Money & Animals- What would you pay??

[nelle]

Originally Posted by clixpix

Please respect others decisions. Please also remember that there are members on this site who are breeders, and whose feelings and choices should also be respected.

I agree. I rescue, only, now, from the county shelter or other situations where the animals are at risk. Some are rehabbed and rehomed, but I have 4 cats and a dog that I consider family members. One cat is a Pixie Bob, and the dog is a rough-coated Jack Russell Terrier. (no, he doesn't attempt to murder the cats, he may be a "fake" JRT)

Both (probably) purebred, both found stray and in poor shape ending up at our county, high-kill, shelter.

When I did buy and breed purebred dogs I did so because I believed I had bloodlines that needed to be preserved and improved for that breed. I wouldn't do it now, but wouldn't condemn a breeder who is responsibly managing his or her "gene pool". Puppy/kitten mills, obviously, excluded, and that by extension includes the pet store and flea market trade.

I think everyone here is basically an advocate for the animals and has their best interests at heart. We can all learn from each other, and being hasty with a post could drive away a reader who might otherwise stay, add some wisdom, and gain some wisdom. Peace, y'all!

 

[lovinmom828]

I didn't pay anything for Howler he was a kitty on the streets and we saved him. Baby Dog we rescued from a kill shelter and paid $30 for her and Kera my hubby paid $90 for her. I dont know what i would really spend on a animal just would depend i guess right at the moment i could not spend thousands on a animal but i think i could if i had more $ but i have never spent over $300 for a animal so far. We bought a Iguana about 6 years ago and that is the most i have spent on a animal.

 

[nekochan]

I would probably buy a retired cat from a breeder rather than a kitten... They're usually about $100-300 from what I've seen.
Actually I saw several GORGEOUS retired cats-- Maine Coons and Japanese Bobtails--that I would really love to get but I just can't have another cat right now :/

My brother is buying a Maine Coon kitten from a breeder (who I will be helping him with since it's his first kitten) for $600.


So far all my cats have been "free", my "permanent" cats I've owned were both adopted from friends who rescued them and they did not charge us anything for them-- Sylvia our prevois cat was a stray and lived with her rescuer for several years before we adopted her, Sneakers our current cat was rescued by a friend who had her a few days when I brought her home (her previous owner before that had pretty much dumped her). The other non-permanent (foster) cats I've had were all rescued strays.

 

[tiffanyjbt]

I got my 7mo old siamese kitten, Duke, from a BYB for $175. My husband and I thought it was rediculous to spend anything more just because we wanted a siamese cat. I was entirely ignorant to the cat world in this respect. Duke had some issues when we brought him home at 6 weeks of age. Now I couldn't imagine life without my baby, but I would never go through this again!

HOWEVER, I just adopted a bengal from a very reputable breeder. His 'price tag' is $1200. He's 100% worth it!

Yes, we could have afforded to spend that much for a siamese cat initially, but we just didn't see why it was necessary. Now we know better.

Breeders (the responsible ones) don't make much profit, if any, on their cats. I love siamese and I love bengal. I also love russian blues and theres a cat in a shelter near us that my husband and I have had our eye on that is a russian blue. Unfortunately, she's for an only cat household.

I currently am trying to trap a cat (beautiful black with white nose, underside and paws) that I suspect may be pregnant. If I can get her and it turns out she is pregnant, I will keep her (hopefully Duke and Ares won't mind

). I will give the kittens to people that I feel will be responsible enough to take care of them (that means my uncle and his kids are off limits!). I'll keep mom for myself. All the expeses, and I know they will be many, I will take care of myself.

I don't see any conflict with any of this.

 

[epona]

Originally Posted by tiffanyjbt

HOWEVER, I just adopted a bengal from a very reputable breeder. His 'price tag' is $1200. He's 100% worth it!

*faints* Now that is a lot of money, but as you say it will probably only just cover the breeder's costs, if that!

I am currently saving up so that I can (fingers crossed) get a purebred cat from a breeder next year, and a couple of people are giving me money instead of Christmas presents which will be put into the kitty kitty (sorry couldn't resist the pun). I am fairly sure that this will be a 'once only' thing for me though, to satisfy my longing for a particular breed, and should I get cats after that they will probably be 'oops' kittens that need homes.

 

[abymummy]

I'm a breeder.

And I would just like to point out a couple of things:

1. 99% of all breeders I know (and I) have a domestic (or 2,3, or more) in the same home which have either just turned up or was adopted from a shelter.
2. In countries like the US, it's easier to adopt a purebred from a purebred rescue, but in countries like mine, where oh where would I find a purebred cat?
3. Amazingly enough, now that I AM a breeder, I'm becoming the purebred rescue...my vet keeps calling me and asking me to rehome this breed or that breed cats which were papered and are now dumped.

