How much for a birman kitten

For all your feline miscellany - any interesting stories, news or subjects that do not fit in the other sections.
Post Reply
Charlo86
New Cat Chatter
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:43 am

How much for a birman kitten

Post by Charlo86 »

Hi guys, just wanted to see if there was an average price for a gccf registered birman kitten. I know it can vary but is there a price that's too high ?
User avatar
Ruth B
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 1998
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
No. of cats in household: 3
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: How much for a birman kitten

Post by Ruth B »

I'm not sure anyone here can give you an answer, many of us have rescue cats instead of pedigrees. However while not a Birman, I have been considering trying to get another Ragdoll, when my old lady finally heads over the bridge (she has given us a few scares and I've checked prices a few times), we did have a rescue Ragdoll before and I would love another when I can.

So some of my thoughts have been I would rather pay a premium to get a registered cat rather than get one that is half the price but comes with no pedigree paperwork. This has nothing to do with showing as all I would be after is a pet cat, but in my mind it is the one way thing i can really do to make sure the cat is from a good breeder not a back yard breeder that turns out kittens almost factory style and with little concern for the mother cats welfare. I know there are many people who breed and sell unregistered kittens that are perfectly well loved and looked after, but I know I can be taken in by a scam and the best scammers are very accomplished at fooling you, going to a breeder that is either TICA or GCCF registered is about the only way I feel i can avoid being fooled and giving money to that type of despicable person. From what I have seen prices for a pet standard Ragdoll range from £800 to £1000, show quality ones really don't have a limit. While I can't say for Birmans, I wouldn't be surprised if there price was similar, or higher. The other thing I will mention is that the Covid crisis has put the price of pets up astronomically, dogs I think more than cats, but prices for both have gone up as people were trapped in their homes and wanted company, the question now is what will happen to all those pets once people start going back to work, and what will happen to prices in general as there may be a bit of a glut of unwanted cat and dogs, both pedigree and non pedigree.
booktigger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2664
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:36 pm
No. of cats in household: 3

Re: How much for a birman kitten

Post by booktigger »

Have you looked at pedigree rescues Ruth? You may find some have papers, so you know they have a reputable background.
User avatar
Ruth B
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 1998
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
No. of cats in household: 3
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: How much for a birman kitten

Post by Ruth B »

I certainly will when the time comes, i just know that pedigree rescues are rarer, so I'm accepted that if I want a Ragdoll I may have to pay for one, but rescues will be the first stop. However its been over 5 years since we got the juniors and I wasn't sure how much longer Tiggy would be with us then, she has given us several scares. but keeps pulling through, so while i may look occasionally, nothing will be done until her time really is up and we have said good bye to her. Maybe she will pull through this latest scare again and any chance of getting a new Ragdoll will be gone again, I just know that with my age and my family's history, if i don't get one when she does pass on, i probably never will, I need to believe I will have 20 years or so left to think about getting a kitten, morbid I know, but the older I get the more chance any kitten will out live me, better at that point to think about older rescue cats that will always have somewhere to return to should i go before they do. I'm also not entirely set on a Ragdoll, I would happily have a Birman, a Maincoon or a Norwegian Forest, I basically just want something fluffy again.
User avatar
Mollycat
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2705
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:58 am
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: UK

Re: How much for a birman kitten

Post by Mollycat »

Not much help to the OP and agree perhaps this rescue-orientated forum isn't the best place for the pedigree kitten question. A quick internet search suggests around £1500 or £800 for a crossbreed - jaw dropping.

