The Reality of Kitten Mills

Everyone has heard of the infamous puppy mill. These commercial "breeders" don't respect the lives of the dogs they house and breed resulting in unsafe and unsanitary living conditions and a myriad of widespread health problems. Although many puppy mills are still in operation, there has been an increased awareness and rejection of these businesses leading to more dogs being rescued from those conditions. Unfortunately, dogs aren't the only ones affected by these large scale breeding practices.

Cats and kittens are still undergoing this tremendous abuse all over the world. For one, kitten mills are much easier to conceal than puppy mills. Breeding facilities for dogs are usually outdoors and can be very noisy. However, with cats, due to their smaller size they are kept indoors in small, wire cages that can seriously damage their feet and legs. Several articles have been written about these inhumane breeding practices by shelters, blogs and news forums alike. I conducted my research via Specialty Purebred Cat Rescue, One Green Planet and The Dodo. 

From living in these harsh conditions, many of the cats are riddled with health problems. Most of the breeder cats’ coats have been destroyed and their bodies are infected with ringworm and other fungal diseases. Also common are painful dental issues, infected or ruptured eyes, and claws grown into the paw pads. As well, these commercial breeders are not retiring their female cats from birthing litters at a responsible, young age. Many of these females are being bred into their old age which can result in complications for the mom and the babies.

One would think that it'd be easy to report any unsafe facility and get them shut down, but that's simply not the case. Breeders who sell cats and dogs to pet stores are required to be licensed and inspected by the USDA, but according to the Humane Society of the United States. The Dodo cited that a woman accused of having unsafe breeding practices who was investigated was only fined $5,000 and put on probation for a year, which means that USDA inspectors will be visiting her facility and fining her more money for every sick cat they see. Yet she still has her breeding license. These breeders are not selling their kittens to reputable, responsible buyers either. Most of their customers are pet stores which will only result in more abuse and neglect of these animals.

This is a depressing reality, but there are tangible things that any individual can take to combat this terrible system. At the end of the day, these breeders are in it for the business. The law of supply and demand trumps all. So don't think that buying a poor kitty from the pet store is helping the cause. That's just showing the store and breeder that there is demand for these cats. If kittens are purchased at a slower rate, pet stores will lose profits and purchase less animals. The eventual goal is to eliminate all consumer support of kitten mills, so that these corporations would no longer have adequate demand for motivation to continue breeding.