pet store kittens

ekekekek07

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a while back my friend went to a pet store with me b/c i wanted to buy a salamander. i left with nothing, she left with a $300 black dsh kitten. it wasn't a special purebred cat, it was just a plain kitten. cute, sure, but all kittens are cute. it wasn't about the breed when i adopted, i just wanted to rescue a needy animal. my cat is very handsome though!! where do these kittens come from and do a lot of people buy them? it was totally an impulse buy for her. i mentioned adoption, but i guess she saw the kitten and wanted it that second, or wanted the one that meowed when she held it b/c of the immediate connection with the cute creature. lol. i don't think it's right for pet stores to sell kittens b/c there are already so many of them in shelters, and since so many people impulse buy them, they probably give them up to shelters when they realize it is too much work. i adopted my cat and he's had a couple health problems, but he's doing fine now. i adopted him for $50. i don't know, maybe pet store cats are better bred or guaranteed healthy. her cat is a real demon!!!
 

jen

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I don't believe it is right of pet stores to sell them for that much money either! I bet they made a big deal out of a health guarantee and said the cat was vaccinated and dewormed didn't they?? It doesn't cost over $50 for dewormer and a vaccine, even 3 rounds of vaccines. I can't believe places get off on charging that much money and people can justify spending $300 on a domestic cat they probably isn't spayed or neutered either...
 

forensic

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Kitten mills, in general... They may come with a thirty day guarentee or something, but rarely. And they're almost never neutered or spayed, or up to date on vacs... Pet stores thrive on people like your friend, who make that impulse (OMG it's soooo cute!) purchase.

My roommate's (petstore) dog, has been sick every month we've had her and she's cost her much more than a rescued dog would have. But she just HAD to have that little brown curly dog (which is no longer little or curly.)
 

kiwi kat

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Long long time ago, I used to work for a pet store that sold kittens. I can't speak for all pet stores, but our kittens came from folks whose female was unspayed and usually an outdoor kitty, so they were from what we called "oops" litters, meaning they weren't planned.

We got them for free, and charged $200 for them. They were vet checked, dewormed and needled, but it was still a rip-off, IMO.

Now, we did try to educate people about spaying and neutering their cats, but it usually fell on deaf ears.


I will always rescue, you're right that there are so many out there needing good homes, buying one for that amount of money is a little ridiculous.

So to answer your question: No, pet store kittens are no better bred or better "anything" than shelter cats. The only difference is usually age. And cost, of course.
 

white cat lover

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Here, people bring kittens in from farms, or their housecat has kittens so they take them to the petstore to be sold.

They're generally not very well cared for, no vet exams, etc. No spaying/neutering.

However, some pet stores DO have spaces for cats - cats they show for humane societies or shelters. Like Petco & Petsmarts often have cages that house homeless animals. (Which I don't think was the case here)
 

piikki

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I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what kind of pet stores there are. We have 3 pet stores in my immediate locality, PetSmart, PetCo and one family owned. PetSmart and PetCo have cats/kittens to sell but they both are affiliated with local rescues whose cats occupy their booths. The rescue organizations handle the adoption clinics, and the price per animal is nowhere near $300 (varies by organization, most commonly similar to shelters $40-100, purebred can be more but might not even be specified).

I only know of one pet shop in the general area that sells other than rescue animals (mostly farmed puppies). I have no clue what their kittens go for because I am too sickened to go to that shop. Most rescue organizations in this area spay/neuter and vet the animals the best they can, some have better resources than others but mostly they try to use the resources ethically for what one can see.
 

littleraven7726

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Wow! $300!
That's pretty unbelievable. One of my sister's cats is a pet store cat. She certainly wasn't $300 though. Mom and I are pretty sure that store had "oops" litters for sale. That said, my sister's cat was very unhealthy when she got her. My Mom said she wasn't sure if the kitty was going to make it when she was little. She did, but it's because of the excellent care she got after my sister bought her.

When I lived in Davenport Iowa there was a store that had kittens. I'm pretty sure they were all "oops" kitties too. They tended to have them in the spring, and never for $300. They were I think usually $100 or something like that. Very cute, but I wouldn't pay that for a kitty who doesn't come with anything but a distemper shot. But then I usually adopt adults who are fixed already.


When we lived in Southern California, we stayed out of the regular pet stores. Only went to Petco/Petsmart. Out there, every regular pet store had kittens and puppies, and you could tell they all came from mills. I remember one store had polydactyl Siamese mixes that they were selling for $400 each. As purebreds of course.
I always felt bad for the ones who got older and went on "sale". I didn't even want to think about what happened if they didn't sell.
 

goldenkitty45

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Most pet stores get their kittens/puppies from puppy mills or byb - NOT healthy at all - so certainly they are NOT better bred or healthy. Most times they are a lot worse.

Puppies and kittens from the mills are taken far too soon from mom - about 4 weeks old, stuffed in crates and shipped. The mills don't care about them - so what if 1/2 the babies die on the trip or soon after. The mills certainly don't give shots, or feed quality foods. The moms are bred at EVERY heat - so they are nothing more then a baby making machine. The mills discard them or let them die; after all they can get plenty of replacements (probably from bybs - who knows WHERE the mills get their stock - I don't want to know!).

Kittens need to be with mom and siblings for a good 10-12 weeks old - most pet shops are selling them as soon as they get them - 6-8 weeks old. These pets are usually anti social, poor habits (litter pan), in poor health, etc.

