We have a brown kitten. It's nearly a solid brown. I'm wondering if this kitten might be worth something? None of us has ever seen a brown cat, and we've had lots of cats. But I was able to find a few pictures of brown cats on google. Most of them seem to be "Havana brown cats", but I don't think this is a Havana brown cat, because the rest of the litter isn't brown, and neither of the parents is brown. They're just common house cats. So I was wondering if this kind of cat might be rare and hence worth something to breeders, and if anybody else has heard of a solid brown normal house cat.
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Are brown cats worth anything?
- Thread starter inhahe
- Start Date
No, it is a brown (chocolate) moggy and nothing more. Brown is not as common as black in moggies, but it doesn't make a domestic cat rare or valuable in terms of money. Shelters are overflowing with moggies of all colours. Brown cats occur more frequently in certain breeds because they are selectively bred to produce that colour, but it can and does occur in ordinary domestic cats, and it doesn't make them "valuable".
Of course the cat is "worth something" in that it is a life to be valued and a personality to be shared - but in financial terms it's worth no more money than any other moggy.
EDIT to add: that purebred cats such as the Havana Brown are only 'worth something' (and I'm getting more irate about that particular phrase by the second) in that they come from generations of health-tested cats with known good temperament going back several generations, are registered and have papers to prove their ancestry for health purposes, are properly socialised, vaccinated, where possible spayed or neutered before being rehomed, have a health guarantee from the breeder and are always taken back by the breeder, for life, if their new home doesn't work out, and are of good type. Not to mention blood typed, DNA tested, tested before every planned mating for FIV/FeLV, stud fees, vet fees, housing costs, stud housing costs, premium food etc. etc. Ensuring this COSTS breeders a LOT of money and they do not make money from selling kittens - it is an expensive hobby. You can't expect to demand premium kitten prices if your cat without any known genetic or temperament history going back generations that has not been spayed as she should have been, for whatever reason, happens to pop out a kitten of slightly less common colour.
Of course the cat is "worth something" in that it is a life to be valued and a personality to be shared - but in financial terms it's worth no more money than any other moggy.
EDIT to add: that purebred cats such as the Havana Brown are only 'worth something' (and I'm getting more irate about that particular phrase by the second) in that they come from generations of health-tested cats with known good temperament going back several generations, are registered and have papers to prove their ancestry for health purposes, are properly socialised, vaccinated, where possible spayed or neutered before being rehomed, have a health guarantee from the breeder and are always taken back by the breeder, for life, if their new home doesn't work out, and are of good type. Not to mention blood typed, DNA tested, tested before every planned mating for FIV/FeLV, stud fees, vet fees, housing costs, stud housing costs, premium food etc. etc. Ensuring this COSTS breeders a LOT of money and they do not make money from selling kittens - it is an expensive hobby. You can't expect to demand premium kitten prices if your cat without any known genetic or temperament history going back generations that has not been spayed as she should have been, for whatever reason, happens to pop out a kitten of slightly less common colour.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
ok, thanks for the response. i didn't mean to sound inconsiderate about the cats being 'worth something'. it's not like i look at a kitten and see nothing but a price tag. but we do have a lot of kittens, and some of them we give away to nice people. if i were going to sell one to a breeder, i would find out what conditions their cats live in first and i wouldn't ask anybody who's looking to buy a cat from me.
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As they are not papered pedigree cats none should be sold as breeding cats, I recommend you look into altering before rehoming. Neutering can be done as young as 8 weeks/2lbs.
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Epona and missymotus have summed up my views and said it better than I could, so I won't repeat it. I just want to back it up and say I agree totally.
Please spay and neuter your cats.
Please spay and neuter your cats.
Welcome to our forums
We are a pro-spay board - please read this article:
http://www.thecatsite.com/Care/177/S...Your-Cats.html
Thank you!
We are a pro-spay board - please read this article:
http://www.thecatsite.com/Care/177/S...Your-Cats.html
Thank you!
Burmese are also brown cats. Genetically they are "black", but the color has been modified. You also have brown tabby cats. So its possible to get a solid brown from a solid black and a brown tabby. Just not common. Are you planning on keeping him?
BTW the "chocolate" brown gene is a different one that produces the brown color.
BTW the "chocolate" brown gene is a different one that produces the brown color.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
hmm, the mother is a black and white cat and the father may have been black and white, but may have been orange, or possibly black, but probably not
yep, we're definitely keeping this one. he's a neat color.
I could be wrong but from your posts it sounds as though you are breeding these moggies and selling the kittens. I would strongly urge you not to continue doing that. Unless you are a breeder of a particular breed of cat, are responsible in regard to health, genetics, and all the other things that were mentioned above, you should not be breeding. There are thousands of cats euthanized in shelters every year, especially in kitten season, because people do not act responsibly and spay/neuter thier moggies.
