Puppy Mill and Cattery Pet store investigation

Hello Everyone

First of all, I want to say that I have nothing against breeding animals.  I know there are reputable breeders out there that care greatly about their animals and would never harm them.  So let me start by telling my side of the story and how I got to here.  During november I bought a purebred kitten from a pet store.  The first thing I asked was "do they come from a reputable breeder, I dont want to be associated with puppy mill" Of course they said "No we care about our animals" anyways about two weeks ago my kitten died.  He died of FIP however I noticed a decline in his behavior.  My vet said he most definitely died of an infection of the brain that compromised his CNS.  he said it could be genetics and poor immune system.  After his death I just couldn't let it go.  I began to wonder where he came from.  How could he have died that way.  With a seizure that lasted 40 minutes and yes I went to the vet ASAP.

I have been researching my kittens background very extensively and I have gathered concrete evidence of his back story.  To make it short, my kitten was brought by class B brokers that is related to a BIG puppy mill case back in 2010.  This case was actually done by the humane society.  It was a very big case with a lot of media outlet.  What I mean is the Class B broker is actually blood related to the infamous puppy mill case people back in 2010.  Oh and that class B broker is facebook friends with the BREEDER of my kitten! Petland told me that my kitten came from a linage of purebred cats and his linage actually had a champion bloodline.  However when I looked at his pedigree papers at the very bottom it read  http://www.ezkennel.com/downloads.html  EZ Kennel.  Does that mean his pedigree paper was done on a computer at home? 

ALSO when I went to CFA cat fanciers association, I tried to look up that specific breeder in their database and I found nothing. Am I looking at the wrong site? http://secure.cfa.org/search.aspx I am seriously starting to suspect the CLASS B broker falsified my kittens paper work with the aid of the breeder.   Oh did I mention my kittens birthdate was wrong.  My vet told me he is a month younger.  That means they made him older in order to sell him.  In my research it means my kitten was taken away from his mother at barely 2 months of age.  

I didn't think this type of cruelty existed...I was wrong.

Many thanks to those that can help me.  Its almost 4 am and I am still up researching my kittens case.  God only knows how much I loved him and losing him especially that way struck a nerve and scarred my heart.  

I'm sorry for your loss . It's a hard way to learn about this kind of stuff.

Basically, no decent breeder will EVER sell to a pet store. They want to know who buys their babies---they don't want them just handed to the first person with a wad of cash. So just the fact that he was at a pet store tells that he didn't come from a good breeder. All pet store puppies come from puppymills, the same with all purebred kittens at pet stores (some pet stores will take local unwanted litters for moggie kittens). Puppymills/kittymills are not illegal in the US and in fact receive the tax breaks and benefits that all farms receive. Only the ones with the worst conditions get shut down.

It's very likely that your kitten did come from a "long line of purebred cats", and there could very well have been a champion in his background. That doesn't mean anything. Anybody can breed purebred cats, but good breeders study the backgrounds of the cats they breed, to do their best to avoid genetic diseases. If a breeder doesn't take that kind of care, they'll probably produce unhealthy kittens.

I imagine most breeders use a computer program to print pedigrees. That in itself isn't a red flag. Did he actually come with CFA registration papers, or just a pedigree and pet shop papers? If he has actual CFA registration papers, you probably should contact CFA to let them know that someone is distributing fraudulent papers. But it's more likely that the pet shop just gave you their own set of papers, that fools a lot of people .

I wonder if @StephenQ  has more information on how to contact the CFA about a puppy mill using their name? 

I think it's important to distinguish between what is legal and what isn't. The FDA allows dogs to be bred in a cage only slightly bigger than the dog with a wire bottom. These awful breeders can legally sell their animals (cats and dogs) to pet stores and the public.

Puppy mills are even worse and are illegal. Your cat may have come from an awful but legal breeder and the best thing we can do to damage their business is NEVER buy a pet from a pet store regardless of what they say the origin of the animal is.

Do you know the name and address of your breeder? The ASPCA publishes a list of disreputable breeders and I may be able to find that list for you.

You say the humane society was involved in a big case. Do you know which humane society and which case? There are humane societies all over the US as well as 2 different national orgs, humane society of the United States and the American Humane Association.

