I am a lifelong rescuer, and I do struggle with this issue sometimes. But if someone were to show me photos of their purebred, that's not the time to say anything. It's just rude and self serving, and it's not going to change any minds.

Besides, as mentioned previously, purebreds do show up in rescues and sometimes in shelters. I got my Bengal mix through a friend who took him out of a bad living situation. We need the experience and expertise of the purebred owners to help us take better care of these types of rescues.

Blah. I have rescued so many cats in my life. If I choose to buy from a breeder, I have that right. And really, my 4 cats now, 3 r rescues. So now that I'm IN A PLACE where I can actually afford a Bengal. How bout **** you? ppl spend money on all kinds of things. I spent mine on a living, breathing, animal. Notn some inanimate object.

I have heard that a good response when someone rudely forces their opinion on something like this, is to smile and say "I can't believe you would say something like that." The point is to not be flustered by their comment, and make them realize how rude their comment is.

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That is one way to put it, but it really isn't anybody else's business why you decided to purchase a purebred instead of a shelter cat. I'm guessing someone who would say this has several cats they have adopted from the shelter and if they don't, just say, "why don't YOU go and rescue few animals?"

Most self-righteous people do not think through their statements at all. I mean, apply this broken mentality to other things in life. I can't recall anyone ever asking me if I "picked up" my wife at a woman's shelter, and that I shouldn't have ever considered anything else because there are women there that deserve to be loved and respected.

Pets are not and should never be anything less than family. I have no tolerance for 3rd parties that try to tell me who I should add to my family or where "allowable" sources are in their opinion. I don't believe you should adopt a child just because you want to have a child and I sure as hell don't believe that anyone is more deserving of a caring family than someone else just because they were abandoned or rescued.

If they are looking for someone to shame, then start tracking down the people that accepted the responsibility of a new family member then failed and sit on their lawn with a picket sign about how they are irresponsible.