Why is a Pure Breed kitten or a Kitten advertised without the above terms more affordable ?
A typical advertisement for an available kitten usually goes
" Munchkin ( or any other breed) for sale"
They may have the word Pure Breed or Pedigree in front of the breed advertised but both terns are not the same.
When an advertisement does not include the word pedigree or there aren't registry documents included in terms of sale. What does that mean for you as a prospective pet owner?
Pure Breed.. Pedigree.. what does it mean? When an advertisement does not use the term Pedigree but uses the term Pure Breed , it means the cat is NOT a Pedigree Cat.
It is a kitten or a cat that may look like the breed. Their origins are unknown and from unregulated breeding practices without proper health checks or animal husbandry knowledge.
The kittens loosely resemble the breed they claim to be from. Pedigree kittens are always sold neutered. Not all pedigree kittens are suitable for breeding. Accidentally bred kittens from pedigree parents not suitable for producing kittens or from pairings that are banned from registering may have unwelcomed consequences .
Without proper documents there is no way of knowing if a kitten's parents are related or if they are what they are said to be. Only an approved all breed judge that has trained for years is able to look at a cat and determine its breed. Even so this has to be done after a kitten has developed sufficiently. The younger a kitten the more similar they look to be.
Pedigree kittens and cats are Registered with an association and have papers which records their family history and their breeders have to conform to Association regulations or suffer the consequences of their actions. Breeders need to screen they breeding kittens and work towards the health and quality of their cattery.
A kitten without proper documentation usually gives rise to more health issues than what is common or acceptable in a particular breed.
This screening and selective breeding takes immense time and resources.
A registry governs itself and usually has stricter regulations than that of government farm rules. Registries have been around for 60 or more years constantly improving and providing research and materials for the common good of registered breeders.
A registered Pedigree Cat must have registration papers that will be given without additional cost upon fulfillment of contractual obligations.
Often times, inexperienced breeders decide to have one litter or an accidental pairing of their pets prior to spaying them. The product of accidental breeding without appropriate care and experience may have unwanted consequences. Most want the kittens sold as soon as possible before the work of bringing up the kitten and socializing proves too difficult and resource intensive. A sure way of knowing that you are getting a kitten from an improper source is if they allow or insist that you bring the kitten home prior to 14 weeks of age and completing its deworming and vaccinations.
Many state regulated puppy and kitten farms are not an ideal place for the proper upbringing of household pets. They do not have the proper facilities to socialize them. The immediate concern of these farms is profit and ensuring that they do not violate any health or contamination protocols. Most pedigree associations for dogs and cats alike are against government regulated farms as there are numerous behavioral and genetic issues that give the breed they work with a bad reputation.
Cat Registries
There are a few cat associations that certifies the pedigree records of cats and kittens. The bigger ones are. TICA , CFA , FIFE , WCF , GCCF , ACCF.
If you are uncertain if your cat is of a particular breed, you may request for 3 show judges to assess it. Only an All breed judges are qualified to look at a cat without papers and comment if it is likely to be of a certain breed and be allowed to be registered. Most cats and kittens however are assessed and deemed to be domestic long or short hairs and do not belong in their said breed group.
Do not accept a pedigree paper that has not been certified by a registry.
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