What are the most expensive cats in the world?

by Michael Broad · September 9, 2020

I am referring to domestic cats in this article as domestic cats interest most people but you can buy tigers etc. (don’t buy one, by the way). The most expensive domestic cats in the world are going to be the F1 wild cat hybrids such as the F1 Savannah and F1 Bengal. The F1 Savannah is also sometimes referred to as the Ashera from Lifestyle Pets. I don’t know whether Lifestyle Pets are still trading. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this business about 10 years ago. Some years ago the Ashera GD (the alleged hypoallergenic version) was priced at $127,000. I wrote about the then world’s most expensive cat, “At $127,000, The Royal Ashera is the worlds most expensive domestic cat. A lot of us (and most if not all in the cat fancy) have heard about Allerca cats. Amongst that stable of cats is the Ckakan, the original Allerca and the best known of all the Ashera”. Read more by clicking on this link.

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Ashera GD Lifestyle Pets

So the first filial Savannah and Bengal cats can sell for about $25,000 or even more. When you are discussing the cost of exotic domestic cats you rely upon the market price of that cat rather than working out the price on some sort of scale. It is just about what you can sell your cat for. This is about the marketplace of supply and demand. Remember that owning one of these cats carries responsibilities and demands. They are not for everybody.

There are several websites on the Internet with misleading information in my opinion. They quote the price of a Persian cats at US$5,500. You cannot take that price as an across-the-board price for all Persian cats. Going back as far as 1991, Richard H Gebhart, a former president of the Cat Fanciers’ Association said that “it is difficult to find one that will be competitive for less than $1,500”. He was referring to Persian kittens as being the most expensive purebred cat at that time. And he also mentioned that the more competitive a kitten is the more likely a breeder is to ask more for it. He meant competitive in terms of winning competitions at cat shows.

“Gino” or more formally: GC, NW Velvetkist Designer Genes, CFA’s Cat of the Year 2016-17. Bred by Noralayn Heisig of Velvetkist Persians. A well groomed cat 😉 .

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Perhaps, a beautiful Persian show cat which has won some competitions and is still young may fetch the price of US$5,500 or even higher but I don’t think that you can argue that this is the standard price for this popular cat.

Tiger Girl Peterbald cat. Photo: the breeder.

Rarity is obviously a major factor. One website states that the rare Peterbald cat which is semi-hairless and hails from Russia costs US$5,000. This must be a top price because my research indicates that the price varies between $1,700 and $3,000. Nonetheless this is expensive and clearly one of the more expensive cat breeds because of rarity.

Sphynx cats can have oily skin which smells unless bathed regularly. Picture in public domain.

The Sphynx is a well-known hairless cat. Prices vary between US$1,500 and US$10,000 depending on the quality of the cat. As I said, this is a marketplace and a breeder will try and get the maximum they can for their cat depending upon the usual pressures of supply and demand. I suspect that the US$10,000 pricetag relates to a breeding cat of high quality. Standard pedigree cats from good breeders might cost between $3,000 and $6,000.

Ed Sheeran with Calippo his Scottish Fold type cat.

They say that the Scottish Fold sells for about US$3,000. Once again this must depend upon the quality of the cat which in turn depends upon the standards and the reputation of the breeder. The Scottish Fold is currently a popular celebrity cat which must push up prices. I would expect, however, that the standard Scottish Fold from a stand breeder would cost under $1,000. It is hard to pinpoint an exact price because it is so dependent upon the quality of the cat. And remember that Scottish Folds have potential inherited health issues due to the gene that causes the ear flaps to fold.

I think I can say with a fair amount of certainty that, today in 2020, the average purebred cat of most breeds will cost between US$500 and US$1,000 depending upon quality. I am reliant upon a breeder who wishes to comment on this page if the information provided by me as incorrect. The prices on the financesonline.com website are all top end prices in my view.

The conclusion, though, must be that the F1 Savannah cat which has been referred to as the Ashera is the most expensive domestic cat today and depending upon the quality it is said that the price can rise to as much as US$125,000. F2s all the way down to F5 Savannah cats normally become progressively cheaper as they become less wild in terms of their DNA. You will be able to buy an F5 Savannah cat of quality for a similar price to any other quality purebred cat in my opinion. Cheap prices often mean that the cat does not have a pedigree and is not purebred.

The world’s most expensive cat at the time was a California Spangled, a now defunked cat breed.