Pure Bred Cats

nag

Does anyone know where would be a good place to start looking for pure bred cats? Should I be looking out for ads in the paper? Is there some Irish cat breeding website? Is there some kind of Irish cat association I could contact that would help me? Or do people source breeders just by word of mouth?

I'm not getting a cat right now but I will definitely be getting one sometime in the future (maybe in a year or two, maybe even longer, it depends). I just want to get informed for now.

hadook

Siamese and All Breeds Cat Club of Ireland

Governing Council for the Cat Fancy of Ireland

Before making up your mind visit some shows & talk to some breeders - the world of pedigree cat breeders is a mad one and they'll be happy to chat to you to help you find the best cat for your household.

Hazel
-owned by 7 moggies and 1 daft Devon Rex.

nag

Oh yeah, cat shows. Forgot about those. I see sabcci.com have some shows listed but are they the only ones happening around the country?

deman

Actually, here in Finland, pure bred cats are quite a big thing. You would expect to pay around €600 for kitten. Most "breeders" have their home pages showing their cats and kittens...

http://www.turok.fi/Turok_links.html

hadook

nag wrote: »

Oh yeah, cat shows. Forgot about those. I see sabcci.com have some shows listed but are they the only ones happening around the country?

As far as I know they are but I'm not heavily involved. They're a friendly bunch of people so it'd be worth asking if they know of anything else.

Morganna

its something you dont see much of here in the west in fact ive never seen any advertised

Themadhouse

There are only 4 shows in Ireland and 3 in Northern Ireland.
One in Limerick, one in Cork and 2 in Dublin. The Northern ones are located in around Belfast. If there is a particular breed you are interested in, it's worth while to see if that breed will be represented at one of the shows. Most breeders and exhibitors are happy to chat away and give advice!
What type of cat are you thinking of?

nag

Well from just looking at pictures (I haven't done any reading yet as I'm not in any rush), I like the look of Siberians, Norwegian Forest Cats and Maine Coons.

luckat

Don't buy them from the paper - there are lots of kitten and puppy mills that produce animals under cruel conditions, keeping breeding mothers pregnant to produce litter after litter.

These kittens and puppies are often big problems, because they aren't brought up by their mother and socialised properly, so they don't get that vital early training in social behaviour.

nag

Good point luckat. I will certainly be doing my homework when the time does come.

deman

nag wrote: »

Well from just looking at pictures (I haven't done any reading yet as I'm not in any rush), I like the look of Siberians, Norwegian Forest Cats and Maine Coons.

Good choice. NF and MC (the American cousin) cats can grow to be really huge. Our cat is half breed NFC but didn't get the full NFC size. Great temperment though and also very smart.

Themadhouse

All 3 are beautiful cats. You will see MCs and NFCs at any of the shows along with a breeder or two.
These cats can grow huge, they are the biggest domestic breed of cat.
Look into thier personality as it is important that you get a cat to suit your household.
Coons are gorgeous, they are a lot like dogs. They will follow you around, they love attention, playing in water, being in the way when you are trying to do something! The red coons however can be a wee bit short of a sandwich!
It is important to research thoroughly espec look into you options for breeders.