I've got a question I have been talking to a breeder in Florida. And she will be sending me pictures very shortly. Hannah Savannah's they have the import export licensure tica registered it is through two separate homes. The breeder and the co owner who focuses on socializing the kittens once weened from mother. She had children and they are socialized with dogs and other cats of course. They are running a valentines day special for 50% off the kittens are 450$ vet checked have both sets of vaccines and microchipped. She said that they focus on sbt kittens but said that they don't specify f4,f5,f6 that they strictly breed sbt to sbt. she seems very nice and I spoke with her for about an hour taking about the cats. she begins training them to use harness and leash. they do payment through PayPal. is there anything specific I should be Leary of here? she said she recommends flying down to meet the kitten and fly back but will also ship.
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Well I think it less likely to be a scam if she advises flying to get the kitten... as mostly they want to scam you the cost of the "transport company".
Personally, I start socializing my kittens from birth, from the moment they pop out we are there to touch and handle. I've been fortunate to not have queens that are protective of their young in regards to us. They would react badly to a stranger coming in in the first week but they have such trust in us that they WANT us to be involved and admire their babies. And I am certain that when Nadiya had her preemie litter and was sitting over them crying at me she was begging me to help. She KNEW we would help. To start socializing after they are weaned is not ideal in my mind...
Given that these are later generation kittens (SBTs cannot be earlier generation than F4) then the kittens will grow up to be a pretty equivalent match of mom and dad. So ask for multiple pictures of both parents to get a good idea of what they look like. For example, when young most kittens appear to have dark spotting but it fades by adulthood...so if both parents are pretty faded then chances are your kitten will too. Kittens of all breeds have proportionally large ears and most "grow into them" so if parents don't have large ears chances are the kittens will grow into theirs. Things like that.
Payment via Paypal always favors the buyer, so that is not a red flag. Many breeders (including me) do not accept paypal for that reason. It is too easy for the buyer to be less than honest and contest the charge once they have the kitten.
I don't know the cattery, from a Google search they seem only to advertise on websites like eBay classifieds. My guess is that they are not seriously breeding to improve type according to the breed standard but have bought a few SBT Savannahs (it seems from A1Savannahs) and are just breeding pet kittens. Which is not necessarily a bad thing for the pet market as long as they are healthy and well-socialized. Make sure you see a contract (and read it carefully) before you send money of course!
