Tort518
Savannah Super Cat
I'm in Frederick. Where in MD are you?
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Anybody have experience with Rare Breed Exotics?
- Thread starter maximumkitty
- Start date
I'm in Frederick. Where in MD are you?
Sue
Savannah Super Cat
I could not get the blue slip from the breeder that I bought from' even though she kept promising to mail it to me. This breeder was listed on savannahcat.com and was TICA registered. I thought I had done my homework. After a few months, phone calls and emails were not being answered, phone numbers changed, website disappeared. I did eventually get the registration papers but not from the breeder. In the future, I will not purchase any cat without the blue slip or at least a copy of the blue slip. Sue
Amanda Morgan
Savannah Teenager
WARNING!! CAUTION!!
I know this thread is from a year or so ago.. but I figured I'd tell my experience with this breeder in hopes that someone will be searching this website and can steer clear of these people!!
My boyfriend and I have been the fur-parents of our Savannah for about two years, and our boy is just perfect! He walks with us on a leash, says hello to the next door neighbors puppy, and from the beginning we wished we would have gotten one of his brothers or sisters to keep him company. After talking over the idea of bringing another cat into the house, we began searching the area for breeders (our first breeder is no longer in business). After a few weeks of searching, and visiting a cattery or two, my boyfriend got into contact with Jason from Rare Breed Exotics.
The exchange between Jason and my boyfriend was pleasant, he seemed to be very knowledgable about the breed, and answered all of our questions with all the right answers. He didn't ask us much information after he knew we had a savannah already. He sent us a few pictures of the new litter, and we simultaneously pointed out the same kitten. After that, he continued to tell us, how that kitten was a "BEAST" and the most serval like of all the other kittens, also telling us he was impressed with our "eye" and that most people don't recognize his unique spots.
He forwarded us to get into contact with Tori which we assumed was his wife/girlfriend, she quickly answered our calls and took down our information so we could send them a deposit.
We met Jason at an address he gave us early in the morning, I figured we'd be meeting at his house, so we would be able to see the conditions of his cattery and meet the Parents of our new kitten. That wasn't the case, it ended up being a gas station on the outer parts of town, he pulled up and quickly pulled the kitten out from his carrying case. It was a very small kitten, and a completely different one than the picture he had sent us, different markings, and looked way smaller. The kitten had black scabs on his face, and his coat looked very scaly/dandruff... I began to tell Jason this wasn't the kitten we agreed upon. He blamed it on Tori saying she must have been confused when he talked with her...
So from here things began getting more and more sketchy...
He then told us, that we could drive all the way out to Sacramento where Tori was, in order to look at the other kittens and swap him out if we wanted to. We agreed on that, and started another 2 hours out of our way to switch the kittens. Half way there, my boyfriend and I were contemplating what to do, the kittens disposition was very relaxed and he seemed very sweet, all the time we were already forming a bond with him. We called Tori while on our way a few times with no answer, given it was early in the morning, she may have still been sleeping/getting ready, either way we never got a hold of her... we decided to just keep the kitten. Letting Jason know, he said if something happens or if we changed our minds, he would be happy let us switch him out for another kitten.
When we got him home, I took the kitten straight into our spare bedroom where I have an pop-up enclosure housing his food, litter, and bed with a good amount of space to play.
After 2 days of having the kitten, I took him to our regular vet who is amazing. The first thing she said when she saw the kitten that it was not old enough to be away from his mom, and instead of being around 6-7 weeks (which in my opinion is still too young but is what Jason told us was better for human/cat bonding) he was more like 4 weeks just by looking at his size. The vet's diagnosis was that the kitten was very dehydrated and not healthy at all. His eyes were very glossy, which to her showed signs of intestinal problems. He also had ear mites. She told me to watch him carefully and is his runny stool began to get worse to come back immediately.
By the end of the week, which was a Friday, my boyfriend came home to the kitten not being able to walk, extremely lethargic, and he instantly knew something was not right. He rushed him to the VCA emergency where they put him on an IV of dextrose and monitored him for 24 hours, they began to do blood testing to get rid of some potential diagnosis. While he was staying overnight, I did some investigation of Jason and Tori's reputations online, I ended up finding a few other people that had up to 4 kitten from them die, all from FIP.
