Cruelty to Cats: October 2008 Archives

Oct

The best and worst places to buy your cat...

8:47 PM posted by wendell | Comments (0) | Subscribe to this blog's feed

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One of the questions we get asked a lot from our readers is, "Where are the best places to buy kittens?" There are number of good places to purchase a kitten or an older cat:

Visit your local shelter; you may or may not be surprised to know that some of the best cats are adopted from the local shelter.

Getting your kitten from a responsible source like a reputable breeder is always a great choice.

Kittens from friends or family is always a great choice. Knowing the people and where the kitten comes from is a huge bonus.

Some of the worst places to buy kittens are as follows:

Pet stores treat animals like commodities. It's a business for them and they have to earn a profit. Some lucky buyer get good kittens from pet stores but the odds are against it. People that breed kittens for pet stores don't handle the kittens or socialize with them properly and in many cases, they take the kitten too early away from their mother. In many cases, you may find that pet stores charge more for certain breeds of kittens than actual licensed breeders. Don't make a mistake of purchasing your next kitten from a pet store, you may live to regret. Be aware that most pet stores have limited guarantees that in most cases won't cover temperamental issues, inherited diseases or any other minor problems. I speak from experience. I bought my cat Maddy from a pet-store and they weren't helpful when I got back to them a week later with vet bills I incurred because they gave me a sick cat. Nice. 400 bones later, my cat was and remains fine.

Kitten Mills produce cats for pet stores and some sell to the public as well. I know of no worse place to buy a kitten. Kitten Mills do not car about your kitten's health or well being. It's a business for them and many corners are cut to churn out a profit. You will find no shortage of horror stories off-line or on-line that will support my position.

I'd place pet wholesalers in the same category as kitten mills. Once again, it's a business to them. Good breeders run businesses and make money too but they treat their cats with respect and love.

Cats aren't commodities and they're not interchangeable. Make the right choice and purchase from only reputable sources. It's always amazing to me that people don't research a being that is going to be part of their family for likely ten years or more. My best advice to you would be to ask lots of questions and be a skeptical buyer.

Good luck!

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