I think it was the humane society. I called CFA and the lady was very rude and impatient. She asked for the breeders name then went ahead to say no I don't mean that I mean the litter number. She said as long as the litter number came with the letter F next to it should be fine. But I do not have the actual CFA paper I have what the broker printed. On the bottom it actually says generated by www.dogonwrb.com. I'd assume the CFA paper would be brought by the CFA THEMSELVES and because that breeder had to pay for the CFA registry it would be a lot more idk the word to use but legit. I'll take a picture of it. Also the pedigree paper has the registry numbers wrong.

The FDA allows dogs to be bred in a cage only slightly bigger than the dog with a wire bottom. These awful breeders can legally sell their animals (cats and dogs) to pet stores and the public.

Puppy mills are even worse and are illegal.

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I suppose it would depend what you think constitutes a puppymill. Mill is another word for factory, so I consider all mass breeders to be mills. Some people only consider mass breeders with illegal conditions to be mills.

Yes, it is legal for a mass breeder to keep animals in a small cage with no human contact or enrichment activities, as long as they have food, water, temperatures within legal range, and are kept reasonably clean. They're considered livestock and as such as not given any more consideration than a pig or chicken. Of course, how mass-produced pigs and chickens are treated in the US is pretty horrible, but, well, that's a different topic.

And it's the USDA that regulates mass breeders . A breeder must be USDA inspected in order to sell to pet stores. This only means that they've met minimum standards for their animals and have not violated too many animal welfare laws. It doesn't mean they care about their animals or about the buyer. Just about money. Mass-produced animals are frequently unhealthy and undersocialized.

That isn't a CFA registration form, sorry . It's only a pet store form, they can put anything on it. They're pretty sneaky .

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. RIP little one.

I did some searching on cfa.org. The cattery is listed, but the list does not indicate if a cattery is in good standing. I haven't found a website or facebook page for the cattery, but that isn't unusual.

The parents are registered with CFA. It appears that neither of them have ever been shown, going by the lack of a Champion title and 0 points toward Grand Champion. I think you can request (for a fee) a 5 generation pedigree based on their registration numbers but I'm not sure about that. It may be only the breeders who can get an official pedigree. In any case, that's the only way I know of to find out if there really are Champions or Grand Champions in the line.

The number starting with an F is probably the litter registration. In order to register a kitten individually the new owner has to get the original pink or yellow slip from the breeder and send it in to CFA along with the registration application.

The question I have is, was this cattery/breeder actually involved or did someone steal the information and print it out on the form you got? I don't know if you can find the information you need to contact the breeder directly. You might ask the pet store if they have a contact number. Or you could call/email CFA again, tell them you suspect fraud, and ask them to contact the breeder. They'll probably want you to send a copy of the Health Record.

I know it won't bring back your baby, but it could give you more peace of mind to find out what's going on with the pet store and breeder. Good luck.

I used way back machine and found the breeders page however it no longer exists and it was active way back in 2011. The thing that alarms me is that the CFA paper is not official. It was made by QD KENNELS at home using dogonweb.com. Also his birth date is wrong. The "CFA" papers and pedigree paper states Clyde was born on June 2015 but the vet told me he is one month younger. I'd assume if the kitten was registered and all that his birth date would be correct. Assuming the breeder was taking care of her kittens being born and keeping records of them. I'll post both CFA papers and pedigree paper later. With better quality picture.

Sometimes vets get ages wrong, too, so I wouldn't go by that entirely. It is suspicious though.

As for CFA registration, well, AKC registers a lot of puppymill puppies. I don't know if CFA has any rules/safeguards against allowing mass breeders to register, but if they have similar policies as AKC they probably don't :/. So even if his papers are exactly right it's no guarantee of the quality of the breeder. It only means that he comes from a long line of CFA registered cats. But sometimes if you complain to the registering body they may investigate the breeder. Or possibly the broker falsified/duplicated the papers. That happens too .

CFA requirements for licensing a cattery are very strict. However, once a cattery is licensed the process to get the license revoked is even more complicated. It has to start with someone making a formal complaint, and I think there may be a fee to file the complaint. They don't want to waste time on frivolous suits. Even if they do investigate they may not do anything. There are no rules against breeding poor quality cats and selling them to whomever the breeder wishes.