We informed the staff at the VCA of the potential of FIP... after that all of his symptoms made sense. They began to give him antibiotics and ween him off of the dextrose... after two hours of being at home, the kitten hit a wall again. We rushed him back to the hospital where we were forced to say goodbye to our sweet little kitten...
We contacted Jason letting him know the situation as it progressed, he told my boyfriend that we shouldn't have taken the kitten to the VCA, and that we should have called him instead because he knew how to administer fluids through an IV... it didn't make any sense for us to do that, we live over an hour away from them and this all happened late at night. We ended up spending over $900 in vet bills trying to save him that night.
This experience has been one nightmare after another. We told him of the expenses, and he didn't want to take responsibility for anything. I explained to him (as he knew this already) that we paid the proice for a quality breed and we did not receive that. After sending texts to both Jason and Tori along with calling them more than a few times without response... we demanded our money back, not wanting to take any of their cats, in fear that Zephyr might contract something and become sick... We told them that we could take this situation further by alerting TICA, SPCA, and any animal hospital in the area that would listen to our story, just so we could have some type of justice, along with the possibility of going to small claims court.
Jason finally responded telling me that they don't give any cash refunds as stated on their website (which it does not, they only mention deposits not being refundable) and that he had another 4 month old cat that they had planned on selling as a breeder for 5k. I knew that the only way we were going to get any value out of the situation was to take another one of his cats. I told him the only way we would take one of his cats was if we could meet at a vet's office and have a complete check-up. The cat that we know have is supposedly an SBT F4. I made an appointment for us to meet at 2pm, as I wanted to be there for the vet visit, and ask all the questions I wanted. When Tori showed up, she began to tell us that he had already been looked at this morning, and she had a complete health certificate. Again, I sensed something fishy... Why come before the appointment, knowing I had set the time specifically so I could be there?? This boy had ear mites pretty bad as well, but seemed lively and healthy. We are now in the midst of getting blood tests, fecal, and anything else under the sun checked out on this boy... praying while crossing our fingers that nothing is wrong.
The new boy is more like 6/7 months old instead of 4. He not only has the mites, but tiny round sores on each one of his paws, which to me, looks like the poor guys nails were so long they were growing into his skin
(( he even walks funny as if he was used to walking on his “heels” instead of his toes. And for a 6 month old he seems very awkward and uncoordinated as if he's hardly ever been played with before.
All I can hope for is that our boys are healthy, and that this situation can stay in our past and we won't have to deal with these people in the future. I am so happy that we have him here with us now, able to take him away from what seems to be poor living conditions along with my instincts giving me a cat-mill “vibe.”
I would highly caution anyone who is considering doing business with Rare Breed Exotics. They seem to only care about the money and not the well-being of their animals. They took no responsibility for what happened, and had no sense of eagerness to make things right with us. Part of me thinks the only reason we have this 6 month old boy today is because we had their home address (from the online deposit) and we live close to them. All the people I've seen online that have gone through similar situations with this breeder have all been out of state. It makes me sick to my stomach that there are people out there exploiting this beautiful breed.
If there is anyone reading this with advice for us in regards to reporting this breeder and spreading the word, please don't hesitate!
I know this thread is from a year or so ago.. but I figured I'd tell my experience with this breeder in hopes that someone will be searching this website and can steer clear of these people!!
My boyfriend and I have been the fur-parents of our Savannah for about two years, and our boy is just perfect! He walks with us on a leash, says hello to the next door neighbors puppy, and from the beginning we wished we would have gotten one of his brothers or sisters to keep him company. After talking over the idea of bringing another cat into the house, we began searching the area for breeders (our first breeder is no longer in business). After a few weeks of searching, and visiting a cattery or two, my boyfriend got into contact with Jason from Rare Breed Exotics.
