I am frequently asked how a person identifies a good quality breeder. The question is not easily answered generally and adding to that, it is mostly opinion based. One person’s baseline of “good” may not align with another person’s baseline.
First and foremost - and I cannot say this enough, ASK PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR BREEDER. Join Facebook groups. Ask for recommendations. And then utilize those resources. Don't go hunting on your own, find a cheap cat and go buy it - because there is a really solid chance that you're going to be scammed in some way. Either by outright losing money, by getting a kitten in poor health or paying more for a cat than you should have due to big claims with no documentation. Take your time, don't let anyone rush you with "hurry up and get on our waiting list or the cat will be gone". If the cat is gone, it was not meant to be - and that means the perfect pet is still out there waiting for you.
All of that said - you want a good quality breeder, I highly recommend that you follow this guideline as these are the things that I (and many others) look for in a breeder, at a minimum:
- At what age does the breeder release their kittens?
- Kittens should not be taken from their mothers prior to 12 weeks old at minimum. Even before I was an advocate for early spay/neuter (ESN), this was my minimum age for releasing a kitten.
- There are a slew of potential problems when a kitten is forcibly taken from it’s mother at an early age. You can read about early weaning and some of the complications associated with early weaning here at the National Institute of Health - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5583233/
- At approximately 6-7 weeks old, kittens start eating a LOT. Breeders that release prior to 12 weeks don't have to pay that extra food cost.
- Kittens start seeing a vet for basic well kitten exams, vaccinations and deworming at 7-8 weeks old. Then it's every couple of weeks until they go home - for checkups, shots and vaccinations. Breeders that release early don't incur those expenses but don't charge any less. They pass that expense off to you, the purchaser.
- Does the breeder do basic health screening? This includes:
- Well cat/kitten exams
- Vaccinations
- Genetic testing
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) screens
***NOTE***: Many breeders claim that their own breeders do genetic testing and that they therefore do not need to do genetic testing as a result. This is 100% incorrect. A responsible breeder will perform their own testing to ensure their lines are free of genetic defects/diseases.
- Does the breeder provide documentation?
- NEVER take the breeder’s word. You should be provided with physical or digital proof.
- Documentation on annual HCM scans on BOTH parents from a board certified cardiologist
- Documentation regarding genetic testing
- Does the breeder claim a kitten was/is trained in some advanced way?
- Basic training is standard from any good breeder. This includes litter box training and human interaction.
- Some breeders may claim that their cats have been trained as “therapy or emotional support animals”. Be sure that you see a copy of their trainer certification that allows them to make this claim. A common certification authority is “Pet Partners”.
- There is NO SUCH THING as a cat service animal. Service animals are most commonly dogs, but a person can also certify miniature horses, pigs and monkeys.
- How many litters do the Queens in the cattery have annually?
- A gestation cycle is roughly 63 days, give or take. A queen can go back into heat within weeks after giving birth, especially with an intact male in the house.
- A quality breeder spaces their litters out to give their queens time to nurse/care for their kittens (for 12-15 weeks), as well as to heal between litters. A litter is very taxing on a queen’s body. They have to intake a ton of food while nursing, especially after the kittens are a couple of weeks old. Being pregnant with a new litter while nursing an existing litter is extremely hard on both the queen and the kittens.
- How does the breeder manage their Queens heat cycles? This is important because as annoying as a heat cycle is for a person - it is that much more annoying and sometimes even painful for a queen. A queen that cycles often but does not have a litters can have health issues such as pyometra. There are a couple of ways that a breeder can manage heat cycles:
- Melatonin implants - this stops the estrus cycle completely for a couple of months.
- Limiting sunlight - Queens go into heat in the spring time when daylight starts being longer. Limiting daylight can stop a queen from going into heat.
- Does the breeder charge extra fees for specific colors?
- To answer this, I have to paraphrase a friend of mine - she said something along the lines of “It costs just as much to feed a tabby as it does a point”. That statement stuck with me. A breeder that would charge extra for specific cats/kittens are just being greedy.
- There is no such thing as a “rare” color. There are only 2 exceptions but these exceptions are tied to gender. These exceptions are: a male tortie/torbie and a female ginger tabby.
- Colors that are often labeled as being “rare” are mostly just recessive. Breeders charge more for these colors because they get away with it. No more, no less.
- General questions/concerns-
- Quality breeders will NOT sell a kitten to you without having a conversation with you. There should be conversations with you. Questions should be asked by both parties. This should not be just about the quality of the breeder, but also about the quality of the person purchasing the cat/kitten. A quality breeder cares about where their cat/kitten is going to be living.
- A new / semi-new breeder does not have "lines". They have litters. A "line" is defined over generations and is the result of a breeder's desire to have a unique specific set of genotypes and phenotypes (genetic and physical traits). For example: if a breeder is looking for a specific head shape, ear shape and eye color. They will breed together multiple adults with these specific traits - choose the best kittens out of these litters, then breed the offspring together (being sure to not inbreed in the process) to create the look they desire. And keep breeding these specific traits together until the other non-desirable traits are no longer a part of the offspring. This is considered a "line". It takes time, and new/semi-new breeders that boast about having "sought after lines" have simply not had the time to breed their own lines - and likely do not understand the turn of phrase.
- ASK FOR REFERENCES - Do not give money to ANYONE without finding people that have purchased their cats. Again...join Facebook groups about the breed. Ask about the prospective cattery.
- Find other breeders that know the breeder you are considering purchasing from. This is a pretty small community, and reputation means everything. Find out what another breeder thinks of your prospective breeder. There is some competition in the community, but for a good breeder will also give you a solid response on the reputation of another breeder. There is very little backbiting, and I've made developed some awesome relationships with my fellow breeders.
- Beware the boaster - a reputable breeder doesn't need to boast. Their customer testimonials do that for them.
- Be wary of a website that:
- has a lot of pictures of kittens and no (or very few) adults.
- does not have professional (or semi professional) pictures (ie. all phone pics, and no backdrops)
- If you are looking for a family pet, and have no intention of breeding or showing - there is not a ton of reason for you to pay extra for a "show quality" cat. Additionally, make sure that if you are paying extra for "show quality" that the breeder actually shows and has proof to back the claim. Many people claim their cats are "show quality". Much like everything else - don't take their word for it. Ask for documentation.
One final note:
Be very careful with your prospective breeder. Ask a lot of questions. Here is what I mean -
- A lot of people ask things like "how big do your cats get?" The answer to this can easily be given truthfully. For example: "Really big. My biggest male is 18 pounds." All of which may be 100% true. However, this could be the breeders biggest male sire - NOT a kitten that was bred by the breeder personally.
- Instead of asking a generic question like that, start with "When did you have your first litter?" (And then verify that information) followed by "How big is the biggest boy from your oldest litter?" This keeps a breeder from being able to stick to the literal truth, while avoiding the actual intent of the question.