Why does one need to buy a pedigree cat? 

The majority of us has warm recollections from our childhood – the outdoorsy cat with the fluffy playing kittens or a fat blimp – the grandmother`s cat – in the country. Many of us brought home the “no one`s” kittens and pitifully asked the mother to let the kitten stay. Someone was happy and the mother let the kitten stay, and these children grew up with a happy neighborhood with the CAT. But some people can afford to get a cat only in the adult life. Here is where the question rises - what kind of animal will live beside you: the pedigree or a usual cat.

You should make a choice responsibly, because the cat will be a part of your family on the average 10-15 years. It happens that the cat appears in the house of itself: is slipped at your door, is presented by the colleagues, or a forsaken by the ruthless people kitten comes to you at the street. If you want to have a regular cat at the house as a pet, then take this kitten, maybe, you will save its life.

The other variant – if you already have the image of an ideal cat in your mind. Then you should look at the pedigree animals on closer view and choose the ideal one. The pedigree cat is made for those who want to have an animal in the house with a certain, settled by the brood appearance. Some people like the fluffy cloud – the Persian cat, the others like the flat-coated cats with the clear-cut musculature and strict body lines. The color line is no less important - the varied tortie or a black oriental, that reminds a panther, the red “sunshine” or a striped cat of a wild color.

It is well-known, that each breed has similar character. It is very important for the cat` s owner to coincide with the cat by the temper. For the calm person the phlegmatic teddy bear – a Britain or Persian cat – will be ideal. The extravert will more likely choose the cat of an eastern breed – the Burmese, Oriental, Abyssinian cat – for active communication. An independent all-sufficient person is likely to buy the cat of the aboriginal breed – kurilian bobtail, Siberian, Norwegian forest. Some people like active animals that are eager to play till old bones. The others will choose the “interior” cat, that lie on the sofa for hours. There are a lot of variants for the amateurs of the latest things – naked cats, curls with the curling ears, munchkins with the short paws. The main thing – it should correspond with your idea about beauty.

It is not a secret that one should pay for the pedigree animal; the spread of prices can vary from 100 to 2000 dollars. The price of a kitten depends not from the amount of the used food and filler, but from the general financial, moral, emotional and physical expenses of the breeder for receiving an IDEAL animal. The ideal pet will cost much more that the middle kitten of the same breed, but the main sense is that one should pay for good quality. The serious collector of paintings wouldn`t hang in his/her house the cheap reproduction from the magazine! The attitude to a pedigree cat should be the appropriate – as if it is an art object, an object of collecting, adornment and gloat. I think that the best buyer – the person that made a thoughtful choice, who s in love with the breed, the same as I am and any other breeder.

One of my buyers couldn`t make a choice for two hours between the sable Burmese cat and black kurilian bobtail. The coal-black kurilian striked the head of the family`s fancy but his wife couldn`t put up with the cat`s “absence of the tail”. The disagreements already threatened the family conflict when the man asked the decisive question: "Which kitten is better for the children?" Of course, for the twins of 1,5 age I recommended the Burmese cat. And it was very nice to hear in two weeks the comments about the kitten`s behavior. "The cat doesn`t leave the children, eats and sleeps with them, sits at the knees with pleasure, doesn`t get offended and doesn`t get angry if the kid touches it by accident". That`s what it means - to find the right breed. I don`t think that the bobtail will let the children these breadths.

So, what do you get buying a pedigree cat? The certain appearance of the pet and the forecasting character. Plus, if you want, a set of documents that let your cat take part at the exhibitions and be proud of its achievements, the capacity to breed.

At the age of 2-4 months the breeder evaluates the class of the kitten. There are a pet-class - the kitten for home, for soul, a breed-class - for breeding, a show-class - the animal that is close to the ideal of the breed, for the exhibition. The price of such kittens is different: a show-class can cost at 2-5 times more than a kitten "for a pillow". The purchase of a kitten of a pet-class supposes its castration (sterilization) because it is for some reasons not suitable for breeding. But it doesn`t actually mean that the kitten has any defects or the health problems. The breeder just selects the animals for breeding in accordance to his/her breeding programme.

Every breeder wants the potential buyer to evaluate his/her possibilities soberly and choose the right kitten. Because the breeding is a difficult and diligent work, that asks for the full discipline of excellence. The breeder chooses the certain type of the owner for brood kittens – the responsible, hard-working, concerned person, who has free time, ready to get special knowledge and of course without financial difficulties. That`s why the price for the brood kitten can be twice higher the price of the pet-cat. Abroad there is no practice of selling kittens for breeding to beginners. The kittens` owners start the way of filinology with the knackered and only being sure in their interest, can buy the animal of a breed-class. That is very clever, the accident people are cut, who wanted to breed only for money or freak.

The kittens of a breed/show class are very often sold under the condition that the first 1-2 years the buyer will breed under the control of the breeder. I think, it is right, because one needs to study any profession in advance not to make mistakes. Felinology is a science, and the skill, and intuition, and an element of luck. Even for finding the worthy owners for the kittens one needs to know the basis of psychology, marketing and law. And to bring up the healthy kittens one has to be a veterinarian a little bit: can do the injections, deliver, be ready to give first aid in emergencies. Sometimes one can hear: what a difficulty, the cats give birth to the kittens and bring them up by themselves, the main thing is to sell the kittens. This is called not a breeding but "multiplying" of cats, and has nothing in common with felinology.

So, buying a pedigree kitten, you should correlate your wishes and capacities. If you want to get something extraordinate from the kitten and congenial - study the breeds and choose the right variant for you. If you are going to do breeding, first decide if you are ready for this difficult and energy-intensive process. But if you are ambitious and ready to visit the exhibitions with your "star" cat, buy the cat of a show-class. And be ready to pay for this as for the exclusive.

If you just need an alive cattish soul in the house, and as for the character you rely on the hand of God - take a usual kitten for free. Just remember that the "thin and sounding" or a cheeky "bun" of 8 kilos, a ruffian fidget and the lazy-sleepyhead can grow up from the kitten-half-breed. Good luck in looking for your kitten.

The magazine "The cats's friend", № 12, 2006.

Marina Popova