23/08/2024
HOW MUCH FOR A CAT?
Let me tell you a few words, yes to you, the person who sends an email, just to ask for the price. To those who call and after hearing the price surprised say: "I can buy a cheaper kitten elsewhere."
I'm talking to you too; who doesn't care about paper/pedigree, because you want "just have a company tax". No cat is "just a companion cat".
Behind every purebred kitten is a BREEDER. I use capital letters to differentiate a breeder from a kitten factory or BYB (BackYardBreeder).
A reputable breeder will not breed and sell unregistered cats, which does not protect the integrity of the breed. Registration (paper/pedigree) is a pedigree register that documents the bloodline and enables you to keep track of any family health issues.
When you tell a breeder that you don't care about papers, that the cat doesn't need to be registered, you are really telling the breeder, that you don'T care the least bit about the kitten's health. That you just want the cheapest you can find!
When you buy a kitten from a reputable and high-quality breeder, the breeder feels responsible for the health of each kitten; this breeder skips vacations, loses sleep, and most of the personal home space has been turned into space for the cats.
The truly passionate breeder who loves the breed this breeds puts his whole heart and soul into it. Not only when it comes to kittens for sale, but also with every kitten buyer who now has a part of its heart and is now a member of the breeder's extended family.
Breeders worry about their kittens, even after they leave the breeder and take them back without asking or helping to find a good rehoming home, they are there to answer questions even if they can't always do anything they are there for support and comfort.
A breeder will “get his hands dirty,” often burdened with everything a childbirth entails. Cause that's what life is all about... In the middle of birth and death, life happens.
The wheel continues to spin, even after heavy losses.
A breeder does tests, x-rays, analyses, emergency operations, vaccinations, buys food and cat litter in quantities, registers the kittens so that they receive pedigree, deworm if outdoor cats are in the home, or the kittens have access to a cat farm, and they ID-mark their kittens with a chip.
Last but not least, it is the breeder who chooses the families, who are lucky enough to buy one of the kittens.
Yes, you read that right. A real breeder chooses who gets to buy a kitten, because the breeder doesn't really make any money selling it.
There is no compensation large enough, that can compensate for the investments that a breeder makes. They are trying to match the right cat with the right family. A breeder says no more often than yes..
A good breeder will have criteria set for those who want to continue breeding on the bloodlines they work with. Why? Because breeding is a responsibility that should never, ever be taken lightly, breeding is a lifestyle choice reserved ONLY for the dedicated few willing to make sacrifice. There are statistics showing that most breeders last for about 5 years.
Because a kitten, is not just, a companion cat! It is the breeder's legacy, it is a little boy or girl's best friend, it is a protector of a young child, therapy for the elderly or needy, a family member and someone's whole world!!!
Originally partly written by: Sr. Eduardo Loredo Muller (probably modified by more)
(Translated and again partially modified, by Malin / Dagdrivarn).
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