Choosing a Cat Breeder

[Ania's Mommy]

Let me start by saying that the idea of a purebred cat is completely foreign to me. I didn't even know there were separate breeds until I saw the show "Cats 101" on Animal Planet. I mean, I knew there were Siamese cats, but I thought they were the only real "breed". Of course, if I'd ever spent the time to think logically about it, I would have had a big "duh" moment.

So, I have a friend who wants to get her first purebred cat. A Ragdoll, to be exact. And she figured I might be able to give her some pointers on picking a good breeder.

I know the basics of finding a good dog breeder (the basics, mind you. I still wouldn't feel comfortable going it alone at this point). But relating it to cats is posing a problem.

So here are my questions:

Do they do health testing on cats? And if so, what kinds? A Ragdoll is an abnormally large cat who enjoys lots of jumping. So I'd imagine that good hips are important.

Aside from confirmation, are there any other ways for cat breeders to "prove" their animals? Are there competitive mouse chasing trials (I say this mostly in jest, but I really do want to know if something like that exists)?

Are there any red flags to look for when choosing a breeder?

How many litters/year would be ideal from the breeder?

Are there important things to look for with a cat breeder that you wouldn't need to look for with a dog breeder? I don't want to miss anything...

Any input you guys can provide will be so helpful. I don't want to have to join a cat forum.

[whiteleo]

Richelle,

Ask on our raw feeding co-op..we have cat people there who may know someone local who has ragdolls

[Ania's Mommy]

Can I do that? I thought Debbie liked to keep the traffic down to a minimum. Especially since it's not even co-op related.

[whiteleo]

Send Debbie a email and ask her to send it to the appropriate person or she might post it to the list if she doesn't know..Then she'll ask them to contact you "off list"

Debbie's really nice....

[DaneMama]

My only input is that of all purebred cats....most of them have serious health problems. Purebred cats tend to be WAY more inbred than dogs even. I've only seen a handful of them to be older, compared to your domestic cats.

Tell her to be prepared to lose a purebred cat earlier to health problems than she would a mixed breed domestic (on average of course).

[monkeys23]

Health testing for the breed, small number of cats, encourage buyer to visit their home and see their cat set-up, keep cats as part of the family, socialize kittens extensively, spay/neuter kittens before they leave, require the kitten to be indoor only, require that buyer never declaw the kitten, knowledge of cat nutrition (high quality grain free canned or raw would be a clincher for me honestly), show their cats and are heavily involved with their chosen breed, specializae in only one breed... yeah I think that about covers it.

I really want a Maine Coon someday. Probably far, far, far in the future. Either that or adopt a gnarly old tabby tomcat, lol.
This breeder is my top pick and I think a good example for what are good things to look for: Maine Coon Cat N Kittens of Cascade Mountain Main Coons Cattery - Vancouver, Washington

Mutt cats aren't always healthy. I've seen many awful things show up in our barn cat population over the years and there are always new toms around contributing to population diversity... We have one female right now who has some neurological issues (or it could be a congenital bone deformity I guess) that causes her to have a permanent head tilt.

I think the biggest key to cat health and longevity is biologically appropriate diet, keeping them safe indoors, and minimal to no vaccinations (again keeping them safe indoors from disease...). Cats have a really high rate of vaccine site related sarcomas that are very aggressive cancers.

My older bro and his wife adopted two kittens when they first got married. They turned 13 last year I think... maybe it was 12. Anyway, Lestat got very sick suddenly and through ultrasound they basically diagnosed a big cancerous growth that was bad enough not to operate on. The diagnosis was very vague. I have a hunch was directly related to both of them being on SD Hill's CD prescription food and being obligate carnivores on a dry food inappropriate diet. It was fast and traumatic. Even their other cat, his sister, is still all screwed up by the loss.

I dunno, if its a very reputable breeder I don't see a problem with getting a purebred cat.

[Caty M]

Some breeds can be healthy.. I always thought Siamese were quite long lived, I had one as a kid that died at 21 or 22..

