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 by either a poor breeder or just outright 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 who 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 .... A good quality British shorthair kitten is at least 1500.00 or better (1500.00 is actually very, very low end) and this does not include air delivery. .. if you want breeding rights then normal is around double the cost of the kitten. The above prices do not cover delivery/shipping costs. The 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 homes 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 underdeveloped so there is a high risk of the kitten getting sick. Also, know that a kitten's 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.. It's not needed but gives the kitten a much better social side if they are allowed that until they reach 12 weeks of age.
3. Be weary of those breeder sites that have several different colors or tons of kittens ... they normally are just a go-between (a broker) and normally from not so legit breeders or they are a kitty mill. Most of the time the kittens come to you very sickly 🙁 .
4. 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 a great fake websites and kitten photos(normally taken from true breeders sites), nice people when you talk to them, and so on so please be careful. When you think you have found your dream kitty and everything seems so great .... DO NOT GIVE A DEPOSIT till you have checked them out and here are a few ways you can do that.
SOME PREVENTION
- 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.
- Make sure to ask for their vet's info and call their vet to make sure that they take good care of their cats/kittens, also please check and verify that the vet is licensed and has a practice.
Scammers are pretty devious and I have actually heard that they will give you phone numbers and such to fake Vets and families.
So just by doing those two things you will weed out potential scammers. As well as learn how they care for their cats and kittens.
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.