Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about how buying and selling a purebred cat on TrueKitten actually works — the money, the verification, and what happens if something goes wrong.
For buyers
The TrueKitten Safe-Home Process is the name for how every purchase on TrueKitten works, end to end. It has five parts: a breeder whose identity we've independently verified; health documents authenticated against their issuing registries and matched to the kitten by microchip; the listing’s sale contract, which you both sign before payment; your online payment held through Stripe until you confirm the in-person handoff with a one-time PIN; and two separate protections standing behind the deal. The Safe-Handover Guarantee is the transaction backstop — if a deal turns out to be fraudulent, you're made whole through our resolution process, from the funds held for that transaction. Separately, the Zero-Regret Guarantee refunds our Payment Protection fee within 30 days if you're unhappy with TrueKitten's service — our fee, never the kitten's price.
When you pay online through TrueKitten, those online funds are not sent straight to the breeder. It's held securely by our payments provider, Stripe, and released to the breeder only after you've met your kitten in person and confirmed the handoff. TrueKitten never holds your money in its own bank account — we orchestrate the release, Stripe holds the funds. For cash-at-pickup purchases, the remaining cash balance is paid directly to the breeder and is not processed or held by TrueKitten. Stripe refunds cover captured online funds only; any breeder-returned cash is documented separately.
Any health guarantee offered by the breeder is their own promise under the sale contract, not TrueKitten’s. Read the selected contract before offering to understand what the breeder promises and any conditions that apply. TrueKitten is a marketplace venue, not the seller, so we don't guarantee any animal's health ourselves. What we do is verify health documents against their issuing registries and match them to the specific cat by microchip, so you can see the paperwork is real before you commit.
We authenticate a cattery's identity before its listings go public, so every breeder in our catalog is verified — unverified catteries don't appear at all. We also authenticate the health-test documents a breeder submits against their issuing registries, matching each test to the cat it covers by microchip. A Verified badge is the visible marker of that identity check — it is never a promise about a kitten's health.
With online payment, the buyer's 10% Payment Protection fee uses the kitten's price — for example, $300 on a $3,000 kitten. With approved cash-at-pickup payment, it uses only the newly collected kitten deposit; a previously paid litter deposit keeps its existing treatment. Applicable fee waivers still apply. Payment processing applies to online payments, is passed through at cost, and is shown separately. The breeder's Success fee uses the full kitten price and is deducted from online proceeds when the sale completes. There are no membership or sign-up fees to buy.
Two separate protections cover you, and they're deliberately kept apart. The Safe-Handover Guarantee is our transaction backstop: if a deal turns out to be fraudulent or seriously wrong, you're made whole through our resolution process — usually by refunding the money still held in escrow, since the breeder hasn't been paid yet. Stripe refunds cover captured online funds only. Any cash returned directly by the breeder is documented separately; an online refund alone does not establish that the whole purchase was refunded. Separately, the Zero-Regret Guarantee is our 30-day service promise: if you're unhappy with TrueKitten's service, we refund the Payment Protection fee you paid, no questions asked. That refunds our fee — never the kitten's price. Two guarantees, two different jobs.
It's self-serve and takes a moment. Open your purchase from your dashboard, and within 30 days of picking up your kitten choose “Request the Zero-Regret refund.” We refund our 10% Payment Protection fee back to your original payment method — no questions asked. This refunds our service fee only, never the kitten's price, and it's completely separate from the Safe-Handover transaction backstop.
Every sale is an in-person pickup. When you meet the breeder and take your kitten home, you confirm the handoff with a one-time PIN. That confirmation is what releases the breeder's payment from escrow — so you've seen and held your kitten before any money moves. There's no shipping or fly-in delivery.
Keep the offer, accepted payment arrangement, contract, and handover on TrueKitten. Pay online unless your accepted offer uses the approved cash-at-pickup arrangement: then pay the deposit and applicable fees online and the stated remaining balance directly to the breeder in cash. Cash is not held or processed by TrueKitten. Requests for unagreed payments by wire or app are a red flag. Review the arrangement and amounts before signing or paying.
For breeders
There are no listing fees and no membership fees — you pay only when a kitten actually sells. The Success fee is 10% of the sale, success-based. Founding catteries pay half — 5% — for their first 6 months, and that window runs from your own cattery's signup. And when you bring your own buyer with your referral link, you pay 0% Success fee on that sale, because we took no acquisition cost.
Online funds are held through Stripe until the sale completes. After PIN-confirmed handover and the existing grace window, the online payout is sent to your connected account. For cash-at-pickup sales, you collect the remaining cash directly and confirm its receipt at handover. Your Success fee uses the full kitten price and is deducted from online proceeds. Cash is not held or paid out by TrueKitten; a zero online payout creates no Stripe transfer.
We authenticate your identity before your listings go public, so your cattery earns the Verified badge and appears in the catalog — every breeder buyers see there is verified, which is exactly why they trust it. We also authenticate the health-test documents you submit against their issuing registries, matching each test to the cat by microchip. The badge tells buyers we confirmed your paperwork is genuine.
Yes. You keep full veto over every offer — nothing sells without your say-so. Standard is the default contract choice, and you can also create a custom contract. Buyers read the contract selected for each listing before offering, and both parties sign before payment. Set your cattery’s default once, then choose the contract for each new listing.
No. Listing on TrueKitten is non-exclusive — you're free to sell through your own channels too. TrueKitten earns its 10% only on the sales that complete here, so there's no reason to lock you in.