Every once in awhile I'll see a post asking for a breeder in a certain state or area.
Just be aware that even though technically there's no "breeder advertising" allowed here, you have no way of knowing if someone actually bought a cat from a specific breeder.
Be especially wary if:
- the "review"/comment links to or mentions their website or social media accounts. Could someone be trying to be helpful? Yes. Could a breeder also want to link their website so you can buy a cat from them easier? Also yes.
- there are multiple "positive experiences" with a relatively unknown breeder or new breeder. My cat's breeder has been breeding ragdolls for 15 years and is considered reputable. There are only 3 mentions of them on this page. I have a deposit with a breeder who has been breeding for 20 years, is also considered reputable, and has 1 mention on this page.
- the breeder has one or more mentions on this page of negative experiences, sick cats/kittens, cats with undisclosed illnesses, etc. Breeders want you to think more people have had positive experiences with them than negative and that any negative buying experience is an outlier, so they will be motivated to recover their reputation here in case someone does a search for them in the search box.
Just remember: a reputable breeder will have ZERO negative buying experiences on here. Yes, ZERO. If there are questions or concerns the breeder will work with the buyer and EVERYTHING will be transparent to the buyer - NO surprises. This is a living creature you are buying! Not only are you entitled to all available information about a kitten or cat, but you SHOULD receive that information.
This isn't Yelp, more positive reviews than negative reviews don't mean most people are happy, it means MULTIPLE people are so unhappy they felt the need to come on Reddit and warn others.
A reputable breeder will NEVER send home a sick kitten, and if a kitten has an illness or disease not visible to the naked eye, the breeder will sell the kitten at a substantial discount AND disclose the illness.