Ruth, without going through pedigree rescues, you should be able to get a retired breeding cat direct from its last breeder-owner for a snip, possibly literally. That was my Boo, anyway, I don't know if this is the standard but she said normally 8 years old for boys and younger for the girls, possibly 5 from memory.
booktigger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2664
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:36 pm
No. of cats in household: 3

Re: How much for a birman kitten

Post by booktigger »

Sadly, pedigree rescues aren't necessarily rarer, I used a couple while I was fostering, and the one who took the Manx for us actually dealt with more cats in a year than we did. Fluffy cats were the majority, as so many people didn't realise the upkeep they require.
User avatar
Ruth B
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 1998
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
No. of cats in household: 3
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: How much for a birman kitten

Post by Ruth B »

I certainly hadn't planned on taking over this thread when i mentioned I would be looking for one at some point in the future. Up to now we have always just had two cats and normally when we loose one the remaining cat seems to miss them a lot, this time as we currently have the three I know it is also my best chance to find a fluffy cat as the pressure will be off and i can take my time to contact breeders and rescues and to find the right cat. I'm certainly not set on a kitten, in fact if I could find an adult cat i would prefer it, about my only concern would be an ex stud trying to mount Freyja, even after they have been snipped I have heard of ones that have been so programmed to mount any female cat they meet they carry on doing so.

As for rescue pedigrees, i know they do end up needing rehoming and would be happy to take one, if the right cat appeared at the right time. When my Mother help with a charity they had 3 pedigrees through their doors and it was only a small charity, the first was a California Spangled Cat, none at the rescue had ever heard of one, and as it looked like a nice tabby cat, it was rehomed as one, no mention made of its pedigree. Blue was the second, and looked like a pedigree, he was handed in between Christmas and New Year and they were trying to work out how best to rehome him with out someone just getting a cheap pedigree cat, then Katie died and I need a new cat quickly as Patch was distraught, problem solved. With a bit of experience behind them, when a Siamese came in they knew of the specialist charities and contacted a Siamese Rescue that agreed to take it and find it a home.
User avatar
Mollycat
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 2705
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:58 am
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: UK

Re: How much for a birman kitten

Post by Mollycat »

Boo my 8 year old retired stud certainly never did, he was a very gentle soul who only wanted company, cuddles and mutual grooming. He continued spraying after neutering and while he was still surrounded by active breeding girls, but never once attempted it at my house. Henry, also late neutered at 3 years old or so, never made any attempt before or after on Sarah but was also lovingly devoted to her and also never sprayed. Some of it is luck and personality, I guess.
User avatar
Ruth B
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 1998
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
No. of cats in household: 3
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: How much for a birman kitten

Post by Ruth B »

Some of it is no doubt luck and personality, but I'm also sure that some of it comes down to the life they lived before.

While a different animal entirely, I have known a couple of stallions who had entirely different views on life. One was what people imagine a stallion to be like, aggressively bolshy both to humans and other horses, I always used to carry a schooling whip when i was handling him. He had always been kept either stabled or often in a paddock by himself. I had a horse on loan at a stables and when the owner bought him she did turn him out with her hunter and the horse i had, the hunter was 17 hands, the one i had was 15 hands and a Clydedale cross, and the stallion was about 13 hands, but he still tried to boss them around, fortunately they were both big enough and old enough not to be overly bothered by his posturing, and the field was big enough that they could get away easily. The other was a real gentleman, he had spent most of his life out with his herd of mares, and while he had been handled, he had never learnt to be saddled or to take a rider (I dont' particularly like the more common term of being broken to saddle). So while I'm sure personality did come into it, i also think that being allowed to live a more natural life also made a difference and probably that his hormone level was more balanced.

I know cats are very different to horses, and a male cat wants to go and find as many females in heat as they can, but if they are kept in such a way that the only time they meet a female they are expected to mount her and then possibly rewarded and put back in a pen, can you blame one for trying to mount any female cat, spayed or not the moment they meet them. As always it is bad breeders, not a bad cat, in my opinion, but the wellbeing of my resident cats has to come first, and i have heard of a Mainecoon that was handed in to a charity that had to be kept by himself after being neutered and homed as an only cat as he would insist on trying to mount every female cat in the shelter if he got close.
Post Reply