breeders being harassed?

Lately i've been harassed by people for being a breeder (not on this board but have had emails) have any of you had this problem?
Im not sure what to do about it. In my opinion unless your a BYB, breeders are the most responsible pet owners I know. I know that I treat my cats like pets. They have the best accomodations and the best food (chicken soup for the cat lovers soul, canned food and fresh meat)and veternary care (even expensive 24 hour vet care). I am willing to be responsible for any kitten for the rest of it's life even after I sell it. My cat's are not allowed to roam freely outside. I bet you can't say that all this is true for many many pet owners out there that are not breeders!
How do you all handle those harassing you?

Oh lud, don't get me started ... how do I handle the harrassment? I get mad, I steam around the house speaking in what my husband refers to as a tone which only dogs can hear, and I vow to "get even". Then I forget about it, chalking it up to the extreme ignorance and arrogance of people. Life is too short to hold a grudge. Delete the emails (or copy/print them in the instance it gets ~really~ ugly) and whatever you do, do not reply with anything other than something like: I respectfully request that you do not contact me in any way in the future. Period.

i'm not a breeder but the way i see it is they dont know you nor understand how you work. in fact, unless they had taken the time to email you their diatribe you wouldnt even know they exsist!

so just ignore these sad, misguided BORED people and carry on doing the best job you can.

ps. love your website and the way your cats match your decor! lol

Hi,
Thank you guys =0) I will take your advice. I have been sending emails back but not to return "evil for evil" but just to state my side. However, these people have thier mind made up and continue to pile insults on top of insults. So I will ask that they not contact me anymore or I will report them to thier ISP.
It is a little scary though-you don't know what whacko is out there and if they will try to show up at your house.
This guy even said he reported me to the IRS. ohhhh scary since I claim all of my income from all three of my businesses! He must think all breeders don't pay taxes(even though im spending more then im making on these cats!) One told me to get a real job-like 4 kittens every 7 months is really making a killing! I can really live off that you know.

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

ps. love your website and the way your cats match your decor! lol

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Thanks! I have alot of ideas but will have to do them slowly as I get money in for the kittens I can continue to improve the cattery. The new kitten playroom is next! It will be an enclosed patio with jungle like cat trees and lots of play places. Of course i'll have to put patio furniture in there so we can sit and watch the little ones at play.
At least I won't have to buy the cat furniture since I make that =0)

Maybe I'm lucky but it rarely happens to me. When it does I simply ignore the person. They don't know anything about me or my cattery, they don't know what I do to help homeless cats (when being harassed it's mostly by people who work with homeless cats). Simply, they don't know anything about me and if they don't care to find out who I am and what I do they just waste my time. I have better thing to do than defending myself when I have nothing to defend.

No person who have made an effort to get to know me thinks I'm a bad person just because I breed cats, on the contrary we quite soon understand each other well and often we think very similar.

I think there is a difference between harrassment and questioning...I have questioned breeders regarding their practices, just as I have questioned rescuers. I believe that responsible breeders just like responsible rescuers will not have an issue with someone asking questions. For one thing, since I volunteer with a rescue group...sometimes I do get questions about finding a responsible breeder. So I feel it is my obligation to make sure I know about the breeder that I am recommending. I do not support harrassment.

Katie

Originally Posted by TNR1

I think there is a difference between harrassment and questioning...I have questioned breeders regarding their practices, just as I have questioned rescuers. I believe that responsible breeders just like responsible rescuers will not have an issue with someone asking questions. For one thing, since I volunteer with a rescue group...sometimes I do get questions about finding a responsible breeder. So I feel it is my obligation to make sure I know about the breeder that I am recommending. I do not support harrassment.

Katie

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Your right but what im getting is downright harrassment. Im being called names like peebrain, a##hole and numskull. They say I make them sick because I am a breeder. And these people do not know me and have never done business with me. I would definately consider that harrassment!
This is my first litter so I know it's not just some disgruntled past customers.

Bengalbabe, do yourself a big favor and ignore these people. As you have already commented, they do not know you, they've never done business with you and they certainly do not have first-hand knowledge of how your cats are raised and treated there in the privacy of your own home.

If you have to get mad at it, then by all means, get mad at it. You can even write a detailed and expletive-loaded reply - but after you finish composing it, read it aloud, then promptly delete it.

As my mother always says, it takes two to tango and if these people aren't getting you to dance along with them, then sooner or later, they will look to others to fill their dance cards.

~gf~

Originally Posted by gayef

Bengalbabe, do yourself a big favor and ignore these people. As you have already commented, they do not know you, they've never done business with you and they certainly do not have first-hand knowledge of how your cats are raised and treated there in the privacy of your own home.

If you have to get mad at it, then by all means, get mad at it. You can even write a detailed and expletive-loaded reply - but after you finish composing it, read it aloud, then promptly delete it.

As my mother always says, it takes two to tango and if these people aren't getting you to dance along with them, then sooner or later, they will look to others to fill their dance cards.

