***INFORMATION ON SCAMMERS***

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This post is approved to be shared in hopes of saving someone from getting scammed. 

It's also a general blanket blog, each Breeder runs their own Cattery uniquely. 

Hello Purebred Maine Coon Lovers. 

I've seen an influx of people posting about getting scammed. 

There are usually two factors to that in almost every single case. 

1. These people are looking for either a price point that does not exist or:
2.  A time frame of I want it yesterday. 

THESE TWO THINGS WILL GET YOU SCAMMED. 

• You are not going to find a 600 dollar Maine Coon from a Breeder. 
• Most Breeders keep their kittens for 4 months SO that means that from start to finish ONE litter takes a Breeder 6 solid months of time. 
• This I want it now thought process does not take this simple fact into consideration. 

Here are some red flags you can use to make sure you are speaking to an actual Breeder. 

Scams are VERY easy to spot. 

No one should be getting to the point of losing money before realizing there is no kitten coming. To help make sure that doesnt happen please look for the following things. 

Not all are red flags but in combination with other red flags you should be cautious.

1. PRICE- Maine Coons are a very expensive Breed to Breed when done responsibly. The price *usually reflects the money invested in Breeding parents and lines. 2000 to 4000 should be expected when going through a responsible Breeder. When you see them for 600 that is usually what the deposit is. Do not fall for the too good to be true. It applies fully here.
2. AVAILABILITY- Ok so this is a tough one. Look on their site/group/page. Are all the kittens at the same age? Are they all at the “ready to go” age? Many scammers use photos stolen from REAL Breeders all at the ready to be sent to you age. This is not normal. Breeders will post updates weekly if not more. You will see photos of the SAME kitten/litter for the life of the kitten. You will not ONLY see them when they are old enough to be sold. You should see a footprint of that litter since they were young all the way up to 12 to 16 weeks of age including parent photos. That brings us to the next red flag…
3. PARENT PICTURES- Are there photos of the parents or just the kittens? Can the parents of the kittens even make the coat colors of those kittens? Such as are the parents two black solid cats but created a litter of red females????Not possible. Leading us on to….
4. KITTEN COLORS- What colors are the kittens and what gender are they? If the kittens are male and “calico”. Torbie or tortie it’s a scam. If the parents are not both a version of red and they have red females it’s a scam. Red females are not rare but they do need both parents to have red such as red Dad and torbie, tortie or red Mom as an example…
5. PHOTO BACKGROUNDS- Breeders post photos ALL THE TIME. Pay attention- look at the background of the phots…are they all the same? All different? Even the same room? Stolen photos are hard to match the background over time so they get lazy. Sometimes you can even see the real Breeders logo cropped halfway out.
6. LOCATION- Do they keep changing their location? Do their reviews say they are in one State and then the next say another one? What about the IP Address? Is it out of Country but they claim to be in the States?
7. WEBSITE/GROUP/MESSAGING/CONTACT:  

Let's start out with the name. HUGE GIVE AWAYS ARE IN THE NAME! Maine Coons near me, Available kittens near me, Giant available Maine Coons….Look for anything that says available, near me, adoption, cheap, kittens or a human name like Jessica Quality Maine Coons or Melissa’s Maine Coons…

With that said who is messaging you? Is their name two first names like Wilson Amber? Does it make sense? Betty Susan? John David? Click on their names. How old is their profile photo? IS their account newer than 2 years….usually weeks? Are their friends all in Cameroon or of models? How many friends do they have? 

If it’s a page when was it created? How many likes or followers does it have? 

Websites- when were they made? 

Do they talk about puppies in the review?

Let's address contacting YOU. Breeders WILL NEVER comment under every post on the thread asking you to go to their page or click on a link. NEVER.

 If this is happening report it to admin ASAP. If they post under your comment “can I ask you a question?” Report them to admin and block them they are scammers. 

Breeders do not seek you out. If you are finding Breeders in your inbox that YOU are not expecting to hear from they are scammers. 

Unless YOU asked them to message you they will not. 

Breeders aren’t out recruiting you. YOU need to go to them. 

If they are coming to you they are probably a scammer.

