We get a lot of calls from people asking for breeding girls, or advising they have a girl and would like "just one litter" Also advising that they wont be registered as its only for themselves and family.

Here is some advice, it is not as simple as putting a boy and girl together and getting fluffy babies. It is not all sunshine and lollipops or rainbows.

Some people have bought cats as pets and gone against the breeders contract and bred from their girl.

If a cat is registered non active, that means they are not for breeding and no babies from that cat can be registered, sometimes they are sold as pets as they are not suitable for breeding, either a fault or not big enough, also a breeding cat is a lot more expensive than a pet another £400-£600 more expensive.

Cats sold as unregistered on sites such as Pets4Homes can potentially be trouble.

If they are not registered with no paperwork there is a chance that the parents were bought as pets or not registered. This could also mean no health checks such as HCM or even vaccinations.

Breeding is very expensive. SO let me just give you an insight into doing it the right way

Breeding girl from an ethical registered breeder who is a member of a breed club such as TBRCC. (You dont want to buy from someone who sells every cat for breeding)

Also keeping in mind that all registered active cats now have to be tested clear for HCM and micro-chipped before the GCCF will allow active registration.

£750-£1000

Applying for a prefix. Joining a breed club and doing seminars £145.00

Stud fee to a registered active, fully tested HCM, FELV/FIV clear stud £400-600

Suitable kittening pen £150-£300

The cost of raising your queen to adult hood, on a decent diet up to the time she is ready to become a mommy, approx £1500 including a good insurance which if included breeding risk is £28.00 a month.

Travelling to and from stud - anywhere from £50-£100

Snap test before stud £50.00-100.00

Just in case equipment such as bottles and milk £55.00

Nice fluffy towels for the birthing pen and babies £60.00

so we are up to approx £3800 and this is before you even have babies!

What if she needs a C Section £1200.00 plus. If its the middle of the night or weekend £2000.00

Mommy then has babies, just for example say 6.

When they start eating, dependent on food. Just say as it should be you choose a decent food. Average cost £6.00 a day to feed just the babies, plus another £4.00-£5.00 to feed mom, as remember all through pregnancy and while she has the babies, she needs to be on a very good quality food and she will eat a lot, If you do not feed her properly, she will not feed babies properly.

What if she does not feed babies, be prepared for 4-6 weeks of being up every two hours 24 hours a day hand rearing, forget your life, forget sleep, those babies are now your life.

All goes really well and its vaccination time.

6 X £80 -£120 (prices vary depending on where you live)

6 X Microchip £25

SO for vaccinations and chip at the top end of the scale you are talking £570.00.

If you decide to early neuter, you can be looking at £100 for girls and £70 for boys.

If kittens catch a bug or become get tummy upsets through weaning more vet bills.

So even if everything goes okay without C section etc, your looking at £5000-£6000 for your first litter. Remember, you have these babies for 14 weeks, they are YOUR responsibility. They rely on you to do the right thing, they rely on you to make sure that they are happy, healthy, confident babies who have been given the absolute best start in life.

We also deliver our babies to new homes and absorb this cost, this can cost anywhere upward of £300.00

Breeding is very expensive, it is hard work, it is very time consuming and can be absolutely soul destroying.

Please don't think its all rainbows and lollipops and you will make money, as i absolutely assure you, that you will not.

As above costs from your babies you will have from the sales around £3450.00, so you will already be down by 1500.00 maybe more.

Here at Karamearags, we are absolutely dedicated to our breeding. We ensure all of our lines are the best and are very lucky to have lines that not many other people have. We are committed to preserving the type and standard of our amazing breed.

We are also totally committed to producing the healthiest and best babies we can and raising them to the very best of our ability, putting our hearts and souls in to this 1000% of the time.

Anyone who comes to our home comments on how well provided for our cats are, but more importantly they can see what we put into our cats and how much they mean to us.

If you want to breed for money, you need to find another pastime. If your breeding from a pet because your friends sisters cousin wants a cat, your doing it for the wrong reasons and are actually breaking a legal agreement.

If your not doing it with the cats in mind and their health and welfare put first................. you should not even be thinking of doing it.

 

Alison x