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SierraGold Cattery Complaint
(details are made possible due to the fact that I’ve saved all email correspondence as evidence)
Hello! Unfortunately I found this site months too late! I had just purchased a male Bengal from Kathy Hunter about a year ago, and having so may problems with her, I googled SierraGold Cattery and found this. I wish I’d seen this months ago!
I had been saving up all through college to afford my dream cat, a Brown Rosetted Bengal. Skipped spring breaks and summer vacations to save money. I would always think, “do I want this, or a cat?” Money in my cat fund grew over the 4 years and I finally had enough to get my dream cat! I spared no expense since this had been my dream for so long. I contacted her in Nov 2009 and was placed on the wait list (I was 10 th. on the list) for my special boy. I couldn’t have been more excited for this first step and she seemed very willing to help me find my special boy! I described exactly what I wanted and she was confident that she could supply it. Even thought I was getting a pet, I aimed to spend around the $1, 500 I’d saved. After saving for so long, I wanted the best of the best. This was going to be exactly what I wanted, so I had no hesitation.
While I was excited to start seeing kittens pop up on her website, I had to wait for the Spring 2010 breedings. It killed me to have to wait but I stayed patient . . .
I hung a “kitten calendar” (it was a 2010 calendar I got for cheap since it was already March) in my room. I planned to mark down each Queens birthing date and the number of males and females, and keep track of their 3 week-old birthdays (when she said pics would be up), 6 week-old birthdays (the ‘pick-or-pass’ date on the kittens), 9 week-old birthdays (when the kitten must be paid in full by), and their 12 week-old dates (when they’d be able to come home). I checked the website several times a day looking for births to happen.
As births started happening I would email to get their birth dates and gender counts. This is when the issues started. She wouldn’t write back or would only answer selected questions from my email. From the very beginning there were kitten litter ‘issues’. Kathy would tell me one number of kittens (say “This cat had 4 kittens), and then post on her website that that same female had 3 boys and 2 girls. I would send her emails asking which number was right, but she would never respond to these emails. If I wanted a response from her I had to email her again with a general question about food or something. She kept telling me that she’s just so busy with work and showing and all. Wish I could have backed out right then, but she already had my deposit. These ‘mystery kittens’ kept popping up and disappearing. Litters would get bigger or smaller. She’d list a cat as having 2 kittens, then there would be 4 kittens pictured on the website. What was happening? I could kind of understand if the litters were getting smaller, if maybe a kitten died or didn’t make it, but how do litters get bigger? After so much scribbling on my ‘kitten calendar’ I just throw it out. She’s obviously not that organized, and it was really getting frustrating.
Pictures wouldn’t be up by the 3-week mark, and 6-week birthdays passed . . . I just figured she didn’t care enough to stick to her contract. Very frustrating from my end.
Finally on April 9, 2010 she offered me a kitten she thought would fit what I wanted. I took the weekend to think about if he was the one I was waiting for. She called me too and seemed adamant that this was the kitten for me. April 13, 2010 she emailed to let me know that the kitten I was offered had been sold as a show breeder. I took this as a sign since I was unsure of taking this first kitten anyways. Kathy Hunter later called again and said that she talked that gentleman out of this kitten and wanted to re-offer the kitten to me. I thought it was wired that she would ‘talk’ anyone out of a kitten. Shouldn’t she be trying to get each person what they want? Anyways, she offered to hold the kitten for me while I thought it through. I felt like she was really pushing this one on me. I was really concerned that he wasn’t the color/contrast I was looking for. (*Note: this whole time there’s still a continuing issue of litter size discrepancies - even between emails. Very annoying*)
(Side Note: I was still holding out hopes for a litter that -judging by the Queen and Stud- would be what I wanted. She assured me that that litter would have too dark of a background color and not be what I was looking for. Being that she’s the breeder, I trusted her. When pictures finally came out of that litter I’d wanted to choose from, they were amazing! EXACTLY what I was looking for. Kathy even kept one as a future Queen. Needless to say, I was not offered kittens from this litter.)
April 25, 2010 - after pushing this one kitten, practically down my throat, she emails me and says, “I have decided that you are probably not going to be happy with [this kitten] so I have gone and taken pictures of [another kitten] boy for you.” How did she just decided all of a sudden that he wasn’t right for me? Odd. And this other kitten she showed me pictures of was 2 days old! No way I’m saying yes to a 2 day old kitten. Who knows what he’ll look like in 3 weeks?
I asked her why, after pushing this kitten on me, did she change her mind and all of a sudden he was not right for me. She said, “I just do not think [this kitten]will have the real dark outlining on his rosettes that you are looking for...and not sure about the rest of him either...” That information would have been nice to hear weeks ago. Still, it was odd that all of a sudden he was not right for me. I’m glad I didn’t jump on him after all the good stuff she said about this kitten over the phone. She insisted that he was perfect for me a week ago!
At this point Kathy sent me a picture of a cat that was already sold just to make sure she was understanding the color I was looking for (I attached the picture she sent me of this beautiful cat) . The picture of the cat was perfect! I got even more excited! After all the describing I did of what I was looking for, she did get it. That pale - almost yellow- background with dark outlined rosettes. She knows what I want! I couldn’t wait to have a kitten just like this one! By now, she let me know that I was seated first on the pet and show quality wait list. I played the waiting game until June/July 2010 as more litters (again, with fluctuating sizes and genders) showed up on her website.
