Good Evening Everyone,
I've been dealing with a difficult situation these past months and I wanted to get some feedback from this community. There's a lot of history here, but I'll do my best to summarize it.
I started searching for a registered cattery willing to sell a male Maine Coon with breeding rights in early 2018. It wasn't until July 2018 that I finally found a cattery. I described my plans to start a cattery and, at my request, the cattery owner provided a sample contract for breeders, which included the price and deposit for a male kitten with breeding rights. The cattery owner's website has a FAQ which also describes some details of the process.
After I described that I was interested in purchasing a registered male coon with full breeding rights, and expressed the importance of the cat having good health, the cattery owner approved me as a buyer for a registered male with breeding rights. She required a $750 deposit in order to reserve my spot on her waiting list for customers to purchase a kitten. After agreements by email were exchanged, I proceeded to send her my deposit on July 19th 2018. On August 9th 2018, I became 1st in line on her waiting list to reserve a male kitten.
I followed up with the cattery owner several times over the months between then and now, and finally the owner replied and notified me that she had two litters expected between the 16th-24th in the month of March (after 8 months of patiently waiting).
On March 5th, the owner sent me an email asking if I was interested in a kitten from the upcoming litter. On Marth 11th, I responded to her email and said, "I am interested in seeing any male kittens you have available. I don't believe I have any preference regarding the parents, as long as they are healthy registered purebred Maine coons. My choice will be based on color pattern and health of the kitten."
On March 17th, the owner emailed me as though I never replied to her email from March 5th, where she asked me if I was interested in a kitten from the upcoming litter. According to her website, the kittens were born on March 16 and March 17th.
I reaffirmed my interest in another email to her on March 20th, where I said, "I didn't receive any pictures from you so I have not seen any of the kittens yet. I also don't see any kittens shown in the kittens section on your website. I can't say for certain if I'd be interested in the kitten without seeing it first. I'd prefer white over red if those are the only choices, but color patterns are also a consideration.
I've been waiting since July of last year so I'm hopeful you'll have a healthy kitten for me this month. Please let me know."
The cattery owner's website has a FAQ which clearly says, "when a litter is 2 weeks old, we will post photos of the kittens on the website and send out an email to everyone that has paid a deposit and is in line for a kitten from this litter."
Despite the policy details outlined in the FAQ section of her website, she responded on March 20th—only 3 days after the litter was born—saying she skipped me in line and a different customer reserved all of the male kittens. Her excuse for skipping me only 3 days after the kittens were born was because she falsely claimed I never responded to her email where she asked if I was interested in a kitten from that litter.
When I explained I had responded to her and politely let her know she skipped me after I told her I was interested, she gave me an aggressive tone and said she didn't want to "dwell on the past." I didn't want to escalate the situation so I swallowed my tongue and decided to look forward to the next litter due this month.
The cattery owner then sent me an email notifying me that she would be charging me more for a male kitten with breeding rights than what she had originally quoted me last year. She also said she'd be making changes to the contract to add additional limitations and restrictions.
The next litter was born on the 21st and 22nd (last week). According to her website, 7 kittens were born so I had high hopes. Given the aggressive tones and the unethical way she skipped me in line and decided to jack up the price and change the contract, I decided I should fly down there so we can make the trade in person (that way she can't simply take the money and never ship the kitten. Also I'll have peace of mind knowing the kitten will be traveling under my care). Despite asking a few times already, she still hasn't told me how much she wants to charge me for the kitten.
Today she sent me an email claiming the mother of her recent litter of 7 kittens had an emergency visit from a Veterinarian this past weekend, and the vet told her she may have a heart murmur. So now the cattery owner is telling me the kittens may not be suitable for breeding.
Of course I don't want to purchase a kitten with a genetic defect causing heart problems, but given the recent events, I can't help but wonder if she's being sincere. On the one hand, I'm really looking forward to purchasing a male (for a fair price) with breeding rights so I can finally get my cattery going (which I've been planning for years). On the other hand, I don't know if this person can be trusted. I can't help but question her intentions and her integrity.
Unfortunately, also on her website FAQ is stated that deposits are non-refundable, so I'm convinced she'd make things very difficult for me if I asked her for a refund—even if I have good reason for it.
I can understand the reason most catteries say deposits are non-refundable; because a responsible breeder doesn't bring new kittens into this world without first having buyers lined up to ensure they all find good homes. However, my reason for wanting a refund would be due to her inability to provide a kitten in a timely manner, and the unethical nature in which she treated me as a customer.
Those are the events as they occurred. I have every conversation fully documented by email as evidence of my experience. I'm interested to read what folks from this community think about my situation.
Was I a fool to trust a TICA and CFA registered cattery with my deposit without first receiving a signed contract? Are there CFA/TICA rules of professional conduct for registered catteries which should prohibit these types of situations? Does anyone think I should try to get my deposit back? Should I try to move forward with the purchase? What would you do in my shoes?
Thank you all for your feedback. I've been losing a lot of sleep lately over these concerns and I'm hoping some fresh perspectives might help.
