Hey all!

So I already have one cat and I'm looking to add one more (and final) cat to my humble home. I know that ideally, adopting from shelters is the best way to go, and my current girl is a shelter adoptee/rescue that i got from the san diego human society three years ago (and had her travel with me cross country to chicago) and now... I think i want to try an actual breeder.

ive been in love with ragdoll cats for as long as i can remember, and ive been doing my research and ive talked to several catteries so far, and i think i finally found the one im going with! They're slotted to post pictures of the babies today and operate on a first come first serve basis, so i'm chewing my nails to ribbons hoping that i get a shot at selecting a kitten.

now the question i have is this, because i am a wee ignorant babe and have only ever used checks maybe twice... the breeder requests a 100$ deposit to hold the kitten and they only accept check or money order or cashier's check for this purpose. Is this safe? Im so used to paypal being the most secure way to send money and guarantee that you'll be able to get it back if something goes belly up... what happens if, god forbid, i get scammed? Is that money just gone forever, or is there some way to get it back?

again sorry for the ignorance!