You are ready for a new kitten or cat addition to your home. . .
and now the search begins. BUT, Scammers Are Everywhere (Almost)
The persistent problem of scammers posing as breeders of gorgeous cats and kittens with the sole goal of getting you to send them a deposit via Venmo or another payment service with zero accountability scares and concerns most people today, which is why many choose to go to a shelter:
to see the real cat or kitten and fall in love with the purrball in their arms.
Now solving the purrsonality mismatch issue is another, where you simply fall in love with the purrball that goes on to destroy your home.
Other things are weighing on you as you are considering as a new kitten PURRent, such as supplies, toys, litter, and food, aren't quite populating in your head, yet, just the dream and desire of a new kitten all curled up in your lap and next to your computer, is coming to attention.
Should I go to the shelter and look, or should I hope to get that stunning breed I've been dreaming of, forever.
I know these kittens are probably going to be hard to find and then, how much will it cost, and will it be near enough to me to go and get this dream kitty.
So I started searching on Craigslist first, as I didn't know of other sites at the time, and I luckily found a dream of a kitten, with gorgeous pictures, so I decided to inquire.
I sent the reply via Craigslist email, and never heard back from the person who made the listing.
I start to wonder when I would hear back from them, so I went back to see the listing and it was removed, vanished, gone, so I figured all of the kittens were taken.
I start googling the breed and found another site, and spent 45 minutes searching for the breed, not to locate any listings.
I continue my search and go back to Craigslist a couple of days later, only to discover the listing is back up. So again, I send the reply email. I did get a reply, they wanted my phone number to send texts as their preferred form of communication.
The texts were saying the kittens are available and are being reserved fast so I need to send a deposit via Venmo now to reserve a kitten. Wait a minute, I haven't even seen any more pictures of the kitten I would be receiving, the final price, the health status, vet records, color, male or female, nothing. Just send the money to Venmo to reserve.
I was very hesitant and decided to continue looking. This seemed outrageous to me, I need more information before I send money for an unknown kitten and even where they are located.
The next day, I get another text message from the person at the other end of the text for the kittens, only this time, It wasn't a nice tone at all.
More demanding, It doesn't seem like they would be nice to kittens with this tone so I replied and said I am not interested.
That wasn't good enough, The texts just kept coming as if on a fast-moving train, sounding more demanding and desperate
with each text. I was going to miss out! On what, I thought, I don't know enough about the kittens to make a decision and the information isn't coming that I ask for, just the reservation deposit demand. I blocked their number and was done with them, and it was a very disappointing experience for me.
I figured this was a near-scam attack that I barely missed. I also figured that's why their listing was removed, and flagged because they are professional scammers.
As I continued my search for my dream cat, I found another site, GoKitty, which certainly has alot of listings, with "beware of scammers" banners, warnings, and disclaimers, so right away, I wonder how legit these listings are after my last experience.
I did look around and discovered some kittens to inquire about. The email system used is good, although many breeders do not respond to inquiries. While Communication is slow with the back-and-forth email from their site, it is a delayed experience and takes time to achieve any thorough communication. I did run into the same encounters with similar pictures and decided to go to my local shelter and see if I could rescue a wonderful kitty that I can see in person.
It seems like actual videos of kittens are a missing experience and to use actual videos, I would at least get to see the actual kittens and their living conditions. And see them age as they grow. It seems like I could get to know the purrsonality as well with videos.
As I reflect on the process, I concluded that scammers are way too prevalent and widespread and something needs to be done to address this. As a potential PURRent, I was very disappointed in the entire process and hope that someone will figure out how to solve this.
Finally, as I googled one last time, I came across a new site, KittyCats.CO.
The thing that struck me is they are setting examples right from the start and all over their site, that Scammers will be permanently banned and that all precautions are taken at the start. They don't want regular cat listings, but more the Appreciated Breeder which comes with thorough steps taken to achieve this Badge listed on their listings, complete with actual video in the listings and a direct communications platform so both parties can directly communicate or schedule a video call, audio chat, instant chat, email and communicate together by sharing pictures and updates of the kitten I reserved.
Yes, I found my new love there in KittyCats.CO. And I get to see the updated videos and pictures communicate with my new breeder friend and after I get my kitten, we can share all the love together in our own group or as friends on the social platform. I loved the PURRfect Match Adoption Questionnaire and filled it out. KittyCats.Co team sent it to the breeder they thought would be a good fit based on my answers, and then, after we agreed on all of the details, the Deposit Reservation Form and Verification, worked like a charm. Both parties are assured they are real, and it's a secure way to find the love of your house this way.
The PURRfect Match Questionnaire For New PURRents
This is How I Found My New Best Friend On KittyCats.CO
Author: Cara
Uniting Kitty Cat lovers
