Rules when selling kittens in America

[ypvsypvs]

Hello.
I've read around some in this forum the last weeks or so and I have some questions about the regulations in America concerning breeders and the selling/buying of kittens.

First let me tell you how it is around here (Sweden)
In Sweden the federation of pedegree cats is called Sverak and it regulates everything from how many square meters (ft) you need per cat when breeding to how shows are performed and well everything really concerning the purebreds.
When selling a kitten it HAS to be dewormed, vaccinated,have a veterinarian checkup within 7 days before the new owners get it stating every aspect of the cats health and any possible flaws. If 8 days pass the deal is invalid. If not all this is in place you wont get the official chart of the cat. EDIT: Breeder also need to chip-tag it natrually so the chart has an ID for the cat on it.
Another thing is that no cattery here ever sends a kitten by courier or even sell a cat without having met the new owners face to face. If you find a cat 1500 miles away that you like then 1500 miles you have to go. Many times breeders turn down buyers they don't feel comfortable with.


Now, I've read about a few cases here when new owners have gotten cats with deceases, worms or bad stomachs. How is that possible and is there a federation regulating the sales of pedegree cats like here´? Can you buy a purebred kitten with charts and official papers without vaccinations and fresh veterinarian checkups?
In short, how regulated is the kitten-market and how sure can you be that breeders follow the rules that are in place over there?
Ah, and what is the name and URL of your federation. It would be interesting to read up a bit on how things are run on your side of the pond.

Many hi´s from Stockholm <3

 

[Candys]

This is a good post. Thank you for your information. A lot of good questions. I am not a breeder - but there are many here in the Lair.

 

[sphynxie]

Great post! I'm not a breeder but the regulations you mentioned sound like they are all designed with the kittens best interests in mind and that's all that counts in my book

 

[Fester]

There is no governmental regulations for 'pure bred' animals here. there are several organizations that advise, and list breeders who comply with their standards (TICA, CFA, for example).

Sadly for us in the USA, the only regulations that exist are pretty much on a local scale (city or county). These regulations are only strong enough to punish the worst animal abuse (animal fighting, and worse). "puppy mills" and the cat equivalent are a huge problem here.

 

[marlene]

I wish I lived in Sweden. Here in the US, in the majority of areas pets aren't considered living creatures by law, they're nothing more than personal property. Some local areas require a license to breed, I know the state of Ohio is considering passing one. But from what I know of the licenses currently in effect I certainly wouldn't put any faith in them as far as assuring me of buying a healthy animal.

I know CFA has their "Cattery of Excellence" program, which is pretty much a joke as well. It's supposed to assure buyers that kittens are raised in a healthy environment and requires a veterinary inspection of the cattery. The problem is, too many breeders just get their vets to fill out the form without having the inspection actually performed. That's been the bane of the program ever since it was started around 20 years ago as best I remember. From what I've read CFA hasn't come up with a solution for this, they just let it continue on. Needless to say I wouldn't let a breeder advertising "CFA Cattery of Excellence" influence my purchasing decision either.

The truth is that there is extremely little monitoring of breeders in the USA. The good reputable breeders monitor themselves and each other; the bad breeders, well, they don't give two hoots what anyone thinks of them or if the kittens they sell are healthy.

It's really a struggle here. It's why we always tell people to investigate their potential breeder. Take their time, ask lots of questions, ask to see the paperwork, ask to see the parents HCM scans, visit the cattery if at all possible, get references, learn about the breed and common selling practices before committing to buying a new family member. And even doing all of the above doesn't guarantee getting a healthy kitty but at least it helps.

And it isn't easy for the breeders either. They have to decide if a potential buyer is legitimate. Does the buyer really want the kitten for a pet or are they spouting off BS so they can get another cat to use for producing mill kittens? Luckily early spay/neuter has helped negate this problem but not all breeders have access to it.

I do wish we had better breeder regulation in the US. And I really wish we had stronger animal cruelty laws. But that's going off on a whole 'nuther tangent.

 

[ypvsypvs]

Wow! I'm a bit in chock to be honest.
I really hope noone takes offence or anything but I hoped you (and the cats) had a more secure system in place even though I started to suspect that there were some problems from some of the new owners posts about their cats.

