How do you manage to keep breeding without going broke

[MiuKitten Resident]

In general, the expectation that you can turn KittyCats! into a profit mill is a setup for disappointment. Yes there are big name breeders who sell their lovely cats at auction for huge prices, and sometimes you may get lucky and land a new trait you can sell for many thousands of L$, but usually you cannot expect to earn a tonne by breeding cats. It should be viewed as something you do for entertainment and enjoyment, rather than to pay the bills. However, you can usually make enough to pay all the expenses of your cats and occasionally bring in a profit.

1. Keep your cattery large enough to hold a diverse pool of traits, and small enough to remain manageable. Remember, for the first few weeks at least you will need to cover all of their expenses out of pocket. Either you'll be line breeding your starters, whose kittens probably won't sell well for a few generations, or you'll be buying highly traited cats from other breeders, which will use up any profit you might make selling kittens. Remember to leave space for the next generation when deciding on a cattery size; for instance if you start with a ten pack of starter kittens, you will want a cattery size of twenty or thirty to allow you to open the boxes and begin line breeding. Reevaluate your size in a month or two. If you've got really wonderful cats, you might expand. If you're struggling to break even, you might want to do a quick sale or menagerie and reduce the size.

2. Once you've established your cattery size, stick to it. I bought my first pair, went back for a St Pat's Kitty, and ended up with 280 at the height of my breeding career. It's very easy to let your cattery grow out of control, so work hard to streamline it. You will want to keep track of each cat's breeding so you can spot those who aren't producing. Sell if you can, or use the menagerie system to remove non-productive cats. This sounds heartless, but failing to remove non-productive cats will swell your cattery and eat up the profit you make on the other ones. Obviously I have pets like everyone else, but you have to be careful about not keeping every sweet face. If you're really attached to a cat, hold it in inventory for future perma-petting or at least turn off breeding so it consumes less food. Like others have said, be careful about opening boxes, too. It's tempting to open every box but make sure you remove a cat for every new box you add once you've reached your cattery size. Choose those whom you think are the best bet. The others can wait in inventory or you can sell them.

3. Minimize your costs wherever possible. Probably the biggest savings comes from moving cats to cattery, which allows you to get a smaller parcel and pay less tier. Avoid using vitamins, even though it's tempting (I'm a slave to the 10% love). Hold your cats and keep them fed instead of using happiness vitamins, don't perma-pair to avoid break up drinks, wait an extra day or two instead of using love vitamins for instant gratification. If you must use vitamins save them for your very best; for example if one pair's kittens are selling like hotcakes, give them the love vites and drops and let your other pairs wait it out.

4. As other have said, shop carefully. It's so easy to buy a starving cat out of pity, or a cute one just because it's cute. You end up purchasing cats you really don't need who will not improve the cattery. Evaluate every purchase. If you're looking for something particular, check out the forum posts or create a new wanted thread. Auction houses usually advertise lineups ahead of time too, so you can check out the offerings and see if the cat you need is selling there. It's wise to do some price checking before you buy, too. Look around for the cat you want and see what different sellers are listing it for.

5. Save your earnings! OMG this is such a problem for me because as soon as something sells I decide I must spend the money on clothes or furniture. What works for me is to immediately click the cattery dock and pay in so my profit is stored in K$. Alternatively, make an alt and pay it, then log on only when you need the money for your cattery. Often I've thought my cattery was deep in the red only to find it was actually making a small profit, only I was spending the profit and the expense money on other things. Keep a spreadsheet or something to record your incoming and outgoings.

6. Get involved in the cat community. Your breeding friends will have information and tips for you, and may even buy your cats or swap with you. Groups are good for price checking and advertising. Visit the auction houses, in my experience cats sell higher there because of the excitement and the crowd. Go to social events. Once you're established as a breeder, you will actually develop a clientele because people will know your cats. It's so much fun when someone goes to you because they know you specialise in something. Earn L$ by becoming a market manager, auctioneer or by renting land to other breeders.

7. Have fun and enjoy yourself. If you're nervous and frustrated about not making money, you're going to miss the point.