Male ginger tabby cat

British Shorthair Kitten Buying Checklist

We highly recommend every buyer reads through the below advice when purchasing or rehoming a British Shorthair.

• View the animal in the place it was born and raised - check for genuine home environments if buying privately, or the quality of the breeders set-up if applicable.
• Make sure the animal's old enough to be rehomed. 8 weeks should be the earliest a kitten can be rehomed.
• By law, all cats MUST be microchipped
• Review and verify any documents, such as TICA registration paperwork where applicable

Avoid Potential Scams

There are a number of red flags to look out for when purchasing a new kitten:

• Seller demands a deposit without allowing you to see the cat first - never send any money before meeting the animal in person
• Seller is reluctant to send you additional photos or videos
• Seller offers to deliver the cat/kitten without you viewing it first
• Seller asks to meet in a mutual location
• Seller uses fake or stolen photos from the internet. Always carry out a "Google image search".
• Seller asks to immediately switch to communication off the British Shorthair Owners website
• Seller uses a different phone number to the one listed on the website
• Seller asks you to send money to a bank account with a different name to the person you have been communicating with
• The cat/kitten is advertised significantly cheaper than similar listings

Although we have a number of automated systems in place to prevent scam and fraudulant adverts, these can never be 100% accurate and its important to use caution when buying online. We do not accept any responsibility for transactions between our users, especially when our safe buying advice is not followed.

View the full British Shorthair buyers checklist for more information, plus the British Shorthair buyers guide for more advice on giving a kitten a new home.