Considering buying an F1 kitten - does anyone know this breeder?

[admin]

Well, you don't have to advertise...you have your info here and on patrick's site and FB - that's all you need...

 

[admin]

Can we get off the subject about this breeder please? We do not normally spend threads talking about catteries and breeders...I would prefer not to continue talking about this breeder.

Sorry...this is not meant for you, Coolcat or Mrs Coolcat...just meant in general...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

My post here isn't to criticize any breeders out there, but rather to give more insight into one of many SV kitten purchasers (like myself).

For me it's about the 1.) look of the kitten, 2.) the number of photos, 3.) the quality of the photos and 4.) price.

I agree, it is hard to really get a feel for a kitten unless there are multiple pictures of that kitten. I've always tried to do that on the few times I have had kittens available (for the past few years, this has been a rare occurrence as most of mine get spoken for somewhat before they are born) I like to post them with a description, pictures and price. It saves me the ones looking for a bargain, yet I have had people that were truly good homes contact me still that I have then given a discount to after getting to know them. My choice, not someone nagging me for a bargain.

But the onus should also be on you, to convince me that you are a good home for the kitten. We breeders can equally complain about the lack of input from the buyers' side

I do need more what John has said he needs, to know the personality of the kitten. But I think multiple pictures of a kitten actually does tell you more about them in any case. But the breeder needs to be able to describe what makes that kitten's personality individual. So not generic words like "playful", "loving" but describe more what makes them different from their littermates etc.

Meeting the kitten is ideal, but that might limit you if you don't want to be flying about the country twice... once to visit the kitten for the decision and then once to pick it up when old enough... pictures and videos can help you as can seeing multiple pictures of the parents. That's one of my gripes, websites that only have one picture of each of their studs and queens. Kittens are going to develop with traits from those cats so the adult pics of the parents are very informative. Also more pics give you a better sense of how the cats are kept... there's a lot of clues in those pics.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Well, you don't have to advertise...you have your info here and on patrick's site and FB - that's all you need...

I specifically avoid advertising much nowadays...I get sick of the phone calls and emails asking for kittens I don't have, LOL!

People assume for example that a ad in a magazine means that you have a number of kittens available to go right now, even if that magazine is one that is in stores an entire year (CatsUSA). Even the monthly Cat Fancy magazine, your decision to place an ad is done months in advance... but people then assume you have those kittens... and some get really snarky when you don't! And especially when you can't give them a firm date when you WILL have kittens, telling them it is up to the cats doesn't impress...

 

[John Popp]

I specifically avoid advertising much nowadays...I get sick of the phone calls and emails asking for kittens I don't have, LOL!

People assume for example that a ad in a magazine means that you have a number of kittens available to go right now, even if that magazine is one that is in stores an entire year (CatsUSA). Even the monthly Cat Fancy magazine, your decision to place an ad is done months in advance... but people then assume you have those kittens... and some get really snarky when you don't! And especially when you can't give them a firm date when you WILL have kittens, telling them it is up to the cats doesn't impress...

"I'm sorry, that kitten you were inquiring about is much larger now. He requires more space to roam and has totally different diet needs. I have sent along a picture, I hope you understand and if you're still interested in making a purchase we'd be more than happy to accommodate you."

 

[Todd L]

"I'm sorry, that kitten you were inquiring about is much larger now. He requires more space to roam and has totally different diet needs. I have sent along a picture, I hope you understand and if you're still interested in making a purchase we'd be more than happy to accommodate you."

That's awesome John! LoL.



Sent from my Savannah's ipad.

 

[DocMac]

I understand your point but you can get a great looking kitten online from a total scammer, yet there were many photos, the price was cheap and the kitten looked good. So while price is important, I did not see you mention health or whether the kitten is social for any of your criteria...

I am not going to sell one of my kittens to anyone I don't speak to more than once and get a feeling for where my kitten will live and who exactly my kitten will live with...I find email and FB highly lacking in the human factor...I ask many personal questions because these are my babies I am sending off and entrusting to someone I really don't know...so I try to get to know my kitten buyers by email and phone...email alone is not sufficient. If you were a breeder and you had precious kittens born that you raised and spent many hours, days and weeks with, you would understand. To many of us, our kittens are our children...

I do not list my pricing for varying reasons...but it works for me because the buyer has to contact me and then I have the opportunity to speak to that potential buyer and work with him/her on price, as well as get to know them a bit..I have had no problems selling any of my kittens and quite frankly, if it is too much effort to ask a price, than it would be too much effort to pick up a phone...

You are entitled to your opinion, but just remember - flashy pictures, quality flashy pictures, cheap price and many flashy pictures do not necessarily equal reputable.

And just to be clear, my post has nothing to do with any breeder...I do not want people to think that flashy pictures and cheap prices are all that is important - that is how so many people are getting scammed.

And many high quality photos are the ones stolen by scammers.

 

[DocMac]

For me, I can't garner the information I need from a website to make a purchase decision. I need to speak with the breeder, have a comfort level with them and lastly be able to see the kitten(s) before I reach a decision.

My criteria isn't based on looks as much as it is on personality. Having lots of photos doesn't necessarily help in that sense. It may in total give me a good picture of the quality of multiple kittens, yet our want of personality traits by far trumps the wrapper.

These days for breeders or for that matter any business to be SEO savvy (search engine optimized) they really need to have a lot of external links, social media attachment and blog entries from third parties. You can certainly use Google AdWords or AdSense, but you'll pay far more for it than an effort making your page show up in organic searches.

To that end, you really need to be everywhere and you really need to make a big effort so everything you do keeps with the quality standards of your business. You need to convey the same message on twitter, Facebook, pinterest and the like, never forgetting where true north is for your business. In that sense, many of the breeders sites fall far short of what they really do and in turn are totally remiss from making their value proposition.

Perhaps that's a bit of a rant, just expressing some of the frustration we had when making our first kitten decision. It's very much an emotional decision being made, and for all the looks and economics, you have a lot of places to make a purchase, just need to make that emotional connection for potential customers to call or send an email.

FaceTime should resolve anything like that or Skype.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

"I'm sorry, that kitten you were inquiring about is much larger now. He requires more space to roam and has totally different diet needs. I have sent along a picture, I hope you understand and if you're still interested in making a purchase we'd be more than happy to accommodate you."

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You would not believe how excited a buyer would be if you replied that! Bigger is so much better and they all think they are up to the challenge!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

And many high quality photos are the ones stolen by scammers.

The good news on that is that scammers seem to use pictures of different kittens when asked for more pictures by someone. Guessing they don't keep track of what they've sent already, but if you ask for updated pics they are almost never the same spot pattern...