How to Find a Mate or Stud for Your Cat in the United States

Should your cat be bred at all?

Start with an honest look at your cat. Cats reach puberty at about six months of age on average, and the ASPCA notes that cats can start breeding before they are six months old. VCA Animal Hospitals advises that most veterinarians recommend spaying around six months, before the first heat, and that there is no valid reason to let a cat have a cycle or a litter first.

Responsible cat mating is different. It usually involves a pedigreed cat registered with a cat registry such as the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) or The International Cat Association (TICA), a clear goal for the breed, health screening of both parents, and homes lined up for the kittens. If you cannot say yes to all of that, the kinder choice for your cat and for crowded US shelters is usually to spay or neuter.

• Breed with a plan if: your cat is registered, healthy, of breeding age, and you have the time, money and buyer list for a litter.
• Spay or neuter if: your cat is a mixed-breed or unregistered pet, has a health problem, or you mainly want your children to see kittens born.

What health tests should a cat stud and queen have?

The CFA's own advice to breeders is to work closely with a veterinarian, check for infectious disease and blood type both the tom and the queen. Ask the stud owner for written results, and be ready to share your queen's results in return.

Why blood typing matters so much in cats

Cats have blood types A, B and the rare AB, and there is no type O. Type B cats carry strong natural antibodies against type A. If a type B queen has type A or AB kittens, those antibodies reach the kittens through her first milk and can destroy their red blood cells within days. Type B is uncommon in many cats but much more frequent in breeds such as the British Shorthair, Devon Rex and Cornish Rex, so a quick blood test before mating can save a whole litter.

Heart and kidney screening

The Cornell Feline Health Center describes echocardiography as the gold standard for diagnosing cardiomyopathy and says DNA results for HCM should be read carefully with a vet, because a negative gene test does not rule HCM out. For polycystic kidney disease, the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory offers a cheek-swab DNA test for the PKD1 variant; a cat with one copy passes it to about half of its kittens.

How do you find a suitable cat stud in the US?

1. Confirm your queen's registration with CFA or TICA and whether she was sold with breeding rights; many pet-quality kittens are sold as not for breeding.
2. Talk to your cat's breeder first; breeders often know stud owners in the same breed and lines.
3. Contact breed clubs and cat shows in your region, where established stud owners show their cats.
4. Search cat mating listings in the United States on PetzLover, filter by breed and distance, and save the search so new listings reach you.
5. Message the stud owner through PetzLover and ask for the registry number, pedigree, health test results and blood type before you discuss a date.
6. Arrange a video call or visit to see the tom, his living space and how he is handled.
7. Ask your vet to review both cats' results and confirm the pairing is safe before you sign.

Choose a stud for health, temperament and how well his pedigree complements your queen, not only for looks or a low fee. A good stud owner will ask just as many questions about your cat.

What should a cat stud agreement include?

Most disputes between cat breeders come from terms nobody wrote down. The CFA does not supply a standard stud or lease form, so agree your own and keep a signed copy.

• Fee and timing: the stud fee, any deposit and when the balance is due, for example on confirmed pregnancy or at birth.
• No-pregnancy terms: whether a repeat mating is offered free if the queen does not conceive.
• Health records: copies of FeLV and FIV results, blood types and any breed screening for both cats, dated within an agreed period.
• Boarding: where the queen stays, for how long, who pays vet bills if a cat is injured or falls ill, and how the cats will be supervised.
• Registration: who signs the paperwork; with CFA, the owner of the queen is treated as the breeder of the litter, so agree how the stud owner will provide the sire's registration details.
• Pick of litter: if a kitten replaces the fee, which pick, at what age and with what breeding rights.

Do you need a permit to breed cats in your city?

Cat breeding rules in the United States are mostly set by cities and counties, so they vary a lot. For example, the City of Los Angeles requires cats over four months old to be spayed or neutered unless an exemption applies, and its municipal code says no one may let a cat kept in the city breed without first getting a breeding permit. Other places have no such rule. Call your city or county animal services before a mating, and ask whether you also need a license or permit to sell the kittens later.

Once kittens are born, plan their future early. Our guides on selling kittens responsibly and listing a cat for adoption cover pricing, screening buyers and safe handovers.

What are the red flags when choosing a cat stud?

• The owner cannot show registry papers or health results, or offers to send them only after payment.
• There is no blood type on record for the tom.
• The tom has been used on many unrelated queens with no records of the litters.
• The owner refuses any visit or video call, or pressures you to decide quickly.
• The listing price is far below what local breeders of the same breed charge.

If something feels wrong, walk away and use the Report Scam button on the listing. If you own a tom and want to offer him instead, read how to advertise your cat for mating.