Pet shops

I was in a pet shop yesterday and saw that they were selling kittens. Not pedigree, just your standard and very cute kittens. As well as nearly buying them I wondered why anyone would buy a cat when there are thousands waiting to be adopted? If people stopped buying non-pedigree cats there would surely be no demand for backyard breeding and the like?

Im sorry. but i feel so insulted, not to mention insulting my cat!!

22 month ago, i rang every shelter in the North East of England trying to find a kitten without any luck.

I was told by The Cats Protection that i would have a problem finding one as not many pet shops sell them these days, then by pure luck i found one, a gorgeous, 6 week old 'Tortie', who i called Rosie.

I agree, there are thousands waiting to be adopted, but does this mean i should have left Rosie in the pet shop, waiting and hoping for someone else to take her home to be loved?, because guaranteed, if no one wanted her, she would have ended up in a shelter eventually!!.

And whats the problem with non-pedigrees???

She might just be a short hair, but i can tell you, she can give just as much love!!!.

So please don't be prejudice just because she's not a pedigree!

This is sounding like the thread about cats matching peoples furniture!.

Susan

My very first cat Harry Flashman was bought from a pet shop for the price of £2.50p. Admitedly it was over 20 years ago and the shop no longer exists, but if I had not bought him what would of ahppened to him! He was a black, long haired nasty piece of work (well okay he just had his own ideas of doing things!), but I loved him to bits and he was a non pedigree. Most are I would assume, even from adoption places - please dont look down on the average moggy as they are just as loving and with possibly a few less hang ups than pedigree! My Cat League cats were all 'non pedigree' as well.

Sorry, I was in no way attacking you or your cat. I have a moggie of my own, black and white and very sweet. I was just wondering about selling cats, without trying to offend people who breed pedigree cats.

I just wondered that if we didn't buy them then there would be no demand, freeing cats from breeding too much.

So sorry again, I was not trying to upset people.

My local pet shop sells kittens for £10, they DO NOT pay for any kittens that they sell there.

The nearest shelter is 15 miles away which may not seem like far to you or I but apart from one or two areas the town is very low income.

I would rather people spayed or neutered their pets, and in a perfect world they would, but if it comes down to a choice between giving the kittens to a pet shop or leaving them to their own devices to breed again I vote for the former.

The pet shop hands out leaflets and advice on how to get a discounted spay or neuter with the cats protection league with every kitten and takes names and addresses of every person they sell kittens to.

I bought Jeepers from there, I went in to see about litter boxes, food bowls etc. because I was thinking about getting a kitty and as soon as I saw her I knew I'd be taking her home. I had every intention of getting a kitty from a shelter, but she stole my heart and that was that.

As for only buying pedigree......... why? Not that there's anything wrong with pedigree cats but both my cats are moggies and I wouldn't change them for the world!

So if we did'nt buy non pedigrees, then what do you propose we do with the ones that are here now?, have every one of them put to sleep!!!.

Susan

Guess I am not getting my point accross at all well. I think ALL cats have the right to a good home and a warm lap. I just think that there are enough cats in shelters, with friends and family that there is no need for a trade in them.

I also accept that there is a need to sell pedigree cats, but that is a seperate issue. I only mentioned them so as not to have the cat breeders beating up on me.

If this is not clear then I'm sorry.

It was clear to me in your thread, and i quote " If people stopped buying non pedigree cats".

So, as i said "What do you propose we do with the ones that are here now?.

As Jeepers pointed out, to have them all spayed and neutered would be the answer, but as she said it is'nt a perfect world.

As i mentioned, i had a really big problem trying to find a pet shop that sold kittens, because the vast majority don't these days. But even if pet shops stopped selling them altogether, you still have the problem of too many being abandoned in the shelters!!

And rest assured, no cat owner here would beat you up, no matter what sort of breed their cats are.

