| A Persian should LOOK like a Persian.... |
| The Pet Mill |
Don't
Settle For Less...
The Bargain-Basement Pet
So you are looking to purchase a pedigreed pet. There are many, many people out there in cyberspace offering pedigreed animals for sale and the price range is wide and varied as well!
First, be careful of scams...never give out your credit card info or bank info or send pre-paid cards. Ask a lot of questions...see if you can see the parents, or visit.
I surfed the net and was disappointed to find people selling persians that don't even LOOK like persians for sale from super cheap to unbelievably high prices (you know, $150 on up to $2000). Usually the HIGH prices mean a KITTEN MILL...
Don't let the price be your main driving force.
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FITS THE BREED STANDARD |
DOES NOT FIT THE BREED
STANDARD |
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FITS
THE BREED STANDARD
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DOES NOT FIT THE BREED
STANDARD
This kitten is definately a 'Pet' quality - do NOT expect to pay for 'Show' Pricing!! It will still make an nice pet. |
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When you look at a persian or himmy, everything about it needs to look round! Round eyes, round head, short and rounded ears..
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Things to know:
- AVOID
anyone selling more than one breed or both cats AND dogs. That usually
means KITTEN mills
- PARENT information
and pictures of the kitten should be readily available. If the breeder
won't furnish the parents' pedigree info and current pics of the parents,
then you should look elsewhere. This could mean anything from reselling
confiscated kittens from shelters to a pet mill paying people to breed
cats for which they have no 'rights' to do so.
- GOUGING Prices Pet
Shops and Pet Mills are KNOWN for ridiculous prices. They will charge
up to $1500 for a 'pet quality' kitten or pup...for that kind price,
you SHOULD be getting a SHOW CAT.
PET vs SHOW
Pet Quality kittens: These kittens do not meet CFA SHOW STANDARDS fully which simply means that they would not do well at a cat show. Maybe theirs ears are too long, or nose too low, or tail too long. They are still wonderful and adorable and are raised like the princes and princesses that they believe that they are! These kittens are usually at the $500 to $1000 depending on color, gender and quality. They are still CFA registered and are a pedigreed pet
Show Quality kittens: These kittens are pedigreed and expected to do well in show rings. They meet all the CFA Show Standards and have no apparent disqualifying faults to keep them from Championing if they are kept in show condition. There are no guarantees that a Show Quality Kitten/Cat will achieve Grand-champion as there are many factors involved such as grooming, diet, presentation and of course the competition at any given show. It may take one or more shows to Grand this cat, but the cat or kitten should certainly easily acquire the title of Champion. These kittens usually start at $1,000.00 and up depending on color, gender and quality.Show Quality kittens are still show-quality regardless of whether or not you decide to show them.
- REGISTRATION PAPERS:
you are BUYING a pedigreed pet!
You are supposed to get the papers. Do NOT settle for a cheap price and no papers! Why even bother buying a kitten then? I am amazed at how many people ask for a price reduction if they don't get the papers! Raising them still costs the same.
Here is why not getting the papers doesn't matter on the price:
If the breeder actually has legitimate breeding rights to the cats being bred, then it only costs $10 to register the litter for the breeder. So why wouldn't a breeder have papers for the kittens? One BIG reason is that maybe the breeder is breeding cats that he or she had no legal right to do so of course the litters can't be registered.
- CAN YOU COME AND SEE? You
should be able to pay a visit and see how your kitten is being raised.
Ok, sometimes distance prevents that...but current pics can help. If
at all possible, though do make an effort to come pick the kitten up
yourself when it is time to go home. If that is still not possible,
then make certain that you have made a vet appointment for the kitten
within 48-72 hours of acquisition so your own vet can look at the kitten.
- BREED STANDARD:
The CFA has a written ideal breed standard for the Persian breed. CLICK HERE to visit this link to read! Of course, kittens being sold as 'pets' usually fall a little short of the breed standard...but should not fall too far from the standard!! If you are willing to BUY a pedigreed pet, don't settle for something that just looks like a long-haired kitten. It still needs to look like a persian.
First of all, there is no such thing as a 'Tea Cup Persian' - it is the RUNT of the litter. What people are doing is counting on the fact that it will STAY the runt. Sometimes these backyard breeders will take one runt and mate it with another runt...but purposely down-sized pets USUALLY leads to health issues, so you should be prepared for that.
Every breed has its own set of issues..persians and himmies, not excluded. The breed standard calls for a medium to large sized cat, heavily boned...but even so, most breeders DO get light-weights. We DO get small kittens but they are NOT TeaCups. They are just going to be small adults.