Please be a responsible pet owner and have your cats neutered. If you have friends that want cats, there are hundreds of them in shelters waiting for a home so they won't be put to sleep.
Please be a responsible pet owner and have your cats neutered. If you have friends that want cats, there are hundreds of them in shelters waiting for a home so they won't be put to sleep.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
we don't sell them and don't purposely breed them.
i'm not actually the one responsible for getting them spayed and neutered. my parents are. we've had a lot of cats for many years and they don't get around to spaying/neutering them or don't want to put up the money. now we're using a local government center that spays/neuters for cheap, but it's really hard to get appointments and one appointment will only allow you to spay/neuter 4 cats. so it's hard to keep up. yes, maybe we should just pay the hundreds of dollars to get it all done immediately. but it's not up to me.
Do your best to keep the males/females apart so they don't keep breeding and get them done asap. I know what you mean. Hubby lived on a farm and it took awhile (finances) to eventually get the adults all spayed/neutered. Its nice if you can do them all at once, but most people don't have that kind of money!
Have the females done first. Cats breed like crazy and I know it can get out of hand so easily. But if they're outside and you can't contain them, and you can only do 4 at a time, concentrate on the females. Neutering the males has no population control benefit. An unspayed female WILL get pregnant; it only takes one wandering tom.
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I really hope it works out so you can get them all spayed and neutered, and that you can convince your parents it's important.
Willowy, good point, but if one of their males is roaming it could get another unspayed female/feral/stray cat pregnant, so someone else has the litter or there are some additions to a feral colony.
Willowy, good point, but if one of their males is roaming it could get another unspayed female/feral/stray cat pregnant, so someone else has the litter or there are some additions to a feral colony.
A solid brown cat might do well in showing in household pet competition if you are interested in that! However if you show household pets, once they are a certain age (I think it's 8 months) they must be spayed/neutered to keep showing.
Some shelters will offer low-cost spay and neuter programs where you can make an appointment to get your pets spayed/neutered for a reasonable price. I took my feral rescue kittens to a low cost s/n clinic, the cost was between $10-25.
Some shelters will offer low-cost spay and neuter programs where you can make an appointment to get your pets spayed/neutered for a reasonable price. I took my feral rescue kittens to a low cost s/n clinic, the cost was between $10-25.
Hey welcome to the forum! Where in Miami are you located?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #16
Of course it is worth something.
To inhahe, I am sorry if I were harsh, you are not responsible for what your parents decide about spaying/neutering your cats.
I stand by everything I said, but I would have been a bit kinder with you and phrased it differently had I realised that you were not the person ultimately responsible for their care.
I stand by everything I said, but I would have been a bit kinder with you and phrased it differently had I realised that you were not the person ultimately responsible for their care.
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Bit of a sidetrack but I noticed that the OP was having an issue getting them fixed fast enough to stop the breeding, because of only being able to get a limited number of cats worked on at a time. I have one piece of advice about that--FEMALES FIRST. When I was a kid/teenager, my mom took the opposite approach ("the males are cheaper to get done" or something), with the result that instead the neighboring intact males hopped the fence and did the job. I guess it cut back on inbreeding, but we had the same population explosion as if we hadn't been getting any of them snipped at all.
Yes, I know the males spray if they're not fixed. Yes, I know this is annoying. It's still better to prevent the population explosion that would just lead to replacement males spraying anyway.
Actually, one other piece of advice...I haven't been able to get my two (females) fixed yet, but I don't have a kitten problem because I keep them indoors where there aren't any males to get them pregnant. Result: no kittens. Maybe you could stuff the females in a closet when they're in heat. (I'm not a fan of stuffing cats in closets either. Too much meowing and it's no fun for the cat. But, it's healthier for them than getting in fights and getting pregnant.)
Last but not least, since you know people who love cats, you can be an advocate for the homeless animals at the shelter and talk people into adopting and saving their furry little lives.
Yes, I know the males spray if they're not fixed. Yes, I know this is annoying. It's still better to prevent the population explosion that would just lead to replacement males spraying anyway.
Actually, one other piece of advice...I haven't been able to get my two (females) fixed yet, but I don't have a kitten problem because I keep them indoors where there aren't any males to get them pregnant. Result: no kittens. Maybe you could stuff the females in a closet when they're in heat. (I'm not a fan of stuffing cats in closets either. Too much meowing and it's no fun for the cat. But, it's healthier for them than getting in fights and getting pregnant.)
Last but not least, since you know people who love cats, you can be an advocate for the homeless animals at the shelter and talk people into adopting and saving their furry little lives.
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Getting pregnant is not the only issue with entire females. Cycling in and out of season without mating can cause Pyometra, which can be deadly if not treated in time.
I wouldn't be stuffing cats in closets either, setting them up in a quiet room is enough.
