Ocicat kitten shopping help.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

If you want a pedigreed kitten that would be more amenable to being alone, I would suggest that you ask the breeders here to make a suggestion. There ARE breeds that are very much that type of cat. You wouldn't want a bengal, probably, but a Ragdoll or something like that is very different.

I know we have experienced, caring breeders here, and I'll bet one of them can make the perfect suggestion.

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I want a social and playful cat. My brother happened to end up lucky with a tabby from a shelter that greets strangers at the door, talks to you, wakes you up from a nap if it wants to play, brings you the toys it wants to play with, plays fetch, etc. etc etc.

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

If you have your heart set on an Oci, then get one and as a companion for the Oci find a shelter cat that seems friendly and active. The second cat will keep your Oci occupied during your work day.
And do keep in mind that kittens from reputable shelters are certainly not free!

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Completely agree with this! Try and get one Oci since you heart is already there (be guilt free about this, seriously) and find a companion kitty - there are many people who foster on this site alone that can help you there!

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

If you have your heart set on an Oci, then get one and as a companion for the Oci find a shelter cat that seems friendly and active. The second cat will keep your Oci occupied during your work day.
And do keep in mind that kittens from reputable shelters are certainly not free!

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This was exactly what I was going to suggest.

Just as an aside, Sterling has the ocicat temperament, and we got him specifically to exercise Punkin, who, while playful enough, was getting way too sedentary when we were out of the house all day. So, we sort of did it backward to the suggestion above.

It currently costs $70 to adopt a kitten at our shelter, and, what with the vet visit, neutering, etc., you will easily have a couple hundred dollars into him in the first 2 or 3 months.

I bet there are a lot of 'teenager' kittens at the shelters or through rescues. Cats that are maybe 1 year old and who will still be a good companion for a kitten, but who will have more of a personality developed. So you can have a kitten Ocicat and a slightly older cat to keep him/her occupied during the day.

I'm not certain if it's universal, but I have found that kittens develop into more people-social cats if they aren't raised with a littermate. If they spend a lot of time with another kitten, they can turn to the cat for comfort instead of a person.

My stray cat was fairly sedentary, but he has really shaped up since I obtained my Mau. They are doing laps around the house right now, actually; up the cat climber, race to the bathroom, back to the cat climber, mrawring as they go.

Let me start by saying that I have not owned a purebred cat yet...That said, a couple points that I'd like to make that I hope will help you...

1. I agree with others that you should not go with the kitten in the first pics. He/she doesn't look healthy. If you are paying for a purebred then you should go with one whose cats are healthy and well-cared-for / socialized... Otherwise, what's the point?

2. Have you considered getting a retired adult ocicat from a breeder? Many breeders retire their cats as young as 3-4 years old (or younger) and they will be able to tell you the cats exact temperment and an adult will be far less hyper / active than a kitten. Plus, retired breeders are often far less expensive (I've seen them listed as $200 - $400). I thought that I wanted a kitten until I had to raise a couple of them the summer before last...they can be quite the handful and very time-consuming.

3. If an adult oci is not an option you want to look into and you want to stick with the kitten, then I agree that you could get a shelter cat as a playmate for the oci. A word of advice though...be very careful when selecting it. Temperment wise and health wise. I adopted an adult cat from my local humane society (partially due to cost, etc.) and he ended up having an enlarged heart, seizures, and now possibly allergies.... With a purebred, at least a good breeder will give you a health guarentee. With adopting from a shelter you really have to watch out for yourself. I'd take any cat/kitten that you did get from the shelter straight to a good vet for a thurough health exam (good breeders will insist that you do the same with their kittens for their health guarentees to hold).

HTH,
Art

Originally Posted by artgecko

1. I agree with others that you should not go with the kitten in the first pics. He/she doesn't look healthy. If you are paying for a purebred then you should go with one whose cats are healthy and well-cared-for / socialized... Otherwise, what's the point?

2. Have you considered getting a retired adult ocicat from a breeder? Many breeders retire their cats as young as 3-4 years old (or younger) and they will be able to tell you the cats exact temperment and an adult will be far less hyper / active than a kitten. Plus, retired breeders are often far less expensive (I've seen them listed as $200 - $400). I thought that I wanted a kitten until I had to raise a couple of them the summer before last...they can be quite the handful and very time-consuming.

3. If an adult oci is not an option you want to look into and you want to stick with the kitten, then I agree that you could get a shelter cat as a playmate for the oci.

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Those are my thoughts too.

Everyone in this thread has been very helpful! I spoke more with the breeder who sent me the photos that I opened this thread with (the 'sickly looking' kitten). He said the photos are 2 or 3 months out of date - the eye thing has since been cleared up. The kittens are 16 weeks old right now. He's going to send me updated photos which I will share. Thanks!

Seriously, I would not buy from this breeder. Granted breeders may have to deal with upper respirtory at times, but for the most part, their kittens are not sick in the first few months if they are a clean and healthy cattery.

I bred cornish rex and none of my litters ever had a problem with URI's. With Jack's breeder, I've mentioned to other oci breeders in talking (and they asked who I was getting one from) - all say she's a very good quality breeder and I should have no problems with her or her cats

With a small field of dedicated oci breeders, the word gets around fast on who is a more reliable/healthy cattery! In fact, in a search, I found out about a oci breeder that sold a very sick kitten and only gave a 24 hr health guarentee, etc. The cat wound up dying and they do NOT recommend dealing with this breeder at all. I know the website and she has nothing really on it other then basic oci information - nothing about her cats, pictures of them, etc. I am glad she was one of the ones that didn't reply to my initial emails when looking for an oci.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Seriously, I would not buy from this breeder. Granted breeders may have to deal with upper respirtory at times, but for the most part, their kittens are not sick in the first few months if they are a clean and healthy cattery.

