How to Spot a Cattery Scam Website
May 2024: We have unfortunately heard from families who found us after a previous negative experience with a scammer. People who paid for a kitten only to later learn that the "breeder" they chose had disappeared, no kittens. Recently we were contacted by a breeder friend who noticed a supposed cattery website who was using one of our photos without our permission. We have reported the site to the United States Federal Trade Commission, and we used the website's contact page to inform them of our actions and demand that they stop using our photo. I took some screenshots to share here as examples, with red flags to watch for when searching for a reputable breeder. Please be cautious before giving anyone your money.
Red Flags:
* Most obvious one here is that these photos are ours. Two photos of our January 2024 litter of three kittens. They used our photos on two different pages on their site:
* Poor Grammar. It could be that the owner is not a native English speaker. However, if there are a lot of odd sounding phrases then do some careful checking before giving any payment. The paragraph above "About Breed" is a little strange, and here are a couple more examples. How often do you iron your cat's wool? And while Siberian cats are marvelous, they are cats and therefore mischievous, something this site denies:
* Little or no information about themselves. This site mentions no names or where they are located, not even a state or region. They do mention that all kittens can be shipped and they kindly include shipping costs. This site states that you may not visit their cattery as it is their home. This is not a deal breaker per se, as not everyone feels comfortable inviting strangers into their home. However, there is also no offer to meet buyers at an airport or other public place. Be wary when you are not given any opportunity to meet the breeder.
* No registry or affiliations with cat organizations like TICA or CFA. It costs time and money to register your cattery and your cats, two things that scammers do not like to spend. Notice also that they do not have a name for their "cattery", just a very tiny image at the top of each webpage, so that you won't pay much attention to the fact that this cattery does not actually exist. I zoomed in a bit here:
* Pay close attention to images. This site is full of "available kittens", each with a name, gender and number, and when you click on each they include two photos and their age. They appear to be different ages ("Lulu" and "Sumi" look like adult cats!) and photos are taken in different places, no consistent locations, no group photos of all of them. Several - oops! - seem to have the same 4 digit cat ID number. And - very important! - none show an age progression from birth through adoption age. This site offers no information on breeding cats to see if the parents are registered as pedigreed, and though it is possible to have different colors in one litter, you cannot check if the available kittens resemble their parents. Note also that most Siberian breeders tend to have a waitlist versus many kittens ready for new homes.
Clicking on "Lulu" brought up this page for this very adult looking apparently earless 11 week old kitten. This is NOT an 11 week old kitten. Another red flag, when information does not seem to match photos:
* Finally, there is no mention of a contract or expectations for buyers in the care of their kitten.
If a site has one of the above red flags, they are responsive in answering questions, they can provide additional photos, they have established a relationship with other catteries, and/or can provide what seem to be valid references, then perhaps you can overlook one concern. However if something feels off, there are several red flags, and the only contact appears to revolve around payment, keep looking, there are other ethical, responsible breeders to choose from.
If a site has one of the above red flags, they are responsive in answering questions, they can provide additional photos, they have established a relationship with other catteries, and/or can provide what seem to be valid references, then perhaps you can overlook one concern. However if something feels off, there are several red flags, and the only contact appears to revolve around payment, keep looking, there are other ethical, responsible breeders to choose from.