I don't begrudge one cent of what I've paid and will continue to pay for my foundation cats.

Anyone want a now paperless spayed F4 Bengal??? The price is the cost of the neuter and a bag of food!

 

[tiffanyjbt]

Originally Posted by Epona

*faints* Now that is a lot of money, but as you say it will probably only just cover the breeder's costs, if that!

I am currently saving up so that I can (fingers crossed) get a purebred cat from a breeder next year, and a couple of people are giving me money instead of Christmas presents which will be put into the kitty kitty (sorry couldn't resist the pun). I am fairly sure that this will be a 'once only' thing for me though, to satisfy my longing for a particular breed, and should I get cats after that they will probably be 'oops' kittens that need homes.

LOL! He's a show quality cat from very good lines.

My breeder was screening for homes for her kitten (he was the only one left because the others went to a waiting list). A LOT of people wanted my Ares! Well, I told her my story: A stray kitten litterally knocked on my door. We took him in, but he ended up running away. We never found him. Then we decided to get our own kitten. I got Duke from a BYB. Called Animal control on her. Later, a friend had a stray she couldn't keep or afford. We took care of her. Her vet bills for ONE VISIT were almost $300! It also turned out she was pregnant. My cousin took her in (after I payed for the spay/termination).

My breeder told me that it was what I had done to help the stray cats that made her decide to allow me to adopt Ares. She said "I have a soft spot for rescue". She said that her first bengal was a stray kitten. She also has a few moggies and rescues.

Its my experience that breeders are more often than not very involved with rescue. In fact, I think that bengal rescue is almost entirely supported by breeders!

 

[epona]

Originally Posted by Abymummy

1. 99% of all breeders I know (and I) have a domestic (or 2,3, or more) in the same home which have either just turned up or was adopted from a shelter.

I love looking at breeders' websites, they almost all have a page dedicated to 'Molly the best cat in the world who turned up at the door one day and won my heart' or similar

(That is usually the best page as well IMO) Everyone had a 'first cat' or a cat that was special to them, probably long before they became interested in breeding a particular breed! And responsible breeders care about cats in general and are not likely to turn away a cat in need without doing something to try and help it.

 

[russian blue]

Originally Posted by clixpix

Wow. I don't even know where to begin here. It's rare to witness so much judgement in one thread

It's fine if you don't want to spend money on a purebreed cat, but to make it seem as if doing so is "extravagant", "silly", or worst of all, contributing to the deaths of shelter kitties is beyond the pale. Those that have paid for a purebreed cat have nothing to apologize for or should they feel the need to explain themselves, yet because of the tone of this thread, they have.

One of my girls is a purebreed kitty that I did pay money for. How much is nobody's business but mine. It's money I worked very hard for, and is mine to spend. My reasons for choosing her are known to me, and those whose opinions I valued, and sought out beforehand. I'm not going to try to "justify" that decision with a list of rescues or shelter kitties that I've had. Whether I've had dozens or none shouldn't matter to anyone.

Please respect others decisions. Please also remember that there are members on this site who are breeders, and whose feelings and choices should also be respected.

Kelly, well said!

I've stayed out of this thread because of the potential for heated views. I've been on a few cat forums over the last 4 years. I've had people outright reject me because I purchased Nakita from a breeder. Suddenly, I'm marked as less responsible or not into rescue. Later, they find out about my rescue volunteer history, and then I'm 'acceptable' in their eyes. Please, keep your quick judgements to yourself and actually take the time to find out about the person. I'm fortunate though, that I stayed, since I have developed some wonderful friendships on these various forums.

I've bit my tongue many times. But everyone has the right to live the life they want. If that means paying for a purebreed 'x' amount of dollars or paying for a brand new car, that's their choice.

One of the people that was totally against me said she never in her life would buy a cat from a breeder because that money could be used to help many rescue cats. Then the next day she turned around and said she just purchased her dream car for $45K. I could have turned around and said she could have used that money for cat rescue, but did I? No. It's not my place to tell her how to spend her money or mark her one way or another. Some people will want to spend their money on materialistic items (such as cars) and others will spend it on living creatures such as cats/dogs/birds etc. Everyone is different.

Cat overpopulation needs to be controlled through wide spread education and strict legislation. Rescue efforts are needed as a result of people letting their cats breed and not altering at a young age. It is not because a select percentage buy purebred cats. It's because the greater percentage are either uninformed, misguided or don't give a damn about the problem. If every purebred owner adopted a cat, there would still be problem and this problem would not stop unless the above stated education and legislation takes place.

I understand the strong views on both side of the equation, but it doesn't help to pit one against the other. No one wins in that case and now you have divided a cat loving group to no end.

Stepping off the soapbox.

 

[momofmany]

Personally? I have no needs for a purebred cat. I probably spend more money on the feral rescues (health issues) than I would for a purebred. My heart simply tugs for the truely homeless cats. I rarely adopt even from a shelter as I come across too many without any shelter at all. But that's simply my place in life I guess - saving them from the streets.

