Scammers and What to look out for:
I have decided to create this page since every week someone contacts me and in some form has been scammed from either a poor breeder or just out right fraud. Since I know many are out looking for their new dream kitty and not expecting to be scammed by a breeder I want all to know it happens a lot. So I figured I would try to help those that are unaware and give some ideas on things you can do to help you from being scammed. I will list different types of scamming and what you can do to help protect yourself a little.
1. Be weary of breeders that have very low prices .... The average cost for a quality registered purebred British Shorthair is between 1500.00 and 2500.00 .. if your wanting breeding rights then normal is around double the cost of the kitten. The above prices do not cover delivery/shipping cost. Normal reason for low priced kittens is that most likely they can not be registered due to the breeder not having the right papers or does not have breeding rights so your kitten will never be able to be a registered purebred.
Things you can do to prevent this ... ask for the Pedigree of both the Female and Male. If they can not provide it .. move on. Once you receive the pedigrees make sure to see if the registration number is on it .. some breeders will mark the registration numbers of the pedigree out and that is due to another form of Scamming that takes place. So even if its marked out you can see it was their. The next thing to look at is the owner of the cat .. if its not the breeder find out why? The female should for sure have the breeders name as the owner to her for this is how they can register the litter. If it isn't the breeders name than ask why. The male not so much since a lot of breeders use an out of cattery male but they should be willing to tell you.
If its a cattery ask what club their cattery is registered with and than go to that club and make sure to check if its listed their. You could also ask for the Cattery registration certificate.
2. Be weary of Breeders that are willing to let their kittens go to new home Under 10 weeks of age ... the normal good breeder actually will not allow a kitten to leave the cattery till they are at least 12 weeks old .. the reason for this is for the well being of the kitten, their socializing with their litter mates and also a kitten under 12 weeks immune systems are still under developed so their is a high risk of the kitten getting sick. Also know that a kittens immune system is actually in development till they are around a year old. Plus normally a kitten is not even fully weaned till they are at least 10 weeks old. My babies normally are still nursing on their moms till the day they go to their new homes.. not needed but again gives the kitten a much better social side if they are allowed that till they at least reach 12 weeks of age.
3. The True Scammer .. Asking for a deposit and then never hearing from them again. This happens a lot ... most of the time they look totally legit even with fake websites and kitten photos(normally taken from true breeders sites). When you think you have found your dream kitty and every thing seems so great .... DO NOT GIVE A DEPOSIT till you have checked them out and here are a few ways you can do that.
- Ask to see if you can get previous kittens new adopted families emails or phone numbers to contact to see how the whole process went and how their kittens are doing. Most good breeders are open to this and already know how their families will respond. Make sure to get at least 5 but more is better.
- Ask for their vets info both Phone and Address.. than make sure to call the vet .. this will give you tons of information on how they care for their kittens/cats.
So just by doing those two things you will weed out the true scammers.
GOOD LUCK to you all on your search for your dream kitty and please if you need any help I am more than willing to answer any questions or give you suggestions so just contact me if needed.