WTF, DailyKitten.com???

I linked over to the new Kindle book, “Kitten Care For Beginners,” from the dailykitten website with high hopes – clearly those people love kittens, and almost all the kittens they feature seem to have been rescued from the streets, shopping centers, and parks of the country.  Because I foster for a cat rescue organization, it would be so nice to have an inexpensive resource to help people prepare for the addition of kittens to their lives.

However, after reading the preview excerpt I was horrified.  This book suggests that “kittens that come from breeders are also less likely to have health concerns.  Many charity based organizations simply take in any cat or kitten that needs a home, and then look for good owners.”  As if that is a bad thing.

They go on to say: “This means that many of the cats they take in have been in the streets or similar surroundings. They may have parasites, illnesses, malnourishment and other problems.  Charity organizations will do what they can to restore the health [of] a cat before sending it into a new home, but they can only reverse so much damage in so little time.”  They further assert that kittens from breeders are more likely to be friendly and easygoing because they have not had to fend for themselves.  They then add that if you want a kitten, you are more likely to find one at whatever time you want it, whereas charity organizations may not always have kittens but rather a “random selection of cats,” and that if they do have kittens they were most likely separated from their mother too early which also causes health issues.

Finally they say that adopting from shelters is going to be the hardest and require the most sacrifice from an adopter because you’re probably going to have to “settle for” an adult cat, and that cats that have been through hard times are less likely to trust you and “there is no telling what you will have to overcome with this pet”.
This just takes my breath away.  So little of it is true, and what truth it contains is so woefully out of context that I have to wonder if the author is a breeder.   I don’t have any interest in what else this book might have to say after reading this intro.  If I could give it zero stars believe me I would.  I wonder how many cats in shelters will be put to sleep because people who read this book decide they’d rather spend $2000 to buy a kitten from a breeder.  DailyKitten, I’m ASHAMED of you.

UPDATE 7/16 – the book appears to have been withdrawn and republished – the sample appears to no longer include the lengthy section recommending cats from breeders.  I don’t know if it’s gone, or if it’s just not in the sample and you only see it if you pay for the book.  I may buy it just to see, because the table of contents looks promising.  I wonder if there was some error in the first version?