I've been dealing with a difficult situation these past months and I wanted to get some feedback from this community. There's a lot of history here, but I'll do my best to summarize it.
I started searching for a registered cattery willing to sell a male Maine Coon with breeding rights in early 2018. It wasn't until July 2018 that I finally found a cattery. I described my plans to start a cattery and, at my request, the cattery owner provided a sample contract for breeders, which included the price and deposit for a male kitten with breeding rights. The cattery owner's website has a FAQ which also describes some details of the process.
After I described that I was interested in purchasing a registered male coon with full breeding rights, and expressed the importance of the cat having good health, the cattery owner approved me as a buyer for a registered male with breeding rights. She required a $750 deposit in order to reserve my spot on her waiting list for customers to purchase a kitten. After agreements by email were exchanged, I proceeded to send her my deposit on July 19th 2018. On August 9th 2018, I became 1st in line on her waiting list to reserve a male kitten.
I followed up with the cattery owner several times over the months between then and now, and finally the owner replied and notified me that she had two litters expected between the 16th-24th in the month of March (after 8 months of patiently waiting).
On March 5th, the owner sent me an email asking if I was interested in a kitten from the upcoming litter. On Marth 11th, I responded to her email and said, "I am interested in seeing any male kittens you have available. I don't believe I have any preference regarding the parents, as long as they are healthy registered purebred Maine coons. My choice will be based on color pattern and health of the kitten."
On March 17th, the owner emailed me as though I never replied to her email from March 5th, where she asked me if I was interested in a kitten from the upcoming litter. According to her website, the kittens were born on March 16 and March 17th.
I reaffirmed my interest in another email to her on March 20th, where I said, "I didn't receive any pictures from you so I have not seen any of the kittens yet. I also don't see any kittens shown in the kittens section on your website. I can't say for certain if I'd be interested in the kitten without seeing it first. I'd prefer white over red if those are the only choices, but color patterns are also a consideration.
I've been waiting since July of last year so I'm hopeful you'll have a healthy kitten for me this month. Please let me know."
The cattery owner's website has a FAQ which clearly says, "when a litter is 2 weeks old, we will post photos of the kittens on the website and send out an email to everyone that has paid a deposit and is in line for a kitten from this litter."
Despite the policy details outlined in the FAQ section of her website, she responded on March 20th—only 3 days after the litter was born—saying she skipped me in line and a different customer reserved all of the male kittens. Her excuse for skipping me only 3 days after the kittens were born was because she falsely claimed I never responded to her email where she asked if I was interested in a kitten from that litter.
When I explained I had responded to her and politely let her know she skipped me after I told her I was interested, she gave me an aggressive tone and said she didn't want to "dwell on the past." I didn't want to escalate the situation so I swallowed my tongue and decided to look forward to the next litter due this month.
The cattery owner then sent me an email notifying me that she would be charging me more for a male kitten with breeding rights than what she had originally quoted me last year. She also said she'd be making changes to the contract to add additional limitations and restrictions.
The next litter was born on the 21st and 22nd (last week). According to her website, 7 kittens were born so I had high hopes. Given the aggressive tones and the unethical way she skipped me in line and decided to jack up the price and change the contract, I decided I should fly down there so we can make the trade in person (that way she can't simply take the money and never ship the kitten. Also I'll have peace of mind knowing the kitten will be traveling under my care). Despite asking a few times already, she still hasn't told me how much she wants to charge me for the kitten.
Today she sent me an email claiming the mother of her recent litter of 7 kittens had an emergency visit from a Veterinarian this past weekend, and the vet told her she may have a heart murmur. So now the cattery owner is telling me the kittens may not be suitable for breeding.
Of course I don't want to purchase a kitten with a genetic defect causing heart problems, but given the recent events, I can't help but wonder if she's being sincere. On the one hand, I'm really looking forward to purchasing a male (for a fair price) with breeding rights so I can finally get my cattery going (which I've been planning for years). On the other hand, I don't know if this person can be trusted. I can't help but question her intentions and her integrity.
Unfortunately, also on her website FAQ is stated that deposits are non-refundable, so I'm convinced she'd make things very difficult for me if I asked her for a refund—even if I have good reason for it.
I can understand the reason most catteries say deposits are non-refundable; because a responsible breeder doesn't bring new kittens into this world without first having buyers lined up to ensure they all find good homes. However, my reason for wanting a refund would be due to her inability to provide a kitten in a timely manner, and the unethical nature in which she treated me as a customer.
Those are the events as they occurred. I have every conversation fully documented by email as evidence of my experience. I'm interested to read what folks from this community think about my situation.
Was I a fool to trust a TICA and CFA registered cattery with my deposit without first receiving a signed contract? Are there CFA/TICA rules of professional conduct for registered catteries which should prohibit these types of situations? Does anyone think I should try to get my deposit back? Should I try to move forward with the purchase? What would you do in my shoes?
Thank you all for your feedback. I've been losing a lot of sleep lately over these concerns and I'm hoping some fresh perspectives might help.
