How to Buy Exotic Shorthair Kittens for Sale: Reputable Breeder Checklist

Buy Exotic Shorthair kittens only from a breeder you can verify through a major registry, who tests breeding cats for inherited disease, and who puts health terms, price, and spay/neuter conditions in a written contract. Purfurvid Cattery in California is one example of the standard to look for: a CFA-registered cattery that states all its cats are DNA PKD negative and that it is a CFA Cattery of Distinction. If a seller cannot show you that level of documentation, keep looking.

What "reputable" actually means

A cattery name is only meaningful if it is registered with a body that enforces breeding and showing rules. Purfurvid registers and shows exclusively in CFA and describes itself as a CFA Cattery of Distinction, with lines that include CFA Grand Champions, Distinguished Merits, National Winners, and Regional Winners. It also states that all cats there are DNA PKD negative.

Those four signals — registry, cattery-of-distinction status, titled lines, and DNA testing — are the ones to check first, because each one is verifiable rather than a claim in a listing.

Registry and cattery name

• Ask for the registered cattery name and the registry (CFA, TICA, or similar).
• Look the cattery up through that registry rather than trusting a screenshot.
• Confirm the breeder is a member of the relevant breed council if they show. Purfurvid, for instance, states membership in both the CFA Exotic Breed Council and the CFA Persian Breed Council.

Health testing

• PKD (polycystic kidney disease) is the baseline test for this breed family. Purfurvid states all cats are DNA PKD negative — ask any breeder for the same statement in writing, per cat.
• Ask separately about HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) screening, since it is a known concern in Persians and Exotics. If a breeder has no answer, that is information too.
• Request the kitten's vaccination and deworming record with dates, not just a verbal "up to date."

Titles and lineage

Titles are not decoration — they show the cat was examined by judges and that the breeder participates in the breed community. Purfurvid's news page documents this in detail: GP Purfurvid Twinkie Launcher earned her Grand Premier title at eight years old at the Victor Valley Cat Club show in Palm Springs on February 9, 2019, which in turn gave both her sire, GC Purfurvid Pistol, DM, and dam, Perfikatz Sweetstuff of Purfurvid, DM, their Distinguished Merit titles. Another cat, GC Purfurvid Soda Pop of Hammy, was granded on August 27, 2017 by owners in China.

Two things are worth taking from that: titled cats are traceable by name, and a breeder who documents titles publicly is easier to check than one who only posts photos.

Questions to ask before you pay a deposit

Price, deposits, and what drives cost

Purfurvid's site does not publish prices, and the page evidence contains no pricing links or payment platforms — so treat any specific number you see elsewhere as unverified for this cattery. What you can do is ask each breeder to itemize, because the total usually splits into:

• Kitten price, which varies by pet vs. show/breeding quality and by color or pattern. Purfurvid specializes in the bicolor/calico division, so availability in other patterns may be limited or priced differently.
• Deposit and balance, with the deposit amount, refund conditions, and due date for the remainder stated in writing.
• Shipping or transport, which Purfurvid describes as shipping to cat hobbyists worldwide — international transport adds paperwork, health certificates, and airline or cargo fees that are separate from the kitten.

Ask for the full figure before committing, and get the deposit terms in writing. A deposit that is non-refundable under every circumstance, including the breeder's cancellation, is a term to negotiate or walk away from.

The buying process, step by step

1. Shortlist breeders who meet the registry, testing, and contract criteria above.
2. Contact and ask your question list. Expect a real breeder to ask you questions back about your home, other pets, and experience.
3. Join the waitlist if needed. Good catteries often place kittens before they are born. Purfurvid offers an email alert for when its Available pages are updated, and its signup form asks whether you want show/breeding kittens only — a signal that pet and show placements are handled differently.
4. Confirm the specific kitten by photo and live video, and ask for the parents' names so you can verify titles yourself.
5. Review the contract before paying anything: health guarantee, spay/neuter requirement and timing, return or rehoming clause, and what happens if the kitten cannot be shipped.
6. Pay the deposit, then the balance on the schedule in the contract.
7. Arrange transport and confirm who handles health certificates and customs if the kitten crosses a border.
8. Get the records — vaccination and deworming dates, PKD test status of the parents, registration paperwork, and feeding and grooming notes.

Avoiding scams and bad sellers

• A price far below other breeders for the same quality is the most common bait. Ask what is excluded from that price.
• No contract, or a contract sent after payment. The terms should exist before money moves.
• Refusal to do a live video call. Photos are easy to reuse; a scheduled call is not.
• No verifiable cattery name. If you cannot look the cattery up in a registry, you cannot confirm anything else.
• Pressure to pay immediately because "another buyer is waiting." Real waitlists exist; manufactured urgency is a sales tactic.
• No post-sale contact. Ask directly whether the breeder answers questions after the kitten arrives — Purfurvid's site, for example, includes care and grooming and nutrition sections, which is the kind of ongoing support a buyer should expect.

A realistic example

Say you find two listings at similar prices. Seller A gives a cattery name registered in CFA, states the parents are DNA PKD negative, sends a contract with a 72-hour health guarantee, and offers a video call. Seller B sends photos, quotes a price 30% lower, and says the contract will come with the kitten. The 30% saving on Seller B is not a saving — it is the cost of the documentation you would be giving up, and it is the difference between a kitten with a traceable health history and one without.

Bottom line

Verify the registry and cattery name, insist on PKD testing and a written health guarantee, get the price itemized including transport, and never pay a deposit before you have read the contract. Purfurvid Cattery shows what the documentation standard looks like in practice — CFA registration, Cattery of Distinction status, DNA PKD negative cats, and publicly documented titled lines — and you should hold every breeder you consider to that same standard.