What is a reputable breeder?
This is something most backyard breeders think they are versus a kitten mill. A reputable breeder is what most people are looking for but do not know how to find, which is the whole purpose of the backyard breeder pages.
A reputable breeder is part of the cat fancy community. Because we show, we publicly vet our cats. We have been breeding and showing for years, becoming known to other breeders and spectators. We do not just show our fist cat to get a title then never come again, hoping we can milk that first title for all it’s worth for years to come.
We want our cats to be known so we bring them out for generations to come. There may be a surly cat here or there or who has a cosmetic fault (too skinny, wrong color, hates showing), but if every cat a breeder has cannot be shown, you have to ask, are they raising extremely anti social cats or are they hiding something?
A reputable breeder has been showing for a long time. The cat community is a bit weary of a new breeder showing up out of the blue with no mentor and cats with huge faults, only because we literally have this happen every. Single. Show. No, they are not the first person to promise they’ll be a very fine breeder of some super cute kittens, and they’ll love them to bits and bits. We’ve heard this more times than you can even say it.
A reputable breeder has been around long enough to have a good reputation that is verified by show records of titles and regional and international wins and awards and other breeders and sometimes judges. To be around that long we have to raise healthy kittens placed in good homes. This is where you run into risk of a backyard breeder going underground or giving you the bird if you try and call them on their health guarantee.
By going with a non-reputable breeder, who has no record, you run the risk of the breeder trying to wiggle out of their health guaranteed if you can even find them. Breeders who have been around longer are going to know more about their bloodlines than someone who just started.