Where to Buy a Kitten

Many people think that the best place to find a new kitten is in a pet shop. This is wrong! Luckily there are only a small number of pet shops that still sell kittens. The others have realised that a pet shop is not a suitable environment to keep a kitten during an early part of it's life.

Kittens that do end up for sale in pet shop are normally susceptible to infection, are often the unwanted 'runt' of a litter, and are too young to have left their mothers. You can however use a pet shop as a resource to point you in the direction of breeders or private individuals with kittens for sale.

Many people find their new kitten by word of mouth - perhaps a friend has a kitten for sale, or knows of a reliable pedigree breeder that you can get in touch with. Many people buy kittens from a litter that their friend's cat has had.

We would advise strongly not to buy a kitten from a pet shop, so perhaps this list might help you find a good place to start looking:

Advertisements in cat magazines and publications
Advertisements in local newspapers or shop windows
Advertisements in your local vets
A cat show
A professional breeder
Cat shelters or rescue centres