Documentary sheds light on kitten con artists
Around 340,000 of the 500,000 cats bought last year in the UK were found online on websites like Facebook, Gumtree, Pets 4 Homes and Preloved.
Feline welfare charity Cats Protection has launched a new documentary shedding light on kittens traded online at less than the legal age for commercial sale.
Entitled The Big Kitten Con, the documentary stars veterinary surgeon and television presenter Dr Fabian Rivers, who provides consumer advice on how to purchase a kitten safely.
The documentary comes after a recent survey by Cats Protection found that around 42 per cent of owners had seen a suspicious advert for a cat or kitten on Facebook, Gumtree, Pets 4 Homes or Preloved.
In the documentary, cat owner Samantha Webb speaks about how she fought in vain to help an underage kitten that she purchased online.
Samantha said: “I saw a photo of playful kittens on Facebook with a caption saying ‘10-week-old kittens ready to go, mum can be seen’. I sent the person a private message to discuss further, and on the day that my husband and I went to collect my kitten, the seller messaged me to say there would be a charge of £30.
“We arrived outside a chaotic household and could see several noisy dogs and a number of adult cats and kittens wandering in and out. The seller handed me a frail and limp kitten who wouldn’t open his eyes. He looked quite different to the kittens in the photo.”
The documentary also sees Dr Rivers share his advice to potential kitten buyers, including asking to see the mother cat at least twice and for clear evidence that the kitten is eight weeks old.
He said: “Every day as a vet, I see more cats come through my door that are set up for failure from the very start.
“It’s so important that we take these living, sentient, amazing beings much more seriously, especially when they are young and vulnerable. They are not accessories or toys and they have to be treated with much more respect.”
Around 340,000 of the 500,000 cats bought last year in the UK were found online on websites like Facebook, Gumtree, Pets 4 Homes and Preloved. However, Cats Protection fears that this has allowed some unscrupulous individuals to take advantage of the anonymity of the Internet and deceive unsuspecting buyers.
As such, the charity is calling on cat lovers to sign a petition calling for the regulation of cat breeding in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - bringing it into line with Scotland, which introduced a law late last year.
Madison Rogers, the charity’s acting head of advocacy and government relations, said: “We want anyone who breeds two or more litters of kittens in a year to be licensed which would make them subject to regular inspections. This will bring unscrupulous sellers out of the shadows and help protect helpless and innocent kittens.”
Cats Protection’s “The Big Kitten Con” video and petition can be found at cats.org.uk/kitten-con
Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.
