Lets talk Registered/Unregistered Kittens

There is a lot of talk of registered/ unregistered kittens at the moment.

Food for thought… I would like to share my experience.

In January 2023 I paid £750 the Ragdoll and I paid £700 for the Bengal 5 years ago and drove a 360 mile road trip.

I extensively researched breed associated genetic disorders for each breed.

Bengals can suffer from PRA-b PK- Def, and HCM. Ragdolls, are affected primarily by HCM- which is a prevalence of 10-15% in the breed, but thankfully now, we are able to screen it out of the gene pool. Hopefully in years to come, they will successfully be bred out and no longer affect our beloved cats. All of which can lead to costly vet bills and heart ache.

It was important to me to minimize the risk of any of my cats suffering from any of the above genetic diseases.

My Ragdoll and Bengal. Both are registered with the GCCF.

By being registered this gave me the assurance that the parents of my cats, had been screened negative for the above genetic defects, which mean the risk of my cats suffering from associated illnesses would be reduced extremely low.

With both of my cats I got the following;

- 5 weeks free insurance
- 5 gen pedigree and registration form, so I was actually getting the breed I set out to get.
- I saw proof of parental health tests, but they cannot register their cats as active for breeding without parental tests, and therefore cannot register the kittens (which mine were)
- Both were micro chipped (£20)
- Both had multiple vet checks and were fully vaccinated (£80)
- Both were neutered prior to me collecting them (£100).
- I collected both at around 15 weeks. This meant the breeders had longer socialising them and the cost of feeding them.
- I had legally binding contracts issued for both, and if I ever couldn’t look after them they had to be returned to the registered breeder.
- I have life long support. I am still in regular contact with my Bengals breeder, despite me owning him now for 5 years.
- Both were licensed breeders, which meant I had even more grounds for recourse if something happened to be wrong with my cats.

For the price I paid of £700 and £750, and given all of the above I received, it was certainly a fair price for my cats. When I was looking for my Ragdoll back in 2023, I saw many people advertising unregistered Ragdolls for £400-£1000.

• No parental screening tests

• Most without both vaccinations

• No free insurance

• No registration slips or 5 gen pedigree

• No lifelong support

On the contrary, I also love moggies. I have been involved with charities for many years fostering.

Missy my moggy isn’t a pedigree, nor was she sold to me as that, so paper work is irrelevant. She is listed as a mixed breed domestic short hair. I paid £70 for her 6 years ago. She came spayed, fully vaccinated, and micro chipped.

Registration for me doesn’t make me love a cat any more. It gives me the reassurance I am getting the breed I am paying for. That parental genetic tests have been conducted, so the likelihood of my kitten suffering is minimal saving me money in vet fees and heart break. That I have some form of recourse with the GCCF and the council if something went wrong with my kitten- the breeder can be held accountable and fined. I have 5 weeks free insurance as peace of mine whilst I decide who to insure with. That the person who sold me the cat, has vast experience of the breed and can support me, should I need them.

I haven’t looked at the peices of paper that came with my pedigrees since the day I picked them up. I couldn’t even recall where I have filed them in the house. But it was the paper work that gave me the extra re assurance in the first place.

Missy, my moggy

Thank you for reading, I hope you find this useful.

Becky x