Cat breeder

Question
I just bought a Russian blue kitten from a breeder.  The breeder sold them at a lower cost because she breeds for family pets and they don't come with papers.  That was fine with me.  She stopped showing cats because she said people would bring cats were sick to the shows and the judges would go from cat to cat and she just didn't like that.  I noticed that the kitty had a small spot behind her left ear that was light brown.  The breeder told me it was food and it would wash out.  I just brought her home this last Friday and washed her and of course the light brown spot is still there.  I don't think this is normal, or is it?  I spent $300 on a mix breed, didn't I?  She is a great kitten and does seem to show the traits of a blue and she does look mostly like one, but how do I know for sure?  So my main question is what do I do now.  I talked to the breeder to let her know which I'm sure she did, that that spot didn't wash out.  She said she didn't notice and that the reason she was selling them so cheep was because they are not top of the line cats but she reassured me that she was a purebred.  I don't know what to do.  I would be happy to get a little money back but with out knowing what I am talking about I don't know how to confront her.  Please help, Thank you for your time, Amy

Answer
Hi Amy

The chances are that you do have a pure Russian Blue but quite often those being sold for pets are not up to show standard and it may be that they are mismarked or have wrong eye colour, perhaps a tail fault etc.  I would have said $300 is a fair price to pay for a pet quality kitten as in the UK a pet quality cat would cost in the region of $5/600 with breeding/showing quality being anything upward of that price.

If the spot is actually fur and not bare skin, then she is either mismarked (which seems unlikely if the breeder thought it would wash off) or it may be some flea treatment that has marked the fur.  If it is the latter then it will no doubt grow out in time.  If however it is a patch of bare skin, then I would challenge the breeder as to any infection, whether it has been cured or not.

Even if she is a pet quality kitten, you should have been provided with a copy of the pedigree showing her ancestory.  I would suggest that if you haven't been given that, you need to ask for a copy.

Realistically, my assessment is that if the cat is healthy, you have paid a realistic price for her but my advice would be to ask for a copy of her pedigree.

Regards

Marcia.