You just made me think there Angeli....I had a woman keep emailing me about the kitten I have left. She said she was really, really interested, then in the end said she'd seen another one that was £50 cheaper, I told her he was the price i'd said and I was'nt reducing it. Never heard from her again!!

Jane, there are very good Maine Coon breeders I know at shows whose kittens are much cheaper than £650 for a pet, 1 starts at £350 and her cats do very, very well at shows and her cats are lovely

Sorry, I am being the devil's advocate in this thread. I do know that there are kittens that can be bought between £300-£500 (pet to show to breeder).

To be fair to this £650 breeder, she actually holds to the american lines which means that her Maine Coons are far nearer the original. Whether that commands a premium is up to the buyer.

What I am saying is that, as a buyer looking for a kitten, I found it hard to know what the price truly was for a pedigree cat. Yes, I agree that the price should not be the first consideration, that the look the breeder is trying for should be and maybe their success (or otherwise?) in cat shows.

But, I put it to you, it's easy for you (as breeders/fans) to find out the average price of 'name breed here' kitten. It is not so easy for Jo Public, unless they email asking the price.

The MC cat clubs say you should 'shop around'. That is easier said than done if a buyer emailing asking price is immediately rejected by hobby breeders because 'they are not intersted in the cat'.

Yes a high price doesn't mean the cat is better quality.

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Exactly Angeli.

I understand what you're saying Jane, I am more than happy for anyone to ask the price of my kittens. I like to know more about people who are would be owners of my kittens, which most breeders would I think. Another thing is you can always visit some cats shows, if there are any near you. Lots of breeders would be willing to chat to you.

It is easy for me now, yes, but I was once in your position and did the emailing and show visiting.

So did I when I started breeding Selks, went to shows, got to know the good names of breeders and type of cats they sold. Experience counts for a lot. I made a few mistakes in my rush to buy in my breeding cats and then learnt some sense and started only to buy in quality lines. C.x.

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So did I when I started breeding Selks, went to shows, got to know the good names of breeders and type of cats they sold. Experience counts for a lot. I made a few mistakes in my rush to buy in my breeding cats and then learnt some sense and started only to buy in quality lines. C.x.

I've made a few mistakes too Chrissy, or was sucked in, being a newbie at the time, would be more like it. This woman seemed a sweet old lady, .....boy was I wrong, it turned out she'd been the same for years, sucking in vunerable new people and selling them crapmad: Thank god for the friends I did make eventually and got back on the right track, never looked back since

Sounds similar to what happened to me in the early days Selks. Now as for selling kittens..............say I had gone to the expense of importing new lines that nobody else had, in those circumstances I may charge more for a kitten, but those type of kittens would probably be going to another breeder anyway, not a pet home. Not that I have imported yet, but it is something I am looking into for the future

I can only speak for myself. I don't display kitten prices because I don't know the exact price before they're born and they've "matured" some. I can't even tell if the "standard pet price" will be the same as the previous litter since I roughly breed one litter a year and cat breeding seems to get more and more expensive for each year that passes by and yes, the price of the kittens will depend on the costs.

I'm not saying a kitten born through a c-section would be more expensive than one born naturally without any problems. I'm talking about basic expenses (vaccinations, microchipping, food etc.). Basic things that at least her in Sweden only get more and more expensive.

I guess I could display a "rough" price stating that a kitten will cost somewhere between X and Y SEK but in the end, people are interested in knowing exactly what the kitten they're interested in will cost and in order to get that information they still have to call me or send me an e-mail.