IS this a savannah kitten scam?

[Nicole]

Ok, so I was looking for a Savannah cat/kitten and was emailed by a women named Holly Brett (Hollypets@hotmail.com) She seemed nice and as im just new too this whole thing I didnt even think about it being a scam. She told me in detail about each of the 4 F1 kittens she was selling including pictures. Their names were Kopi, Frosting, Mickey (a.k.a serval) and bubbles. (Might I add they are absoloutly beautiful!!) I was supposed to have Kopi. She had to set up a courier as she lives in England and me Scotland she didnt ask for any money upfront and told me the money would be collected at the couriers discretion. I was soo Excited!!! but unfortunately it was too good to be true. She was asking for £420 for little Kopi who was '8 Weeks Old' She stole pictures from F1hybrid cattery (I have contacted Miss Mills) So also stole wordings and descriptions from her site directly. I couldnt remeber what site I found her ad on so I basically typed into google, the description she had give me of kopi
Kopi( female)- F1. She LOVES the bottle and falling asleep in your hand. She is nothing but pure fun. Her cute factor is set to about a million at all time! Color: (Golden) Brown with black spots
Paring: Serval male x F2 Savannah cat female
Generation: F1 Savannah cat
Percentage of serval: 62.5% I typed this In and straight away google images showed me a picture of bubbles, I clicked on the photo and it took me to Michelle Mills website F1 Hybrid Cattery and there I read about my not so 8week old Kopi who is about 6 months now. I actually feel really sad about it.
I questioned her by saying Hi, after doing more research on servals and savannahs I came across a website (F1 Hybrids Cattery) (USA) which had pictures and details of bubbles mickey kopi and frosting... there is also pictures of them at stages of 12 weeks etc. Have I missed something lol or do I have my wires crossed? She replied by saying that F1 hybrid cattery was her friend who had tried too sell her kittens in the USA for her while she tried in the UK, she said 'Mills' must have gotten confused. I asked her 'Mills' first name and also asked if they were friends on facebook. My questions were dismissed.
One of her replies:
Please the courier service will contact you once every thing is set for take off o.k
Concerning the question you have ask, i was contacted by a friend to help me sale out these kitten for me and i send her picture of the kittens for her to display them over the internet, i don't know its the side you are talking of , in any case you need not worry about any thing, Kopi is all your, am given 100% assurance, Kopi will be delivered to you today o.k i will see what i can do so that the picture can be remover over the internet if it true that their pictures are there o.k
The contact details of the courier service are :
PEDAS- EXPRESS COURIER DELIVERY SERVICE (P.E.D.A.S™ )
CERTIFIED REG:USDA #0320055
TEL:07031829865‏ or 07023079780
CONSULTANT SERVICE: ... 07031829865‏
E-mail: animaldeliveryfirm@consultant.com
Fax: +447023060677

PEDAS
the courier service who contacted me DEMANDING money of me sent me several messages telling me to hurry I only had a short time too make my payment or else they would sent the kitten to 'Kennels?'

To F1 Hybrid Cattery.

As you were refered to in my emails and also due to copyright infringement I have kept all the emails for you too see. Let me know and i will forward them

Now im sad, I dont have a baby sav and my search continues

 

[Trish Allearz]

I'm so sorry for your loss...

For future reference- the broken English, the usage of a supposed courier, etc, are all glaring signs of a scammer once you know what to look for. Always ask for a contract on ANY kitten you are going to spend money on- BEFORE you send a dollar to anyone! Ask for updated photos of said kitten- there is no reason a breeder can't send you an up-to-date photo if that's what you need to be comfortable. Ask for more then the posted pictures of your kitten too- for example, I might post a few pics of Han, but I also have others of him that are not online. A scammer will typically only have one or two photos of the same cat since they don't own the cat.

I am so incredibly sorry for your experience with the scammer They are getting trickier and trickier every year.

 

[Rylie]

Thank goodness you are not out any money though and you figured it out before you gave them anything! I know how sad it must be, but rest assured that when the right baby comes to you it will be THAT much more sweeter because of all the hard work you put into it. I hate that there are people like this who want to take advantage of other peoples hard legitimate work, but by sticking together and sharing our experiences we can stay ahead of them and shut them down as they surface so they can not scam anymore people.

Good luck on your continued search for the right baby to bring into your home. There are tons of reputable breeders here that have gorgeous babies all the time and if they don't they can refer you to someone equally as legitimate who does. You've come to the right place!

 

[Nicole]

Thank you all for your kind words
I have been scraping the net to try find another, think its time too stop now or i'll end up getting scammed again! I am very intrigued by Savannah's and their beauty is captivating! If any of you can point me in the right direction too finding one it would be much appreciated. You know, I didnt even know/didnt even think that people tried to scam you when it comes to something as simple as buying a pet! But I guess thats just the society we live in. I also cant believe how people can sit there and wait for your emails all day long.. get a decent job is my message to them lolol !! Thank you all once again! Your cats are absoloutly beautiful and Rylie, you have a big girl there! In my picture is my partner and my moggie sleeping together as usuall lol.

 

[Pam Flachs]

Hi Nicole, I'm very sorry about your experience with the scammer! You are wiser now because of it, so don't give up on your dream of your own Savannah

Are you in the U.K.? There are several breeders in Europe listed on: www.savannahcat.com

I wish you luck and keep us posted on your search!

 

[admin]

Thank you all for your kind words
I have been scraping the net to try find another, think its time too stop now or i'll end up getting scammed again! I am very intrigued by Savannah's and their beauty is captivating! If any of you can point me in the right direction too finding one it would be much appreciated. You know, I didnt even know/didnt even think that people tried to scam you when it comes to something as simple as buying a pet! But I guess thats just the society we live in. I also cant believe how people can sit there and wait for your emails all day long.. get a decent job is my message to them lolol !! Thank you all once again! Your cats are absoloutly beautiful and Rylie, you have a big girl there! In my picture is my partner and my moggie sleeping together as usuall lol.

Love the picture of your partner and moggie, Nicole! And I'm sorry about what happened to you...we are coming up with a seal and way to let pet buyers know that our websites are legitimate, so stay tuned. And if we can get everyone to put a seal on their websites (savannah breeders for now), I believe it will help cut down on people being scammed.

You are in Scotland, correct? We do have a UK savannah cat breeder on the forum here: http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/saltrock-savannahs-uk.169/ and then a couple of breeders from Norway and then many US savannah cat breeders...they are all here: http://www.savannahcatchat.com/forums/savannah-cat-breeders/

 

[Nicole]

Thank you for your comments!
Hopefully i'll find one soon. Looking like I will need to get one from the U.S though as I'm in the U.K and dont think there are many here

 

[admin]

Thank you for your comments!
Hopefully i'll find one soon. Looking like I will need to get one from the U.S though as I'm in the U.K and dont think there are many here

There are several very good breeders in the UK, Nicole...Saltrock, which I listed is one - I know Laura personally...and quite a few others...but I'm sure no one here will mind if you want to purchase from the US...just may be easier logistically and monetarily to purchase from the UK.

 

[admin]

doesnt Per breed in the UK or something like that...?

No, Per is in Norway...but I think Per has obtained some of his breeding cats from the UK.

 

[Nicole]

Lol my moggie is called Minnie she is going to be 2 in september!
She is very very small and people think she is still a baby when they meet her lol. She prefers my partner shauns company thats her daddy lolol.

Thank you for the website links, I am checking them out just now!

Keep you all posted