Give a cat a home by adopting or buying one.

Cats instinctively seek a home: buying a cat is easy, adopting a cat is easier.

Cat breeds, cat breeders

Cat breeders usually concentrate on one breed, often an exotic one. They tend to be specialists. Look at their sites before you decide. You may have started off with the intention of buying, say, a Persian, and then decide for a Bengal or Siamese, after all. Remember that cats vary in size, too. Don’t expect a cute miniature if you have bought an American Savannah kitten: friendly and loving as these are, they are going to get big!

Private sellers. Why a fee or a deposit ?

Private sellers should also be considered. Their cat may have had a litter and it is reasonable for them to expect a certain sum of money as earnest of your good intentions. Why? Certain laboratories still experiment on cats for medical and even for cosmetic purposes. There is also a trade in cat skins. Decent people want to avoid handing over animals to these gruesome folk.

Adopting a cat

But, of course, unless you want a pure-bred, or pedigreed cat, you don’t have to buy one. Go along to a local cats’ home and have a look. The home may also expect a deposit to discourage the kind of types mentioned above. Unlike dogs, who will run to the fence when you arrive with that ”take me!” look in their faces, cats tend to be more reserved, and the cat you may later learn to love could well be hiding right at the back and ignoring everything going on around him. Look closely. And, when you have made your choice, remember to greet your new friend by rubbing your face gently against his cheek.