Cost of "pedigree" kittens?

[RiverFlowers]

We sadly lost one of our cats recently - it was very unexpected and I haven't been coping with it particularly well. We have his brother still but he is very much my husbands cat in that, he isn't remotely interested in me but will follow my husband around constantly. We always joked about it but now my boy has gone, I am actually struggling with it as i feel like I have lost "my" cat.

I didn't really have any intentions of getting another cat at the moment but I did look to see if the breeder we got our boys from still existed and they do and it got me looking at kittens and older cats of that breed who need re-homing. However, I think I am very out of touch with how much kittens and cats cost these days - when we got our boys nearly ten years ago they were £400 each (think British Shorthair, Persian, Exotics) yet people seem to be trying to sell them for £1k now? Is that right?! Is that how much they cost now as that seems extortionate!

It also seems most breeders won't even tell you their prices anymore! I have looked at re-homing but as we have young children, they won't even consider us.

Has anyone purchased a British shorthair, Persian or exotic recently and can tell me what they paid?!

Thanks

[quote AwkwardPaws27]@AHungryCaterpillar I found the RSPCA process really straightforward. Filled in a form, followed by a quick home check.
It's worth trying a few rather than paying hundreds to someone who is just letting their cat have back to back litters. Different rescues have different criteria (frustrating, I know!) so if one says no it doesn't mean another won't say yes.[/quote]
it’s just the kids bugging me for one but I’m quite happy with just the one cat and personally prefer older cats anyway, though they obviously only want a kitten. But she went to several different rescues, some said no because she had a child, other said no because she didn’t have a cat flap, and the others just never got back to her. I don’t think she tried the rspca though I think they were just local rehoming centres

@RiverFlowers - so why not get a moggy kitten instead of a pedigree?

Two of mine were farm kittens and one we rehomed for free when he was two. They all live indoors quite happily and get on well together. They're now 7, 6 and 2

Another Maine coon here, January 2022, £1250.

I previously had another who died of well known issues in the breed. It was very important to me that I went to a trusted breeder with a good record & that my new boy & his parents had been checked for these health problems. There is no guarantee, but listening to my previous boy crying in pain broke me.

However, my new baby will be my only pure breed as he was very expensive. His moggy sister should arrive soon :)

Oops - sorry @AHungryCaterpillar 🙊

[quote fairylightsandwaxmelts]@RiverFlowers - so why not get a moggy kitten instead of a pedigree?

Two of mine were farm kittens and one we rehomed for free when he was two. They all live indoors quite happily and get on well together. They're now 7, 6 and 2 [/quote]
Well apart from some dodgy people just breeding their moggies as a money making scheme, I haven't found any. The shelters that do have kittens - from accidental litters, etc still won't consider us.

Breed specific rescue and welfare are usually different in their requirements than general rescue places.

When you look at vaccinations, spaying, stud costs, Queen costs for 6 months (can only have 2 registered litters per year), cesarian costs, socialising kittens, showing Queens and Studs etc well £600+ barely covers breeding costs!

Once you ask around breeders you can often pay a token amount to rehome an adult pedigree that has been retired.

The breeder that I got my Ragdoll cat from said to me that prices went up during lockdown because so many people were buying pets. He said that he wasn't at all comfortable charging £850 for a pet kitten but that the GCCF expects all breeders to charge the same. Back in 2017, I paid £650 for my Ragdoll who is an excellent breed example.

Anyone willing to pay £400 for a moggy is an absolute fool and i would question the morals of someone selling a moggy for that.

I'm not sure if prices will go down again but now that food costs have risen, it doesn't seem likely.

When our elderly Persian died we found our last two pedigrees (brother and sister) through the grooming service that we used - they often knew of pedigree cats that needed to be rehomed.

@AnnaMagnani

There are a lot of backstreet breeders selling moggies for ridiculous prices.

Meanwhile rescues are overflowing.

I got Desert Cat in lockdown when everyone had gone pet mad, and I refused to pay £££ for a backstreet kitten, so ended up getting a rescue from Dubai. Not my original plan but he is definitely a character.

You're lovely and truly care about animals.

Well apart from some dodgy people just breeding their moggies as a money making scheme, I haven't found any. The shelters that do have kittens - from accidental litters, etc still won't consider us.

if you're rural, it's definitely worth looking out for farm litters - two of ours came from local farms. One was advertised on a cardboard sign out the front and the other on much to MN's disgust a local FB page.

