Greetings friends. Every day I get phone calls from people who have been scammed. Yesterday I heard from someone who was scammed by someone claiming to be a Maine coon breeder in Asheville, North Carolina. They had a Facebook page in their texting conversations, this person claimed to work with me at my cattery. This was absolutely untrue. I am the only Maine coon breeder in the Asheville area and I do not work with anyone.
Last week, I received a phone call from a gentleman who asked if I was a breeder in Asheville and I told him that I was just a few miles north of Asheville. He said that he had driven all the way from Ohio to pick up his kitten at an address, he was given in Asheville, only to find out there was no cattery there. He was devastated, and my heart broke for him.
Scammers are beginning to use my Cattery name, which is Royal Maine Coons. For future reference, my website is www.royalmainecoons.com. My website has little sparkles on it. It is so customized that it cannot be duplicated.
Anyone using my name, Peggy Huff, or my cattery name of royalmainecoon.com is a forgery unless you go to my website directly, my Facebook page that has thousands of followers, or are recommended by one of my many customers. You can always call me to confirm that it is really me at 828-273-6253.
There are a couple of things to look for when you are searching Maine coon websites. For one, they rarely list a phone number, and address or a name. If they list phone number, they will only text.
This is often because they have a strong accent, and you can often tell by their spelling and grammar that they are not Americans. There is one way you can catch them red-handed, and that is if you see a kitten on their website that you are interested in, tell that person that you want to FaceTime with them with that specific kitten. Scammers will not be able to do this because they do not actually have these kittens. They are images that they have harvested from the Internet. They will usually respond in a hostile manner and then ghost you. That is their MO.
You can also get a sense of someone who is a scammer by studying the pictures of their kittens that they have listed on their website. They will all have different backgrounds. That is because they are harvested images.
Another huge red flag is that these scammers will list their kittens at very low prices. As a high-quality breeder, I can tell you that it takes every nickel I charge for my kittens to breed my kittens. Some people will see a $4000 price tag and think it is very high, but you cannot imagine the cost of breeding these beautiful purebred cats. I actually lose money every year because my cats and kittens get the best of everything. And that's fine with me. It is my passion and my hobby, and I have income from another source, so making money is not important to me. a scammer will offer a kitten for $600 or $800 or $1200. It is impossible to be a breeder and charge these prices.
There are also what are called backyard breeders who are people who buy two breeding cats breed them in their home without any breeding experience or knowledge they can make a buck. They often have very inferior cats, sell sick kittens, do not provide proper paperwork and pedigree papers. Once you have one of their sick kittens, they will blame you for it and ghost you. It is absolutely heartbreaking. Just yesterday, I had a man called me from Knoxville Tennessee asking me for a breeding female. I do not sell breeding cats. And I told him so. He was angry and said that he doesn't live anywhere near me. When the fact of the matter is, he only lives two hours away, and I sell my cats all over the country. He angrily said that he would find one somewhere else and sadly he probably will. He is a backyard breeder. And anyone who would sell him a breeding cat is not a responsible breeder.
There are a lot of want to be breeders out there who know nothing about breeding and how difficult it is before they start. I had one woman asked me how to sell her kittens that were due to be born in a week. She knew nothing about breeding or the business end of being a breeder.
And there are people out there who advocate for these people and try to help them get their businesses started. This is bad for all breeders. At least the serious ones. They degrade everything real breeders have worked so very hard for and built amazing and immaculate facilities for their breeding program and their cats and kittens only two promote them having kittens in a cardboard box in their bedroom closet. I find it disgusting and insulting, and so very sad for the animals. They are taking advantage of thinking they are going to make a living doing so.
I plan to start a live series on TikTok about the realities of being a real breeder. There are so many things to know and learn and continue to learn as long as you continue to breed. New things happen all the time that are unexpected and out of control.
People who think they are going to become breeders with a couple of cats in their house need to know about these things. I had to learn them the hard way as my mentor did not tell me about them. There is tremendous joy in being a real breeder that is matched by heartache and stress, extremely hard work and very long hours.
I will be telling real stories of my experiences as a breeder. Some of it may be disturb to here, but it's very important for anyone considering becoming a breeder to know. I will also be sharing the good stuff, the joy of having healthy cats and kittens and the incredible gratitude. I feel when I hand my kittens to a new family and see their eyes light up with joy and happiness and receive ongoing images and updates on their kittens and cats. The friendships that build as a result of being a breeder is priceless to me.
I do what I do because I love cats so much and have since I was a tiny child. I do it because of the happiness I bring to my kitten families. I do it because I can afford to do it, and do it really well. If I couldn't afford to do it really well, I would not do it at all. Be fair to the cats and kittens, to my rescue animals, or to me. My cattery space is kept separate from my private living space. I hire someone to assist me throughout the week. So that everything stays extremely clean and organized. It is such a big job that there is no way I could do it without this help..
There are people who do run their batteries out of their personal home space, and do it well. It takes great organization to do so and a small breeding program. I know others who breed out of their homes and their cats spray everywhere and ruin all of their furniture, carpet, pretty much everything they own. did not plan ahead and know what they were getting into. I feel sorry for them and for their animals. That is not the right way to do it.
I kind of got off on a tangent here, but if you were looking for a Maine coon, look for one for a high-quality breeder. Not a backyard breeder, and certainly not a scammer. I am happy to help anyone vet a potential breeders website for anyone who asked me to. There's nothing that makes me angrier than people stealing from other people. I am here, not only to provide kittens to appropriate families, but to help other people acquire a kitten that is healthy and Will bring happiness to their homes, even if it means adopting one from a Humane Society or a cat sanctuary. In fact, I would rather somebody adopt a cat or kitten in need then pay for one of mine.
I will let you know when I start to reveal the realities of being a breeder on TikTok in case you are someone considering or just getting into it. It may not be popular with everyone, but it will be honest and truthful, and shed some light on the realities of being a Maine coon cat breeder. Until then, I wish you the very best. ❤️