How to Sell Russian Blue Kittens in the United States

Is it legal to sell Russian Blue kittens in the US?

Yes, but the rules sit at three levels and depend on where you live and how many cats you breed.

• Federal: the USDA's Animal Welfare Act rules exempt people with four or fewer breeding female dogs, cats and similar pets in total. Above that, selling kittens the buyer does not see in person, such as shipping after an online sale, generally needs a USDA license. Face-to-face sales fall under the retail exemption.
• State: Massachusetts bars selling or transferring a cat under 8 weeks, and Maryland bars selling one under 8 weeks unless it is with its mother. New York's pet lemon law gives buyers rights against commercial sellers.
• City or county: some require a breeding permit; the City of Los Angeles, for example, requires one for cats bred in the city. Many limit how many cats a household may keep.

Never declaw kittens or offer to. Declawing is banned except for medical reasons in New York, Maryland and Massachusetts and restricted in Virginia.

When can you call your kittens Russian Blues?

Only when you can prove it. The CFA standard accepts blue only, disqualifies long coats and does not allow outcrossing to other breeds, so a registered litter needs registered Russian Blue parents. A gray, green-eyed mother without papers does not qualify, however close she looks. Shelters and sellers often label gray domestic shorthairs as Russian Blues because the name sells, writes cat author Sally Bahner on Cats.com; buyers who know the breed will ask for papers.

• Papers for both parents: list the registry and be ready to show both cats' registrations and pedigrees.
• No papers: advertise as gray domestic shorthair kittens. Wisdom Panel notes that a cat can look like a breed that is not in its ancestry, and a DNA breed estimate is not a pedigree.
• Longhaired or non-blue kittens: CFA would not accept them as Russian Blues; TICA registers the semi-longhaired blue Nebelung as a separate breed.

If your cats are unregistered, spay the mother after this litter rather than breeding more kittens sold on a breed name.

What health checks should Russian Blue kittens and parents have?

CFA says the breed is not known for specific genetic problems but that its relatively small gene pool may make it more susceptible to some diseases. PetMD says polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) can affect Russian Blues and that reputable breeders should screen for them. Ask your vet which screening fits your cats and give buyers the written results.

• Keep kittens with their mother until at least 8 weeks; International Cat Care notes that pedigree kittens often leave at about 13 weeks, after their vaccines.
• Book a vet check with the core FVRCP vaccines, deworming and flea treatment, and write the next due dates on the record.
• Test for FeLV and FIV, and microchip each kitten so you can transfer the chip.
• Spay or neuter, or write it into the contract; groups including the AVMA and AAFP endorse spay or neuter by 5 months.
• Handle the kittens every day and let them meet visitors and household noise, so a naturally reserved breed goes home confident.

How should you price Russian Blue kittens?

PetMD's vet-reviewed profile says a purebred Russian Blue with a pedigree can cost $2,000 to $2,500. Price within your local market and be clear about what the price covers; buyers compare.

Do not charge a pedigree price for kittens without papers. Pet kittens are usually sold on a spay or neuter contract; CFA notes that breeders often hold back registration papers until they receive proof of spay or neuter, so write that into your contract.

How do you write an honest Russian Blue kitten ad?

• Registry (CFA or TICA), the parents' registered names and whether kittens go as pets or with breeding rights.
• Date of birth, sex and the date each kitten can go home.
• Vaccines, FeLV/FIV results, microchip and the parents' screening results.
• Temperament: say if a kitten is shy with strangers; CFA describes the breed as often shy at first meeting.
• Feeding: say what the kittens eat and how much; CFA says Russian Blues have large appetites and gain weight easily.
• Daylight photos that show the silver-tipped coat, and a short video with the mother.

Leave out hypoallergenic claims. PetMD says no cat, the Russian Blue included, is 100 percent hypoallergenic, and a 2024 review found no scientific evidence for a hypoallergenic breed. Keep your phone number out of the ad text so first contact comes as messages. When it is ready, post your Russian Blue kitten ad and check how other breeders word theirs among Russian Blue kittens for sale.

How do you vet buyers and hand over a Russian Blue kitten safely?

1. Ask about the home: who lives there, the ages of any children, other pets and whether the cat will live indoors. CFA says the breed does best in quieter homes and with older children.
2. Ask how they will feed the kitten. A buyer planning a bowl that is always full needs to hear that PetMD recommends measured meals.
3. Meet in your home so the buyer sees the mother and the kitten's surroundings.
4. Take payment in person and give a receipt. Refuse checks for more than the price with a request to refund the difference.
5. Sign the contract: price, health records, spay or neuter terms, how papers are released, and a take-back clause. CFA says responsible breeders take their cats back if an owner cannot keep one.
6. Transfer the microchip registration the same day and send home a care sheet with food, amounts and routine.

Buyers will read how to buy a Russian Blue kitten, so expect the questions it suggests. If you are placing a retired adult instead, see how to rehome your Russian Blue responsibly, and answer people searching for the breed through Russian Blue wanted ads with the same checks.