The exchange between Jason and my boyfriend was pleasant, he seemed to be very knowledgable about the breed, and answered all of our questions with all the right answers. He didn't ask us much information after he knew we had a savannah already. He sent us a few pictures of the new litter, and we simultaneously pointed out the same kitten. After that, he continued to tell us, how that kitten was a "BEAST" and the most serval like of all the other kittens, also telling us he was impressed with our "eye" and that most people don't recognize his unique spots.
He forwarded us to get into contact with Tori which we assumed was his wife/girlfriend, she quickly answered our calls and took down our information so we could send them a deposit.
We met Jason at an address he gave us early in the morning, I figured we'd be meeting at his house, so we would be able to see the conditions of his cattery and meet the Parents of our new kitten. That wasn't the case, it ended up being a gas station on the outer parts of town, he pulled up and quickly pulled the kitten out from his carrying case. It was a very small kitten, and a completely different one than the picture he had sent us, different markings, and looked way smaller. The kitten had black scabs on his face, and his coat looked very scaly/dandruff... I began to tell Jason this wasn't the kitten we agreed upon. He blamed it on Tori saying she must have been confused when he talked with her...
So from here things began getting more and more sketchy...
He then told us, that we could drive all the way out to Sacramento where Tori was, in order to look at the other kittens and swap him out if we wanted to. We agreed on that, and started another 2 hours out of our way to switch the kittens. Half way there, my boyfriend and I were contemplating what to do, the kittens disposition was very relaxed and he seemed very sweet, all the time we were already forming a bond with him. We called Tori while on our way a few times with no answer, given it was early in the morning, she may have still been sleeping/getting ready, either way we never got a hold of her... we decided to just keep the kitten. Letting Jason know, he said if something happens or if we changed our minds, he would be happy let us switch him out for another kitten.
When we got him home, I took the kitten straight into our spare bedroom where I have an pop-up enclosure housing his food, litter, and bed with a good amount of space to play.
After 2 days of having the kitten, I took him to our regular vet who is amazing. The first thing she said when she saw the kitten that it was not old enough to be away from his mom, and instead of being around 6-7 weeks (which in my opinion is still too young but is what Jason told us was better for human/cat bonding) he was more like 4 weeks just by looking at his size. The vet's diagnosis was that the kitten was very dehydrated and not healthy at all. His eyes were very glossy, which to her showed signs of intestinal problems. He also had ear mites. She told me to watch him carefully and is his runny stool began to get worse to come back immediately.
By the end of the week, which was a Friday, my boyfriend came home to the kitten not being able to walk, extremely lethargic, and he instantly knew something was not right. He rushed him to the VCA emergency where they put him on an IV of dextrose and monitored him for 24 hours, they began to do blood testing to get rid of some potential diagnosis. While he was staying overnight, I did some investigation of Jason and Tori's reputations online, I ended up finding a few other people that had up to 4 kitten from them die, all from FIP.
We informed the staff at the VCA of the potential of FIP... after that all of his symptoms made sense. They began to give him antibiotics and ween him off of the dextrose... after two hours of being at home, the kitten hit a wall again. We rushed him back to the hospital where we were forced to say goodbye to our sweet little kitten...
We contacted Jason letting him know the situation as it progressed, he told my boyfriend that we shouldn't have taken the kitten to the VCA, and that we should have called him instead because he knew how to administer fluids through an IV... it didn't make any sense for us to do that, we live over an hour away from them and this all happened late at night. We ended up spending over $900 in vet bills trying to save him that night.
This experience has been one nightmare after another. We told him of the expenses, and he didn't want to take responsibility for anything. I explained to him (as he knew this already) that we paid the proice for a quality breed and we did not receive that. After sending texts to both Jason and Tori along with calling them more than a few times without response... we demanded our money back, not wanting to take any of their cats, in fear that Zephyr might contract something and become sick... We told them that we could take this situation further by alerting TICA, SPCA, and any animal hospital in the area that would listen to our story, just so we could have some type of justice, along with the possibility of going to small claims court.