Your friend did NO service by buying this kitten. One of the worse places to adopt is a pet shop. BYB's are 2nd worse. IMO you either adopt from a shelter, or if you really want a purebred you search legit and caring breeders to buy a cat.

She got ripped off on the price too!
 

sakura

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Backyard breeders make me sad, especially the ones who genuinely think they aren't doing anything wrong.


There is one pet store here that sells puppies. They have an ad out on the road advertising "AKC cockapoo puppies" or whatever the mixed-breed "designer breed" they've come up with is for the month/week. A good breeder would never leave their dogs in a pet store to be sold. They say that their dogs don't come from puppy mills or puppy farms, and I believe them. That doesn't mean that the puppies aren't coming from breeders who have absolutely no business breeding. (Anyone breeding an animal for a reason other than the improvement of the breed shouldn't be doing it. Many people breed because they just love the breed, which is great but it's not a good enough reason. If you are just producing litters of pet-quality, not show-quality, animals, you shouldn't be breeding).

There is another place by me that sells "teacup, toy, and designer puppies" and "fancy cats." Both places charge lot of money for these.

The feed store I mentioned above is the only store near me that carries Merrick cat food, but I won't shop there because of the puppies they sell.

So not only did your friend get ripped off, she contributed to a business that is leading to the overpopulation of animals and increases the number of animals in shelters who will be put to sleep. Shelters are the way to go! (Unless you want a pedigreed cat, then very careful selection of a reputable breeder is the way to go). Any animal from a shelter is a real bargain, considering they are already spayed/neutered, up-to-date on shots, and maybe even microchipped as well.
 

mews2much

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My Coco came from a Pet Store. She was 45 with Shots and Worming. She will be 16 this mont or the first week of March. The Pet Store is out of business now. She has turned out to be a great Cat. They were mistake Kittens and all looked Siamese accept her. We went back to get on eof the Siamese but she was the only one left. People didnt want her because she is Black and White. We also got a Dog from a Pet Store I can not mention here. It was terrible. They lied to us about the breed and everything. In Fact they were shut down. When we took the dog to the vet he said she is not a English Setter she is mixed. She also was full of Worms. We were cheated out of 300 plus the Vet bills. She wasnt even healthy.
 

goldenkitty45

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Just curious as to why you adopted from a pet store twice???? I can see making a one time mistake (we've gotten hamsters/small reptiles/fish from pet stores), but to do it a 2nd time?

Friend of mine bought a sheltie from a pet store. I lectured her about how wrong it was (she had NO idea). The dog was poor pet quality and had a lot of medical problems. The next sheltie she got, she did some research and bought one from a caring breeder - the difference in the 2 dogs was like nite and day - she learned her lesson and therefore could inform others about NOT adopting dogs from a pet store!
 

okiron

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Dahmer was a petstore kitty. Well someone dropped off a dirty, flea infested litter in front of a family owned petshop. They cleaned them all real nice and only charged $25. They also have a clinic show up once a month for really cheap vaccinations. And the animals they don't sell, they keep. They have A LOT of pets. Still in business though. (And they feed them all Felidae so they're getting decent food as well)
 

denice

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One of my cats came from a petstore as a kitten. They just sold mixed breeds from unwanted litters, and she was overpriced but nowhere near $300.00. Even though they take in the overflow from small rescues the rescue groups still don't like them selling kittens because they are giving people an easy out for unwanted litters instead of getting their cats fixed.
 

az<3me

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for $300 you can buy a purebreed kitten...
i personally think that selling animals such as kittens or puppies in a pet shop is wrong.. it is waaay too stressfull for these animals, they are not parrots to sit in a cage :|
 

mews2much

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I never Adopted the Dog I was only 12 when my mom bought her from a Pet Store. Coco is my only Cat that came from a Pet Store and i am not the on ethat got her. I loaned my Sister the money for her and she went there. She did go to the Pound first and Adopted a Dog. The Dog she took to a No Kill Pound because she was mean and tried to kill my Cats. She did not want to go to the Pound after that Dog. She gave Coco to me when she was 5. I plan on getting another Cat this Summer and would like to get it from a rescue. My Sisters Cat came from the PetSmart Adoptions a few years ago. Our last Dog came from the Pound and she died when she was 15. We got her at 1.5 Years old. It was so hard to pick what Dog we wanted.
 

kittylover77

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I bought my cat in a pet store for a whopping $50. She is a maine coon and gorgeous.
I wanted to adopt first, but was denied several times due to living in an apartment or not having a stable vet reference as I didn't like the vets for various reasons.

Until shelters get smarter, I will continue on purchasing animals through pet stores or breeders.

Its not worth my aggravation to be told I can't have a pet because I don't meet some silly guidelines.
 

goldenkitty45

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IMO I'd never buy a kitten or puppy from a pet store. But would adopt from a shelter, rescue or a purebred breeder (after researching of course)
 

okiron

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Originally Posted by kittylover77

I bought my cat in a pet store for a whopping $50. She is a maine coon and gorgeous.
I wanted to adopt first, but was denied several times due to living in an apartment or not having a stable vet reference as I didn't like the vets for various reasons.

Until shelters get smarter, I will continue on purchasing animals through pet stores or breeders.

Its not worth my aggravation to be told I can't have a pet because I don't meet some silly guidelines.
Sounds like me. I don't qualify for most rescues because I have rabbits along with my cats, my roommate has a dog, and I only have a 1 year vet history (my oldest pet is 1 year 10 months old). It's just too frustrating being told that my household isn't worthy of having their cats. My cats are happy as can be thank you.
 
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