Though.. I'll be honest. I don't agree with getting a pedigree cat. Cats don't vary nearly like dogs do in size etc.. and energy level is generally an individual thing, not a breed thing, though the big ones are usually more easy going (ragdolls, maine coons, persians). There are more cats put down than dogs yearly.. you can find one of any age, energy level, friendliness etc at any shelter.

[Ania's Mommy]

My only input is that of all purebred cats....most of them have serious health problems. Purebred cats tend to be WAY more inbred than dogs even. I've only seen a handful of them to be older, compared to your domestic cats.

Tell her to be prepared to lose a purebred cat earlier to health problems than she would a mixed breed domestic (on average of course).

I've mentioned that to her as a possibility. I honestly wasn't sure if purebred cats, in general, were more or less healthy than mixes.

Health testing for the breed, small number of cats, encourage buyer to visit their home and see their cat set-up, keep cats as part of the family, socialize kittens extensively, spay/neuter kittens before they leave, require the kitten to be indoor only, require that buyer never declaw the kitten, knowledge of cat nutrition (high quality grain free canned or raw would be a clincher for me honestly), show their cats and are heavily involved with their chosen breed, specializae in only one breed... yeah I think that about covers it.
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I dunno, if its a very reputable breeder I don't see a problem with getting a purebred cat.

Thank you! I appreciate your input! Do you know any specifics on health testing? Like, what do they test, how do they do it, and when?

Some breeds can be healthy.. I always thought Siamese were quite long lived, I had one as a kid that died at 21 or 22..

Though.. I'll be honest. I don't agree with getting a pedigree cat. Cats don't vary nearly like dogs do in size etc.. and energy level is generally an individual thing, not a breed thing, though the big ones are usually more easy going (ragdolls, maine coons, persians). There are more cats put down than dogs yearly.. you can find one of any age, energy level, friendliness etc at any shelter.

I totally agree with you on pedigree cats. Totally. But she's pretty set on it, so I'd at least like to steer her in the right direction. I did tell her to see if there is a breed specific rescue for Ragdolls. I'm just not sure if breed specific cat rescues are at all common.

[AveryandAudrey]

My only input is that of all purebred cats....most of them have serious health problems. Purebred cats tend to be WAY more inbred than dogs even. I've only seen a handful of them to be older, compared to your domestic cats.

Tell her to be prepared to lose a purebred cat earlier to health problems than she would a mixed breed domestic (on average of course).

That is Sad but true.

She'll first need to research exactly what the healthy look of the breed of cat will be. Then she can view the mother/father and see if they fit that. They should be tested for feline lukemia, feline aids (its not called feline aids but its basically that)

Cats are able to breed twice a year but that often is not recommended as it is a strain on their bodies. And Rag dolls are beautiful. I want a sphynx!

[DaneMama]

I remember at my previous job a client got a "purebred" ragdoll kitten. I asked if they got their kitten from the shelter (like 99% of people do) and she looked at me with this really odd look on her face and said something like "UGH NO! He's a purebred ragdoll kitten!" I honestly couldn't tell the difference between that kitten and any other flame point, long haired domesticated cat rescued from the pound.

If I got a purebred cat it would be a Maine Coon or a Savanna Cat....but I don't have $10-15K laying around for one of those!

Kittens Available : Bengal Cats for Sale : Exotic Cat Breeders : Savannah Cat Breed

Is there something specific she is looking for in a purebred cat that she doesn't think she will find in a mixed breed?

We have one female right now who has some neurological issues (or it could be a congenital bone deformity I guess) that causes her to have a permanent head tilt.

We see a lot of barn cats at my work. Head tilts are usually due to ear mite infestation for prolonged periods of time. Or that they have fallen from a high perching spot.

I think the biggest key to cat health and longevity is biologically appropriate diet, keeping them safe indoors, and minimal to no vaccinations (again keeping them safe indoors from disease...). Cats have a really high rate of vaccine site related sarcomas that are very aggressive cancers.

This is exactly right.