# Why are active cats so expensive compared to non-active?



## RaggieRags (Jan 31, 2019)

Hi,

I have posted on here a few times regarding breeding, I am looking for an active ragdoll queen and I am making enquiries with different breeders at the moment. 

I have found a breeder that I like, she is happy to mentor me and her females have all had healthy and successful litters. I am looking at a female GCCF kitten. The price on the advert was £850 for non-active, but the breeder said she would sell her to me on active for £2,000! So £850 for a neutered pet, and £2,000 if I wanted her to breed. I asked why there is such a difference between the non-active and active prices, if the cats best interests are at heart and you are looking for a good loving home, surely there shouldn't be such a price discrepancy. It just seems greedy. She said the average active ragdoll is between £1,500 and £2,000. I am happy to pay a lot of money for the perfect queen, but such a massive price hike for the same female seems extortionate. I can understand why people buy non-active/unregistered to breed with.

Could anyone explain the price discrepancy here? Is this normal practise?


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

I really don't know why there should be such a big difference in price. I have only ever paid a little more than the pet price. I suppose it could be seen as a sign of your commitment but there are no guarantees that any female will do well as a breeding queen.


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## Tigermoon (Apr 2, 2013)

RaggieRags said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have posted on here a few times regarding breeding, I am looking for an active ragdoll queen and I am making enquiries with different breeders at the moment.
> 
> ...


Not my breed but I will try to find out what the average price is for an active queen and update. The prices you've been quoted however do seem to be about right from what I've seen previously. A breeder is at liberty to charge whatever they choose and there are various reasons why one breeders cats may be huge in comparison to another. Success on the show bench, the background and lineage of the cats and how much the breeder themselves has invested into their cats will all have a baring. It is common for breeding cats to be more than pets and show/breeding cats may be significantly more. Again it really depends on the breeder ... and the breed.

UPDATE: So the price you've been quoted would be within the average range if the cats were of proven quality i.e. shown to a high level, from imported lines and fully genetically tested. That price is considered a touch high if the lines were UK only.


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## RaggieRags (Jan 31, 2019)

Thank you, I understand that, I am happy to pay up to £2000 for the right queen. 

My issue is, that for the SAME kitten non-active is £850 but for active is £2,000. It just seems like extortion. I could understand some price difference, but it’s £1,250 difference. I don’t understand why, other than to monopolise her bloodline and/or extort breeders wanting to do things the correct way. Her bloodlines are U.K. only also.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

RaggieRags said:


> Thank you, I understand that, I am happy to pay up to £2000 for the right queen.
> 
> My issue is, that for the SAME kitten non-active is £850 but for active is £2,000. It just seems like extortion. I could understand some price difference, but it's £1,250 difference. I don't understand why, other than to monopolise her bloodline and/or extort breeders wanting to do things the correct way. Her bloodlines are U.K. only also.


You could apply that argument (of extortion) to any cat sold active for more than a pet would be.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

I would expect to pay that price for a good show quality import, not a UK only cat.

To answer the question though, often there can be a large gap in price ranges because, if the breeder iasappropriately committed, that price reflects the likely years of effort and work she will put in to ensure your partnership is successful. She will mentor you on good breeding, where to find a stud, will open doord for you with other breeders, will give you birthing advice, may even birth your first litter with you, advise on new lines to bring in that would be good pairings for the one she has given you... The list goes on and on!

The price worries me though. £850 is on the upper end for a pet, and the active price is right on the top end. As I say, if she's had outstanding success on the show bench and has imported, that's different, but under those circumstances, I would suspect she would have a lot of interested parties, should a cat be of breed quality.

At this point, I would be asking a lot of questions re show success with the parents or grandparents of this cat, show success in general with her cattery, HCM scanning status as well as gene testing, etc etc. Hope I'm not teaching granny to suck eggs with this, but I appreciate it's often a minefield for a new breeder. I know my breed is different, but if thers's anything I can do to help, do just let me know.


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## RaggieRags (Jan 31, 2019)

That’s true, but I do think there’s a difference between a slight price increase (even double the price) and what she is charging. I can understand why many well meaning people end up buying non-active or unregistered to breed with. That kind of price increase is absurd in my opinion.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

I got my first one from a friend of a friend - the friend fitted me up! I've since brought Basil from someone who is now very much a friend, and Sadie from a friend.

One thing to look at is where you could take a queen to stud. I ended up taking my first girl from north of Edinburgh to just south of Preston first time (4:30 each way) - and doing the same trip to pick her up! Thankfully she got pregnant first time at stud, but she didn't for her second litter. Thankfully that was only 1:30 each way...


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Raggierags, it's easy to devalue the time when it's not yours... There's a lot to do when mentoring a new breeder, and as I say, perhaps an awful lot of cost which has gone into the showing, stud fees etc. Ultimately, if you're unhappy with the price then you should walk, but I don't think £1200 is a lot for 2, 3, 4 years of being on call around the clock.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

I would be more concerned over a stranger agreeing to mentor without knowing each other first.

Generally neuters are shown for a few years first, you get to know your breeder, whether you have the same goals and ethics, form a really comfortable friendship before diving into a more serious mentor relationship. 

Breeding cats have always been 2-4 times pet price where I live (boys higher than girls), stud fees at minimum pet price.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

SC, I agree in part. I just assumed they had built up a friendly relationship already. If I was considering active, I wouldn't necessarily require someone to show a neuter that they'd had for years, as sometimes, people just don't have the room for an extra cat. What I would require is for people to spend long hours working with me and my cats, ideally be present at a birth (cat permitting of course) to see how it's done, come to lots of shows with me and take on showing one of mine under my guidance, do show prep work with me, etc etc. So it amounts to the same thing I guees, other than the requirement to have a cat of the same breed in their house. It might take months or a year to get to that point with me, depending on how driven the person was, and then we'd start talking about active. I hasten to add that I haven't sold active so far, so this is all theoretical, but I've taken that journey with 2 lots of owners, both of whom pulled out due to the level of commitment.


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## kirksandallchins (Nov 3, 2007)

If the kitten didn't turn out to be breeding quality would you get a refund? It does seem to be a bit of a rip off.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

carly87 said:


> I just assumed they had built up a friendly relationship already


I had assumed otherwise as just a month ago in May breeding was something they posted about perhaps looking into sometime in the future.


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

kirksandallchins said:


> If the kitten didn't turn out to be breeding quality would you get a refund? It does seem to be a bit of a rip off.


No. People purchase cats and dogs for all kinds of reasons; they want a cuddly pet, a pet that adores their kids, for agility, guarding, obedience, a pal for an existing pet. Things don't always work out but you don't ask for a refund of their purchase price.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

SC, I hadn't realized that. Gosh, quite premature then.

I would offer a replacement kitten if one of mine that was sold was unable to breed, and believe that all breeders should do the same. I would expect to receive moneys if the original cat was petted out though.


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