1. FREE ANYTHING- This should be quite self explanatory but it is not always so here we go. NOTHING IS FREE. They are not going to ship you a cat to your door for free. They are not going to ship anything to your door for any amount. An example. Courier travel within the US is about 1000 to 1500 right now. Importing out of Country is at least that if not closer to 2000 to 2500 depending on the location, courier etc. You aren’t getting a kitten hand delivered for 600.
2. BUY IT NOW BUTTON- Our cats are not merchandise on Amazon Prime. We would never treat them as such. If you are on their website and there is an “available” followed by a “buy it now” button or “reserve now” button it is almost always a scam. This is usually located under their price of 600 to 1200. RUN.
3. TESTING AND REGISTRATION- Ask them what testing they do. As Ive said 1000x DNA isn’t actually “testing” but if all they can say is n/n be careful. This is a shady line and can also bleed into back yard breeders and mills which are not scammers. Totally different issue all together. Ask where they are registered and look them up- be aware that some scammers are now registering because it is under 35 bucks and takes less than 10 minutes. Are they telling you that you they are AKC registered? That’s a dog registry….do your research!!!! Make sure they are giving you REAL information.
4. PAYMENT- ok guys if you have gotten this far you should be 100000% sure they are not. Scam before sending a dime BUT here we go. DO NOT PAY IN GIFT CARDS EVER FOR ANY REASON. That is a scam. Also, if they ever raise the cost as the conversation goes on that’s a scam. If they make you pay a crazy low deposit like 150 to 300 its shady. Most deposits are 500 or more. If they start telling you that the cat is ill and they need money to cover its Vet care, that there is a shipping problem, and the cat is stuck in transit and will cost you x more…. All of this is BS. Breeders have a set price. It doesn’t change. We don’t negotiate or bargain. We don’t have “sales” or discounts on certain days. Again, back to the fact that our Cats are not merchandise on Amazon Prime. There are no prime days. Our cats are a set price as is their transport which is done by YOU or the Courier. Some Breeders will help connect you or be the middleman but you should be in contact with the courier yourself as well. Do not confuse prepayment as a red flag. I don’t know ANY Breeders that will hold a kitten for you for 4 months on good faith. WE ALSO GET SCAMMED, just in different ways. Almost every Breeder I know requires payment in full BEFORE the kitten leaves, not on go home day. Personally, we require deposit at 8 to 10 weeks when a kitten is chosen and payment in full before alter date at 14 weeks. Go home date is 16 weeks. That is pretty standard. I see many making statements that they won't pay before they pick up…that is not in any way normal. Also, on that note- lastly let's touch on that ….
5. VISITATION- This varies per Breeder, but NO IT IS NOT A RED FLAG for a Breeder to refuse to let you visit. WHY? It's simple. This is our private home where we raise our kids and cats. We do not hand out our address to strangers to make you feel better. You might be risking 2 to 3 grand BUT from a purely financial point of view we have 60,000 to 100,000 invested in our Cattery MIN…That risk doesn’t compare in any way. From a safety issue- Many of us started by allowing in person visits and it backfired. People have no boundaries. We had many show up unannounced at all hours WITH their friends and neighbors to see the cats. We are not a petting zoo. I've had people go through my drawers, my bathroom cabinets and even walk into my teen daughters' room while she was changing. I've had people allow their children to mishandle my cats and it took weeks to reverse it. A Breeder was robbed and murdered a year or so ago. We do not ask to come into your home to make sure you are legit- We keep our Catteries clean and sanitary for safety for the cats. Constant foot traffic leads us to the Health aspect…It’s a massive risk to allow people inside your cattery. They can bring in fleas, parasites and illness that can wipe out a Cattery. Catteries have kittens of all ages and some are not yet fully vaccinated. Some catteries are ok with taking this risk, some are not. Like I said it’s a personal preference and never a red flag either way. 

If the red flags listed above are not present, then simply look for the following things:

• Check websites, pages etc. for random behind the scenes updates. Look to see if they are the same cats with the same home in the background.
• Look to see if the cats are cages or in an open environment.
• Is the Breeder willing to answer all your questions? Are they open and honest when you do so or are they rushing you?
• Are they looking to place a kitten based on fit? Do they interview YOU? We care where are cats go so this is a two-way street. Your Breeder will interview you to see if they will even approve you.
• Cost, care, living conditions are all important.
• Are they willing to allow you to contact their previous kitten families for referral?
• Are they willing to call or video call so you can see the cats in the Cattery?
• How many litters do they have, are the kittens well cared for?
• Some want to only deal with show Breeders- where do they show?
• Most Breeders watermark their photos. Are all the watermarks the same?
• Can they provide you with all the info for you to feel confident sending money? They should have all parent info, litter info, personality info and updated pics for you to see the growth and health of the cats. By the time money is exchanged you should be more than confident and clear that You have chosen a responsible Breeder.

• SCAMS ARE SO EASY TO SPOT - SO ARE GOOD BREEDERS!!!! 
• BE AWARE AND UNDERSTAND JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT SOMETHING TO BE TRUE WONT MAKE IT SO. 
• DON’T LET YOURSELF FALL INTO A SCAM BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO STRUCK GOLD.
• THEY PREY ON PEOPLE THAT POST THINGS ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD A MC, LOOKING FOR A MC FOR CHEAP, WANT ONE NOW OR JUST RECENTLY LOST THEIR CAT. 
• AVOID SCAMMERS BY BEING AWARE OF WHAT YOU YOURSELF ARE POSTING THAT IS DRAWING THEM TO YOU.

***Any rehoming groups is a scam 🛑🛑🛑***

Please do not use your dealings with scammers to reflect on real responsible breeders. 

I HOPE THIS HELPS!!!!