cattery listing and scams

 when buying cats or kittens

Scams are doing the rounds and they are getting better at fooling buyers all the time. I saw an add for Siamese kitten in Durban. (We are near Cape Town.)   The price included flight.  They assured us the dam was imported.  That will give a good kitten for a new bloodline. Next day as I was standing in line in the bank I met another woman also ready to buy on that add.  While filling in the form she asked the assistant behind the till if it was possible to see where that person's account was registered.  The  answer was Nigeria! The deal was supposed to be made  with a person in Durban!  That was a close call -    I write it here to let you know you could find out more information  before you buy a kitten/cat or anything from anybody unknown to you.  Try to find information about the transaction as much as possible.  The cat registration body will know if that cattery exist but you must also try to find somebody living in the same town to get some information on the breeder.  It is easy to use the name and cattery details of another person.  It is very difficult to obtain information I know.  Sometimes there will be smaller losses not done in a grand scale. I sold to a "show breeder"  who paid only until she received the cat.   Lesson number 1.  No matter the quarantine date, let them pay in full first. Lesson number 2 do not send any transfer papers before the cat is paid in full  -  even if they tell you they need it urgent to enter into a show.  Showing cats can be done by dishonest people too. Anybody with tips or complaints send them in, maybe we could help others. This is what is happening here.

There are scams going round in the free classifieds of South Africa and on the web.   It is something in this line :-  Pedigree Kittens (other expensive type pets)  are given away for free/ or very cheap- owner must move/ill etc., all you need do is pay the expenses. You never receive anything.   e.g  A friend paid R1000 special need urgent home pay only transport costs and quite a few people "bought" Sphinx kittens etc.  all lost their money.  These "scammers" were not residents in R.S.A. and short of when it is murder, the police cannot do anything about it.  There will always be scams so do all you can think of to find out how real the deal is.

cattitude goes with all cats, but the Siamese cat have developed it into a fine art. Other cats may tell you to "Leave a message and I will get back to you.." but a Siamese do not bother to read nor listen to their messages.

The Siamese temperament tend to be either - loving, social, intelligent and hyperactive
or neurotic, independent, intelligent and hyperactive.
Few Siamese are overly social, but if they are they end up being "stolen" under the misunderstanding that the cat is lost and looking for a home. People are usually put off by an extremely skittish or shy Siamese kitten, but they are not really a problem. The kitten will form a very tight bond with only one person and never wander away. In fact that kitten will never get lost, run over in traffic or killed by the neighbor's dog. However those kittens are very sensitive and if you can not bond with the little one, both you and the kitten will be unhappy.

By the way - those ears are for private use by the kitten only. They seldom listen to anything they do not want to hear.

Do you think you could cram any more attitude into one photograph? Mr. in the front as you can see is fit and healthy. Mrs. behind standing in her usual authoritative manner.

Steve

Photo and mail from Steve who adopted these two a year ago.

Thank you Steve for the update and photo. Eurica

There are more photos on my website

The American Curl cat is a new breed with healthy "survival of the fittest" genes and therefore the American Curl kittens have a strong immune system. It is up to the humans to select healthy cats as breeders to keep the American Curl breed strong.

Breeding for perfect American Curl ears and show quality cats are very difficult. Exactly how the curl ear is inherited is not clear. Supreme America Curl parents may give pet quality kittens and a cat with a bad American Curl ear may give supreme kittens.

The American Curl cat may have short , medium or long hair. These felines are
easy to groom, healthy, friendly and not neurotic.

This tortoiseshell-tabbypoint girl is gorgeous. Her sire is Grand International Champion Samoa Gem's El Donna Evita Kenzo. She enjoys a life in Namaqualand running through the dirt and climbing trees - she would be a doll bathed and brushed sitting on a pillow, but her answer was " ".

The American Curl cat on the photo above right is a medium hair girl Siriuksen Candy, bred in Finland by the Siriuksen cattery (photo by her owner Pirkko-Liisa Tarvonen). Our stud Grand Champion Samoa Gem's Sarcenet Enigma on the photo left is the sire of her parent.

Photo above: Thank you to Pirkko-Liisa Tarvonen. This is Siriuksen Candy's liter.

Stunning kittens!

Our American Curl cats are not afraid of water and they do not hunt. Those are concepts that they do not understand at all. They love all creaturers including bugs but especialy humans, other cats and


a dog is the best pal.

Note how the kitten plays without nails showing.

for more photos see the Samoa Gems web site

A very special reminder to myself and fellow American Curl breeders - Breeding out to unregistered cats while it is still permitted is very important, as healthy lines for the future depends on what breeders do now.

CH SAMOA GEM’S VAGABOND OF PETITSPAWS
has achieved a National Breed/Race Award for the 2006-2007 Show Season in Canada.
Thank you to Aleida of the Petitspaws cattery for taking such good care of him and going that extra length to show him.