 

[tiffanyjbt]

Originally Posted by Russian Blue

Kelly, well said![/size]

And very well said to YOU! My mom is worried that I'm gonna turn into the dreaded 'cat lady'! LOL! I told her that I just don't like to see animals suffer and if I can help them, I will. To which she said, "yeah, you've always been an animal lover". That made me grin because thats one of the best compliments anyone could ever give me. (*note, she probably said this because of our 'mouse relocation program'

)

There seems to be this prevailing attitude that people who breed/adopt pedigreed cats are not as concerned about the welfare of the overall cat population. That saddens me...

BTW, heres my breeders page about her rescue kitty (and one of the reasons why I decided to adopt from her):

http://www.rockybengals.com/about_us.htm

 

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by JulieKit

Call me biased but for me, cats and dogs would be two different things. I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t pay more than 50 dollars for a cat. That would be the initial adopting fee with speuter extra. Cats are all basically the same. Some are bigger, some smaller, longhair, shorthair but they are all basically the same.

I strongly disagree with this statement. If you know anything about cats, you would know that different breeds have different traits, dispositions, looks, idiosyncracies, etc.

I also agree that if someone is inclined and can afford to pay for a pedigree, then who of us should tell them they shouldn't.

I know people who spend large amounts of money per year eating out - whether it be McDonalds or high end, it all adds up and to ME that is wasted money. But that is because I consider eating out frequently to be a waste when I can buy good quality groceries and prepare nutritious meals without additives for my family. That is MY choice and how I choose to spend my money.

I wouldn't pay a lot of money for shoes or purses - some folks do. That's their choice and their money.

But I agree with Gaye in that one cannot say they respect breeders and then say they would never buy from them. This is just contradictory. I don't know a lot of breeders, but people like Gaye are necessary to continue the line of the beautiful Siamese cat just as other responsible breeders of other breeds of cats are needed to continue those lines.

Every cat deserves a good home whether it be moggy, pedigree or shelter cat. Most folks here have moggies and some mixed and they are all beautiful and wonderful. I had moggies all my life with the exception of my little Siamese Susie and now Bijou and Mika. It was because of Susie that I wanted Bijou because I felt that Siamese were very special to me. I have no regrets and feel no guilt that I didn't get a shelter cat instead of Bijou. He has brought so much joy into our lives (all of us - my husband, our daughter and me) that I couldn't possibly find enough words to express our feelings about him. Then Mika came into our lives by a twist of fate and just doubled the joy.

 

[muttigreemom]

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Personally? I have no needs for a purebred cat. I probably spend more money on the feral rescues (health issues) than I would for a purebred. My heart simply tugs for the truely homeless cats. I rarely adopt even from a shelter as I come across too many without any shelter at all. But that's simply my place in life I guess - saving them from the streets.

This is exactly what I was going to say.

It's not about how much money I'm willing to spend on an animal. To me, its about helping them. I've always felt that I was put on this earth to help the animals that were truly in need. In my mind (and I may or may not be wrong on this) there will always be someone to buy a purebred dog/cat/etc so I guess I feel those are already well taken care of. I can't really see a breeder spending all that time and money and love bringing a litter into the world only to dump it at a shelter (excluding BYB of course). It always seemed to me that if they were going to put in all that time/money/effort, they would find them good quality homes or keep them themselves.

I don't begrudge anyone who buys from a breeder. Actually, my SIL just got a purebred persian (I think it's a persian? I haven't seen him yet) and he just won 5th place out of 80 at his first show. She loves the heck out of this little boy and wanted a show cat. Paid a good chunk of change for him too... and more power to her! That's what she wanted and I think that's fantastic. A kitten got a home, she got a new buddy that she loves to death. All is well.

But it's not for me. Like many breeders probably feel they were put on this earth to further their love for one specific breed (I'm guessing, since I'm not a breeder... but it seems more like a labor of love more than anything), I just feel that I was put on the planet to help those who have no hope.... like my little man who I got from the kill shelter who, at 10 weeks, had a very short time left to live. Or Tryon who I found starving in the park and flew her back to Florida because I couldn't leave her to die on the streets. Or Azrael who was found in a laundromat being beaten and tortured by neighborhood kids and then later we dropped a few thousand dollars on vet bills because he had a urinary blockage. Or Johnny who someone dumped on my front porch. I don't mind spending the money (as is the case with Az's vet bills, or the money to fly Tryon home), but I just never felt the need to own a purebreed (as you can probably tell by my screen name

) I can't walk into a shelter without crying looking at all those sad faces... and I guess that's why saving them became my mission. If a dog or cat I adopt happens to be a purebreed, that's fine, but it's not what I look for.

