" 3rd cat was found by my dog dumped in a bag in a back alley.

@Bunnybigears

First cat we adopted, second cat was handed to me by a random man who knocked on my door and said "I know you will look after it cos I've seen your cat in the window" 3rd cat was found by my dog dumped in a bag in a back alley.

My dog found a kitten who’d been dumped in a bag over our garden fence a few years ago. It was chucking it down and she wouldn’t leave this spot alone in the garden kept howling and rushing to me. I gave in and found this tiny ginger kitten. Took her to CPL the next day after setting up night terrors isn’t to syringe goats milk into her and hope she made it. She did and they named her after my dog. Lola got a steak for her dinner that night. The lady at CPL said it was a great myth buster how many dogs alerted their owners to the plight of a cat or kitten and rubbish that they hated each other .

You might get a kitten in a rescue, there are plenty about. However if you get a slightly older cat from a rescue then you can really see if your personalities match - sometimes with kittens you don't know what you're getting!

Well, appointment at CPL is tomorrow and it will be interesting! I've only ever cat sat once and know little about cats but am willing to learn. Will probably take the first one to make eye contact for more than 5 secs

Good luck. I haven't had destruction from a kitten (more so from an adult in fact).

I will be going for a breed for my next cat. The breeders I am looking at certainly aren't overbreeding; there are hardly any kittens available in fact.

Just like with dogs, cats can be bred to have certain temperaments. You wouldn't expect someone to go go a rescue equally happy to take home a border collie or a Yorkshire terrier.

I think CPL use foster homes rather than shelters so they may have one in mind that's in a home rather than you picking one.

@maggiethecat

Well, appointment at CPL is tomorrow and it will be interesting! I've only ever cat sat once and know little about cats but am willing to learn. Will probably take the first one to make eye contact for more than 5 secs

Remember it isn't you who chooses the cat, it's the cat who chooses their slave!

Most cats aren’t keen on eye contact! Good comfortable body language from a cat is to squeeze its eyes shut and look away from you*. It shows trust.

*This doesn’t apply to kittens, nosy blighters, stupid cats or hungry cats.