The breeder lied!

[Puditt]

We bought a kitten that was meant to be two breeds. I did find it strange that the breeder didnt have a picture of the dad cat but she was adamant that she knew his breed and that our kitten was exactly that. She had sent me loads of videos and pictures of the kittens older siblings so I decided to not doubt her.

We took the kitten home and he is lovely. He has integrated really well and gets on with my children just fine. But we have just taken him to the vets and she has confirmed she doesnt think that the breed we have been told and paid for is true. I was also sceptical and was looking up google images of this other certain breed and the kittens look nothing alike. The breeder seemed so trust worthy! She was really nice and asked to keep in touch and send photos of him as he grows up. I actually chatted to the breeder quite alot and she doesnt come across like the type of person to scam.

What should I do? Should I bother bringing it up with the owner. I'm just really upset as I specially set out for this type of breed as I loved the temperament and characteristics that came with it. I feel cheated with my money but my children have already taken to the kitten and so have I...

@NautaOcts I'm a sucker for silver cats, she is gorgeous! Those eyes are markings are so pretty

@IHaveBrilloHair I feel like your dd's kitty is very telling off being maine coon. It's quite obvious where as, as other pps have pointed out my cat looks like a basic moggie. My kitten is only a week behind. I know maine coon are the slowest developing breed so maybe I need to be more patient. She looks like a giant fluff ball now how cute! They grow up to be so majestic.

It could be that he is a late bloomer by all means, its strange it's like my kitten almost has two different coats. One is short and then the top layer is super long haired which the photos didnt really pick up on. He has big paws and ears too in my opinion.

@Soubriquet I think that picture is going to give people on here kitten fever 😂

@hilariousnamehere I've never seen a tortoise shell fluffy cat before how unique looking.

I think this thread has been really humbling as pps have said my kitten is great in personality and continues to only get better as he warms up to us. I'm going to just enjoy him for who he is and excitedly await to see what he looks like when he grows up.

His mum is confirmed Norwegian new Forrest, I've seen her in pics and videos and she is gorgeous and fluffy. There is definite obvious traits in my kitten of the breed already. I'll insert a pic of my kittens older sibling. This was how in my head he would turn out to be

If there is one thing I'm shocked by from starting this thread is the price difference in kittens. I had a quick nosey peak and them now and it's still the same situation. Basic moggie going for 100 to 200. Apparent mixed breeds going for 300 to 500 and pedigree are nearly a thousand.

To all those that said I should have got a certified maine coon I would of loved too but even my kitten now was a stretch for me there was no way I could afford nor justify spending nearly a grand on just a cat especially when I've only recently had a baby. I wanted to make sure I left myself plenty of reasonable money to start up insurance, vaccines, a health plan and all the kitty accessories that are needed. Cata are great but expensive things!

For all those curious I looked on preloved, gumtree and pets4homes

Yes, she definitely is a Maine Coon.
She's utterly gorgeous, her name is Zelda.

So you could have looked at rescue. Those websites aren’t reputable. Full of people cashing in on their pets instead of putting health first and spaying.

@IHaveBrilloHair haha I love the name choice! My childhood was those games. It suits very well

@Wolfiefan as I said in my last post that would of been my preference especially since I know the breeders can be simply for the money and not well fare of the animal however the breeder of our kitten was very good in terms of the kittens health. Its only the genunity of the breed I have as a concern. Unfortunately majority of the cats that were under 5 (we wanted a relatively young cat for our dc to grow up with) e
Were only suited to mature families or being in an environment without other animals. And we are a family of a cat, dog and baby!

@Wolfiefan if it's any resolve I guess one of the reasons I was abit clueless when it came to knowing what to research is because all my life I have rescued. My first cat I actually found in my garden. Our second cat came from a sanctuary and the second and a half cat I found as a stray and I managed to trap him under cats protection, he is now at his forever home ! So I dont really have any past experience of buying at all

My cat is half Maine coon and has absolutely none of the typical features apart from being polydactyl and you’d never guess he was to look at him. He’s very definitely half Maine Coon though as his mum is my next door neighbours cat and I saw him about an hour after he was born.

You bought a moggy. If you wanted the characteristics of a particular breed you need to buy that particular breed.

@DefinitelyNotAHastyNameChange he looks so like my boy, whose mum was half Maine Coon, half rag doll. Their dad was a ginger Tom mog. I don't think they really have any traits of a either official breed, except that girl cat chirrups (boy cat tried for a while as he saw how much attention it got but gave up now as he's a lazy sod) and they're both pretty big. The girl Is tortoise shell and the boy is grey and white. paid a pittance to cover cat food for the two to a friend as I took them early because their mum was killed.

I'm just in this for the cute cat pics really.

