Kittens in a pet shop

[KayMarie]

Paws for thought in Leeds had some really REALLY young Kittens in the other day when I went in. The were in glass fronted little units, the shop was so hot because it wa sa warmish day and they keep the temps up downstairs in the reptile department, which affects the rest of the shop... Anyway they must have been warm because they were panting and the only had thinish kitten fur... I've never seen my kittens pant, thats how hot it must have been and people were touching the front glass and as they did it on of the saddest looking kittens was rubbing his head against it because he just wanted some human love and contact, I had to walk away.

I had stopped going to the reptile departments in petshops a long time ago because it made me so sad, now I'm going to have to just get what I need and leave 

[Millys Mum]

The only way to get them to stop is to do a campaign outside the store, if enough people stop shopping there in protest then they lose profits and stop with kittens.
Going to the council who issue the licenses is useless as most of them are in cohorts with the owners, a little backhand deal and the shop gets what they want. 
Theres a disgusting petshop in a town not far from me who cant be stopped because the licence keeps being renewed year after year    their kittens are in a terrible state, appear inbred and come with their own list of health problems yet still they keep trading.

[Leanne]

OMG I am shocked at this.

Who on earth cares for these animals.

[Dawn F]

my friend got two of hers from a pet shop, they even said if she let the female have a litter they'd buy them from her - I did encourage her to get the female spayed and thankfully she did

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I walked past a pet shop yesterday that had a sign in the window advertising "kitten + kitten pack £59"  I went inside fuming and expecting to find kittens inside but thankfully there weren't actually any in the shop (at least not where you could see them).

[Angeladeedah]

OMG - I didn't think pet shops sold kittens anymore and I had thought it was illegal.   We seem to be taking several steps backs in terms of animal legislation if this is allowed - I don't think I have ever seen any kittens sold in shops ever and I'm 34 years old.

[Mark]

What I worry about is if kittens remain unsold - what happens to them? 

The shops do have a responsibility to ensure the kittens are kept, clean, warm and well fed with proper bedding. The RSPCA can still have the license revoked if they aren't up to scratch. AFAIK, the local council are responsible for licensing.

It is very wrong.

[caledonia]

I really thought this wasn't allowed - clealry I was wrong. I know when I was little there were always kittens in shops (my first cat was £5 from a shop!) but I thought it had been stopped and they were not allowed to be displayed. The local pet shop here keeps them upstairs and vets people - you are not allowed to just pop in and have a look and they are not out on display.

I thought practices had got better but seems i was wrong!

[summerleft]

Our local one takes them in and sells them, but I do know the manager and she is very strict about who they go to, they also must take some of the food that they are used to etc

So in one way its bad but maybe they are getting a better home rather than just being palmed off when people have unwanted litters. We got one of our older ones from her and shes been great, they do look after them and interact with them. Not ideal but then the strange people I got ringing me for kittens when we had some i  think theres risks anywhere but I do agree its not a the best environment for them

[Desley (booktigger)]

I haven't seen any kittens in petshops ever fortunately, althoguh did get asked about it this week!! i did go in one that had birds, and small furries today, and I dont like seeing that (one of my probs with PAH)

[JackSpratt]

Unfortunately it is legal, as far as I know, but you do need a licence.  I hate to see animals for sale in a shop, esp larger animals like cats and dogs (which I rarely see, thankfully).  Not that I like to see small animals either, but at least there's a fighting chance of keeping them in reasonable conditions.

I agree, I don't think animals should be sold in shops. It must be a very stressful environment. Regarding the smaller animals, though - sadly a lot of petshops think they don't need to worry too much about smaller animals and will overlook things like fresh water and topping up food bowls. They'll also mostly sell the animal to anyone whose got the money and don't seem concerned about where it will end up.

[fluffybunny]

There's an awful pet shop near me that not only sells kittens, they have a big sign outside saying "we buy kittens".  Helpfu/responsible... NOT!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Unfortunately it is legal, as far as I know, but you do need a licence.  I hate to see animals for sale in a shop, esp larger animals like cats and dogs (which I rarely see, thankfully).  Not that I like to see small animals either, but at least there's a fighting chance of keeping them in reasonable conditions.

[Indys Mamma]

when I lived in Bradford a pet shop there had kittens and puppies and once they reached 3-4 months the shop keeper would sell them for £5 or free with a large bag of food

the animals cages were terrible all round and he actually was fined and all the pups/kittens were taken by the RSPCA after many (inc me) complained about them.

until then I thought was illegal to have them in shops like that!

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

I didn't realise it happened until a few months ago when I ended up leaving a pet shop in Crawley in tears. There were kittens of about 8 weeks all crammed in together not to mention the conditions for all the other animals which were actually a lot worse. (At least 20 mice to a foot squared container all crawling all over eachother for instance) One of the staff was frontlining the kittens and definately hadn't read the instructions as he was using the spray and sprayed them for what felt like an eternity. It was honestly horrible.
Since then, I have come across at least 4 pet shops in my area that sell kittens and I am sure it's actually far more than that in reality.

[Feline Costumier]

My local pet shop had kittens last year, not sure they've had any this year as I don't go in often. It is a worry though, no control over where they are going, anything for a price eh 

[Gillian Harvey]

I thought it had been stopped, thought pet shops werent allowed to sell kittens and pups anymore?

It used to be commonplace years ago (in fact my very first kittens came from a pet shop - over 30 yrs ago mind you LOL!).

[Tinamary]

I went into Warrington today and called in at the pet shop in the market. 
I was so shocked to see young 9 week old kittens for sale.   I have never in my life seen that before. 

A guy walked in with his children and they spotted them.   It was popped into a carrier and taken away.
I really worry that they do not think about what they are doing and just because the children see them they buy them.
It should be stopped