Jason finally responded telling me that they don't give any cash refunds as stated on their website (which it does not, they only mention deposits not being refundable) and that he had another 4 month old cat that they had planned on selling as a breeder for 5k. I knew that the only way we were going to get any value out of the situation was to take another one of his cats. I told him the only way we would take one of his cats was if we could meet at a vet's office and have a complete check-up. The cat that we know have is supposedly an SBT F4. I made an appointment for us to meet at 2pm, as I wanted to be there for the vet visit, and ask all the questions I wanted. When Tori showed up, she began to tell us that he had already been looked at this morning, and she had a complete health certificate. Again, I sensed something fishy... Why come before the appointment, knowing I had set the time specifically so I could be there?? This boy had ear mites pretty bad as well, but seemed lively and healthy. We are now in the midst of getting blood tests, fecal, and anything else under the sun checked out on this boy... praying while crossing our fingers that nothing is wrong.
The new boy is more like 6/7 months old instead of 4. He not only has the mites, but tiny round sores on each one of his paws, which to me, looks like the poor guys nails were so long they were growing into his skin
(( he even walks funny as if he was used to walking on his “heels” instead of his toes. And for a 6 month old he seems very awkward and uncoordinated as if he's hardly ever been played with before.All I can hope for is that our boys are healthy, and that this situation can stay in our past and we won't have to deal with these people in the future. I am so happy that we have him here with us now, able to take him away from what seems to be poor living conditions along with my instincts giving me a cat-mill “vibe.”
I would highly caution anyone who is considering doing business with Rare Breed Exotics. They seem to only care about the money and not the well-being of their animals. They took no responsibility for what happened, and had no sense of eagerness to make things right with us. Part of me thinks the only reason we have this 6 month old boy today is because we had their home address (from the online deposit) and we live close to them. All the people I've seen online that have gone through similar situations with this breeder have all been out of state. It makes me sick to my stomach that there are people out there exploiting this beautiful breed.
If there is anyone reading this with advice for us in regards to reporting this breeder and spreading the word, please don't hesitate!
Amanda Morgan
Savannah Teenager
Thank you...
We have all the paperwork from the vet but nothing from the breeder. The only health certificate we got was for the 6 month old we have now. We were told we'd get all our paperwork once we neuter, but I won't be holding my breath.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We have all the paperwork from the vet but nothing from the breeder. The only health certificate we got was for the 6 month old we have now. We were told we'd get all our paperwork once we neuter, but I won't be holding my breath.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for posting Amanda! Many of us know about rare breed exotics! They have scammed many people and are vicious and heartless! They have been removed from many groups as well as Savannah cat.com...I would suggest that you could have taken him to court, especially since you are close by and fourteen your money back... Small claims court costs very little... I'm so sorry this happened to you and I hope the new kitten is ok...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Pam Flachs
Savannah Super Cat
Amanda, I am so sorry you were put through this with your kitten....RIP poor baby.
This is the stuff of nightmare breeders, and is the reason why I tell people contemplating a Savannah (or another one) to research online extensively, join various groups..including Savannah Cat Chat and Savannah FB groups...ask questions from previous customers if possible...ask other breeders if they have heard anything out of the ordinary about a specific breeder that would send out red flags to not purchase from them. Some breeders are reluctant to share such knowledge, but I would tell someone who asked my opinion they would be better to search elsewhere for a kitten if I felt another breeder was dishonest and/or sold sick kittens, etc., even if I would not state those reasons specifically....
I also recommend people NOT purchase a kitten or cat if they are uncomfortable with the transaction for any reason...taking a kitten home under those circumstances often leads to just the heartache you experienced. Money may be lost, but will save yourself much grief (not to mention possibly exposing your own cat(s) to any illnesses or parasites).
You might consider leaving a review on Yelp about your experience:
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=catteries&find_loc=Sacramento,+CA&ns=1
Prayers your new baby is healthy and recovers from his ear mites and sore paws! As a precaution, I trust you are keeping the new boy in complete quarantine and away from your other cat until the new kitten's issues are resolved and bloodwork and test results are clear from the vet?
This is the stuff of nightmare breeders, and is the reason why I tell people contemplating a Savannah (or another one) to research online extensively, join various groups..including Savannah Cat Chat and Savannah FB groups...ask questions from previous customers if possible...ask other breeders if they have heard anything out of the ordinary about a specific breeder that would send out red flags to not purchase from them. Some breeders are reluctant to share such knowledge, but I would tell someone who asked my opinion they would be better to search elsewhere for a kitten if I felt another breeder was dishonest and/or sold sick kittens, etc., even if I would not state those reasons specifically....
I also recommend people NOT purchase a kitten or cat if they are uncomfortable with the transaction for any reason...taking a kitten home under those circumstances often leads to just the heartache you experienced. Money may be lost, but will save yourself much grief (not to mention possibly exposing your own cat(s) to any illnesses or parasites).
You might consider leaving a review on Yelp about your experience:
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=catteries&find_loc=Sacramento,+CA&ns=1
Prayers your new baby is healthy and recovers from his ear mites and sore paws! As a precaution, I trust you are keeping the new boy in complete quarantine and away from your other cat until the new kitten's issues are resolved and bloodwork and test results are clear from the vet?
Amanda Morgan
Savannah Teenager
Thank you for all your sympathies and well wishes for our new boy, we appreciate it.
Can I create a new thread from re-posting my response?
Our new boy, Seve is doing well! We have kept him separate from Zephyr for about two weeks as we've waited for the results on his bloodwork. Today we got a call back from our vet saying that he tested FeLV negative and he was FCoV (which is the FIP if I'm not mistaken) positive with the results of 1:1600. We could continue testing him to see if he is a carrier or was just exposed to it in the cattery. It could also be showing up positive because of his vaccinations. Our vet said in her opinion it was nothing to worry about, and that we should not pay any mind. He is a healthy and rambunctious young boy! So, of course we were thrilled to hear some good news coming out of this whole situation.
We have slowly started to switch their spaces, allowing them alone time to sniff each other out. The times they have quickly seen one another there hasn't been any signs of aggression which we are happy about! Hoping everything continues on the up and up!
We plan on getting him back to the vet soon so he can finish up his shots and we can have him neutered.
=)
Can I create a new thread from re-posting my response?
Our new boy, Seve is doing well! We have kept him separate from Zephyr for about two weeks as we've waited for the results on his bloodwork. Today we got a call back from our vet saying that he tested FeLV negative and he was FCoV (which is the FIP if I'm not mistaken) positive with the results of 1:1600. We could continue testing him to see if he is a carrier or was just exposed to it in the cattery. It could also be showing up positive because of his vaccinations. Our vet said in her opinion it was nothing to worry about, and that we should not pay any mind. He is a healthy and rambunctious young boy! So, of course we were thrilled to hear some good news coming out of this whole situation.
We have slowly started to switch their spaces, allowing them alone time to sniff each other out. The times they have quickly seen one another there hasn't been any signs of aggression which we are happy about! Hoping everything continues on the up and up!
We plan on getting him back to the vet soon so he can finish up his shots and we can have him neutered.
=)
Yes, you can start a new thread - just go to the home page, click on the forum that most fits what you want to post about then click on "Post New Thread" in the upper right hand side of the page. Sometimes you have to scroll down to find the button if there are topics pinned to the page.
I'm glad to hear your boy is doing well. You are correct that FeCOV is the virus that has the potential to convert to FIP, and it is also true that your kitten could have a false positive test if he has received vaccines recently. Having said that, if your previous kitten died of FIP, which I believe you posted was the theory, it is most likely testing true in your new kitty and he has the virus. If that is the case then he will pass it to your other cat as soon as they are exposed to one another. On the other hand only about 5% of cats with FeCOV ever convert to FIP so the chances are both your kitties will live long and healthy lives.
I'm glad to hear your boy is doing well. You are correct that FeCOV is the virus that has the potential to convert to FIP, and it is also true that your kitten could have a false positive test if he has received vaccines recently. Having said that, if your previous kitten died of FIP, which I believe you posted was the theory, it is most likely testing true in your new kitty and he has the virus. If that is the case then he will pass it to your other cat as soon as they are exposed to one another. On the other hand only about 5% of cats with FeCOV ever convert to FIP so the chances are both your kitties will live long and healthy lives.