Sources to Avoid at all Costs
- Pet Stores
Most pet stores get their kittens and puppies from "mills"--breeders who are breeding for profit, and not to preserve and promote specific traits of the breed. These commercial catteries often breed dozens of different breeds, pay little attention to conformation of lineage, and many times the animals live in unsanitary, inhumane conditions. Many pet stores are refusing to sell cats and dogs, and some states are even looking at laws prohibiting the sale of those animals in pet stores. By all means, go to your local pet store to buy toys, cat food, beds and scratching posts, but look elsewhere for that precious new family member, and you can save yourself a lot of money and potential grief.
NOTE: Many large chain stores, such as PetSmart, and some smaller pet food stores, have agreements with local rescue groups to allow showing of their rescued cats, usually on weekends. These are the exception to the pet store rule, and are great places to find an adoptable feline companion - "Kitten Farms and BYBs (Back Yard Breeders)
There is some discussion about the term "Back Yard Breeder," but what I am referring to are those breeders who crank out litter after litter of substandard kittens with no thought to genetics, with a dozen different breeds on the premises. Kittens from these breeders more often than not end up with breed rescue organizations.If you have done your homework and ask all the questions above, these breeders will be pretty easy to spot, so say "No, thank you" politely and walk away.
This is the final lesson of a two-course series of lessons on "Before You Get Your First Cat." Be sure to continue to the next series on "Your New Cat," which will give you all the help you need in shopping for your new cat, making your home "cat-safe," and what to do when you bring him home, along with the information you'll need on getting him off with a good start in his new home, as a family member for life.
You can also receive the "New Cat" series by email, with links to different articles sent each week, for eight weeks.
The Series:
