Anybody have experience with Rare Breed Exotics?

[Brigitte Cowell]

Was the kitten vaccinated for FeCoV then? Other vaccinations (such as the standard FVRCP) would not affect the FeCoV titer result. It's not a normal vaccine to give, as it has not been proven to be very useful at all.

I'd imagine as Patti says, that if the last kitten from this cattery died of FIP then Coronavirus is in that cattery and your kitten was also exposed. That's a relatively significant result, was it the Idexx test that means the titer is a minimum of 1:1600 or was that the more specific result from Cornell University? If it was Idexx or Antech the actual titer might well be higher...so you might want to quarantine and retest to make sure the titer is decreasing before introducing to your other cat.

 

[Amanda Hughes]

Good day/evening SVCatChat Community!

I have been taking advantage from the vast amount of experiences, information, and suggestions on this forum on/off for several months now and have learned an tremendous amount about the SV breed. I am normally quite the quiet type but with such a huge decision on my hands I wanted to ask the community for their opinions on this situation before I proceed.

I am looking forward to becoming a SV cat owner in the nearby future. I have the money saved up and just need to find that perfect little kitten to join my family. No rush as i'm looking for the perfect balance of looks, love at first sight, reputable breeder and of course budget.

I believe all I can afford is an F3-F4 (although an F2 would be amazing) so my focus has been on finding a quality breeder in a price range I can afford for what I am looking for. I believe I have found a great deal from the Napa Valley breeder Rare Breed Exotics.

I have been in communication with the owner for a few days now and am ready to pull the trigger on a cute little F4 SBT male kitten(picture attached). I wanted to ask the community if anybody has experience with this breeder before. Aside from not showing up on some popular breeder listing websites(but they do show up on the tica pdf), everything points to a quality breeder with the SV's best interest in mind. Communication has been pleasant with the owner and it "feels" right. But it can't hurt to ask the community first!

So anybody ever hear of or deal directly with Rare Breed Exotics?

Thanks in advance

Max

I have had some dealing with him recently. I was very uncertain of purchasing from him, one of the reasons is because he wanted us to meet in a mall parking lot to show me 2 females I as interested in. I found this a but concerning. I understand that keeping a closed cattery for the health of the kitten is common but I wanted to go there and meet in front of his cattery to ensure I wasn't buying from a cat mill. He insisted on the parking lot. He also insisted that if I wanted to take the kittens home the day I saw them I had to bring 4,860 in cash, 5000 if I wanted the cat tree as well. He was really pressing me to take the females and a male and be a breeder. He was offering me 3 kittens all together. I told him I only wanted the females and he wrote into the contract that at any time I could come and get a male from him. When I told him I wasn't absolutely certain we were going to buy because I wanted to meet the kittens first and upon telling him that he told me to call him next week because he was having second thoughts. He also told me that having them fixed would stunt their growth. He had initially wanted to keep these 3 kittens to breed from. But it seemed like he was trying to push me to be a breeder so he could profit without the work. the contract said I would owe half of the first 2 litters. Some areas I easily understand, but this seemed too shady for me especially since I couldn't find much info outside his website. I am a novice buyer, but There was a high likely hood I would've bought those females.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

So you purchased from him or no? The contract sounds outrageous but buying kittens in a parking lot to start a breeding program sounds like the worst possible way one might do that! Yikes! Were these kittens registered or not? That's a lot of money for three unregistered kittens of uncertain heritage.... did he give you pedigrees on the cats if selling as breeders?

 

[Amanda Hughes]

Oh no, I most definitely did not buy them. The thing is I don't want to be a breeder. I may be a novice buyer but I'm not stupid deary . This happened yesterday. He told me he would provide papers but I've seen posts where people didn't get the papers. He had wanted those females and the male for breeding, but then offered them to me to breed after telling me that having them fixed would stunt their growth. This is my first time buying from a breeder. But I've owned many cats. Now I'm looking at a Jua Ini Savannahs cattery.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Ah OK, whew! I couldn't quite tell from the story and hoped you had not! I've not heard of anyone getting papers on a kitten from him. Sabira at Jua Ini does sell registered Savannahs and is a lovely person. I've met her before (I think I mentioned one meeting in your other thread) but remembered she also was one of those that came out a bit more than a year ago when there was a petition in front of California Fish & Wildlife to ban all "hybrid breeds"...she was one of those that came to the meeting to fight this ban and that also is something admirable. [The petition was thrown out by F&W, but I believe much in part due to the outcry by so many breeders and pet owners]

 

[Amanda Hughes]

I really like her and yeah I wasn't very clear in the story. It saddened me a little I couldn't get the girls. They looked beautiful. But, it started making me uneasy after talking to him a bit. Then he offered to write up a contract saying I could have 2 kittens out of his next litter for 3k and that I could pick them up at 6 weeks. I know no kitten should be released before 12 weeks.

 

[Pam Flachs]

Amanda, I am so glad to hear you went with your gut feelings and did not purchase kittens from this breeder...if this was not a desperate attempt to sell kittens and force you to become a breeder against your wishes; I don't know what else to call it! Everything about the transaction details spells out RUN fast and far away! I agree with Brigitte that Sabira is a good person and one who cares about her cats and the welfare and future of others' cats...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

You did right, many make the mistake of feeling sorry for kittens from such a breeder so then purchase them to "rescue" them, but in effect perpetuate their business.

And you are right, 12 weeks should be the minimum not 6 weeks...omg!

 

[Pam Flachs]

....and NO ethical or responsible breeder EVER lets kittens go to new homes at 6 weeks old

 

[Amanda Hughes]

I hope they'll be alright though. I'm a massive cat lover and my heart aches to think they might be bad off. I'm considering calling the better business bureau about him or at least the local animal shelter. He worries me.