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This is a question to those of your who have bought a specific purebred, like Burmese, Bengal, Bombay, Ragdoll, Savannah, to name a few. If you are pro rescue, please do not post negative comments. I do not want to start a debate about rescue verses buying from a breeder. I have 4 rescue cats, and one I recently lost due to heart failure. I've always had rescue cats. I also have rescue dogs, but also have some purebreds from reputable breeders. I'm just curious about those who have chosen to go w/ a cat breeder. Was it clearly due to a specific breed? I am totally in awe w/ Burmese, but they are a little out of my range right now. I'd just like to hear from some of you and why you chose a certain expensive breed.
Alright, this won't help but I can certainly understand being attracted to certain breeds.
I doubt I'll ever get one, but I am in awe (to use your words) of the Ocicat. I've never even met one, but it's amazing looking, looks like a wild cat with the markings but is in fact a completely recognized domestic breed.
Does anyone posting here actually have a purebred cat though? Will be interested to see other responses.
I am not sure why but it seems like there are a very few purebred cats represented here. So even though a Seal Point is not an exotic cat, my 35 years of ownership of Seal Points may be of some help. The last two of my three consecutive Siamese were really top notch cats. Both from breeders with big time credentials and with lineage that was unassailable. Of course, I threw the papers away on both these cats immediately.
As many have said here, the breeds each have their own personalities and characteristics. Of course, bonding with a specific human will bring out vastly different personality traits and behaviors. The cats tend to reflect their human companions. But that is not what you are asking about.
The "why" for me is my love of Siamese. I know exactly what Siamese like and don't like. What makes them happy and what is irritating. How much indoor room they need, how much food, how much grooming, and how much love.
I toyed with the idea of getting an F2 Savannah/Cerval/Siamese this last time but quickly moved on because I was unsure of what I was getting myself in for. The more I learn about them, the more I respect this new breed, but the more grateful I am not to have one. Don't weigh what these cats look like too much. What you will care about in the long run is who they really are. If I wasn't so nuts about Siamese, I'm sure I would have a pure bred Maine Coon.
Last edited by Wilson513; 06-04-2011 at 11:38 PM..
I don't think there's anything wrong at all with falling in love with a certain breed and finding a reputable breeder to go to...I've not gone this route myself, mainly because I have so many who"found" me and am at my comfortable limit as far as space and finances. My most recent rescue, however, is a gorgeous Maine coon...not sure if he's pure-bred or not, but he looks like it, and I have to say this guy is absolutely wonderful in every way...the term "gentle giant" is right on-point with him, he's truly one of the sweetest (and most talkative) cats I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I've always really wanted a Persian or Himalayan just because I think their smushy faces are so dang cute, and have also always been drawn to Siamese because I love their voices and the fact that they usually talk a lot...(I love kitty chatter! Some people find it annoying, but it's one of my favorite things, LOL!)
It's a good and decent thing to support the breeders out there who are in it for the right reasons and truly love and respect the breed they work with...many of them barely break even because they put so much $ into excellent care and thorough testing, etc. I would have no problem giving them my $ if I didn't already have a houseful of furfaces, and TBH, now that I know how great coon cats are, I'd never want to be without one .
I have 2 Ragdolls. We have been to lots of cat shows in the 29 years we lived in Atlanta and I have found I gravitate to the Ragdolls and Main Coons.
When our last outdoor cat was killed by a fox, I decided it was the last time in my life I could get exactly what cat I wanted. I shopped several breeders and was happy with the breeder we chose. We went expecting to get only 1 but she had over 26 cats there and i had a terrible time choosing so we ended up getting 2. Now I don't think I could live without a Ragdoll.
I attend cat shows, and evaluate the personality of the cats. I have found most cat breeders to be very much into the breed they show, and sell. If I had the money I would love to have a Toyger.
However, I did get an interesting perspective on this from one of my students, who is blind, we were discussing cats, and I told her I wanted a "Toyger" she did not realize cats came in different colors and were different breeds.
I do know that certain characteristics come in breeds--i had a Siamese when I was young, I loved him so much, I wanted a cat just like him, so I bought a Siamese, and the temperment of this cat was totally different. This cat was mean. My Mom kept him, but he really was maybe overbred or something.
I can't afford a purebred cat, I would have liked a Maine Coon, Toyger, or Tonkinese. But I do have a Bengal--he was $20 on Craigslist. So, he was in my price range.
Cat shows are torture for me, it is like being able to look at all these great cats. And I would love to be able to show a cat. But I love going to cat shows. I even travel hours to go to one. I can talk to cat people, see all these great breeds, see cool cat stuff, watch the judging, I can stay a whole day at a cat show.
I see nothing wrong with buying a full breed cat. You are not responsible for all the homeless cats in the world. You don't have a social responsibility to adopt a stray. If you want a full breed cat, you should have one. I love my Bengal, he has soft, luxurious fur, his coloring is unique, and his personality is exceptional. I feel no guilt for waiting until I found the cat I wanted.
I've never had a purebred cat and will forever continue adopting the homeless and that will be the only way I get one. But . . . if I were to pursue a purebred, I really like the looks of the Bengal. Just last night I watched Animal Planet for two hours on cats since the rest of TV was biting big time. I was intrigued to see the Serengeti and Toyger and I think both of those came from a Bengal (and something else). Wow! The Toyger really looks like a little tiger. If you have $5K to spare, get a Toyger!
I think it's interesting the way we are drawn to certain cat appearances. The spots and striped of the above mentioned - and also the classic tabby - inspire me to swing through the trees like a female Tarzan! When I was just a wee girl, I did try .....
Last edited by Dallas Kitty; 06-05-2011 at 05:57 AM..
We bought Willow from a breeder. It makes me ill talking about it, but we had reasons for doing so. We had a Russian Blue years ago and my husband became allergic to him. We kept him until he died. We thought at that point, no more cats for us. Seven years later, I was watching Animal Planet (cats101), and they talked about a cat who was supposedly hypoallergenic, a Siberian. I thought, no way could a cat be hypoallergenic. After doing much research, we decided to buy a cat from a breeder. It's turned out to be the best decision we ever made. Willow is the best pet we ever had. We love him, my husband has very few symptoms and it's been good. I am pro rescue and raised money for our local rescue who came out and fixed 11 feral cats in our neighborhood. I think you can be pro-rescue and still get a pure bred cat. Good luck with your decision! I love my Siberian and would do it again in a minute!
We have had 'rescued' or mixed-breed cats for years. We live in a forested area and we allow our cats to go inside/outside at will. Whenever one of our cats has kittens we post ads and people quickly show up to take their pick, and we take in cats.
We recently noticed that by not really paying any attention to which cats we have kept, that among our pride of cats the individual size of them has shrank. I think that perhaps when people came to pick out kittens they tend to choose the biggest of the batch. Leaving us with the runts, and after a few generations runts breed smaller runts.
When we first moved to this forest, our first litter of cats went mostly to one neighbor. Visiting them in the past years those cats have grown into massive barn cats. They are all very friendly, however they mostly feed themselves from what lives in the forest.
Then we come home and see how much smaller our cats are.
So I made the decision for the first time to actually choose a breed and from now on to pay closer attention to which kittens we keep.
I responded to an ad for Maine Coons. And we got three litter mates, two are brown/black striped and one is black/white. Two of them have the extra opposable toes, and they all have the different kind of personality, more dog-like.
I would be interested in Savannahs, however they do seem to be fairly expensive. We have never paid for a cat before, so I am hesitant.
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