Your cat is really gorgeous @Puditt.

There’s a reason they don’t home kittens with dogs and babies OP. This was not a genuine breeder. But you know that now.

@MerylSqueak same here 😂 at this point I'm just enjoying this thread for all the cute photos that get posted

@Wolfiefan that was actual one of the factors we found appealing with the kitten we have is that he was raised around small children and another house dog. He has integrated so well it warms.my heart when I see him interact with dd as she is only 8 months and believe it or not they play together!

A very very young child is likely to be scratched by a kitten. A toddler could kill one.
That’s why rescues don’t home kittens with very young children.

My two children were 1 and 3 when we got my cat. We had to watch them like a hawk all the time until they were old enough to respect each other. Didn’t stop dd from picking up the cat and dropping her on her head . Luckily she was fine but I can see it going wrong.

Cat is now 5, ds is 6 and dd is 8 and they all potter along fine.

I understand perfectly why rescues won’t rehome to families with young children. If I had to do it all again, I would probably wait until my kids were older. But I don’t regret it anyway because we have a gorgeous happy cat who lives with two happy kids. Tbh the cat avoids the kids most of the time . Though for some reason, she really likes sleeping on ds’s bed

And this is why “breeders” like this will continue to thrive and continue to state that their kittens are part-[insert whichever breed here]

Because they know that there are plenty of people who can’t afford to buy said breed from registered breeders. Because they know that lots of people aren’t at a stage YET in their lives to get a rescue kitten. And because they know that when people want something they will go down any avenue to get it.

Again, I hope you have at least reported the other breeder for the condition that the kittens were in. If you feel uncomfortable doing so, then feel free to pm me the details and I’ll happily report them.

@overtherainbo

I've seen a lot of people advertising kittens crossed with a Maine Coon lately. And I've noticed a lot of them aren't. I'm not saying your baby isn't mind but there is so much scamming lately.

People mentioned my cat is part Maine Coon. Simply because he is larger than average (size of a small dog) and has a huge fluffy tail. But I have to argue that he isn't, I seen both mother and father, both moggies. I bought him for £50 3 years ago. Some of his siblings were short fur. I wouldn't say there isn't any Maine Coon blood generations and generations ago but I would say I'm 95% certain my boy is just a large moggy.

I haven't made it all the way through the replies yet, but your cat looks more like my friend's Norwegian Forest Cat than a Maine Coon to me.

Whatever he is, he's gorgeous!

@HopeHappy his mum is full Norwegian so that would make sense!

I would like to clarify we never leave dd and kitten alone together. Dd cant physically pick him and she doesnt interact with him. When I say they "play " together I mean dd will play with her dangling playmat toys and the kitten will join in because he loves anything that moves if he has enough of her he goes away. What I like though is if dd cries he is so not bothered where as our older cat has no time of day for it! It makes me hopeful that they will grow up to have a lovely relationship together

@Furries I dont feel like the breeder of our kitten has done anything to warrant a report. The kitten we saw before him though...that's another story

@Puditt - that’s the breeder I’m talking about. They really need to be reported.

@Furries I do want to but I'm just worried that they were being genuine about why their queen got pregnant so many times. They lady had three small children and I dont want to jeopardise anything for them if they are sincere

puditt sincere or not, they have allowed their unspayed cat to get impregnated 3 times and are clearly not caring for her or the kittens if they were so riddled with fleas you could see them crawling over them.

Seriously! The state you described the kitten as being in, you can be damned sure that she is not sincere and that she gives ZERO fucks regarding the welfare of her animals and all the kittens that are being churned out.

Oh well, at least you’ve got the cat you wanted.

@DefinitelyNotAHastyNameChange he wasnt riddled in fleas nor malnourished looking. However when I was petting him and felt further into under his neck I was pulling out egg fleas and could feel lumps which I assume where fleas. The queen cat had been pregnant 4 times and she thinks she was pregnant again (so would be a 5th time). But I dont understand why she would so blatantly admit to not caring for her cat like that unless she was truthful in the fact that she does try to get her done and she always ends up pregnant before you can do

@Furries the website for the kitten was pets4homes. What would they do if you reported her to them?

Did you see your kitten with the mother? Or just photos of the mum?

[quote Puditt]@Furries the website for the kitten was pets4homes. What would they do if you reported her to them?[/quote]
I wouldn’t bother reporting them to the website (personally, I think the websites are just as bad for providing a platform for unscrupulous breeders, but that’s probably a thread of its own!).

I’d report it to the RSPCA. You have all their details (phone no, address etc), so should be easy to do. They will not disclose who has made the report - and the breeders will obviously have had multiple customers visiting them, so won’t be easy for them to know who it is.