A proven stud fee runs $500-1,500, and an unproven male is usually $300-800. The other common currency is a kitten: 1 pick-of-litter kitten, valued at $800-2,000, handed over at 12-14 weeks. Both structures work. A verbal deal does not, because it has no answer for the 3 questions that end most partnerships: who pays when no pregnancy results, who owns the litter if the queen dies, and where a dispute gets filed.
What a stud fee actually buys
A fee buys access, not a pregnancy. In practice that means 2-3 covers over 48 hours while the queen is standing, or 1 timed cover if the owner is running progesterone. Conception per cycle lands around 70-90% with good timing and drops under 50% with a single cover on day 1 of standing heat. State which of the 3 you are buying, because the price gap between 1 cover, 3 covers and unlimited covers inside 1 heat is 2-3x.
Transport is the line item nobody budgets. A 300-mile round trip, 2 trips per cycle, plus 2 nights of boarding adds $150-400. Most contracts put both directions on the queen's owner; if you want it split 50/50, write that down, because it will not be assumed.
Cash, kitten, or split litter
Payment in kittens is standard in show lines where cash is tight. Typical terms: the stud owner picks 1 kitten at 8 weeks, collects at 12-14 weeks, and pays no fee. Value the pick at the litter's median price, not the picker's favorite. If average kittens sell at $1,200, the pick is worth $1,200 in the negotiation and both sides should say so out loud.
A split litter at 50/50, or 1 kitten plus $200, only works when both households can hold 2-4 kittens for 8 weeks. Cost it first: $60-120 per kitten in food and litter, $40-80 in vaccines and deworming, $75-150 for 1 vet visit. Splitting a 4-kitten litter 2 and 2 usually nets less than a flat $800 fee, which is why most breeders take the cash.
The 5 clauses that decide who pays
A contract missing even 1 of these 5 gets argued over inside 6 months. Breeders who have run 10+ litters tend to fit all 5 on 2 pages.
- Health. Both cats FeLV/FIV negative within 12 months, 2 FVRCP vaccines within 12 months, no untreated ringworm in the last 30 days, and a signed statement that neither cat has been treated for a respiratory infection in the previous 14 days.
- Return and rebreed. No pregnancy after 2 consecutive cycles: 1 free rebreed or 50% refund, buyer's choice. A kitten with a defect visible at birth is replaced once, not twice.
- Expenses. Name who pays boarding at $25-45 a night, progesterone tests at $60-120 each, transport, and any C-section at $800-2,500. A C-section clause matters: it is the single largest bill in the deal.
- Credit and registration. Cattery name on the pedigree, 1 photo credit per litter, sire listed on the registration, and whether the stud owner may use litter photos in advertising.
- Dispute. Governing state or country, 30 days written notice before filing, and who pays mediation at $150-400 an hour, split 50/50 by default.
| Structure | Cost (USD) | Deposit % | Covers | Refund window (days) | Who carries a miss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash, 1 cover | 300-800 | 100 | 1 | 0 | queen's owner |
| Cash, 3 covers | 500-1,500 | 50 | 3 | 60 | shared |
| Pick kitten | 800-2,000 | 0 | 2 | 30 | stud owner |
| Split litter | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | both, 2 each |
| Kitten plus 200 | 200 | 0 | 2 | 30 | stud owner |
Timing the breeding window
Queens are induced ovulators and stand for 3-7 days. Day 2-4 is the fertile core. With testing, progesterone above 2.0 ng/mL, often 2.0-6.0, marks ovulation, and 2 covers 24-48 hours apart land well. Gestation is 63-65 days from the first cover with a normal range of 61-72. Count from the last cover, not the first, or you will call the vet 2 days early and get an unnecessary X-ray.
Health tests before the first cover
Minimum panel: FeLV/FIV snap test within 12 months at $35-60, blood type for both cats at $40-90, and a breed panel for HCM or PKD at $60-150. Blood typing is not optional here. A type B queen with a type A tom is the 1 pairing that can kill a whole litter in 24-72 hours through colostrum, and the fix is a 24-hour hand-rearing window that most owners cannot run at 3 a.m. The pairing rules are set out in blood type incompatibility.
Body condition matters as much as test results. A queen under 2.5 kg or over 5.5 kg conceives less reliably; most breeders wait for 15 months and 3.0 kg minimum, and keep the male at 4.0-6.0 kg with 2-3 kg of lean mass. A male used more than 3 times in 10 days produces thinner ejaculates, so cap him at 1 queen per week and give 7 days between loans. Housing, hygiene and quarantine rules for the male are covered in stud cat management.
Handover, return, and the 30-day window
Handover at 12-14 weeks, not 8. By then the kitten should have 2 FVRCP vaccines, deworming at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks, and a written weight history. A kitten leaving at 700 g and reaching 900 g within 3 weeks is on track; one arriving at 650 g at 12 weeks is a flag, not a personality quirk. Plot the number instead of guessing, using the kitten weight chart.
Return terms worth signing: 30 days for congenital defects found by a vet, 72 hours for infectious disease, and a return-to-breeder clause that costs the buyer $0 and forbids resale to a third party. Refuse any clause that lets the breeder reclaim a kitten after 6 months for reasons other than neglect, and refuse any clause that makes the buyer pay the stud fee again on a rebreed.
When the mating fails
2 failed cycles 6-8 weeks apart is the point to examine both cats rather than breed a third time. Check whether the cover was witnessed, whether progesterone was timed, whether the queen had a silent heat, and whether the male's sperm count is normal, which takes 1 collection at $150-300. In practice about 1 in 5 misses is a timing error and 1 in 5 is the male; the rest are age, weight or silent heats. Keep the file 12 months so the next negotiation starts from records instead of memory.
Before you sign
- Get the 5 clauses on paper, initialed, with dates: health, rebreed, expenses, credit, jurisdiction.
- Fix the fee in writing as either cash in a stated range or 1 pick kitten at a stated value, never both open-ended.
- Test both cats within 12 months and type both, even in a breed you think is all type A.
- Schedule covers for day 2-4 of standing heat, 2 covers 24-48 hours apart, and log the dates.
- Record the kitten's weight weekly from 8 to 16 weeks, because the scale settles arguments a contract cannot.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
Is a stud fee refundable if the queen does not get pregnant?
Usually not as cash. The standard term is 1 free rebreed within the next 2 heat cycles, which arrive 2-4 weeks apart in a cycling queen. Cash refunds of 50% appear in maybe 1 contract in 3, and only when the contract names a deadline, typically 60 days after the last cover, for claiming it.
Should I take a kitten instead of cash for a stud fee?
Only if you can house and socialize 1 more kitten for 12-14 weeks and you would have bought that kitten anyway. Price the pick at the litter median, not the best kitten. On a 4-kitten litter averaging $1,200, a pick is worth about $1,200, and selling it later rarely returns more than $900.
Do both cats need blood typing before a mating?
Yes, and it costs $40-90 for the pair. A type B queen with a type A tom can lose the whole litter within 24-72 hours of nursing, because colostrum carries anti-A antibodies. The workaround is removing kittens for the first 24 hours and hand-feeding, which is hard to sustain at 3 a.m. for a litter of 4.