Issue with breeder and I need advice

JBMMBJ

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Hello everyone,

I hope this is the correct place for me to post this.

I am buying a kitten from a breeder that seems to be ethical, she has a good reputation from what I’ve seen and social media with good reviews and lots of pictures throughout the years.
Now, my issue is that I’m supposed to pick up my kitten not this following weekend, but the next one. And the breeder still has not confirmed a date. She just told me it “most likely” will be that weekend, but I don’t know a specific time or anything similar.

I asked her at least five times already in the past few weeks, and I’m starting to feel upset. Today (Wednesday) she said she would tell me by the end of the day for sure, and once again here I am still waiting with no confirmed date. At this point it will be only 8/9 days before I have to pick up the kitten and I really need to do some planning as the breeder is not that close to me.

I explained I need to make a reservation for that weekend as well and that’s also why I really need to know. But still, it seems it doesn’t matter to her that I have been asking many times and would really have to know.
I feel my request is being ignored and I’m losing my patience. At this point I just want to pick up the kitten and get it over with, it feels I have been waiting forever.

Am I overreacting? How do you think I should act in this case?
My plan would be to text her once again tomorrow morning, and if she doesn’t tell me I would ask my husband to call her. Not in a threatening way, but at this point maybe he would have more success than me.

Any advice welcome! Thank you!
 

karleigh

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Hi, you’re definitely in a tough situation. If I was in your shoes, I’d text the breeder one last time and if she doesn’t act accordingly and professionally, I would just look for another breeder. You have every right to be upset since one of those kittens could be your new baby!
 
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JBMMBJ

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Hi, thank you for your reply! I will text her again in a couple of hours and hopefully this time she will tell me. Compared to other breeders I had talked to before choosing to work with her, she always replies to my messages, and pretty quickly. Many other breeders either didn’t respond at all or took days to answer in a cold way. She has always been very nice in her replies, which I appreciate. But this waiting game is getting tiring for me.I’m not asking much, I just want to know when I have to go get my kitten, since it’s in basically a week. I would not want to give up the kitten I have already chosen. I’m so close to getting him, and if I chose to go with another breeder I would not get my deposit back I imagine, and I also would probably have to wait a few more months. So I would really want to avoid this, what to do you think?
 

Maurey

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While it’s not the best look, keep in mind, ethical breeding isn’t profitable — most breeders will have a day job. They could just be busy, so have some patience. If this is the only thing that has concerned you about the breeder, I honestly wouldn’t worry.
 

sivyaleah

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While it’s not the best look, keep in mind, ethical breeding isn’t profitable — most breeders will have a day job. They could just be busy, so have some patience. If this is the only thing that has concerned you about the breeder, I honestly wouldn’t worry.
To the OP - I agree with this as I was in a similar situation.

The breeder of our Maine Coon is very well known in cat circles, has been breeding for decades. Very involved in CFA events. She was very upfront at the beginning letting me know she's extremely busy between her regular work and family obligations. Add in breeding and one can see how missed connections can happen.

I had to do quite a bit of calling to get info from her but since I knew she was reputable, had to just put some trust into the process. I'd never done this before so that was difficult for me. I did find out eventually that our girl weaned late and one of the reasons she didn't give us an exact pick up date was she wanted to be sure she was sending her home with us fully weaned. Of course, wish she had communicated that earlier to us but was glad that she cared enough to keep her longer if necessary.

I did finally get a little firm with her to commit to a date since it was going to be a rather long drive to get her. Once I explained why I needed a firmer date she understood and we finally agreed on the day I'd get Luna.

It is very frustrating. Have you given the breeder a deposit at this point? That certainly would dictate if you should just wait it out or walk away. Or give the benefit of the doubt since it's all gone fine up to now?
 
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JBMMBJ

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To the OP - I agree with this as I was in a similar situation.

The breeder of our Maine Coon is very well known in cat circles, has been breeding for decades. Very involved in CFA events. She was very upfront at the beginning letting me know she's extremely busy between her regular work and family obligations. Add in breeding and one can see how missed connections can happen.

I had to do quite a bit of calling to get info from her but since I knew she was reputable, had to just put some trust into the process. I'd never done this before so that was difficult for me. I did find out eventually that our girl weaned late and one of the reasons she didn't give us an exact pick up date was she wanted to be sure she was sending her home with us fully weaned. Of course, wish she had communicated that earlier to us but was glad that she cared enough to keep her longer if necessary.

I did finally get a little firm with her to commit to a date since it was going to be a rather long drive to get her. Once I explained why I needed a firmer date she understood and we finally agreed on the day I'd get Luna.

It is very frustrating. Have you given the breeder a deposit at this point? That certainly would dictate if you should just wait it out or walk away. Or give the benefit of the doubt since it's all gone fine up to now?
Thank you for your reply!
Finally today she gave me the information I was looking for, and I will pick up my kitten next weekend. I finally have a confirmed date and time.

I had to be quite persistent to be able to get that information, and as in your case, the breeder is not close, and I had to know.

I had given the breeder a deposit before my kitten was even born, so it’s been quite a lot of waiting. I also would have hoped to receive more pictures of my kitten, but I do understand that breeders are very busy.

I hope everything will go smoothly until I get my kitten!
 

sivyaleah

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Thank you for your reply!
Finally today she gave me the information I was looking for, and I will pick up my kitten next weekend. I finally have a confirmed date and time.

I had to be quite persistent to be able to get that information, and as in your case, the breeder is not close, and I had to know.

I had given the breeder a deposit before my kitten was even born, so it’s been quite a lot of waiting. I also would have hoped to receive more pictures of my kitten, but I do understand that breeders are very busy.

I hope everything will go smoothly until I get my kitten!
That's wonderful. What kind of cat is your new arrival? Please post photos when she's home!
 
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JBMMBJ

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That's wonderful. What kind of cat is your new arrival? Please post photos when she's home!
My kitten will be a Ragdoll, a beautiful boy! Thank you for the support!
 
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