Advertising kittens for sale that were younger than owner said????

Mayflower10cat

I went to see a friend today, to visit her new kittens. Her beloved 18yr old cat died at home four months ago and she and her husband agreed they wanted another cat as the house was so empty and they work from home often, so plenty of time to be occupied!

She'd found kittens for sale locally on t'internet (Bengal/Maine coon cross) and couldn't resist getting in touch with the female owner. Went to the address given, saw the kittens, fell in love, and asked who to make the cheque out to (a three figure sum!) - woman said, I don't take cheques. Now, at this point my friend did think, oh gosh, if husband was with me he'd probably say 'right, we're leaving now' and walk out the door. But, she'd fallen in love and decided to go to the cashpoint and came back with the money for the two kittens. She was told they were both from the same litter, but one was 2 weeks older than the other..... (???!!!!! Rubbish!!!)

Fast forward a week;-kittens are in their new home and one, the smaller one is very ill. Taken to the vet, he has a virus and is not eating solid food (he was obviously far younger than the 8 weeks my friend was told). His older 'brother' also catches same virus and is very ill - both kittens at the vet on a drip for 3 days and getting strong anti-bs. It's touch and go for the smaller kitten, but he recovers.

I saw them today for the first time. In my opinion, the smaller kitten is approximately 8-9 weeks old, no more. The other kitten is circa 12 weeks. (I can only base my estimate on the few cats we've had from kittens over the years.) My friend and her husband have spent a 4-figure sum on these little sweethearts to get them well. Out of curiosity, I googled on the same criteria my friend might have used, and up popped 'bengal/maine coon kittens for sale, only 1 left.' Clicking into the listing, it says the kitten is 8 weeks old.

Whilst my friend may have been very foolish (and she freely admits, acting from her heart, not from her common sense gland) is there anything that can be done regarding the 'breeder' of these kittens? Letting kittens go at 5-6 weeks old is just dreadful, in my humble opinion.

moggymutt

On another thread, Dita Von Tee posted this website

http://paag.org.uk/

which seems to be very good, and asks for details of experiences just like your friends.

Boy, do I hate breeders.

Fridaycat

There are lots of fantastic breeders out there, but there are also the rogues - you can't tar them all with the same brush. I meet loads of lovely breeders every time I go to cat shows, whose only priority is the health and well-being of their cats and the breed in general.

That said, your friend has obviously met one of the more unscrupulous people (I wouldn't even call them a "Breeder", more an "opportunistic money-grabbing low-life") but I don't think they really have any come-back.

Let's just hope the kittens make a full recovery and go on to lead happy and healthy lives, that has got to be the main priority

pinkcandyflossprincess

sadly theres too many people like this out there:(
hope kitty is ok and pictures are a must:)

Pollycat

pinkcandyflossprincess wrote: »

hope kitty is ok and pictures are a must:)

Yes! Yes!

I'm imagining what a Bengal/Maine Coon cross looks like.

There's a cat food advert on at the moment (can't remember which it is) with a fab, spotted, grey long-haired cat - maybe a bit like that?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Pollycat wrote: »

Yes! Yes!

I'm imagining what a Bengal/Maine Coon cross looks like.

There's a cat food advert on at the moment (can't remember which it is) with a fab, spotted, grey long-haired cat - maybe a bit like that?

Surprisingly like a bog standard long haired tabby mongrel, I'll bet.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Pollycat wrote: »

Yes! Yes!

I'm imagining what a Bengal/Maine Coon cross looks like.

There's a cat food advert on at the moment (can't remember which it is) with a fab, spotted, grey long-haired cat - maybe a bit like that?

That's a proper young male MC, I think. Even if they all say she in the advert.


ETA: Darn autocorrect.

Marmiter

Our first kittens were bengal/MC x, Roobarb looked like the bengal mum (a kind of marbly grey/pink colour) and Rocky is just a normal looking white and ginge. We were expecting them to be long haired, but they both were short!

Our current kits are siamese X, and when we got them they were definitely not the 9 weeks old that was advertised! but sadly, we had fallen in love with their big blue eyes and took them away.
I'd like to think we rescued them from the dodgy owner, the mum had already had 3 litters with the local toms which I think is just wrong when they clearly weren't proper breeders.

cheepskate_2

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

Whilst my friend may have been very foolish (and she freely admits, acting from her heart, not from her common sense gland) is there anything that can be done regarding the 'breeder' of these kittens? Letting kittens go at 5-6 weeks old is just dreadful, in my humble opinion.

Sorry, but it people like your friend who actively encourage these breeders.
I find it just dreadful that people will look on gumtree etc and just go pick up a little animal without thinking or doing any homework about it.

Its these people that keep puppy farmers in business, Its easy to excuse your friend, being foolish, but its downright irresponsible. no matter how much info is out there about this, there is always going to be people who just dont care where they get animals from.

Mayflower10cat

Fridaycat

Gorgeous kittens! I can definitely see the Bengal heritage in the brown one