I understand that $500 is a lot of money but, rearing felines for 5 months isn't cheap or easy. Queens have a gestation of 65 days and the kittens reach 3 pounds around 12-16 weeks of age. Below is a chart that is incredibly modest, here, the kittens are going to new homes at 12 weeks which is conservative itself because I have never had a litter leave home at exactly 12 weeks old.

Okay that's $367.00..... that leaves $133.00 so, if you think I am raking in the dough raising cats, let's consider the fact that I invested about $1,800 in cat shows (hotels, gas, show entries) and I built a cat house for the males, $900.

Plus after having many litters of kittens, one's carpets need help. As for the kitty litter, I go through 2 bags a month, easily, without kittens. And yes, when learning, it is inevitable that kittens, sometimes "miss" the litterbox, therefore neutralizing sanitizers are an added expense, you see, I don't urinate on the floor! That isn't to say that kittens aren't litterbox trained when they leave, they just make mistakes when they're baby babies, 3-6 weeks. Let me reiterate that, I tend to keep the kittens until at least 20 weeks, older kittens aren't as prized as younger kittens so the price goes down as the kitten gets older. I hope you agree, this is a very modest estimate.

Dacca was "free" in that I raised her but, I paid $1750, for her parents and $1000 to the male I breed her to. I would estimate the Championship title we earned on her cost around $1000.  Not to mention her vet bills, vaccinations, food, etc. for when she isn't pregnant.

I also left out registration, each cat I buy, I have to pay $7 to have the cat put in my name, another $7 if I want to add my cattery suffix and yet another $7 to delete a suffix of another breeder. Example: I bought "Bailiwick Ruby Tuesday of Goldspurr", to register her in my name, I wanted my cattery to be on record as the owner so, to change it to "Bailiwick Ruby Tuesday of Sabu" I paid $21. Even cats I raise, the litter has to be registered to get the blue slips, then I pay another $10 to register the individual cat should I choose to keep it.

In order for TICA to recognize me as a legitimate cattery, I had to buy a membership and register my cattery, something like $50. Then there is the ethics club, TIBCS, which has a yearly membership fee of $50. 

Kittens also need toys, litter boxes, catnip, canned food, dietary supplements (NuVet), medication if they get sick, milk substitutes (KMR) and feeding tubes if the kitten is weak, I need cages for when I can't supervise....and so on. I really hope that this helps you understand the reason for pricing. I honestly don't know how back yard breeders can charge less, they must be skimping somewhere but, I think my cats deserve to be fed a top quality diet and to be cared for properly. After all, they didn't ask to be here.

Please note: there is nothing extravagant or luxurious about the items and costs in the table above. There are also quite a few expenses that are not included.

Another website with similar information, only more in depth....

http://home.earthlink.net/~sarsenstone/brdcosts.html