 

[luckygirl]

I am just going to give my

, as everyone has their own feelings.....

I believe that every animal needs a home, purebred and moggies, rescued and sold. I have paid $1000 for a pure bred dog. At the time, I was less educated that I am now (it was 10 yrs ago). And if I was looking for a pomeranian now, I would try to get one from a pom rescue or a shelter first. But, if I really wanted a specific breed, and I couldnt' find one after exhausting several adoption resources over a long enough period of time, and had the funds available I would buy one. One kind that comes to mind is a french bulldog

. I

these dogs....I

their ears & faces & personalities and everything (and that's why I

Tanya's/squirtle little Brody so much!)....but they are very expensive, the absolute cheapest I've ever seen them is $1500. And pet stores sell them for $3500. I have always wanted one, but with our living arrangement a dog wouldn't work. And now, we are totally cat people

. So, in a perfect world, people would go to shelters & rescues all the time, but if you've had your heart set on a certain breed, I wouldn't hold it against someone for fulfilling their hearts desire, and giving a home to an animal in need that happened to cost money.

 

[tiffanyjbt]

Originally Posted by LuckyGirl

So, in a perfect world, people would go to shelters & rescues all the time, but if you've had your heart set on a certain breed, I wouldn't hold it against someone for fulfilling their hearts desire, and giving a home to an animal in need that happened to cost money.

I think in a perfect world there would be no BYBs and people would be more responsible with altering their pets and people who wanted a breed that had a certain look and temperament wouldn't have to have a laundry list of qualifiers to justify spending their money on what will make them happy... In otherwords, shelters and rescues would be unecessary.

 

[lisalee]

Would I spend a huge amount of money to buy a purebred animal? Absolutely not! There are way too many animals in shelters and out on the streets for me to justify doing such a thing. It will always be strays, shelter/rescue babies for me, now that most certainly could include a purebred at a shelter or rescue center. My heart would not direct me in any other direction.

 

[gingersmom]

Originally Posted by Abymummy

Anyone want a now paperless spayed F4 Bengal??? The price is the cost of the neuter and a bag of food!

I would LOVE one. If I could afford an international flight ticket!

 

[tiffanyjbt]

Originally Posted by lisalee

Would I spend a huge amount of money to buy a purebred animal? Absolutely not! There are way too many animals in shelters and out on the streets for me to justify doing such a thing. It will always be strays, shelter/rescue babies for me, now that most certainly could include a purebred at a shelter or rescue center. My heart would not direct me in any other direction.

I just spent $1200 on a bengal kitten. Do you think there's something wrong with my heart? I know you'll say no, but thats what you (and others) seem to be implying when you say this. You, and many others here, obviously feel its a huge waste of money to do 'such a thing' as what I have done. This really makes me sad.

My 'mouse relocation program' that I mentioned earlier is something that a lot of people here would also find to be a waste (at best). My husband and I find mice in our birdfeed all the time. Instead of letting the cat have at them (which we would NEVER do anyway), we catch them in a plastic container and drive them over to a forest preserve to drop them off. My mom (and just about everyone else) thinks we're crazy! We have 'raised' a baby opossum in our back yard and taken care of a colony of quaker conures that live in an evergreen nearby... not to mention the stray cats and dogs and donations to rescues and shelters... I've done a lot to help animals in general and I very strongly believe that this is one of the few situations where I can have the best of both worlds. It kind of hurts my feelings that people are implying that I somehow care less about animal welfare because I spent what some consider a lot of money on one animal....

 

[kluchetta]

Originally Posted by tiffanyjbt

I just spent $1200 on a bengal kitten. Do you think there's something wrong with my heart? I know you'll say no, but thats what you (and others) seem to be implying when you say this. You, and many others here, obviously feel its a huge waste of money to do 'such a thing' as what I have done. This really makes me sad.

My 'mouse relocation program' that I mentioned earlier is something that a lot of people here would also find to be a waste (at best). My husband and I find mice in our birdfeed all the time. Instead of letting the cat have at them (which we would NEVER do anyway), we catch them in a plastic container and drive them over to a forest preserve to drop them off. My mom (and just about everyone else) thinks we're crazy! We have 'raised' a baby opossum in our back yard and taken care of a colony of quaker conures that live in an evergreen nearby... not to mention the stray cats and dogs and donations to rescues and shelters... I've done a lot to help animals in general and I very strongly believe that this is one of the few situations where I can have the best of both worlds. It kind of hurts my feelings that people are implying that I somehow care less about animal welfare because I spent what some consider a lot of money on one animal....

Don't feel too bad, my family thinks I'm crazy because I do spider rescue! LOL.

 

[muttigreemom]

Originally Posted by kluchetta

Don't feel too bad, my family thinks I'm crazy because I do spider rescue! LOL.

Any chance you can come over? I think there are a few here that need to be... uhh... relocated