Ethical Breeding
There is a lot of misinformation out there, especially with the rise of the “adopt, don’t shop” movement. This movement started as a campaign to raise awareness for the millions of animals who are in overcrowded shelters, and who have behavioral challenges .While the intention was good — protecting animals from puppy mills and irresponsible breeders — and bringing attention to overflowing shelters, somewhere along the way the message became absolute. People who chose ethical breeders were suddenly shamed, as if they were part of the problem.
Responsible breeders are not the problem. They are a crucial part of the solution. The adopt don’t shop movement was intended to push back on puppy mills and BYB. It was never intended to push back on Ethical breeders.
Ethical breeding demonstrates:
- Full health screening for hereditary conditions
- Breeding for temperament, stability, and predictability
- Parents raised as family pets, not caged inventory
- Kittens raised in the home with real socialization
- Limited litters and early retirement for breeding animals
- Lifetime support and willingness to take back any cat, any time
- Careful screening of buyers and intentional placement
- No contribution to shelter overload
What Ethical Breeding Means
We are not backyard breeders, and we are absolutely not a kitten mill.
Our cattery is intentionally small, home-based, and centered around genuine love for the British Longhair breed. Every cat here is family — not a number, not a business asset, and never treated as anything less than a beloved companion.
Our litters are planned with purpose and raised with intention. Nothing here is done for quantity or quick profit. Each kitten is handled, nurtured, and socialized from the first days of life. Our role as breeders exists because of a lifelong passion for the breed and the desire to preserve healthy, well-tempered, properly raised British cats that meet the highest standards.
The sad truth is, not all breeders are created equal.
A responsible breeder raises animals inside the home, provides daily interaction and enrichment, maintains a clean environment, performs proper health testing, and stays involved long after the kitten leaves. We support our families for life — because responsible placements matter.
Unfortunately, backyard breeders do exist, and they operate very differently. Little or no health testing, little or no socialization, rushed litters, no transparency, and no post-sale support.
If you’re ever unsure, just ask.
Meet the parents. See the home. Ask about health testing, frequency of litters, contracts, and support. A good breeder will never be bothered by this. We welcome it, because it means you care as deeply as we do about where your kitten comes from.
Food For Thought
These breeders are not creating surplus animals — they are meeting a very real demand for safe, predictable, healthy pets. When that demand isn’t met ethically, it gets met by backyard breeders. That’s where the problem begins.
People choose ethical breeders for many legitimate reasons: you might have children or other animals in your home so you need a cat bred for a calm temperment, you might have allergies and need a specific coat type, wanting a young kitten/puppy and wanting to be sure of specific adult size, needing a confidently socialized animal, or just simply wanting predictability. Adoption is wonderful and important — but it is not the right fit for every household, and that’s okay.
Backyard breeders, puppy mills, and uneducated impulse purchases are what fill shelters. Not ethical breeders. Ethical, well-bred pets rarely end up abandoned. A good breeder will not just sell a cats to anyone you will fill out a application and have many conversations with the breeder through the process and long after, this is not a transaction it is a built lifelong relationship. Many responsible breeders will also take any of their cats/dogs back at any age and time no questions asked if the family can no longer care for them under any circumstance, and that is real love and commitment.
The real issue is not shopping – It’s irresponsibility.
That includes breeding without testing, selling without support, failing to spay and neuter, letting pets roam unaltered, and buying on impulse from low-quality sources because they’re “cheaper.”
Ethical breeders invest heavily in their animals’ health, care, testing, and environments. Yes, their kittens cost more — because they should. A healthy, well-raised kitten is worth more than a cheap, risky one from an unregulated source.
If someone cannot afford a responsibly bred animal, the answer isn’t to support a backyard breeder. The ethical answer is to adopt, or save for the baby you want to inure less medical expirances and health concerns later. That is where education makes a difference.