Susan

I don't think it matters WHERE you buy a cat.. the important thing is that you're giving "A" cat a home. I have a pedigree, and a non pedigree.. and I love them both equally. The reason I went with pedigree in the first place, was because she was already litter box & scratch post trained.. She was my first cat in my new home.. and i didn't have time to train her on my own. This was definitely worth the extra money to me. After I was settled into my home... Of course, I went for a homeless kitty too.. I think I've done my deed!

NOT TO UPSET THE BREEDERS.

I thought I would put that up front first but there have been so many 'kitty-mills' just like 'puppy-mills' that breed extensivly pedigree cats and dogs. They breed them so much that sometimes they have kittens almost every month. Not once a year. Thats 6 litters a year for one cat. And pet stores buy and sell these kittens.
I'm all for pedigree cats, and Shadow is a burmese but I don't like the thought of buying cats or dogs out of a petstore. There are so many in the shelters and pounds. Thats just my opinion and I'm not saying that you who have bought out of a store shouldn't (in fact I've been tempted. I can't resist a cute face and i can't go in a petstore alone with my credit card or I'll come home with something!!)

My cats are anything but standard and they are all mixes, except for Shadow. Elsa is a feral and her kittens are too. Graycie was a farm cat. They give you more attenion and love because you rescued them then any cat.

I don't know how you, Gopher can say any cat is standard because none of them are, not the big cats and definately not our house cats.

I understand what you are trying to say. Where I live there is an SPCA in every county. It does upset me to see petstores selling kittens, unless they didn't pay anything for the cats and are helping shelters out, then it is good. But to buy cats to sell at petstores makes me very mad!

In this day and age with sites like http://www.petfinder.com that searches shelters for kittens and cats, it makes finding a shelter cat easier.

I think it would be best to ask the petstore where they got the kittens, if they are coming from a kitten mill I would not want to promote that.

One of the differences between the shelters and the petshops is the petshop will sell a kitten to anyone who flashes the money. The shelters have questionaires to fill out, a waiting period, and sometimes it can even cost more to buy from a shelter. Depending on what shelter it is. There is a pet shop near me that does not buy kittens, instead it sells kittens that have been abandoned, or orphaned as well as cats. The owner raises them first then places them in her store. When she sells them, the money goes into a special pot that she uses creating a fund for a local vet to draw on to do services for others cats whose owners have no money. Not all pet stores are like Love's Pets- I wish they were!

Hissy that is exactly what I want to do some day. I would love to have a petstore and help out shelters and use the money to help other cats.

Sadly, I think my beautiful Simba came from a Kitten Mill. He's a pedigreed Bengal. I bought him from a Pet Store and paid a really high price for him. I met the breeder, and she seemed really nice and friendly, so at the time I felt a little better about purchasing him from there. However, a couple of months after I purchased Simba, I lost Simba's pedigree papers, so I called the pet store to ask them if they knew how I could get his papers again. They told me the breeder was coming in the next day and I could get her to write up a 2nd set of papers. She told me the breeder always came every Monday, Weds, and Friday. I was a little shocked that the breeder was still coming to the shop on a regular basis, so I asked if there were still Bengals left in the store, after all that time. The girl in the pet shop told me that they ALWAYS had Bengals there year round from that breeder. I was speechless, because I knew she only had only one or two female cats in her cattery. In truth I felt sick inside.

Don't get me wrong, I adore my little Simba guy. He is a pure delight, but I JUST HATE what his poor mama has to endure in order for that breeder and that pet store to make lots and lots of money. I'm sure that breeder doesn't have to even work. She just lives off of the money she makes on her Bengal kittens. I will never again buy a pedigree cat from a pet store. NEVER! Next time I will go to a breeder who breeds for the love of the breed, and not for the money.