I bred cornish rex and none of my litters ever had a problem with URI's. With Jack's breeder, I've mentioned to other oci breeders in talking (and they asked who I was getting one from) - all say she's a very good quality breeder and I should have no problems with her or her cats

With a small field of dedicated oci breeders, the word gets around fast on who is a more reliable/healthy cattery! In fact, in a search, I found out about a oci breeder that sold a very sick kitten and only gave a 24 hr health guarentee, etc. The cat wound up dying and they do NOT recommend dealing with this breeder at all. I know the website and she has nothing really on it other then basic oci information - nothing about her cats, pictures of them, etc. I am glad she was one of the ones that didn't reply to my initial emails when looking for an oci.

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Now I'm still wet behind the ears with all this but can you tell from a photo if a cat has a URI? The kitten might have been 8 weeks at the time of the photo - if its healthy now would that be acceptable or not? I'm still trying to get details on the health guarentee's - the breeder said "I have a standard breeding contract which include the health guarantee against major illnesses and a statement that the cat is sold as a pet and not for breeding (registration papers will be sent once the kitten is spayed)." He didn't specify for how long the period of time is. What would a 'standard contract' offer normally? 1 yr?

The contracts I have been seeing since I have been looking for a female breeder are 5 years for congenital defects, including tail kinks. It's standard for the cattery to state that it is FIV and FELV free, and to offer a refund or kitten back if the cat ends up having either.

I think what people are thinking, is that if you can find a kitten that has never been sick since birth then that would be the preferable one to buy. It's not possible to tell what illness that particular kitten had, but it's easy for even me (a cat newbie) to tell that the poor thing was ill. If there are other options, then go for them instead. I think its worth a few extra bucks to guarantee a healthy kitten.

The next question I would have is why is he sending you outdated pictures of an obviously unwell kitten in the first place. Why wouldn't he send you updated pictures from the get go.

But of course, you can see the new pics and make your decision. You can also ask other Oci catteries their opinion of his cats. If they haven't heard of him then red flags may go up.

I know someone that bought a purebred cat and that cat had URI as a kitten and it cleared up. But then it came back when the friend bought the kitten, had to take kitten to a vet, kitten is on a supplement for life. And the kitten, now an adult cat, gets stressed very easily which makes more issues, making it flare up.
I have a purebred cat that nothing ever bothers her and she has never had a URI either.
If I were you, I would not go with the breeder who sends you pics of sick kitten and if you just want a pet I would make sure the breeder spayed the kitten before the sell. Just less for you to have to worry about and making sure the kitten heals up quickly and easily and you get to just enjoy your kitty as a pet and don't have to mess with surgery.
Be very careful about signing any contract, there are some less than stellar breeders - byb's and such -that make contracts in their favor to help protect themselves, but people will think since it is a contract it is good. Just be sure and read it and have someone go over it that knows something about the law. What this one breeder deems a major illness, you may or may not. It can get tricky.
You really just want a healthy well socialized kitten, and if you are buying a purebred I wouldn't settle for this breeder. I would go with Goldenkitty's recommendations as she has done all the legwork in finding a great breeder already. PM her.

Many times the more overcrowded the cattery is, the higher the risk of URI and other contageous diseases. IMO I would NEVER EVER send or post pictures if my kittens were sick in any way. That says "red flags" in a loud voice. The breeder is making excuses IMO.

I gave you my opinion, my recommendations on this. Its up to you if you want to follow them. Been around long enough to know what good and bad breeders are.

I do know the cattery he's referring to (as he pm'd me) and I have looked at the website. I do not like their cats (type wise) and just the general feeling of a cattery I would not want to deal with.

There are a few Oci catterys I would not buy a cat from - and plenty of very good ones. Its not like this is the only Oci cattery he can chose from

I just want to add that I agree on getting an Oci if thats what you want. There is no reason to not buy one just as a pet, that is what Holly is for the forseeable future. Buying a purebred is great because you know what they will be like and have a better idea of what to expect. Definetly get one if you love them already Holly is just about the best cat I could ever hope for, she is so loving and easy going.

The companion cat is a great idea. In fact, several breeders of Oci's I talked with before getting Holly said they loved that I had a Manx because Oci's and Manx get along well. Two breeders I know have both cats. So it should be easy to find a playful outgoing young cat for a friend to the Oci.

You would need another active cat to live with an Oci (unless you had a dog)

Originally Posted by tange1

1 ocicat is expensive enough! I think I could afford one but 2?

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You could always wait a little while and save up if you'd like to get a pair. Once you get one you'll be wanting another so may as well get them at the same time

For a shelter cat as a companion, I would go with a non caging foster system no kill group so you can talk to the foster family, see it interact in a family environment and know it hasn't been in a caged shelter and exposed to who knows what.

And with that note, sometimes adopting an adult retired breeder and kitten can work out well.

I had a pedigree kitten as a show alter and got a shelter cat as a companion. Both are excellent. I have been to the ound" and foster shelters and foster if I want one although I can't see me getting into any other cats for showing except orientals, abbys or exotics.
Daisy

You could get the Oci, then foster with one of the local humane shelters to help you get the 'feel' of a potential cat, and if you like that cat then make the arrangements for adoption! Just make sure the foster is UTD on shots/tests and altered though.