breeder; however, all agreements should spell out the buyer’s option to return the kitten and get his or her money back if the kitten is found to be unhealthy or unsuitable within a specified period after purchase.
Health records and vaccination certificates should accompany the sales agreement. To save money, some breeders vaccinate their own kittens, which is a legal practice. However, in areas where rabies shots are required for cats, the vaccine must usually be administered in the presence of a state authority, such as a veterinarian or an animal control officer, before a legal certificate can be issued. When shipping kittens by air, health and rabies certificates are typically required, depending on the destination and on the airline’s regulations.
Papers and Registration
The purchase price should include the kitten’s papers and pedigree. Because pedigrees can be verified by the cat-registering associations, a purebred’s papers provide proof of his parentage. Remember, you are paying for the predictable qualities that a certain bloodline offers. On the other hand, it’s important to understand that papers alone do not guarantee the health or quality of a kitten.
Depending upon the arrangements of the sale, the seller may rightfully withhold the papers or registration slip until the buyer furnishes proof that the cat has been spayed or neutered. While registration matters most to breeders, because it ensures that an animal’s progeny will be registrable as well, registering a cat also enables you to show him in purebred competition classes, if you choose to do so.
Choosing a Healthy Cat or Kitten
Whether you buy from a pet store, adopt from a shelter, answer a classified newspaper advertisement, purchase a purebred, or select a kitten from a neighbor’s litter, the animal you choose should have good muscle tone and bright, clear eyes, and he should be alert and friendly with a curious or playful attitude. A healthy cat or kitten should not be sneezing or showing mucus discharge around the eyes or nose. The ears should be clean and free of dark, crusty wax. Head shaking or ear scratching may indicate ear mites or other infections. The anus should be clean and free of any signs of diarrhea.
The environment where the cat or kitten has been kept should be clean and free of pungent animal odors. The animal’s coat also should be clean and free of fleas. To inspect the coat for fleas, rub your hand against the fur and look for fine grains of black dirt, which is really dried flea excrement, called “flea dirt” (see page 122). Flea signs are more prevalent behind the ears, on the back and at the tail base, where the cat cannot easily reach to lick clean.
To test the cat’s personality, tempt him with a feather or ribbon and see how playful and relaxed he is around strangers. If he appears fearful, hisses at you, cringes from your hand, or, in general, seems unused to being handled, you may want to look elsewhere for a better socialized animal. Of course, a shy, withdrawn cat that huddles quietly at the back of the cage at the animal shelter may come out of his shell and adapt successfully to life with a single adult or a quiet couple, if you have a house full of children, however, you will want to look for an outgoing, unflappable cat, one that sits at the front of the cage and reaches out his paw for attention.
Medical History
Once you’ve selected a cat or kitten, ask if he has been tested for FeLV and FIV, as noted previously. If the cat has not been tested, you will want to make sure he is free of these diseases before introducing him to other cats you may have at home. If any medical or vaccination records are available, ask for copies. Have your veterinarian examine the animal within a day or two after you take him home to help ensure that you’ve picked a healthy one.
Age: Knowing a kitten’s age is important, too. Kittens taken away too young from their original surroundings sometimes suffer from stress and have trouble adjusting to a new environment. Some also may develop unusual behavioral problems related to their maladjustment.
Ideally, a kitten should not leave his original environment until he is between 8 and 16 weeks old. Many breeders of purebreds will not release their kittens to new homes until they are between 12 and 16 weeks old. By this time, a kitten has been weaned and litter-trained, is eating solid food, and, depending on the owner, may have had some or all of his first year’s vaccination series. This is a best-case scenario that may be possible if, for example, you are planning to adopt a kitten from a friend or neighbor’s unplanned litter. However, since space at animal shelters is scarce, kittens there typically go to new homes by about eight weeks of age, or as soon as they are weaned and eating solid food.
In cases in which a breeder must ship a kitten to you, the animal must be at least three to four months old to conform with most airline age requirements. The breeder usually helps with shipping arrangements, but you can expect to pay all costs.
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