Shelter or breeder: where should you get a pet? 🐾

Once you have decided to bring a cat or dog into your life, another question appears: where should you look for your future pet?

Adopt from a shelter or volunteer? Find a responsible breeder? Or is there really not much difference?

In reality, both options can be good — and both can also be very bad.

What matters much more than the words “shelter” or “breeder” is the health and welfare of the individual animal, the conditions in which it was raised or kept, the honesty of the people placing it, and whether your expectations match reality.

Let’s look at the question without slogans or guilt.

🐾 If you simply want a companion, breed is usually not essential

Most people are not looking for a future show champion or a working dog for a highly specific task.

Usually they want something much simpler: an animal companion that can live comfortably with their family and fit their lifestyle.

This is where it is particularly important not to overestimate the importance of breed.

A large genetic study of more than 18,000 dogs, published in Science in 2022, found that breed is associated with some behavioral tendencies, but explains only a small proportion of individual differences in behavior.

The personality of an individual dog cannot be reliably predicted from its breed name alone.

Age, individual temperament, previous experience, socialization, training and living conditions also matter enormously.

So statements such as “Labradors are always friendly,” “this breed is perfect with children,” or “dogs of this breed are never aggressive” are oversimplifications.

If your main goal is simply to find a family companion, it is much more useful to look at the individual animal and its personality.

🏠 What are the advantages of adopting from a shelter or volunteer?

The most obvious one is that you are giving a home to an animal that already needs one.

But the practical benefits do not end there.

With an adult cat or dog, many important characteristics are already visible.

You know roughly how large the animal is.

Its coat type is clear.

Its activity level can be assessed much more accurately than that of an eight-week-old puppy.

A significant part of its personality and behavior has already developed.

If the animal is living in a foster home rather than a large shelter, the volunteer may also know how it behaves in an apartment, whether it can stay alone, how it responds to other animals, whether it is frightened outdoors, whether it reliably uses a litter tray and how much human contact it seeks.

For a future owner, this information can sometimes be more useful than a pedigree.

🐶 But a shelter animal does not come with a personality guarantee

It is also important not to go to the opposite extreme.

You may hear that rescued animals are automatically more grateful, gentle and easy to live with.

Science cannot promise that.

For some animals, their previous history is unknown.

They may have lost an owner, lived on the street, received inadequate socialization or experienced prolonged stress.

The shelter environment itself can also affect behavior.

Research following dogs after adoption shows that some aspects of behavior can change during the first weeks and months in a new home.

Fear, excitement, reactions to unfamiliar people, difficulties being left alone or training problems may appear differently once an animal settles into its new environment.

Even a good shelter behavioral assessment therefore cannot predict with complete accuracy what an animal will be like at home.

That does not mean shelter dogs are “problem dogs.”

On the contrary, studies report high levels of satisfaction among people who adopt shelter animals, even when some difficulties arise during the adjustment period.

What matters more is that future owners have realistic expectations and are prepared to give the animal time.

🐱 The same applies to cats

The history of a cat placed with volunteers or in a shelter may also be unknown.

During the first days it may hide, avoid touch or, conversely, constantly seek human attention.

Behavior in a stressful environment does not always reflect a cat’s normal personality.

Research on shelter cats shows that relocation and a new environment can themselves cause considerable stress.

So a quiet cat in a shelter enclosure will not necessarily remain quiet at home, and a frightened cat will not necessarily stay fearful forever.

If the cat is living in a foster home, much more information about its everyday behavior is usually available.

❤️ One major advantage of a good shelter or volunteer is help finding the right match

A responsible volunteer should not be trying to “place the animal at any cost.”

Quite the opposite: a good volunteer will ask questions.

Are there children in the home?

Other cats or dogs?

How long will the animal be left alone?

Are you comfortable with long and active walks?

Have you owned animals before?

What will happen to the pet if you move?

This conversation is not an interrogation or an attempt to make adoption unnecessarily difficult.

Its purpose is to understand whether a particular animal suits a particular household.

Research on dog adoption suggests that attention to an individual animal’s personality and behavior can be associated with greater satisfaction among adopters.

🧬 So why choose a breeder at all?

There are situations in which deliberately choosing a pedigree animal is completely understandable.

For example, someone may need certain predictable physical characteristics in an adult dog — size, coat type or body structure.

Or the dog may be chosen not only as a companion but for a particular job or sport in which certain heritable traits matter.

Breeds do have genetically influenced characteristics.

But a responsible breeder is not simply someone whose pedigree dog or cat has produced puppies or kittens.

Their main goal should not be to produce the most visually striking animals possible, but to protect their health and welfare.

🩺 A good breeder thinks about health before puppies or kittens are even born

Selective breeding can reinforce more than desirable characteristics.

Hereditary diseases and physical traits that reduce quality of life can also become more common within pedigree populations.

That is why responsible breeding guidelines place strong emphasis on screening breeding animals.

Depending on the breed, this may involve genetic tests, cardiac examinations, eye examinations, joint screening and other veterinary assessments.

The same applies to cats.

The American Association of Feline Practitioners emphasizes genetic and medical screening as part of responsible breeding.

Research shows that genetic testing can genuinely reduce the frequency of some disease-associated inherited variants within pedigree populations.

