by Marie
(Chattanooga, TN)
My husband and I are planning to retire to a liveaboard houseboat in a year and are considering the teacup cat as a pet. I would be interested in information for adoption or purchase.
Marie
Hi Marie… thanks for visiting and enquiring. I see the logic of thinking about adopting a very small cat for houseboat living.
However, a very small cat does not necessarily feel more at home living on a houseboat than a normal sized cat. Also a very small cat might not be less likely to cause damage etc. In any case we should be able to accept any level of damage from a cat if we are to adopt a cat. Cats do not usually cause any noteworthy damage.
Teacup cats are pretty rare in my opinion and the prices are high.
The breeder in the USA that I have in mind is Pocket Kitties. You probably know them.
Here is a Pocket Kitties page showing some miniature toy or teacup cats. However, you might also know that they have stopped. So they are no help to you other than in contacting them and asking questions. They may know alternative breeders of miniature cats.
Personally, I would adopt a cat suited to apartment living which is similar to houseboat living.
I have a page on the subject of cat breeds suitable for apartment living.
Other than a cat breed, I would have thought a suitable random bred would be a good idea. An older cat is more likely to feel at home inside. That idea might well be unacceptable to you.
I have a page on teacup cats. The smallest cat breed and a cat that is not much bigger than a teacup cat is the Singapura. These cats are the same price as any other purebred cat. See Singapura world breeder list.
You might like to try and contact an person who lives with a miniature cat: Melvin.
I also have a page on miniature cats.
One potential negative with very small cats is health. I don’t know it they are predisposed to health problems but they are bred very small and that may promote health issues.