Let Google show you on which website it finds it.
Go to that website, see if the cattery
name corresponds
to the one you are corresponding
with, and especially whether the
cattery even is in South Africa.
Do a Google search on the
physical address. See if it is linked
to some business, e.g. a guest
house or office.
Do a Google Maps search on the
physical address. See firstly
whether it does exist. If so, go
to the satellite feature, zoom in,
and check whether it looks like a
residential area.
Contact the 3 cat registration bod-
ies in South Africa. Find the 1
(or more) where the breeder is
registered, and get his contact
details as per their records. If
those do not correspond to the
ones you have been using, RUN.
The 3 registrars are:
Southern Africa Cat Council
(SACC)
http://www.tsacc.org.za/
Tel 011 616 7017
Cat Federation of Southern
Africa (CFSA)
http://www.catfederationsa.co.za/
Cat Association of Southern Africa
(CASA)
http://www.casawcf.com/
There is obviously a purpose in
advertising kittens from out-ofthe-way towns: no risk that a pro
spective buyer would request to
pop over on Sunday afternoon to
see the kittens. Check the reaction
if you do propose a visit and suggest
a definite day and time. Do
you hear the alarm bells sounding?
Real cat breeders do it as a hobby.
Our catteries are not registered businesses, and mostly we do not have
bank accounts in the name of the
cattery.
Surely, in these days of FICA, it is
easier to fake some kind of documentation for a cattery rather than
for a person of whom you do not
have the identity document?
There is no replacement for common
sense!
We often fly kittens within the
country, if necessary. A flight for
the average kitten would cost
between R200 and R300. A per
fectly acceptable carrier box
could be bought at R250 to R400,
from most good pet shops. There
are no special and intricate permits
required, apart from a vaccination
certificate showing a Rabies
vaccination.
Self-defence tips
Do not deposit money into an
E-wallet; I believe such deposits
can neither be traced not reversed.
(Don’t bank on normal account
deposits being reversible either,
especially if it disappears out of
the account as soon as you deposit
it there!)
It is better to look for a breeder in
paid advertising media: the pet
magazines such as Animal Talk,
Cats Life, All About Cats; a paid
advertising site such as Kittycat;
and also on the websites of the 3
registration bodies. All reputable
breeders would have to be
registered with at least one of
these bodies.
This does NOT mean that you could
not find a perfectly reputable (and
registered) breeder via free adver-
tising websites, because we
do realize that those are the first
places where the average person
out there turns to when looking for
something, including a pet.
HOWEVER, if you use these sites
you have to be much more alert,
keep your wits about you and do due
diligence.
We are just ordinary flesh-and-blood
people. And our kittens are not
goods that come with invoices and
delivery notes. A bank account in
the name of the cattery should alert
you. (There surely will be exceptions,
though; but be extra careful.)
Kittycat Issue 1 January/February 2014
34