How Much is a Kitten Worth

How much is a kitten worth? Well, I suppose that depends on whether you are buying or selling. It also depends on whether you want show quality or pet stock.

Let's take a hypothetical case. You buy a kitten at 12 weeks of age for $800. You raise her, show her, make her a grand champion. The cost varies here but it is, let us say, roughly $2,000 (if you are lucky). You have her bred to a good stud cat at a cost of $600. You have a C-Section at $150.00. The kittens are raised on vitamins, minerals and Iams, Hills Science Diet, etc. (at today's prices.} They are given shots at a cost of $25.00 per kitten. Let us say you had four kittens. This makes a total cost of $3,650 not counting the food, vitamins, extra veterinarian expenses in raising the kittens such as colds, eye problems, and a hundred other things to treat and buy medication for and the countless hours of work and love you put into them. So, this cost is bare minimum. If you try to regain this bare minimum expense on this first litter, you would have to sell all four of your kittens at 12-weeks of age for $912.50 each. Remember, you are still losing money because this figure does not include food, vitamins, labor, etc. and all four of your kittens are probably not show quality.

As a buyer, you go out to buy a kitten. Presumably, as a knowledgeable cat person, you know the background on these kittens. You know the type of kittens the sire and dam have been throwing, or at least you know enough of their background to have a pretty fair idea of what to look for. We hope you know enough about inbreeding, line breeding and out-crossing to figure out what type of breeding it was and what types of kittens you are liable to end up with. With this knowledge under your belt, you go out to look at the various litters available and you can probably make an intelligent evaluation of these litters. If you don't feel that you can, take someone with you who can. If you do not like the breeding or the looks of a litter, you look at another or wait for another to come along that is more to your liking.

Then you ask the price. You say $800.00 is too much for a show quality kitten. Is it? You say $800.00 is too much for a pick of litter kitten. Is it? You say $800.00 is too much for a 12-week-old kitten. Is it? If you are shopping for a bargain, order a kitten from a pet shop! You will still pay a pretty penny maybe even more. (Once a lady visited me, bringing along a non spotted Ocicat kitten she had purchased in a Missouri pet shop. She paid $700.00 for it with no registration and thought she got a real bargain as it was on sale.) Maybe you can get a real bargain though. Wait and take the worst kitten from a good litter and you may only have to pay $250 for your nice little pet. But, come on folks, after you pull a stupid stunt like that don't tell people things like "She (or he—but usually she) was the worst kitten in the litter but she has BLOODLINES!" Because in the words of that famous philosopher "What you see is what you get!" Sometimes you may luck out with a bargain basement buy like this and turn up with a litter that produces a champion. Not likely though, because if you are so thrifty you have to shop for bargains, surely you will shop around for bargains in a stud too. And most likely you'll end up using the cat that you have in your neighborhood, regardless of how they match up. "You know - this way you can save all that shipping money."

You think this is wise buying? Economy? I think not! This is false economy. It is going to cost you just as much to feed and raise this kitten and any resultant litter (unless you economize there, too). Wouldn't it have been better to save your money for another month or two more, buy the PICK of that litter for $800.00 and for $600.00 more, breed it to the BEST stud you can find and come up with a quality litter - one that you could be proud to have other breeders see? One that you could be proud to have other breeders buy. One which you could be proud to have your name or cattery name on. One that you could be proud of because YOU WERE IMPROVING THE BREED instead of just breeding another litter of pets. After all, isn't that what it's all about?