Finding a retired Queen?

[chellen2]

I have gone back and forth with this and it was my intention to never get a purebred cat BUT my experiences over the past few months with trying to find a cat from a rescue or shelter have been frustrating, to say the least.
I am now, strongly considering getting a purebred cat. I was wondering if finding a retired breeding cat might be an option. However, I have a dog and other cats, so I don't know how easily an adult would adjust. Would I be better off with a kitten? Then, my question is, would I have to adopt 2 kittens together?

My other question is, do reputable breeders ever sell cats that they are no longer breeding?

 

[GoldyCat]

Yes, breeders do sometimes sell retired cats, after they're spayed or neutered. They would also be able to tell you the personality and whether they get along with dogs or other animals.

Do you have a specific breed in mind? Check out CFA or TICA shows in your area. You can talk to different breeders about their cats and make contacts for when you (and they) are ready to adopt a retired queen.

 

[chellen2]

Yes, breeders do sometimes sell retired cats, after they're spayed or neutered. They would also be able to tell you the personality and whether they get along with dogs or other animals.

Do you have a specific breed in mind? Check out CFA or TICA shows in your area. You can talk to different breeders about their cats and make contacts for when you (and they) are ready to adopt a retired queen.

I was thinking about a Himalayan/Persian or Siberian.

 

[chellen2]

Yes, breeders do sometimes sell retired cats, after they're spayed or neutered. They would also be able to tell you the personality and whether they get along with dogs or other animals.

Do you have a specific breed in mind? Check out CFA or TICA shows in your area. You can talk to different breeders about their cats and make contacts for when you (and they) are ready to adopt a retired queen.

Not to sound ignorant but I didn't realize that there were cat shows. I'm familiar with dog shows.

 

[epona]

Not to sound ignorant but I didn't realize that there were cat shows. I'm familiar with dog shows.

Oh definitely start going to cat shows in your area, you can get to look at a load of cats which is always a good thing, and you can get to know some breeders too, if you like cats you'll probably really enjoy the experience.

I had an ex-stud (sadly he passed away last week, he was an old man and had a great life, I'm very sad of course but it was nothing tragic) - I ended up with him because I knew the breeder, I'd adopted a kitten from her previously and been good about keeping in touch so when she wanted to rehome an adult, she thought of me. But going to cat shows is also a good way to get to meet people.

Good luck, having a retired breeding cat can be a wonderful experience if you prefer to have a slightly older cat (although they are still usually relatively young) rather than a kitten.

 

[GoldyCat]

Not to sound ignorant but I didn't realize that there were cat shows. I'm familiar with dog shows.

Where are you located?
You can find a list of CFA shows or TICA shows on their websites.
I've never shown in TICA, but I can tell you more about the CFA shows if you're interested.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Years ago we adopted a retired Birman queen. She was one of the most loving cats we have ever had. Good move. Please do!

 

[chellen2]

Where are you located?
You can find a list of CFA shows or TICA shows on their websites.
I've never shown in TICA, but I can tell you more about the CFA shows if you're interested.

Yes, please. I don't know much about cat shows at all.

 

[chellen2]

Not being familiar with cat shows, can somebody tell me if the shows with Steve Meserve are real cat shows? Are they well attended by breeders? I'm asking because there is one coming up in my area but I didn't know if I should buy tickets.

 

[Meowmee]

I have gone back and forth with this and it was my intention to never get a purebred cat BUT my experiences over the past few months with trying to find a cat from a rescue or shelter have been frustrating, to say the least.
I am now, strongly considering getting a purebred cat. I was wondering if finding a retired breeding cat might be an option. However, I have a dog and other cats, so I don't know how easily an adult would adjust. Would I be better off with a kitten? Then, my question is, would I have to adopt 2 kittens together?

My other question is, do reputable breeders ever sell cats that they are no longer breeding?

I think that is a great idea. Breeders do sell former breeding cats. As people said you can get to know them first at shows if you can. They are usually fussy about who they will rehome a cat with. When I got Quinn, pb siamese, he was a kitten, I could not find any rescue kittens near me who were siamese. I thought a kitten would be better for Sybil, but he was the wrong temperament. It didn't occur to me then to ask if she had any older cats, but she did not have any then to sell. She had suggested getting two kittens because they will do better but I only could handle one then. But it probably would have been better for Sybil because they would have left her alone more and played with each other.

Quinn's breeder also bred some Chihuahuas and wondered if I wanted a dog too, lol. I would have taken one eventually but my father did not want one then although he had talked about it. Her focus was the cats and she had been breeding classic siamese for over 50 years then. She had two older chihuahuas who had been returned then who I met. One thing I liked about her other than her long experience was she refuses to ship any cats or dogs. You have to pick them up in person.

I did not go to any shows though, I found her website online and she lived close to me so I visited and met the cats before Quinn was even born. I picked him from a pic eventually after putting a deposit down and had said I want a seal or blue kitten prolly, but any point would have been ok with me.

Quinn is my only pb cat and I got him because I thought he could be trained as a diabetic alert cat. But he is such a nutcase he is too strong willed to be trained for something like that. All my other cats have come from shelters or from outside, most I rescued myself from outside so you can try that too.

Siberians are great, amazing cats. Zena looks like one, but he is a dlh dumped kitty who I rescued two years ago from outside. He is a sweetheart. He was very scared and a bit fear aggressive at first, because unfortunately it took me 2 years to get him inside from the time he was dumped. He is laying right next to me now and Quinn is beside him. They are bff now and love to wrestle.

 

[epona]

Quinn is my only pb cat and I got him because I thought he could be trained as a diabetic alert cat. But he is such a nutcase he is too strong willed to be trained for something like that.

This rings so true - not that I needed an alert cat, but I've now had total of 4 Siamese/OSH type cats (and a CRex/Siamese/DLH mix - known parentage), and yes they are very intelligent - but they are all also without exception a bit bonkers, quirky, eccentric, very strong-willed, and just a little self-centred. Which is why we love them so

 

[Meowmee]

This rings so true - not that I needed an alert cat, but I've now had total of 4 Siamese/OSH type cats (and a CRex/Siamese/DLH mix - known parentage), and yes they are very intelligent - but they are all also without exception a bit bonkers, quirky, eccentric, very strong-willed, and just a little self-centred. Which is why we love them so

Definitely I love him more because he is so smart and also such a strong willed guy, and a bad boy , he is also very sweet and loving. They are like the border collie of cats imo. He understands words and sentences. I am sure there has to be a way to train him, I just have to figure it out. I trained him to fetch, but it took a few months after I showed him for him to do it. Wizard who was part siamese was always next to me when my bg was low so that is why I thought a pb siamese would be trainable. I never tried to train Wizard though.