Where do pet stores buy their kittens?

Where do pet stores buy their kittens?

Arden Moore (Animal Behavioral Specialist, Editor and Author) gives expert video advice on: Where do I go to get a cat?; Don't shelter or rescue cats come with too many problems?; Are shelter or rescue cats free? and more...

When it comes to where pet stores buy their kittens, it all depends on the store. For example, many of the major national pet supply stores don't sell kittens or cats, dogs or puppies. What they do is showcase dogs and cats that are coming in from different shelters and breed rescue groups. If you're looking at those kinds of stores, I encourage you to go there. I am not a big fan of other stores that sell cats and kittens. The reason being it's very difficult to distinguish if they are really legitimate breeders and responsible, or are they what they call "kitten mills," where they just keep producing a lot of cats and kittens to sell them, and they're not available to answer any of your questions. Unfortunately, many of these cats and kittens from these "mills," come with a lot of health problems because the mama cat's been overbred. They don't get the needed vaccinations or the needed socialization. So, there are a lot of wonderful cats and kittens out there available at major pet supply stores where they're showcasing shelter cats and rescue cats, and the money is going to those groups, not to the stores.