Example of a contract for the purchase of a Maine Coon cat

It might be useful for people who are considering purchasing a Maine Coon cat to take a look at this contract from a Maine Coon breeder in Florida, USA. It is probably not that untypical. It is quite a tough contract. And let's be clear, it is the seller, the breeder who draws up the contract and gives it to the buyer who must accept it.

Normally in the case of contracts, or often, let's say, both parties agree to the contract and make amendments, if need be, to ensure that both parties agree the terms and conditions.

But when you buy Maine Coon get you have to accept the terms and conditions of the breeder. They are imposed on you whether you like it or not.

Florida Maine Coon breeders (2023)

These are the key elements of this contract:

The buyer has to ensure that their Maine Coon kitten is spayed or neutered at an age considered to be old enough by a veterinarian which would be 5-6 months of age according to the contract.

The buyer has to provide written verification that they have spayed or neutered (altered) their Maine Coon kitten within one month of the operation.

If the buyer does not alter the kitten, they will have to pay the breeder $1000 plus any legal fees incurred. They will have to also return the kitten to the breeder. The reason for this very tough condition is that the kitten is sold as a pet and not as a breeding cat. Cat breeders have to ensure that people don't compete with them and buy kittens to start their own breeding establishment.

The buyer also has to agree to keep their cat indoors, feed the cat a proper diet and keep the cat healthy which includes proper vaccinations and yearly boosters. Comment: it will be difficult to enforce this term because it applies to the lifetime of the cat. In fact, there's no chance of the breeder being able to enforce this term but it is there nonetheless perhaps to focus the mind of the purchaser.

The buyer also agrees not to declaw their cat or resell them. That's an interesting one. The buyer cannot sell-on their Maine Coon kitten at a profit.

And, also, the buyer agrees to provide the breeder with the first option to buy back the kitten if they intend to no longer keep the kitten or cat if they've grown up. Once again, this will be difficult to enforce by the breeder because how are they going to know what the buyer is doing a few years down the line?

The seller makes no guarantee as to the health or the quality of the kittens sold accept that they are provided with a seven-day health guarantee from the date of delivery. The seller also agrees that the kitten is free of parasites, leukaemia, FIV and is DNA negative for HCM at the time of delivery.

If the kitten falls ill seven days after delivery to the buyer the breeder agrees to pay the veterinary bill up to a maximum value of the purchase price of the kitten provided it is agreed that the illness originated at the breeder's cattery. The buyer will have to prove that through a veterinary statement.

On purchasing the kitten, the buyer has to provide a $200 deposit which is non-refundable. That means that if you back out of the purchase having put down the deposit you will lose the deposit. The total cost of the kitten is US$2200.