The Advantage of a Pure-bred kitten

The information below is based on our way of breeding and the rules of our association Mundikat (chapter of FIFe)

People see that pedigreed, pet kittens are sold for € 550 or more and assume that breeders must be making a profit. It's hard to understand how expensive breeding is without actually trying it. When buying a kitten with papers of a certain association it means that the breeder has to maintain the rules of that association considering for example accommodation, care and welfare of the cats and kittens. That is in your advantage and of the cats and kittens. Why?

A Norwegian Forest Cat is only a Norwegian Forest Cat if it's mentioned on its pedigree

It's true that a breeder would not have to pay as much up-front for a non-bred breeding cat as for a pure-bred breeding cat, but the initial price of a breeding cat is only a small thing comparing to the other costs. We started breeding to preserve the Norwegian Forest Cat from extinction. We are not against non-bred cats. Pure-bred or not, both are special. However, given that there are many homeless pets in need of good homes, many of whom are euthanized in shelters every day, there is no excuse for deliberately breeding non-bred and half-bred kittens. No ethical breeder will deliberately breed cats that aren't pure-bred. We also don’t want our kittens to be used at the new owners for that purpose. We aren’t taking all the effort in breeding the right quality so that the work is undone by other people. We take responsibility for every kitten we breed, so we are registered by a major cat association. In our opinion good breeders use registration papers and pedigrees to track down and eliminate hereditary diseases from their breeds. We can't do that unless every breeder register their cats and kittens, so that breeders and future breeders can use the records to do the same.

Sometimes people ask us if we have part-bred kittens or maybe can sell the kitten without pedigree or vaccinations for less money. The answer is simply NO, it doesn't work that way! Our females don’t come in contact with non-bred cats, so a part-bred is simple not possible in our cattery. Besides, we would invest just as much effort, time and money to take good care of such a litter and the feline mother as it does to take care of a pure-bred litter and their parents. By the way, the costs of registration papers are only €12,50 each.
 

Remember: - the Dutch law says that only the pedigreed cats can be classified as pure-bred (in Dutch: raszuiver) if the cat itself has a pedigree. It is forbidden to sell cats who are sold without a pedigree with that classification. Don’t buy any excuses from breeders who tell you different. Any so-called breeder who sells an unregistered Norwegian Forest Cat is not an ethical breeder. - Pedigree kittens aren't cheap to buy for good reasons. Breeding cats have to be bought, often for many hundreds of Euros, possibly even imported, suitable accommodation provided, quality food and litter, veterinary care, stud fees and many others factors all have to be taken into consideration. Kittens from reputable breeders are sold with inoculations, pedigrees and registrations, microchips, etc. And all these things really cost and only those who produce cheap will sell cheap.  - Breeders are less than keen to spend valuable time showing kittens to potential purchasers who expect to pay the absolute bare minimum or even nothing. Please consider just what goes in to those pedigree kittens, how much time, effort and care the breeder has taken to ensure they are healthy and well-adjusted. Always establish the price and what is included before visiting potential purchases. - When one obtains a kitten for little cost, or even for nothing, there is normally little or no investment in the health and welfare made by the vendor and no form of come-back if things go wrong. Remember, you get what you pay for. When a potential kitten buyer makes a issue about the price we always asked ourselves: when a person cannot afford the initial price of a healthy pet, how will that person be able to afford high quality care of the pet for the fifteen years and up the pet is likely to live? That’s very unlikely. Ask yourself the same question, before buying a “cheap” supposedly pure-bred or part-bred. In that case you better rescue a homeless cat from a shelter if financing a pedigree is a problem, instead of keeping these practices going on. BUT: every living creature, so is a pure-bred cat, can get ill when no one is to blame. When you can’t except this in any way thinkable, you better not take an animal into your home.

Some important rules of Mundikat
the female is only allowed to have a litter once in a certain period. When a breeder break this rule the breeder gets a warning once. When repeating the same foul the breeder is taken out of the association. When buying a kitten without papers it’s therefore possible that it could be the third or even more litter of that female within that year. In that case the condition of the mother is worse and she isn’t able to give her kittens the needed antibodies for a good immune system. The consequences for you: the money you thought you would safe is gone to the vet.

the kittens have to leave the breeder not earlier than at the age of 13 weeks and has to weigh at least 1400 grams. You can’t check the age at a kitten without papers. A kitten who leaves its mother and siblings earlier, can develop behaviour- and health problems.

A kitten suffering from any of the (hereditary) ailments, mentioned in the chapter ‘breed restricted (hereditary) ailments’ of the association, isn’t allowed to be sold as breeding cat. 

Five generations of cats can been seen on the Mundikat pedigree. Reputable breeders often make long distance trips to visit the right male for their female to avoid inbreeding. A kitten without papers can be the result of easy matings between brother and sister or father and daughter / mother and son.

The parents of the litter have to be screened for aids (FIV) and leukaemia (FeLV). Several breeds are tested for heart (HCM) and kidney failures (PKD/CIN). White cats have to be tested for deafness (BAER). When buying a kitten without papers, these tests might not have been done and possibly you buy a unhealthy kitten.

The association has special rules for breeding with white cats. Completely deaf cats or cats who are deaf at one ear aren’t allowed for breeding and to participate on cat shows. It is also forbidden to combine two white cats (deaf or not) with each other. With this rules Mundikat is trying to increase the breeding of deaf cats and maybe even exile the deafness in white cats.

All breeding cats must have a microchip to make identification possible. The microchip code has to be mentioned on the pedigree. One exception possible: when using a male from a non-FIFe registered breeder. This rule is only for the FIFe members.

When a breeding cat dies before the age of four, the breeder has to do an autopsy. When a breeding cat dies after the age of four but before the age of eight, the breeder has to have at least a declaration of cause of death from the vet. When the cause of death is mentioned on the special list of breeding profiles the breeder also has to do an autopsy. It is obligatory to give this rapports to the Veterinary Border of the association.  

A kitten has to be vaccinated, dewormed, free from contagious diseases, parasites ( flees, mites, etc) skin mould. The kitten has to be in a good condition. As burden of proof the breeder has to give a passport with health certificate (skin, ears, eyes, teeth, lymph, respiration, heart, digestion etc.).

A pedigree costs as mentioned earlier € 12,50. This can’t be any problem for a breeder to pay. When the breeder has no pedigree, it is likely that the breeder is expanded from the association or that he is not selling you are pure-bred kitten. Be careful when a breeder is selling you a foreign pedigree. There are two FIFe associations and many independent associations in the Netherlands, so why go abroad? A reason could be that the breeder is mentioned on a Dutch black-list.

So maybe you are thinking to safe € 150,- or € 200,- by buying a non-pedigreed cat, but take all this in consideration. To buy something cheap can become a very expensive issue. A reputable breeder who has joined a association want to keep his/her good name and will help you with advise and actions. When buying a kitten without papers you have no legal back-up and nothing to lean on.