“Blue light specials” among pedigreed cats

If you want a cat with “all the papers” (pedigreed, that is), be prepared to pay for it. Thousands of animal shelters across the country give cats away for free or for small adoption fees, but people still find themselves paying stiff prices because they want a particular breed.

There is no arguing with taste, of course, and here’s a bit of advice if you want a particular breed but don’t want to pay a fortune: a cat that is purebred but, because of some minor variation in coat or eye color, isn’t “up to standard” can be bought at a discount. Such a cat is called “pet quality.” You can’t enter the cat in a cat show, but the cat will make a fine (and not-quite-so-expensive) pet, and you can still have the “brag factor” of owning a pedigreed pet with the particular look that you like.