Both kittens cost £10 each and they're perfectly healthy and happy cats. One is now six and the other is two :)

It's also not quite kitten season yet - give it another month or two and shelters, farms etc. will be over-run with them.

@AwkwardPaws27 yes all there were. Cheddar had a better home and was loved and it shows!

Three of our four are rescue moggies, two were kittens when we adopted and one a adult and all have adapted very well to being house cats. Our newest is a pedigree Maine coon, we were very selective about him as their known to have heart problems and it doesn't guarantee no issues but makes it less likely we paid over £1000 for him

We had the same dilemma last year - we've always had rescue cats, but with 2 x children and a dog now, we wanted a laidback indoor cat this time. We paid £800 for our Ragdoll who settled in perfectly. She has zero interest in going further than the back garden, play wrestles with our dog and follows the kids around for the majority of the day! All 3 of our rescues have been much more independent and outdoorsy cats in the past. We'll probably go back to rescues in the future, but for now she has been the ideal addition.

I am looking into this now, we had an ordinary moggie before, Silkiecat who always hated going outside but was her choice, but now looking at getting a Maine Coone, either an adult or a kitten.

I am going through chemotherapy at the moment adding to the challenge though just want one by September. Looked at rescues but very difficult and seem to require you have had similar breed before and difficult with chemo. Pets4Homes looked like some dodgy people on and its too much money as well to risk on there, have had some smaller pets through there fine but not happy for this. I have contacted a couple of breeders and they just seem to require an indoor home and cat experience and its £950 and cat is vaccinated, neutered and checked. I was a bit shocked at prices esp on PetsForHomes, some are £2k. Silkiecat was £95 18 years ago. Though the £950 with neutering and all health checks etc am OK with. At least higher prices will deter those who can't afford vets bills.

RSPCA are fussy if you have little kids fine with secondary. We managed to get two oriental kittens from the RSPCA and they are beautiful but very demanding! I could not have coped with them when I had small children so maybe the RSPCA have a point. My local one often have indoor cats only available but most need to be only cats.

Our Persian kittens cost £650 about 5 years ago and £750 2 years later form the same breeder.

If people are happy with adult cats it's always worth contacting several breeders of the breeds you like and ask if they are likely to have any studs or queens retiring soon or know of any. Most will need to be house cats or have access to a cat secure garden.

I got an ex breeding Bengal for £250 3 years ago. She was 4 as her breeder retires them early so they can enjoy most of their life as a pet. She’s just like a dog-comes running when called and very affectionate.

I'm looking for a cat and was surprised at some websites selling various breeds and saying things like "We're not greeders, we won't be raising our prices like others" and yet they still want about £1400 for a kitten. Ok then.

It's surely not sustainable with how prices are rising for everything else, people paid ridiculous prices for kittens and puppies during lockdown, I don't know where they get the money tbh. Often they're mixed breeds too yet still commanding a £1k pricetag.

Well I found out they are £1k a kitten, so we won't be doing that any time soon. That is ridiculous for a kitten and a huge increase over the last few years!

This is exactly what I keep seeing - the breeders claim they aren't "greeders" yet they are charging £1k+ for a kitten that two years ago was half that price.

I also don't see how people can afford those prices at the moment but I guess if people keep paying those prices, they will keep charging them

Ask around at shelters - have a look on a website called "CatChat". I needed an indoor cat and found Leroy who has FIV. Hard to home cats at small shelters are likely to be a bit more relaxed about rules.

We paid £1k for a registered kitten. Non registered kittens were around £600.

I wouldn't buy a non registered pedigree as I don't think the breeders are likely to be as responsible as those that register their kittens, and worst case they are not taking proper care of their animals and exploiting them for financial gain.

Registered breeders also tend to keep the kittens with their mum for 3 months rather than 8 weeks which is common with unregistered breeders.

I had only had rescue cats before this and was surprised to learn how much goes into the breeding and care of kittens from a good breeder. It really is a lot of money to pay though. It took me 18 months to save for mine.

There is no such thing as a ‘non registered pedigree’. If both of the kitten’s parents are not on the active breeding register then they are not a pedigree because they didn’t come from two cats who met that criteria. You could still get a nice cat that way, but absolutely nobody should be charging (or paying!) £600 for such a cat. Unless you want to be conned. Breeders who do this are bad people and are only interested in money, not the cats. They will likely have signed a contract to say that they won’t breed from their cats which they then break.

The birman welfare trust on fb currently have a lovely birman boy who needs a home. Charlie.