Kittens and Cats for Sale: Consider Adopting Instead of Buying Your Cat

Buying kittens for sale and cats for sale can be an expensive proposition. Owners who buy cats or buy kittens could spend hundreds of dollars or more, especially if their new pet hasn’t received full initial veterinary care and spaying/neutering. Also, if the person offering cats to buy or trying to tempt you with kittens or baby cats for sale hasn’t properly cared for them, you could end up spending much more to nurse an ailing pet.

What You Should Know About Cats for Sale

Thinking about a pet store as a place to buy a cat or find a kitten? Please, think again.

The puppies and kittens sold in pet stores often come from breeding facilities where the animals are kept in substandard conditions. Therefore, buying a kitten from a pet store not only carries the risk of bringing home a pet with health issues; it also supports breeding facilities that are harmful to the health of cats and kittens.

Cat Breeders

There are reputable cat breeders who care not only about their cats and breed program, but also the homes into which their cats are placed. If you are interested in a specific cat breed, this can be an option, but it is often an expensive one.

Be wary of home breeders, however, or people selling kittens through classified ads or on cat selling websites. Just because they are breeding cats does not mean that they follow breed standards or ethical guidelines. Also, think twice about any seller who allows people to buy cats online without meeting them or screening them.

To find a quality breeder, check with your veterinarian or a local breed rescue club. Or better yet, ask if they have any cats of your chosen breed who are in need of a good home.  

Adopt Instead of Buying

If you’re thinking about whether to adopt or buy a kitten or cat, think adoption first!

Instead of searching for where to buy cats or where to get a kitten, start with Petfinder—a resource that gives you access to more than 100,000 lovable, adoptable cats and kittens from 11,000 animal shelters and rescue organizations who are waiting for forever homes. When you search for cats on Petfinder.com, you can filter your results by:  

1. City, state or zip 
2. Breed 
3. Age 
4. Gender 
5. Recently added 
6. Appearance 
7. Health and behavior 
8. Shelter or rescue group name

You can find lovable, healthy cats or kittens for sale that you’ve searched for online at your nearest animal shelter or rescue group. Also, unlike the cost of buying a purebred kitten or cat, the cost of kitten adoption or cat adoption is much less expensive. Plus, the adoption fee usually covers basic veterinary care, including vaccinations and spaying/neutering, which can greatly reduce the cost of caring for a cat.

If you’re thinking about finding a “cat for sale near me” or a “kitten for sale near me,” adoption is a better option. To find adoptable pets near you, start a search for cats and kittens.

Benefits of Adopting a Kitten or Cat  

By adopting an adult cat or kitten from a shelter or rescue organization, you’ll discover benefits beyond your wonderful new feline friend. For example: 

• By adopting, you’ll be able to save a kitten’s life or a cat’s life and have the emotional satisfaction of knowing you made that second chance at life possible. 
• When you bring your new pet home, you make room for the shelter or rescue group to take in another homeless pet. So, you help save another life.  
• Because shelter pets usually aren’t purebred, the breed mixes and characteristics make each cat or kitten from a shelter or rescue group uniquely wonderful.  
• When you welcome an adopted cat or kitten into your family, you’ll enjoy the reward of watching them grow, thrive and become the happy companion they were meant to be.

Cost of Adoption

Any cat parent will tell you how priceless these small, furry family members are, from their entertaining, acrobatic prowess to their instant purring appreciation for your love and attention. While no one can put a price on the endless hours of enjoyment you’ll have with your adopted kitty, an adoption fee does help to cover the expenses of sheltering and veterinary care for the pets in an adoption organization. 

To ensure the important work continues by pet welfare professionals, most pet shelters and rescue groups will require a minimal adoption fee when you adopt a cat. In some instances, an adoption organization may waive a fee to place cats and kittens in healthy, safe and loving homes, and the benefits of adopting don’t end there.

Animal welfare groups often provide the cats in their organization initial medical care such as spay/neuter, age-appropriate vaccinations, microchipping and a wellness check. These important health checks are covered in the adoption fee, which could range from being waived to a couple hundred dollars. It is always a good idea to confirm fees beforehand, as they can vary from one adoption organization to another.

To help a cat or kitten get off to a healthy and happy start in their new home, the following medical care is often included in a typical adoption fee. This care not only gives adopters peace of mind about their new pets’ health, it also ensures the well-being of adopted cats and kittens as they join their new families.

Adopt a Cat or Buy a Kitten?

If you’re considering whether to buy a purebred kitten or adopt an adult cat, ask any adopter who has welcomed an adult cat into their home. They will tell you that the satisfaction and joy of watching a cat learn to accept the love of a new family and share their personality as they learn to trust their new home will warm your heart even more than watching the cutest kitten at play.  

How to Find Your Perfect Cat Match

If there’s an adoptable kitty photograph that hasn’t already grabbed your attention, then reading about their personality will surely end your search for any cute baby kitten for sale or cats for sale anywhere else you’ve visited. Keep in mind though that not every cat is a match for you or your family. Ensuring that your new four-legged feline can spend their days in a comfortable and happy home should be a priority. Some things to consider on your cat adoption checklist should be: 

1. How will established pets feel about having a new cat or kitten at home? 
2. Are you able to dedicate the time needed to care for a cat, considering social and work schedules? 
3. Have you considered whether any family members will have health or allergy concerns around cats? 
4. What cat breed is best suited to your personality—high energy, playful, or laid-back? 

Start Your Search Here

When it comes to adopting a cat or adopting a kitten, there is no better place to begin than a search on Petfinder.com, where you’ll never find cats and kittens for sale but rather adoptable, potential family members ready to join your home and share your lives. To find adoptable pets near you, start a search for cats and kittens.

Learn more about finding a kitten or cat to adopt with Petfinder.