Expert: Ali - 6/26/2009

Question
Hello,
We have decided to adopt two kittens from a breeder that passed all screening we were able to do (registered with CCA, TICA, CFA), contract, 2 years health guaratee, altered, etc. This breeder has two boys and two girls from two different litters born one day apart. We have two decide which ones we pick. We read about the behavior in girls and boys but we cannot anticipate which combination (boys &/or girls) would work best (not sure what that means). The boys are siblings and the girls are siblings. Meantime, the boys' father has sired once and he was then neutered and is now available for adoption. Another 8 months old boy is up for adoption and listed with heart murmur grade 1-2. The breeder offers has DNA tested all her dams and sires for HCM and they do not carry the HCM gene.
Should we still adopt from this breeder? And if so, what is your advice regarding the gender of the kittens we should adopt?
Thank you very much,
Radu


Answer
Radu,

I can't really say that I have much experience with purebred cats, most of my "can't say no" rescues are mixed breed kitties who end up finding their way into my heart one way or another. I've always wanted to share my life with a ragdoll, but I have to be completely honest - while I absolutely love ragdolls I've never actually been owned by one. I can offer you some basic advice about the things you should be looking for when you are choosing a breeder, what health issues you could potentially see and what should make you run the other way.

- It's best to be sure that your ragdoll babies have been DNA tested for both the Ragdoll and MCO HCM genes as these are both linked to heart disease in ragdolls. Your kittens should also have received ultrasound scans of their hearts looking for any hint of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or congenital heart defects.

- Other important health tests that should be conducted include testing for FeLV (Feline Leukemia), FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, similar to HIV in people, but not transmissable between cats and people), and blood typing is another important test. Your kitten's kidneys should be scanned to determine if there is any sign that these babies could have Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). It's possible that the DNA test for PKD could miss the presence of this disease.

- Your kittens should have been health checked and vaccinated by a licensed vet. Some breeders will vaccinate at home and this isn't often recognized as proof of vaccination. It's best not to purchase kittens vaccinated at home since they'll likely need to be vaccinated again by a licensed vet and that's not good for their health. Kittens should also have been dewormed, checked for the presence of ear mites and fleas. If ear mites or fleas were suspected or present the kittens should be treated with appropriate prescription medication from the vet. I recommend seeking the advice of a holistic vet to minimize the amount of dangerous substances your kittens are exposed to since that may have a serious impact on their long term health.

- It's very important to make sure that if you have young children (or kids who haven't been around animals and don't know how to properly handle them) in your home they're not allowed to interact with the kittens unsupervised, this is for the protection of kittens and kids since either species could accidentally injure the other.

- My recommendation would be to actually go the the breeder's home/cattery in person so that you can spend some time with the kittens you've been offered, that will help you to make the appropriate choices based on personality and temperament rather than color and gender, since the kittens are going to be spayed/neutered gender really isn't a consideration since every cat/kitten is an individual and has his/her own unique quirks, habits and cuddle factor. Spending a few hours with the kittens also allows you to choose the kittens that fit your heart, family and lifestyle best. I can't really tell you to get male or female cats and promise you that they'll have certain personality traits or temperaments, all cats vary in personality, intelligence and temperament and it really doesn't have much to to with their gender. The fact that these kittens will be spayed/neutered also means that you won't have to worry about some of the more offensive behavioral issues that can go along with cats not being surgically sterilized.

- You may find that once you've visited with the kittens one of each pair seems to bond best with you - if that's the case maybe the breeder can go about introducing them gradually and properly if she raises her kittens in a caged cattery setting (not my first choice) I think it's important for the breeder to isolate new, nursing moms with their newborn offspring where s/he can closely monitor the ongoing health and development of the newborns then allow them to start being integrated into a regular household's life. The kittens can then be vet checked and vaccinated, dewormed, etc as appropriate for each specific kitten.) In my opinion kittens raised in a home environment are better equipped to deal with life in a home, it may be more difficult to acclimate the kittens into the daily hustle and bustle of a busy family's life because the situations they encounter are foreign to them.

- Ask your breeder for several references from people that have adopted from their cattery, you should be able to call these folks without hesitation from the breeder - someone who hesitates about providing references may have something to hide and that's not where you want to be when adopting a kitten and making a lifetime commitment to him/her. You don't want to deal with backyard breeders, you want someone who is prepared to allow you to visit the cattery (most facilities won't allow you to visit if you've been to another cattery that day for the health and safety of their cats and kittens). If you notice an unpleasant odor in the cattery, nursery areas, and areas where moms and babies are living then it's probably not a facility you want to deal with - stinky environments mean substandard hygiene practices.

- I don't recommend dealing with anyone who has large numbers of kittens available at any given time (most responsible breeders may have 2-3 litters of differing ages at once at the very most, limited availability most likely means the cattery is being properly cleaned, maintained and the cats and kittens are being properly cared for).

- Be sure that all breeding/cat fancier organizations are able to tell you that your cattery is in good standing with them.

- The longer the genetic health guarantee the better, some catteries offer guarantees as long as 5 years and there's a reasonable chance that a congenital or genetic problem would be diagnosed well before then. Read your contract carefully including the fine print, you want to know exactly what you're getting yourself into if you adopt kittens from any cattery. Some contracts will require you to submit vet records and a full post mortem exam to be done if the cat has died as a result of a genetic/congenital condition - in most cases you'll be responsible for the cost of lab and pathology fees. In most instances if your kitty dies as a direct result of a congenital or genetic issue most contracts drawn up by breeders only agree to replace the kitten, not pay for the testing involved to prove that a genetic/congenital condition was to blame.

- I strongly recommend asking for the names and contact information for each veterinarian your breeder has used and permission to contact these doctors. Your breeder's veterinarian will be able to provide you with a decent reference and s/he's not likely to be providing you with false information to make a breeder look good. Be sure to check that all veterinarians are licensed, that way you won't have to worry about someone giving you the number for a friend's home where your call will be answered as though you were calling a vet clinic.

- Breeders should be straight forward with you and you should feel confident and comfortable that if something does go wrong this person will be there for you and the kittens ready and willing to offer the benefit of their experience, you don't want to be dealing with the types of breeders that fly by the seat of their pants and ignore you if something goes badly and you need their help.

- While pretty pictures of the cattery, breeding facilities and house are easy to put up online and anyone can make a place sound wonderful on the phone it's very possible that what you see online and hear on the phone will be very different from what you see when you go for a visit to the cattery in person.

- If you are discouraged from doing any of the things that I've recommended so far, I would recommend that you go somewhere else to adopt your kittens.  

The breeder should be working to sell themselves to you, they should be proud of their facility, the kittens they're breeding and the care they provide for the dams, sires and kittens. While some breeders figure that potential adopters must successfully sell themselves to be allowed to adopt one or more kittens it's important to realize that you shouldn't have trouble getting real, honest answers for your questions, there's nothing wrong with doing your own interviews with breeders because you are going to be responsible for their kittens and the decisions they made about breeding and potential genetic issues. No question is stupid, you need to feel completely safe and confident that the kittens you're adopting have been given the best possible start in life. Remember the breeder and his/her family are the ones who are teaching the kittens about the world, starting crucial parts of proper socialization and ultimately laying the ground work for happy, healthy, well adjusted cats if things are being done right. One can never provide a kitten with an excessively good start in life, at least in my opinion so you need to feel confident that your kittens are getting the best of everything and have been since they were conceived. Hopefully this information is helpful, if you have any questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer, please feel free to contact me again.