We have a little pet store in our small city here and they sell pure bred dogs and kittens and also normal house kittens (dsh ?) . How ever , the owners parent have their own dogs and cats they are breeding with . What I herd was that they also breed year round all cats and dogs . Also if you want to see the kittens or puppys you would have to make a apointment to come by . I herd and knowing those people that they cages of their dogs and cats are much to small and of course you never see all the breeding area and only the kittens or puppys you are interested in . No need to say more ....
Any ways , the domestic housekitten what they sell come from people like my next door neighbour who did not fix their animals . Off cours the kittens never seen a vet , but you can get them very cheap for only $ 25.00 dollars . Now if you go to the shelter here and want a cat/kitten you will have to pay $ 85.00 dollars , but it is vacinated and is or will be spay/neuter . Now people who don't have a lot of money buy a $ 25.00 dollars kitten and guess what ? Yes right , they don't have the money to get the animal fixed and the circle begin's ..................

Just to put my 2 cents in here, I've never come across a pet store in Germany that sells dogs or cats, though most have a wide selection of rodents, birds, fish, reptiles, etc.. What really disturbs me is that there are a number of Web sites offering, "Purebreds cheap!", and they claim they will, "Ship anywhere!" Many of them have been closed down, only to pop up in another guise a short time later. The puppies and kittens are primarily from puppy and kitten mills in Eastern Europe, where there are few or no controls, but those operating the sites are Germans/Western Europeans. Is this a big problem elsewhere? Purebreds are also sold at weekly open-air markets in many Eastern European countries, so if you're looking for a cheap Australian Shepherd/Maine Coon, you can just drive to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, etc., and smuggle the puppy/kitten back in. Breeds that are banned in some German "länder", e.g., Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, Munchkins, Sphynx and the like, are also smuggled in. Before you ask, the local governments have decided that some breeds of dog are too dangerous, and that some breeds of cats cannot be given "species-specific" care.
I don't want to condemn all breeders, because I know many of them are dedicated to preserving certain breeds, and aren't "in it" for the profit, but unfortunately a lot of people are. There are also far too many people who are too cheap/ill-informed/lazy to neuter their pets. One of my students (24) bought a West Highland White about nine months ago. She asked me if I knew how much it would cost to have the dog spayed (there are fixed price guidelines here), and I provided the information she needed. She thought it was rather expensive, and didn't have it done. The dog, now a year old, is on her 3rd false pregnancy, and two weeks ago the girl/woman told me she was thinking about breeding the dog. I'm trying to dissuade her.

The thing about pet shop animals is that they're mostly bought on impulses. The other day I was at the pet shop and a little girl was whining that she wanted a kitten and her mother gave in and got her one. I don't know anything about them, but it seemed very spur of the moment and they seemed very unprepared.

I just don't think animals should be on display like property, and bought b/c they're cute and whatnot.

Breeders (with exeption of BYB) take care of their animals and the breed them b/c they enjoy the breed, not for the money. Shelters want their babies to go to good homes too. Pet shops don't care - which says a LOT about why they sell them and where they came from. (Not counting the pet shops that help shelters.)

Jcat , they do have pet stores in germany where they sell pure bred cats and dogs , But yes no regular pets like a house cat or a mix breed dog . You can find those in the papers on animal section or naturaly in shelters .
We have here close to Savannah georgia a big flea market and you can sell all the animals you want there and can get from a pure bred dog to a snake almost every thing . Of course many puppy/kitten mill owner and back yard breeder sell there .

Originally posted by PurrfectCatlove
Jcat , they do have pet stores in germany where they sell pure bred cats and dogs , But yes no regular pets like a house cat or a mix breed dog . You can find those in the papers on animal section or naturaly in shelters .
We have here close to Savannah georgia a big flea market and you can sell all the animals you want there and can get from a pure bred dog to a snake almost every thing . Of course many puppy/kitten mill owner and back yard breeder sell there

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Why aren't there more controls? The major problem is unchecked reproduction, so why aren't our legislators doing something about it? If they can make laws regarding who can enter the country, and imprison kids under 16 on suspicion of terrorism (or give them the death penalty), why can't they enact some laws protecting animals? Should we bombard our Congressmen or Congresswomen demanding some action?

I don't know why jcat , but animals get the 2nd class treadment thats for sure IMO .