Kitten season is in full swing, and so I thought now would be as good a time as any to share some thoughts I have regarding BAD BREEDERS….
What is a bad breeder?
A bad breeder is someone who does ANY of the following:
Mistreats their animals
Neglects their animals
Fails to obtain age appropriate vaccinations
Fails to obtain proper medical care for their animals
Is dishonest or deceitful about the health status of their animals
Knowingly ships or releases sick animals to a new owner
Does not do genetic testing on their breeding animals prior to breeding them
Does not know what genetic tests are required for their breed to ensure healthy cats and kittens
Breeds unregistered cats and sells them as purebred without registration papers
Overbreeds their breeding cats
Falsifies pedigree documents
Falsifies genetic testing results
Falsifies vet records
Does not require a signed contract with customer
Has a signed contract with customer, but changes any part of the contract without agreement of the customer
Does not uphold a written and signed contract
Is not aware of their state laws relating to caring for, breeding, selling, or replacing animals (ex: animal welfare laws, pet lemon laws)
Does not include verbiage relating to these pet lemon laws in their written contract (regarding reimbursement or replacement)
Fully or partially reimburses a customer for an animal that got sick or passed if the written laws for their state specify it’s the customer’s choice for reimbursement OR replacement
Charges customer additional costs for the animal without agreement of the customer
Takes money from customer, but never ships animal and/or refuses to refund customer when they ask for it
Changes shipping dates of animals without agreement of customer
Agrees to cover medical costs of an animal that arrived sick from them, but never pays the bills they agreed to
Allows a customer to think an animal being sold is from their boarding facility/cattery/kennel when in fact it was housed or bred elsewhere
Does not stand behind their animals when a health issue is found and proven to have originated from their boarding facility/cattery/kennel prior to arriving to the new owner
Gives customer feeding protocol that causes animal to have health issues and does not take responsibility for the bad advice
Does not disclose the origins of their animals, its parents (unless registered as foundation), or living conditions to the customer
Allows kittens to be taken from their mother prior to 12 weeks of age (i.e.: after second round of vaccinations and once fully independent and socialized)
Sends kittens to new home without spaying or neutering them first and/or without having a spay/neuter agreement as part of their written contract
Allows other bad breeders and/or backyard breeders to breed their kittens with no experience or contract requirements to guarantee the health of their cat or kittens
IN SUMMARY: Bad breeders are not just people who mistreat or neglect their animals. Bad breeders are also people who knowingly take advantage of people, fail to abide by state laws, fail to abide by their written contract, knowingly mislead people, and/or defraud people of their hard earned money.
Be sure to do your due diligence when researching and interviewing breeders. Be patient with the process. Ask lots of questions. Listen to your gut. If something seems off, or sounds too good to be true, it probably is! There are lots of good breeders out there who are breeding the right way and for all the right reasons, but unfortunately there are just as many (or more) who are not. Don’t make the mistake that so many have and rush the kitten buying process. This is where you will run the greatest risk of being scammed or falling victim to a bad breeder!
Please LIKE and SHARE to spread the word and help new owners avoid BAD BREEDERS!
NOTE: This blog post was adapted from a post originally created and shared by Amy Marie, Admin of the “Bad Catteries Around the World” Facebook group
