12/11/2025
To continue my PSA series, I’m noticing a worrying trend where people expect purebred cats to be perfect.
There’s a problem with that, and I want to address it, because it matters for the wellbeing of the cats and the owners who bring them home.
Cats are not plushies.
They’re not decor.
They’re not soft little robots that never hiccup.
They are living beings with immune systems, stress responses, incubation periods, and the occasional curveball that comes with all animals.
The mark of a good pet owner is not demanding perfection from a cat or a breeder. The mark of a good pet owner is understanding that perfection does not exist.
Biology is messy. Biology hides things. Biology doesn’t care about your expectations.
Expecting a purebred cat to arrive with zero history, zero microbes, and zero surprises is like walking into a daycare every day for four months and expecting not to get sick. Good luck!
That’s not how biology or reality works.
In fact, I’ve never once brought home a cat that didn’t come with something whether that’s a mild parasite, allergy, a major parasite, an incubation period, a stress-triggered issue. I’ve even received cats with unknown defects. That’s not failure. That’s nature. I never once made a fuss. I accepted the responsibility and dealt with it because that’s part of owning animals.
So no, my cats aren’t perfect and no one else’s is either. There is no such thing as a cattery where nothing ever happens. Not mine. Not anyone’s. Not anywhere.
A great applicant isn’t the person who says, “I want a kitten that will never have a problem.” A great applicant is the one who says:
• “I understand that animals sometimes get sick.”
• “I won’t panic if something unexpected shows up.”
• “I’ll handle issues with calmness, not blame.”
• “I know breeders aren’t God and they can’t control every microscopic organism.” (As much as we may want to and try to.)
That’s the kind of home a kitten needs. A home with steadiness. A home that doesn’t unravel over normal parts of pet ownership. A home that responds to the unexpected with maturity, not fear.
If you want a perfect, predictable, issue-free object…
They sell plush cats at IKEA. 🤪
If you want a real living creature, with a real little body and a real little life, then you need to bring patience, steadiness, and the willingness to roll with things when they happen because sooner or later, they will.
That’s what good ownership looks like.
That’s what responsible adoption looks like.
