What comes with the kitten

When a kitten is handed over “just like that, without paperwork”, nothing about it can be checked: not the breed, not the parents, not even whether it was vaccinated. Papers are not a formality for shows — they are the only way to make sure you are getting what was promised.

A certificate and a pedigree are not the same thing

The kitten’s pedigree certificate (metrika) is the first document the club issues. It states the date of birth, colour, sex, the name with the cattery prefix, and the parents with their titles and registration numbers. It is issued for a kitten and is valid until it grows up.

The pedigree is the adult cat’s document. It is exchanged for the certificate once the cat is about a year old. The owner does the exchange through the club; the cattery explains how, but nobody will do it for you.

If a kitten is sold “with a pedigree straight away”, ask again. Most often they mean the certificate, and that is fine. It is worse when there are no papers at all.

Veterinary passport

The passport records deworming, parasite treatments and vaccinations: the date, the vaccine name and a sticker with its batch number. The sticker matters more than a handwritten entry — it cannot be added after the fact.

The kitten leaves for its new home vaccinated for its age. The booster and rabies vaccination are done by the owner, on the dates in the passport.

Microchip

A microchip is a fifteen-digit number under the skin, read by a scanner at any clinic. The number is written into the passport and into a database. It is how a lost animal is found, and how you prove the cat is yours.

Contract

The reservation is made with a deposit agreement, the handover with a sales contract. The contract states who is being sold, for what sum, in what state of health and on what terms — for example, as a pet or with breeding rights.