What is considered a licensed breeder? Can't anybody register a litter if they breed registered cats? Or is the "licensing" for a special designation, like an AKC Breeder of Merit?

Thanks for all your help. Right now I am talking to the pet store so I can at least hit them where it hurts their wallet. They need to give me my money back. In my contract they stated the kittens came in without FIP and a bunch of other diseases however when I checked his papers he was only tested (blood drawn and everything) for just feline leukemia virus. That's it. basically a cat can have a virus be there from day one and progressively become the disease. The representiative even said the vet just assumes the kittens don't have anything else. I was amazed how ridiculous they are. Again thank you so much. I wish there was a better way to regulate these people who breeds their cat unethically. I searched that breeder and I was shocked. Her 2011 page has hundreds of kittens of for sell. How can one person take proper care of all those beautiful kittens. Again thank you so much guys for all your help. I really appreciate it.

FIP is a mutation of the coronavirus. It seems odd to me that they stated the kittens came in without FIP. They couldn't know that. They could only state the kitten came in without coronavirus. FIP cannot be tested for and most often cannot even be accurately diagnosed until necropsy after a cat  has died from it.

As the others have said, no kitten or puppy that is sold from a pet store comes from a reputable breeder. Period. Never, ever. Pet stores WILL lie about this and insist THEIR kitties are different, they all come from responsible show breeders, yada yada. It's a line. It's *never* true. Any kitty or puppy sold at a pet store comes from a pet mill.

If you (generic you) want to buy a purebred, always go directly to a show breeder. Visit their cattery. Research them. Attend shows. See the cat's living conditions. Learn their reputation. Or find a pet of the breed  you want at a rescue or a shelter.

Never, EVER a pet store.

ravynwriter said:

FIP is a mutation of the coronavirus. It seems odd to me that they stated the kittens came in without FIP. They couldn't know that. They could only state the kitten came in without coronavirus. FIP cannot be tested for and most often cannot even be accurately diagnosed until necropsy after a cat has died from it.

As the others have said, no kitten or puppy that is sold from a pet store comes from a reputable breeder. Period. Never, ever. Pet stores WILL lie about this and insist THEIR kitties are different, they all come from responsible show breeders, yada yada. It's a line. It's *never* true. Any kitty or puppy sold at a pet store comes from a pet mill.

If you (generic you) want to buy a purebred, always go directly to a show breeder. Visit their cattery. Research them. Attend shows. See the cat's living conditions. Learn their reputation. Or find a pet of the breed you want at a rescue or a shelter.

Never, EVER a pet store.

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I agree with the above. Based on the registration numbers given on the paper, I would believe the cat came from a for profit 'breeder'. No hobby breeder would breed a cream and white with a shaded silver. Now something no one has mentioned, even reputable breeders can have occasional cases of FIP. Since the majority of cats have been exposed to the corona virus it is bound to happen at some point if you breed long enough. Even then, since there is some thought that a cat who develops it is genetically predisposed, the breeder would not repeat the breeding.

I believe the licensing by the CFA that was spoken of, is the Cattery of Excellence. All that requires is your vet to check out your Cattery and sign a paper. It isn't a licensee, just a paper that says the vet found the Cattery okay. The CFA is only a registry to record pedigrees, not a governing body in the cat fancy. You can lodge a complaint and if the breeder is found at fault registration, and showing privileges could be suspended. They could also be fined, but truthfully if they are a BYB it wouldn't stop them. They would just hang papers( steal info on someone else's cat) Nothing would be done to the pet store. This is why researching the breeder BEFORE buying is important. As cute and cuddly as a kitten is you have to treat the purchase as a business decision since there are dishonest people out there. As a former breeder it irks me that people get taken and animals suffer all in the name of profit! Best course of action in my opinion is to go after the pet stores first. If they stop selling kittens and puppies the BYB won't have as much motivation to continue breeding. After that happens, focus on closing the BYBs down. In this case I am using Backyard breeder as a term for poor quality breeders, but that isn't always true. Some people who breed but aren't involved in the show world are good breeders who care deeply about their cats. They do all the genetic testing and health care needed to have healthy kittens- but they don't sell to pet stores.

You can purchase a certified pedigree from the CFA if interested in knowing the cats background ancestors.