Buying a kitten online can feel intimidating, especially when you're being asked to send a deposit or payment to someone you may have never met in person.
 

The good news is that there are usually plenty of ways to verify that you're dealing with a real breeder.
 

No single website, registration, contract, review, photo, or payment method proves that someone is legitimate. Instead, look at the whole picture.
 

Here are some of the biggest green flags and red flags to watch for before purchasing a kitten.

🟢 GREEN FLAG: They Have a Real History

One of the best things you can look for is history over time.

Does the breeder have established social media accounts? Previous litters? Past customers? Reviews? Photos and videos that span months or years?

A scammer can build a professional-looking website surprisingly quickly. It is much harder to fake years of consistent activity involving the same breeder, cats, kittens, customers, and breeding program.

 

🔴 Watch Out For:

A breeder whose website, social accounts, reviews, and entire online presence seem to have appeared recently.

A new breeder isn't automatically a scammer—but if there's very little history, you'll want to verify them in other ways.

 

🟢 GREEN FLAG: You Can See the Actual Kitten

Don't rely exclusively on the beautiful photos in an advertisement.

A legitimate breeder should be able to provide current photos or video of the kitten you're considering.

Even better, look for a breeder who regularly shares their kittens as they grow through social media posts, stories, livestreams, videos, or updates to buyers.

 

🔴 Watch Out For:

Repeated excuses about why they can't provide another photo or video.

Scammers commonly steal photos from legitimate breeders. A collection of beautiful kitten pictures proves very little by itself.

If you're suspicious, try a reverse image search on some of the photos.

 

🟢 GREEN FLAG: Their Cats Actually Exist Beyond the Kitten You're Buying

Look beyond one adorable kitten.

Can you find the kitten's parents? Other cats in the breeding program? Previous litters? Photos of kittens growing up? Information about the breeder's program?

A real breeding program usually leaves a substantial digital footprint.

 

🔴 Watch Out For:

A seller who somehow always has exactly the age, sex, color, or kitten you're looking for—but provides very little evidence of an actual breeding program behind them.

 

🟢 GREEN FLAG: They'll Answer Specific Questions

A legitimate breeder should be able to comfortably answer questions about things like:

• The kitten's birthday

• Parents

• Personality

• Veterinary care

• Vaccinations

• Health testing

• Registration

• Go-home age

• Feeding

• Their purchase process

• Pickup or delivery

You don't need to interrogate your breeder—but their answers should sound like they actually know the kitten and the breed.

 

🔴 Watch Out For:

Answers that are extremely vague, inconsistent, copied and pasted, or don't really answer what you asked.

Scammers often know enough to sell a kitten without knowing very much about actually raising one.

 

🟢 GREEN FLAG: The Purchase Process Makes Sense

A professional breeder should have an understandable process.

You should know what you're paying, what the payment reserves, when additional payments are due, when you'll receive a contract, when the kitten can go home, and how pickup or delivery works.

Deposits are very normal in the breeding world.

The existence of a deposit is not a red flag.

What matters is knowing who you're sending it to and what you're agreeing to before you send it.

 

🔴 Watch Out For:

A seller who immediately pushes you to send money before answering basic questions or giving you enough information to verify them.

Be especially careful with anyone creating extreme urgency:

“Send the deposit in the next 10 minutes or we're giving the kitten to someone else.”

A popular kitten may genuinely have multiple interested buyers, but legitimate demand shouldn't prevent you from doing reasonable due diligence.

 

🟢 GREEN FLAG: There's a Real Contract

A reputable breeder will generally have a written agreement explaining the terms of the purchase.

That may include things like:

• The kitten being purchased

• Price and payment terms

• Health guarantees

• Buyer responsibilities

• Breeder responsibilities

• Registration

• Spay/neuter requirements

• Pickup or delivery

• What happens if the buyer backs out

Read the contract before signing it.

 

🔴 Watch Out For:

Someone asking you to send thousands of dollars with virtually nothing in writing.

But remember:

A contract alone does not prove someone is legitimate.

Scammers can steal or duplicate contracts just like they do with photos.

 

🟢 GREEN FLAG: They're Transparent About Health

A responsible breeder should be willing to talk openly about the health of their cats and kittens.

Ask what veterinary care kittens receive before going home, what health testing is performed on the parents, what vaccinations are given, and what type of health guarantee is included.

The exact protocols will vary between breeders, but there should be an actual protocol.

 

🔴 Watch Out For:

Statements like:

“Our cats have never had health problems, so we don't need testing.”

Or someone who can't explain what their kittens receive before going home.

Responsible breeding does not mean pretending health problems can never happen.

 

🟢 GREEN FLAG: You Can Verify Important Claims

If a breeder claims to be registered with an organization such as TICA, you can often independently investigate that claim.

The same principle applies to other things a breeder tells you.

Whenever something important can reasonably be verified outside of the breeder's own website, verify it.

 

🔴 Watch Out For:

Treating a logo as proof.

Anyone can put a registry logo, veterinarian logo, award, badge, or certification graphic on a website.

Registration is one piece of the puzzle—not proof by itself that a breeder is legitimate or reputable.

 

🟢 GREEN FLAG: Their Payment Options Make Sense

Legitimate breeders use many different payment methods. Some accept bank transfers or peer-to-peer payment services. Others accept credit cards. Many accept several different options. A particular payment method alone doesn't determine whether someone is legitimate. What matters is whether the person or business receiving your money matches the breeder you've been communicating with, whether your transaction is documented, and whether you've completed your due diligence first.

 

Having the option to pay by credit card can provide an additional layer of confidence for buyers, since card transactions create a formal transaction record and may offer additional consumer protections. Unfortunately, many reputable breeders still do not accept credit cards, which can make it harder for buyers to distinguish legitimate breeders from scammers before sending money. For that reason, we require all deposits to be paid by credit or debit card, and we also allow final payments to be made by card, with an applicable service fee, when arranged in advance.

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🔴 Watch Out For:

Being told to send money to a completely unrelated person, use a strange account, split payments among multiple people, purchase gift cards, pay with cryptocurrency, or use some other convoluted method without a reasonable explanation.