~gf~

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You are definately right I think this is good advice that I will take!
Thanks!!!!

I think, unfortunately, there are many irresponsible breeders out there (I think Hissy calls them "backyard breeders") who give you responsible ones a bad name.

That's true I have a friend who bought an abysinnian kitten from a BYB. She had cats of several different breeds running loose and inbreedeing/crossbreading. She was feeding the kittens REGULAR COWS MILK! AND she was sending kittens to thier new homes at 4 WEEKS of age! The friends kitten is allergic to EVERYTHING even fleas (probably because she was getting cows milk and not moms milk). Does not look like a purebred aby. and is a psycotic cat (probably from being seperated too early). She paid $700.00 for her. She admits now she shouldn't have bought her but she fell in love with her and bought her anyway. She is paying for it in the long run with high vet bills and a non social cat.
But my point is that people should'nt judge all breeders because of the few BYB who don't play by the rules. There is no reason for anyone to assume im a BYB with only one pair of breeders. I have the registration papers to show they are from excellent bloodlines. I don't inbreed and I treat my cats as good as I treat my own kids. You can see by going to my website that my cats are spoiled rotten, get the best of food and vet care too.

I always find it sad when a breeder lists with us on our sister site www.meowhoo.com and in the special notes section will plead with us not to publish their physical address because of what could happen. They are not doing anything wrong in their breeding program but are being pursued by animal activists and fanatics who believe that ALL breeding of cats is wrong no matter what.

Originally Posted by hissy

I always find it sad when a breeder lists with us on our sister site www.meowhoo.com and in the special notes section will plead with us not to publish their physical address because of what could happen. They are not doing anything wrong in their breeding program but are being pursued by animal activists and fanatics who believe that ALL breeding of cats is wrong no matter what.

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Yes that is what happens-you can see from my website my name and address are not on there. No one will be getting my actual address untill they place a deposit and then they can come see the kittens. It is sad that I have to worry. Without breeders the bengal breed would not exist and that would be a tragedy it is such a beautiful breed.
Another thing that these people don't understand is that the bengal breed was started because Jean Mill (the originator of the breed) wanted for people to have a cat that looked wild so they would be LESS likely to kill wild cats for thier fur if they looked like the kitty they own as a pet at home. We are actually helping wild cats by breeding domestics that only look wild.
Some people are so near sighted they can't see the whole picture.

Yikes, that stinks that you have to deal with it. I guess I never really thought to question breeders... I mean, when I was searching for my Ragdoll I did the research, questioned the lady that I visited... but never attacked her and would never think of attacking someone for being a breeder.

I agree with the advice of ignoring them... don't let ignorant people get to you. If you know you're not a backyard breeder, aren't in it to make money (which, as I understand, doesn't really happen) and care about your cats, treat them right, etc... then don't let anyone get you down and keep on doing what you do!

We have never been harrased as such but we have had a few comments that breeding is cruel and things like that. My Mum & I are responsible breeders, it's the BYB's that aren't.

I dont understand people at all sometimes.. Your a responsible breeder is all I care about..

I don't get harrassed, but I don't get on many sites that are against breeding. I would report the emailers to the mod's of the site they are emailing from.

I am only on this site and get digests from Fanciers Health. I tend to go to groups that promote breeding and give out information to teach me to be a better breeder.

I think there is a way to block unwanted emails from getting through. I would take advantage of that!

I love the idea of a outdoor enclosure for the cats. Don't forget to get permits if it is attached to the house or there may be trouble. We are planning to have one added to our home with double screens to keep out the racoons or opposums. My might add a rabbit to keep the grass down as the Persian coats will matt so fast and grass would help it along much faster.

Your cat "trees" are fantastic! I hope after selling a few more kittens I can meet up with you and buy a few! Glad you are close so I don't have to ship!

Hi!,
Thanks for the compliments. Well the overhang (patio cover or whatever you want to call it) already is attached to the house but all we plan on doing is screening it in and putting a new see-through roofing on-do you thank that will take a permit? We kept our little stud building small enough to be like a storage shed so hopefully we don't get any problems with that.

*sigh* Oh, I would love to live in an area where the cats could have an outside enclosure ... but I think I would miss them being in the house. No, I KNOW I would miss them.

I can actually see light at the end of my mortgage tunnel (didn't fall victim to the lower rates trend of the recent past - mine was low enough that it wouldn't have saved me or reduced my rate by much) and when it is paid, I was thinking of doing a little remodeling/renovating.

I have a large window in my bedroom that could be easily removed and cut to fit a door. I was thinking of building a deck-like structure (only slightly off the ground - maybe a couple of inches only with pebbles and sand as a bed underneath) and build a screened-in room over it. Even the top would be screened, but would also have a weather-proof cover that could be stretched over to provide shade or keep out rain.

The Spring and Fall are lovely here in Virginia and a part of the summer too - but the Winters are too cold and the Dog-Days are too hot to use this room all year. Back to the drawing board, I suppose.

~gf~