Reputable breeder or kitten mill: how to tell them apart
The kitten in the photo is gorgeous and the price is good. The problem is everything that is not in the photo: the mother, the health tests, the weeks it spent with its litter. This is how to tell a responsible breeder from someone who breeds kittens to sell.
What Spanish law has said since 2023
In Spain, Law 7/2023 (the animal welfare law) changed the rules. Only breeders listed on the register of companion animal breeders may breed cats, and breeding by unregistered private individuals is banned. It also bans selling dogs, cats and ferrets in pet shops and displaying them for commercial purposes: they may only be sold by registered breeders. And cats that are not breeding animals belonging to a registered breeder must be neutered before six months. In practice, this makes the home-bred litter sold online illegal, and it gives you a very simple tool: ask for the breeder's registration number. If they do not have one or get uncomfortable, you know all you need to know. Elsewhere, check the rules where you live.
What a reputable breeder looks like
A responsible breeder breeds one or two breeds at most and has few litters a year. Their cats live in the house, not in cages in a garage. They let you see the mother with the kittens, and often the father, or at least his paperwork. They carry out the genetic and health tests relevant to the breed on their breeding cats and show you the results. They hand kittens over at twelve weeks or older, with a microchip, vaccines, worming, a pedigree, a sales contract and a vet record. And they ask you questions: how you live, whether you have other animals, whether the cat will go outside. They care where their kitten goes, and they usually ask you to let them know if one day you cannot keep it.
What a kitten mill looks like
It has many breeds at once, usually the fashionable ones: Scottish Fold, British, Ragdoll, Maine Coon, Bengal, Sphynx. There are always kittens available. It will not let you see the mother, or it shows you one that does not look as if she has ever raised a litter. It suggests meeting in a car park or sending you the kitten by courier to save you the trip. It hands over kittens at six or eight weeks. The papers are a pet passport with no pedigree, or a pedigree that will arrive later. There are no health tests on the parents, or you are told they are not needed because their cats are healthy. And they rush you: another family is interested, and if you do not reserve today, they will take it.
The health tests to ask for
They depend on the breed, and a good breeder knows which ones without being asked. In the Persian, the Exotic and related breeds, the genetic test for polycystic kidney disease. In the Maine Coon and the Ragdoll, the test for the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutation known for each breed and, better still, regular heart scans (echocardiograms) on the breeding cats, because the genetic test does not pick up every case. In the Bengal and the Abyssinian, the tests for the retinal diseases specific to the breed. In almost all breeds, knowing the blood group is useful. And in any cat, the FeLV and FIV tests. Ask for results showing the breeding cat's name or microchip number, not a vague “they're all tested”.
Why twelve weeks matters
Between three and twelve weeks, a kitten learns from its mother and littermates how to be a cat: to control its bite and claws in play, to handle frustration, to use the litter tray. A Finnish study of thousands of cats found that those weaned before eight weeks showed more aggression and more repetitive behaviours as adults, and that waiting beyond twelve weeks improved the results further still. The key period for getting it used to people is between two and seven weeks, so it also matters that it was handled kindly during that time. A breeder who hands kittens over at six weeks is saving themselves work, not doing you a favour.
Breeds that call for extra care when choosing
With some breeds, beyond the breeder, it pays to read up thoroughly before deciding. The Scottish Fold has folded ears because of a mutation that affects cartilage throughout the body and causes painful arthritis, even in young cats; several European veterinary associations have called for it not to be bred. Persians and Exotics with very flat faces often suffer from breathing, eye and dental problems. The short-legged Munchkin is still under debate. In Spain, Law 7/2023 bans selective breeding practices that cause serious health problems, although it does not publish a list of breeds. A reputable breeder of these breeds will tell you the risks without hiding them.
Online ads
Most kittens sold through second-hand classified ads do not come from registered breeders. The warning signs: a low price for an expensive breed, photos repeated across several ads, the same phone number for kittens of different breeds, no mention of the breeder's registration, pressure to hurry, and payment in advance or by bank transfer before you have seen the kitten. Some do not even have a kitten: it is a deposit scam that vanishes once you pay. If an ad convinces you, ask for the registration number, a video call with the mother and the kittens together, and go and see them in the home where they live. If any of that is not possible, walk away.
What you should be given when you take it home
A sales contract with the breeder's details and registration number, and the details of the kitten and its microchip. The pet passport or health record with the vaccines and worming done. The pedigree, if it was sold as a pedigree cat, or a written commitment to hand it over by a set date. The results of the parents' health tests. The transfer of the microchip to your name on the register for your region. And, with reputable breeders, a small bag of the food it is used to and a blanket that smells of its litter, which helps a great deal in the first few days.
The alternative almost nobody considers
If you want a cat of a particular breed, there are also rescues and associations that take in pedigree cats, and pedigree cats in general shelters, especially Persians, Siamese, British Shorthairs and Maine Coons. Many are adults, and they come with their history and a known character. And if what you are after is not a breed but a good cat, shelters have hundreds of ordinary cats waiting, healthy, tested and neutered, for €50 to €150 in Spain. Buying from a reputable breeder is a legitimate choice; buying from a kitten mill is paying for more uncontrolled litters, and rescues see the result every spring.
Ask for the breeder's registration number, to see the mother, the parents' health test results with their microchip numbers, and for the kitten not to leave before twelve weeks. If any of that is missing or you are being rushed, it is not a reputable breeder. And remember that in Spain the law bans pet shop sales and unregistered breeding.
Educational content from Michipedia, translated from the Spanish original. It does not replace the advice of a vet or a feline behaviour specialist. Every cat is an individual.