Buying a Purebred Cat

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015


So, you want a cat? You decide you want a "purebred" what does that mean? Isn't that the same as "registered"? Cat breeders tend to seem like they speak their own language, like "purebred", "registered" "show flyers", "qualities", and "pedigrees". Wait....what?

I get countless comments and emails about people wanting to know what a "purebred" cat is. I personally prefer purebred over mixed bred in both cats and dogs, this isn't to say that I don't like mixed breeds, as I have both Star and Saphira.



Understanding What "Registered" Means:

When breeders or people say "registered" they generally mean that (if they're using it the correct way) that the cat is registered in one or more of the many cat associations, like TICA (The International Cat Association), or CFA (Cat Fanciers Association), CFA and TICA are the two biggest cat registries in the world. There is also UFO (United Feline Organization), ACFA (American Cat Fanciers Association), and a few others. When you register a purebred cat in one of these many associations, you will receive a Blue Registration Slip, this is filled out generally by the breeder, then he or she sends it in to the chosen association (if the parents are, say registered in TICA, then 99% of the time the kittens will also be registered in TICA, some associations will not allow you to transfer to another association, say like CFA, both TICA and CFA allow transferring.), it is the breeder's responsibility to fill out the color, sex, pattern, quality (I will get to qualities later in this post), and eye color, also LH (longhair) or SH (shorthair), and STD (and no, this doesn't stand for what you think it is, it stands for standard, as fitting the breed standard..), and SBT (stud book tradition or stud book traditional, same thing). So "registered" pretty much means the cat is with whatever association you've chosen.





So....What Does Purebred Mean?

When people say "purebred" they mean the cat has at least 3 generations of the same type of cat or breed. So, for example, if the cat's parents are both Ragdolls, and their parents are Ragdolls, and their parents are Ragdolls, then it is a Ragdoll. Therefore you have a purebred Ragdoll, or whatever breed you own.




What About a Pedigree?

A pedigree is a detailed family tree of your cat's relatives. You can have a 3 generation pedigree or a 5 generation pedigree, 5ths are more money. I was able to trace Nico and Anya's father's pedigree back 10 generations, same for Renato's father. You can do this via Pawpeds, but it is not always correct, and either the mother or the father must have their 3-5 generation sent to Pawpeds via mail or online. Even though Renato's father, Sonny isn't my cat, I still added his pedigree, so I could view Renato's linage. A pedigree is a must have for any breeder's cats, and would still be good to have even for a pet owner, I am working on getting my cats's pedigrees.




What Are The Qualities?

Quality, every purebred cat has one. Anya is show quality, it means she is as close to the written breed standard as possible, near perfect markings, eye color, coat, bone, etc. Nico was show quality too. Show quality means that the cat can be shown, but cannot be breed. Renato was pet quality, he was less than perfectly marked, and due to his mismarkings, he could not be shown nor breed. Pet quality is the cheapest, they make wonderful pets, and have the same temperament as it's breed. Show quality has perfect or near perfect markings, they make perfect pets and show cats, they do tend to be a little more money than pet quality. Breeder quality, they can be breed but not shown, they have okay markings, and are good for breeding, but showing is not for them, they tend to be a little higher in price than show quality. And at last, is show\breeder quality, they are the most expensive, they are perfectly marked, and great for breeding and showing, you want these in your breeding program.







What's a Show Flyer?

Show flyers, a flyer used to get around the show halls, not needed, but can be purchased for a low fee. Helps you know where you're at, where you're going, etc. Kinda like a map.

My beautiful babies.











Ragdoll Mommy~