| Actually, the "correct" address is WSL::HAYNES. We already have one
older female longhair ("Sarah") that we found as a stray. I was
worried about the kittens terrorizing her, and her picking on the
kittens, but I read the topic on Abbys and am somewhat reassured.
How hard is it to get a pet from a breeder? I have absolutely no
experience with breeders, we usually have taken friends' kittens
or gone to the shelter. What should I expect? How much will I have
to pay?
I don't think I've been without a cat in the house anytime in the
last 20 years...
-- Charles
P.S. Hi Karen. I don't know if I can keep up with the volume of
this file!
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| Re: < Note 936.2 by OPHION::HAYNES "Charles Haynes" >
> How hard is it to get a pet from a breeder? I have absolutely no
> experience with breeders, we usually have taken friends' kittens
> or gone to the shelter. What should I expect? How much will I have
> to pay?
It varies greatly. Personally, I'd require several references and if you were
not a member of a local cat club, I'd probably have to get to know you better
somehow.
You may be asked to sign a contract stating that you'll always care for the
cat, never let it out, will spay or neuter, never declaw it, never ... etc.
Although this doesn't stand up in any "court", it shows the intentions of the
buyer.
I can't speak for Somalies, but Abys (one "b", 2 "s" in Abyssinian ;^) ) as
pets would go for $100 - $200. Maybe higher. Again, it depends on the area
and the breeder. Remember that "pet quality" means that the cat does not meet
the standard enough to show. For an Aby this could mean lack of deep color,
necklaces, leg bars, wrong color eyes, wrong body type (bone structure), etc.
Some of these may actually make the pet look better in your eyes, but not the
breeders! Also, you will not get a copy of the pedigree.
You might be able to find a cat in a local shelter that has some Aby backround.
The pattern may be dominate enough to satisfy your needs. Price is a heck of
alot cheaper this way and helps out the shelter!
For more money, you can get a "breeder/show" quality grade. The cat more
closely matches the standard and can probably be shown to champion. Depending
on quality (hence price), you may not receive the pedigree until *after* proof
of spaying/neutering.
For even more money ... well, that's not what you're looking for.
Off hand, I don't have any contacts in CA (I'm in MA).
Hope this helps anyway!
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| Re: myself
>I can't speak for Somalies, but Abys (one "b", 2 "s" in Abyssinian ;^) ) as
>pets would go for $100 - $200. Maybe higher. Again, it depends on the area
>and the breeder.
Well, I was optimistic ... I'd say > $200 in this area (MA). Could be >$300 if
from a well-known breeder (read in-demand breeder and knows it).
Most have been the pressure of the day (and thinking about 5 years behind the
times)!
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