Cross Breeds

cat rescues, shelters and breeders? need help finding cat?

first off i looked at breeders CFA referrals. a pet quality ragdoll would be 900.00-1200.00! fixed, shots and chipped!. i looked on a shelter website with ragdolls (but wasnt in my state, TX) and they wanted 250.00 for a fixed cat with shots and microchip. why do they charge more? and say they dont get money off the cats? some breeds i am interested in are (ive contacted several breeders as close to TX as possible): ragdolls 900-1200.00 for a pet male Pixiebob (the breeder in my state wanted 1500.00 for a pet quality male that was fixed and chipped!) maine coons (breeders have wanted 1000.00+ for a pet quality fixed and chipped!) Havana ( i realize they are rare but i found one breeder ive been trying to get ahold of http://www.siddhishavanabrowns.com/) Devon rex (i found a breeder i like near by but im not sure what to think of her she was referred to me by the CFA website) i have no problem with saving up but if their is a shelter with pet quality animals cheaper with the same things done to it why would i pass that up? And this is the devon rex breeder http://peppershirecattery.net/ do you know any rescues for these breeds near dallas fort worth TX? i want a purebred please respect that. inside cat, i dont want a shelter that declaws! i want a fairly young cat so we will have more years together. can you help me? 1. i balk because i simply think its TO much for the cat alone when i can get a purebred from a rescue that has the same stuff done. i could use that money i saved FOR vet visits. 2. my dog goes to the vet if he even looks like he MIGHT be sick. i adopted him. and never balked about taking him to the vet ty serene! ive been looking at rescues and breederes referred to me by the CFA as reputable show breeders. i know what a cat mill is and ive avoided them

Public Comments

1. Reputable breeders charge more for kittens then anyone because they have invested time, money, testing their cats, feeding quality food, showing, stud fees, etc. They know the pedigrees and which lines to avoid with genetic problems. Many breeders will do genetic screenings on their breeding cats. You also get registration papers and pedigree to prove you have a purebred cat. Shelters/rescue groups don't do all of the above and try to cover the major costs. There is no health guarantee with them, they don't do genetic testing and most often the cats they claim to be purebred are not - they are look-a-like cats - ones that resemble the purebred. Backyard breeders or mills/pet shops are worse as they do none of the above and more then likely you don't have a purebred cat; if you do, its a pet quality one that could have serious genetic problems. Some breeders do have retired adult cats that are more in the price range of a shelter. Up to you how you want to spend your money. If you choose a breeder, you have to respect all what they do (and they don't make money with all the extra expenses in the background). Here's a website of purebred cat breeders to help you out. http://www.breedlist.com/breed.html
2. Check your local shelter AND your local animal control. Our Milwaukee animal control has 5 Siamese there any day of the week. I've seen persians and ragdolls there as well. The price from a shelter covers the exam and vet care (if they spay that's another $150 added to the cat they took in, $35 for the exam, $18 and $15 for the shots.... it adds up fast). If there's anything wrong with the cat like an upper respiratory infection they have to buy antibiotics for that too, and it's two weeks fostering to get the cat back to adoptable status. None of this is 'free' to them. Breeders sell at the going rate for their breed. Rescues charge what it costs to care for the animal before they're adopted. And frankly they KNOW that someone who balks on the price is not a person who is likely to get vet care for the cat later on when the cat needs it.
3. Your best bet is to check a website like Petfinder, which is an online database of animals available for adoption used by many animal shelters and rescues. You can search for shelters and rescues by clicking on the "Animal Shelters" tab on the top of the page, or search for specific breeds near you by using the search fields on the left side of the page. After a quick search I found DFW Purebred Rescue in Irving, which has quite a few Ragdolls listed. Most shelters and rescues include spay and neuter, vaccinations and sometimes microchips in their adoption fees, and most don't declaw cats, but they may have cats that came to them already declawed. Good luck!
4. If you want a purebred and you want it cheap, you are in serious danger of ending up with a cat from a kitten mill. Warning signs include large numbers of breeding cats, no care taken where they go, large numbers of kittens available, reluctant to let you visit and see kitten with mum. The Havana Brown breeder doesn't have a great deal of info on her website, but she looks small and more interested in her breed than money which is probably a good thing. The Devon Rex breeder, while it's impossible to tell from just the website, has a few things that ring warning bells to me. She has quite a large number of males and queens. Also her 'adoption policy' seems to have nothing in about the welfare of the kittens, and lots basically saying if you can't prove the kitten was sick when it left me, hard luck. Eg "If a licensed veterinarian finds and documents that your adoptee suffers from a genetic deficiency that will prevent him/her from functioning as a pet, at it's sole discretion, Peppershire Cattery will either replace the animal or issue a full refund, less shipping costs." To me that sounds like they are saying if, for example, the cat has a genetic heart defect they are likely to tell you it's still able to be a good pet... even though it may cost you a bomb in vet bills over the years. A kitten mill cat (and not saying either of the breeders you have given is one...) will quite likely have health problems and be poorly socialized, making it a bad pet. You'll also be paying to keep it's parents in poor conditions. Choose a breeder who will allow you to visit your kitten with mum, keeps them in the family home, doesn't have more cats than can be pets, and asks YOU lots of questions. I'm not sure why you are so set on a purebred, since you don't seem to have a set type of cat in mind. A unique and wonderful moggie might actually suit you more. However here's a website that's very good for learning more about the breeds, warts and all, including things breeders might not tell you: http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/ I think you need to think more about what you are looking for in a cat: do you want to be messing around grooming? (Longhairs) Do you want a very large cat (Main Coon), do you want a very playful cat (orientals of various types) or a lap cat? (maybe Ragdoll). But be aware breed is not always a guarentee of temperament: I know a Ragdoll who's very reserved and does not like to be picked up, though he is playful. Here's the link for the rescue another poster mentioned: http://www.dfwpurebredrescue.org/