I should say though that the rules and regulations about pedegree cats and the sales of them over here isn't govermentally regulated by law as someone thought it is regulated by the purebred cats federation.
To breed here your cats need a breeding license from the federation and it will not be given to a sphynx without pure lines and proper health checks (like HCM scans). Every purebred cat is registered forever because Sverak is the only organisation that can print out official breeding-charts.¨
Same things for the catteries. If they are not up to standard, breed with substandard animals or what have you it will not be allowed to get charts for it's cats and therefor can't get money for their kittens.
It's not like anyone would pay lots of money for a cat without proper documentations.
To get a veterinarian to stamp a paper without having seen a kitten here would be close to impossible.


So to backtrack a bit.
Who issues the papers for purebreds over there and don't they keep any control of the health of the cats that go into breeding to secure the lines? I mean if you are to take a cat to a show for instance I take it that it needs official documentation. Would anyone actually buy an expensive kitten that is to be a family member for 10-20 years without even having seen it and it's breeder before?
From what I've heard it seems that your organisations needs a bit more oompf behind them but also that owners and potential customers should organise a bit more so that bad breeders can be exposed and good ones promoted.
It's not like I am living in some sort of nirvana, absolutelly not there are a lot of problems here as well but it seems you guys operate under a spiderweb of different rules that makes it impossible to control and regulate things that would really benefit from just that.
Also I feel like this is not for me to comment on maybe as I am not even from america so I hope noone hates me for it. Primarily I was just interested in how things worked over there. Now I am actually a bit concerned. Kitten-mills sounds awful. How can they be allowed to sell cats with official documentation? And I'm sorry to say, how can anyone buy an animal without visiting it to see how it's been raised?

I hope I don't offend you guys by asking stuff like this. That is absolutelly not my intention.

 

[Fester]

I'm sure no one here will take offense -- I absolutely agree that we have systematic problems

it would be nice if buyers would refuse to buy a kitten that wasn't certified as 'good'

two fundamental problems -- people will buy from bad breeders out of ignorance, and the organizations have almost no control over breeders.

Far as I know all the papers that get issued here prove is the genealogy of the cat, not that it was raised in a healthy environment.
From the cat's genealogy, with a lot of work, one can figure out (kinda) whether the breeder is good or bad, but that requires more research than most people know how to do.

Sadly enough, most people have no idea of how to research anything.
For a great example of this, how many know where to get the blue prints for a building in their town?

I just asked all my programmers (18 smart guys), 1 knew.

--for those interested, you go to the county clerk and pay for a copy (being careful not to request blueprints of too many public buildings)

 

[skloke]

Hello.
I've read around some in this forum the last weeks or so and I have some questions about the regulations in America concerning breeders and the selling/buying of kittens.

First let me tell you how it is around here (Sweden)
In Sweden the federation of pedegree cats is called Sverak and it regulates everything from how many square meters (ft) you need per cat when breeding to how shows are performed and well everything really concerning the purebreds.
When selling a kitten it HAS to be dewormed, vaccinated,have a veterinarian checkup within 7 days before the new owners get it stating every aspect of the cats health and any possible flaws. If 8 days pass the deal is invalid. If not all this is in place you wont get the official chart of the cat. EDIT: Breeder also need to chip-tag it natrually so the chart has an ID for the cat on it.
Another thing is that no cattery here ever sends a kitten by courier or even sell a cat without having met the new owners face to face. If you find a cat 1500 miles away that you like then 1500 miles you have to go. Many times breeders turn down buyers they don't feel comfortable with.


Now, I've read about a few cases here when new owners have gotten cats with deceases, worms or bad stomachs. How is that possible and is there a federation regulating the sales of pedegree cats like here´? Can you buy a purebred kitten with charts and official papers without vaccinations and fresh veterinarian checkups?
In short, how regulated is the kitten-market and how sure can you be that breeders follow the rules that are in place over there?
Ah, and what is the name and URL of your federation. It would be interesting to read up a bit on how things are run on your side of the pond.

Many hi´s from Stockholm <3

I'm buying a kitten from a lady in the US. I'm in the US. Does shehave to file for international change of ownership?

 

[Catzzzmeow]

If you live in US and she does then there shouldn’t be any extra steps involved.

 

[Yoda mom]

@skloke , agree with catzzzmeow. the only thing I did with breeder's approval was to transfer microchip in my name. not sure if the kitten is microchipped/neutered /spayed from the breeder?
welcome to the lair family! I wanted to share some helpful links. never hesitate to ask questions.
look forward to an introduction and when your gotcha day is. all paws are family.

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