When you are looking to buy your new Ragdoll Kitten, there are some recent legal developments that you need to take into consideration, especially when choosing your breeder.
Here on the Gold Coast, recently passed animal ownership regulations are in full force and being actively pursued by council. ALL cats now legally have to be registered with the Gold Coast City Council. There are on the spot fines for those who are found to have unregistered cats on their property.
The Gold Coast council has door-knocking going on these days to check, and of course gets information on what animals may be being kept on a particular property by other means as well.
All the animal regulations are available to read at the Animal Management section of the Gold Coast City Council website. And it is recommended that you have a look over these before buying a kitten or cat, because there are things you must make sure you are in accordance with. You can do a quick check of what may apply to you under the State Governments New laws for cats and dogs
In a nutshell, the regulations which are applicable to cat breeders and buying a kitten on the Gold Coast are:
- Registration is compulsory for cats aged three months and over. If you do not register your cat, you may be liable to be issued a $200 on the spot fine.
- Any cat that changes ownership – by any means, be it sale, giveaway or other – must be micro-chipped (this is a State Government Law and covers all of QLD). You can be fined for buying or selling a non-microchipped kitten or cat.
- All cats must be desexed unless the owner is the holder of a Gold Coast council approved cat breeders permit.
- It is illegal to buy or sell a cat or kitten that is not desexed. The only exception is if the buyer and seller are holders of Gold Coast Council approved breeders permit – and this is regardless of whether they intend to breed from the cat or not.
- Cats must be contained on the owners property at all times. A $75 on the spot fine applies to cats that are not contained to their own properties.
Tips On Buying Ragdoll Kittens For Sale – Gold Coast:
Ragdoll Kittens – Gold Coast
Since the Council is actively pursuing these cat ownership regulations laws, you should make sure you adhere to any laws to avoid being fined.
All of the above are things you should take into consideration when you are looking at Ragdoll kittens for sale, or in fact any kitten – purebred or not.
There are still “backyard Ragdoll breeders” here on the Gold Coast, who offer their kittens for sale well below a registered Ragdoll breeders price.
And often sadly these kittens are sold much younger that the recommended minimum age for a kitten to leave home, it’s Mum and siblings – which is a minimum of at least 12 weeks of age. This early time is an important learning period for the future emotional and behavioral needs of your new kitten.
Of course it costs more to keep a kitten until it is thoroughly ready – emotionally and developmentally – to move on into it’s new life.
You, of course will need to comply with Gold Coast council regulations. So, if your new Ragdoll kitten is not desexed or micro-chipped, then you will have to have this done and pay the costs involved yourself.
Current desexing price for females is around $220.00 depending on the vet, and micro-chipping is usually around $55.00.
So that cheap Ragdoll kitten for sale, may not work out as cheap as you think at first … and may in fact end up costing you more that if you purchased from a registered breeder – who adheres to a “breeders code of practice”, and who will have already had the kitten microchipped and desexed.
You will also not have to deal with any complications that can occasionally arise from the desexing surgery or microchip implantation. Kittens undergoing the desexing surgery are given a thorough health check prior to being anesthetized, so you know they have passed this check.
Regarding “pedigree Ragdoll kittens for sale” – if a kitten is a purebred, then it will come with pedigree papers. You can ask to see your Ragdoll Breeders registration papers, or check on the Cat Registry Websites to make sure they are listed as a registered breeder.
If the breeder is not a registered breeder with a proper Pedigree Cat Registry (this is extra and separate from the Gold Coast City Council), then your kitten is not registered either and will have no pedigree papers, or validation of parentage. There is no way of being certain you are even buying a purebred Ragdoll kitten.
There are four Queensland Cat Registration Bodies and I have listed them here:
- Queensland Feline Association Inc (QFA)
- Queensland Independent Cat Council Inc. (QICC)
- The Feline Control Council of Queensland Inc. (FCCQ)
- Council of Federated Cat Clubs of Queensland Inc (CICCQ)
So, make sure you check the breeders “credentials” and satisfy yourself that all the boxes have been ticked when you are looking at Ragdoll kittens for sale – Gold Coast … and State wide too.
