Do non-pedigree Birman cats cost less?
We have been contacted several times by private individuals looking for a puppy, asking us to buy without a pedigree, thinking that this would save them money. “I don’t need a pedigree anyway” is the most typical justification.
In our cattery, we have ethically decided not to sell any kitten without a pedigree, as it represents the buyer’s right, a document of recognition of the pure breed and never a subject of mere negotiation.
A pedigree costs the breeder 30 euros — so it is not what determines the price of the purebred cat you will buy. Anyone who tells you otherwise and convinces you that you can save large sums without a pedigree is acting in bad faith and deceiving you.
In fact, selling a kitten without a pedigree hides a number of advantages only for the gullible breeder:
- The pedigree is truly the cat’s identity card! A kitten given to you without a pedigree may be a cross between a purebred cat and a mixed breed, or a true mixed breed. It may be incestuous, which can cause diseases.
- Lowering the price of a kitten by denying the pedigree often hides situations of exploitation of the mother cat. When a breeder offers you to buy a cat without a pedigree, be aware that by adopting it, you may be contributing to the exploitation of a cat in her third, fourth, or fifth pregnancy in one year! And this is a practice that MUST be stopped because it endangers the health of the cats, as well as the newborns!