So “the parents are healthy and have never been ill” is not a substitute for appropriate screening.

⚠️ Pedigree does not automatically mean healthy

A pedigree documents an animal’s ancestry.

It is not a lifetime guarantee of health.

Different breeds have different risks, and some extreme physical characteristics can themselves compromise animal welfare.

That is why modern European responsible-breeding guidance specifically recommends avoiding selection for harmful genotypes and exaggerated conformational traits.

This applies to both dogs and cats.

Severe brachycephaly, for example, raises significant welfare concerns, while the American Association of Feline Practitioners specifically opposes breeding cats for certain inherited deformities, including those seen in Scottish Fold cats.

Before choosing a breed, it is worth learning not only about its attractive coat or the personality described on a breeder’s website, but also about common health problems and the screening recommended for breeding animals.

🔎 What does a responsible breeder look like?

They do not try to sell you an animal as quickly as possible.

They are willing to discuss the parents’ health and show results from health screening recommended for the breed.

They talk not only about the breed’s advantages, but also about potential challenges.

They want to know about the home in which the animal will live.

They know the individual personalities of their puppies or kittens and help buyers choose an appropriate match.

They provide suitable living conditions, human contact and socialization.

They can explain the animal’s vaccination, parasite prevention and health history.

They do not send very young puppies or kittens away simply because a buyer wants to collect them as soon as possible.

A good breeder will also usually remain available after the animal has gone to its new home.

🚩 What should raise concerns?

The seller appears more interested in how quickly you will pay than in the animal’s future home.

You are not allowed to see the conditions in which the animals are kept.

You cannot see the puppy or kitten’s mother without a clear reason.

The seller regularly offers many different breeds.

There is no clear veterinary history.

When you ask for the parents’ health screening results, you are told, “Our line is completely healthy, testing isn’t necessary.”

Puppies or kittens are being offered unusually early.

The main selling point is a rare color, miniature size or unusual appearance, while health is barely discussed.

Anonymous advertisements, intermediaries and animal resellers deserve particular caution.

🛒 What about pet shops and resellers?

If an animal is being sold through an intermediary and you cannot clearly establish where it was born, what conditions it experienced during its first weeks of life or who its parents are, that is a serious reason to walk away.

Studies have examined dogs purchased as puppies from pet stores.

Compared with dogs obtained from noncommercial breeders, pet-store puppies showed significantly higher rates of various undesirable behavioral traits, including fear, house-soiling problems, separation-related difficulties and some forms of aggression.

Researchers concluded that purchasing puppies from pet stores could not be recommended until the reasons for these differences were better understood and addressed.

If you have decided to buy an animal, dealing directly with a responsible breeder allows you to obtain much more information about its origin and early life.

💰 Money should not be a condition of adoption

When an animal is being placed by a shelter or volunteer, the process should not become a sale.

MačkaPas does not allow volunteers or shelters to require payment for a cat or dog, or to make any mandatory contribution a condition of adoption.

A person may separately choose to support a registered shelter with a voluntary donation, but that donation must not be a condition for adopting a particular animal.

The situation is different with a breeder: the animal is being purchased.

But a high price does not guarantee anything by itself.

An expensive animal does not necessarily come from a responsible breeder.

When buying, it is therefore more useful to examine the animal’s origin, the health of its parents, screening results, living conditions and the breeder’s transparency rather than treating price as proof of quality.

🐕 Adult animal or baby?

This is another question that can sometimes matter more than the choice between shelter and breeder.

Puppies and kittens are adorable, but they require an enormous amount of time.

They need socialization, training, toilet training, careful introduction to the world around them and regular veterinary care.

And you still cannot know exactly what their adult personality will be.

With an adult animal, much more is already visible.

This can be especially useful for a family looking for a particular temperament.

For example, a calm family with a young child may sometimes be better matched with an adult dog whose behavior around children is already known than with a highly active puppy whose adult personality is still uncertain.

The same applies to cats.

🤔 So which option is actually better?

There is no universal answer.

If you simply want a companion animal and are open to different possibilities, starting your search with shelters and volunteers is an excellent idea.

Cats and dogs of many ages, sizes and personalities are already waiting for homes.

If you genuinely need particular inherited traits, size, physical characteristics or working ability, choosing a responsible breeder may make sense.

But the key word is responsible.

Whichever route you choose, ask questions.

Request health information.

Do not choose based on a photograph alone.

Learn about the personality of the individual animal.

Do not agree to take a pet in a rush.

And do not be afraid to walk away if something does not feel right.

🐾 The MačkaPas takeaway

Choosing between a shelter and a breeder is not a competition between “good” and “bad” pet owners.

What matters much more is making an informed and responsible decision.

If you adopt an animal from a shelter, do not expect lifelong gratitude because you “saved” it.

The animal owes you nothing — it simply needs time, safety and a home.

If you buy from a breeder, do not treat a pedigree as a guarantee of perfect health or personality.

Make sure the person is genuinely practicing responsible breeding.

And if breed, pedigree and particular inherited traits are not especially important to you, before searching through animals for sale, take a look at those already waiting for homes.

You may discover that you do not need to search any further. ❤️