If you are in the market to buy a purebred cat and you are dealing with a hobby breeder, I would recommend that you only purchase a cat from a litter that is registered. I would be very suspicious of purchasing a kitten from litter that is not registered. Last year, I purchased an Exotic long hair from Dreamquete Cattery in Northwest Indiana. The kitten was from a litter that had not been registered with either TICA or CFA. I really did not think much of it at the time as I had no plans of showing the kitten.
Approximately 5 months after the purchase, my little Rusty became very ill. He was anemic and was literally dying in my arms. I had to have him put to sleep as no doctor seemed to know what was causing his illness. I could have gotten a necropsy report to prove a genetic defect, but that would have cost the price of buying another kitten. I chose to purchase another kitten elsewhere and not waste my resources in an attempt to get a replacement that could potentially have genetic issues. Our vet told us that we should inform the breeder to stop breeding with those particular cats.
The moral of the story: know the bloodlines of the kitten you are purchasing. If they are too inbred, their genetic defects are likely to cause you problems.
