okay cat people . this is going to be a long post . I have decided to go public with something that is either going to hurt me or help me but at this point I am so sick of being threatened ..I would never ever bash or name another breeder but at this point I have just had enough . A breeder named Linda Cook that owns a cattery called Keebler Elf Katz and bareheart sphynx has been threatening and blackmailing me . She is threatening to slander me and so for my own sake I am telling my story . You can choose to either delete me or remain my friend . I am a new breeder and I did a lot of research and asked questions to anyone who would listen and answer before I even bred my first cat . I found quickly there are very few breeders that are willing to help a newbie . I was lucky enough to find someone to mentor me who is absolutely wonderful and has helped me more than I could say. I have been in love with the sphynx breed since I was twelve. I am now 40 and finally able to do this .I also along the way fell quite fond of the bambino also even though they are quite controversial. anyway when I was looking for a bam to start with I was friendly with a woman from Indiana,who I wont name , but she had a kitten that she was willing to give me in exchange for a kitten back so I thought that was fine . He was a cute little guy and I spoke to her quite frequently . She claimed that she was very good friends with a well respected breeder who happens to be my mentor. So I trusted her. I later found out she was lying and really wasnt as close as she claimed. I also found out that one of the grandparents to the kitten she was going to give me died from hcm . Me being new and having researched this , there was no way I was going to bring a cat into my program knowing this . She told me her cats were scanned and assured me they were healthy . Then I find out later from someone else the whole HCM thing so I told her I would not be taking the kitten from her . No money was exchanged and neither of us lost out on the deal. I NEVER told anyone the womans name except for my mentor. I never slandered the woman but for some reason she sent me harrassing messages for days so i finally blocked her. Then I was told by someone else who i trust to go to Linda Cook and that she had kittens available. She was the only breeder at the time that was claiming to HCM scan her munchkins and bams . I was told she had to get out of breeding because her daughter was ill with cancer and so she was selling most of her cats . So i got in touch and I bought a male F1 bam from her . He was so cute and I love him. I got to be friends with her and she kept telling me she was having sooo much trouble finding homes for the litter mates. There was 7 in the litter she said . So she talked me into buying a nonstandard bam and said it would be great to use as an outcross for my sphynx program . she said I would just register it as a domestic shorthair . So I trusted her .The deal was $300 and a kitten back. She wrote on contract a kitten back of her choice as soon as one became available and preferrably a black female . I have a black male I imported from russia so she wanted a kid from him. When I went to her house to pick the female nonstandard up ..she had another cat in a carrier on her table . The two times I went there there was only one cat running around . Anyway she had a standard bam in the carrier which suprised me because I asked for a female in the beginning and she said she had none so I bought a male . So she offers to sell me this third cat. I told her that I didn t really have themoney for another cat right now because I had reserved a kitten from someone that I had to pay for . She said well take her home and just send me a hundred a month until she is paid off. the cat was already five months old ..well the two females .I hesitantly agreed . Oh also whenI went there I delivered two kittens that she was getting from a breder that lives close to me . I told her I would bring them with me . She didnt offer me a dime for delivering them to her ...not that I wanted it but she could have offered. So anyway the first two payments on this third cat I made ON TIME each month. the first month before the payment was even due she kept texting asking when I was sending it because she needed the money. Second month same thing ...and so on. Oh wait and the two kittens I brought to her she said that she was sneaking into her house because her husband did not know she had gotten them !! How do you hide cats in your house ?? So the two girls I brought home were VERY skidish . I asked her if she had ever let them out of her basement while they were at her house and she said that they preferred to stay down there . I never told people anything but exactly what she told me. So the next part: my male from russia was only eight months old and from what everyone told me he would probably not produce until he was at least a year old . well he suprised me and the non standard female got preg a month before I wanted her to. She has not been scanned yet but she would be before any kittens were adopted . I am very anal about scanning . So I was upset but I messaged my mentor and asked her how exactly I register the kittens . She told me that in no way was it good for the sphynx breed to use an f1 bam as an outcross in a sphynx program . Right at that moment I realised that I could not in good conscience use this cat or her offspring in my program . And she is related to my other bams. My mentor told me that LINDA should never have sold me a non standard bam as a breeder . I contacted LINDA and was quite angry I explained the news I learned and she quickly became defensive . She said that I am a liar and she didnt know I was using it in my breeding program , but yet the contract clearly says breeding ..plus she wanted a kitten back. It was to my understanding from what everyone told me that a kitten back means she gets a kitten back from the cat that she sold me under that contract. As soon as Linda found out that I would not be registering the kittens as sphynx for ethical reasons , she demanded a bambino kitten back from one of my other future litters. She said that if I do not give her a kitten back form a litter of her choice that she is going to not release the papers for my OTHER standard female that I am making payments on !!! So now I have two cats I can not use because she wont give me the papers she said . So she harrassed me for a few weeks and I finally decided that since I know she is desperate for money that I would just offer to pay her the extra $500 I would have in the first place rather than give a kitten back.She agreed . So last week she sent me a new contract and said it was sent certified. It was over a week ago and I still have not received it . LAst night she sends me a photo of the contract which she changed. She has it saying that I am to pay her $500 by this friday or the contract is VOID. we never agreed on a date and she just told me last night !!! Now I am afraid to send her any money at all because she already threatened to keep the papers for my other female standard even if I pay her off. And also going back , she told me that the fahter was scanned but mom the munchkin had not been scanned but that she would be before she bred her again . She is preg again and she never scanned her so she has lied to everyone telling that she scans . I asked for proof of dads recent scan and she sent me a photo with the date cut off so I have no idea when It was done. Now remember she said she was getting out of breeding so why does she have pregnant cats again ?? then she tells me that all of these other breeders are talking about me and this and that . She is friends with the woman in Indiana which i did not know . Then she has another friend who I was going to buy an american curl from . This woman I also wont name but she is in georgia. She breeds elfs also. So I give the woman a deposit and for weeks kept emailing her asking for updates and photos. she gets back to me weeks later and says that the kittens ears are no longer curled so she wont charge me any more money but she wants a kitten back. I was under the impression I was getting a show quality cat and then she doesnt answer me for weeks so I felt it was shady and cancelled the deal. So now you see ...these three woman are all friends and have teamed up in a campaign against me . I decided that because I do not trust LINDA COOK to give me the papers for my cat and we cant agree on anything that after my nonstandard has her babies , I am sending both the standard and non standard back to her at my expense and letting her keep the six hundred I gave her because I know she will never give it back . I am keeping the kittens here and letting my other cat foster them . the kittens will not be registered . I see no other options . so the point of this was to get my side of the story heard because last night she threatened me for the last time . Now if you think I am wrong or unethical for trying to do whats best for the breed just go ahead and delete me right now . if not then any input or advice is appreciated . I am done now ..lol...and this was not slander ..this was just the truth of what occurred . I never said anything is wrong with anyones cats . just to be clear on that .
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 13:53:33 +0000
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