Once more litters began hitting the ground, I emailed for updates and info on litter sizes. She would email, “I am totally swamped with work and trying to keep it all together and still have nice social little kittens.” Thus I couldn’t be updated with the information I was looking for about the cats/kittens. Then she was busy with getting Health Certificates for kittens flying overseas and was super busy. There was always something that prevented her from giving out some details. All through the beginning of August kitten pictures started popping up on the website. Then, I saw a little male I had my eye on get reserved. I IMMEDIATELY emailed her because I should have had first pick since I am seated first on the pet and show quality wait list. She wrote back surprised that I was interested in this beautiful kitten. She said if I wanted him I could have him because “I talked the person before you into a kitten from a friend of mine who lives closer to him.” Again, why is she talking people out of kittens? Very odd.
Finally I decided on a male kitten that I liked, taking her advice. She promised he’d be everything I was looking for (even though I thought he’d be too dark - like his mother). She assured me that he’d have a very leopard look and would have a light wheat coat color. I couldn’t have been more excited! I prepared for his arrival home! Kathy also had issues getting me his flight information. I didn’t get his ship date until 3 days before he shipped. I think more advance planning would have been a little more professional. (Side Note: Once I had decided on my boy, I noticed she was posting other - very beautiful kittens - on other pages of her website. They were under the ‘Show Wins’ and ‘SierraGold Ancestors’ pages. I Wish I would have seen these boys before I decided on mine. I considered if she was trying to hide these from me, but can’t say for certain. Just seemed a bit odd why she wouldn’t post them on the kitten page for everyone to look at and consider reserving them).
Anyways, I got him home and was happy to have my hands clean of that flaky situation and start enjoying my new addition! To Kathy’s credit he was a behaviorally sound cat. Friendly, brave, and social. He did come with worms and had bloody fecals for a few months due to IBS (which I hear is common in Bengals), but he was a well-mannered boy.
Within a month or two, as he grew into his coat color, I realized that he definitely wasn’t developing into what I wanted The second picture I attached to this page is a picture of him. You can see how dark he is). He turned EVEN DARKER as he matured and not at all the color I had wanted or was expecting. I emailed Kathy to let her know how disappointed I was that the kitten was so far from what I paid for. I feel like I saved up so much money, and had waited SO long, for such a let down. I wrote, “He is handsome though, and could definitely pass for a show boy, but I feel like I paid the $2, 000+ show price for a pet that isn't really what I was looking for.”I didn’t care if he was show quality or not, I just wanted what I was looking for, and I paid the price but didn’t get what I was wanting. After giving Kathy Hunter the update on him, and explaining that he wasn’t at all what I was looking to get (don’t get me wrong, I love him, but I feel like I got taken), or like the picture she sent me when she ‘understood’ what I was looking for. I asked if she thought he’d start lightening up as he gets older. He is very dark and not very contrasted at all. His rosettes don’t really stand out from under all the long black hairs he has in his coat. There’s a lot of ‘ticking’ throughout his coat which makes him FAR from the buttery color I was expecting. When he’s wet, he actually looks like a charcoal because all this long black hairs lay down. His belly is more orange-ish than any shade of white. Her response to my long email was one line, “Thank you.” NOT PROFESSIONAL AT ALL! She is running a business and needs to be much more professional with her dealings with people. I wrote her again,
“I have to say that the service I have received from you has been less
than expected. While I am happy with the kitten's personality and
overall demeanor, the transaction and communication with you has been
flaky and stressful at the least. I've had to retract the
recommendation of your cattery to the three people I know that are now
interested in Bengals after meeting [my Bengal]. I am now considering
getting him a Bengal sibling, but have had to inquire at different
catteries that are further away. Best of luck with your cats and your
future breedings. I hope that knowing how [my Bengal] turned out will help
you serve other customers in better finding the kitten they want.”
Kathy Hunter then wrote me back a response about how now she’s very sick and that’s why she’s not giving 100% to the cattery business (which, if you can’t handle it, down-size or ask for help. Don’t let your cats, your business, and your costumers suffer because you can’t handle it). I’m sorry that she’s sick, but now I have this cat because she was too sick to help me find the kitten I really wanted. Also, she wrote that she’s never seen someone so upset over coat color (which seems odd, I’m sure judges look at color. I’m sure everyone looking for a show, breeder, or pet Bengal tries to describe the coat color they are wanting). I figured since she claims to have been breeding Bengals since the late 1990's, she’d by now have a keen eye for color development, or at least would be a little more professional about getting it wrong. And she sent me the picture of the coat color and contrast I WAS looking for, so it’s not like she wasn’t sure what I wanted, she’d produced this cat, and I was looking for a kitten just like it. Kathy’s solution to my disappointment, “Perhaps one of your friends would love him...and then you could go where you feel you would be better served.” Again, not very professional in my opinion. (I thought, through the contract I signed, I was not allowed to just give him away. But I looked again “Under no circumstances will this cat be sold, leased or given away to any pet shop research laboratory or similar facility.” So I assume I can’t take him to the shelter, but I can give him to which ever friend wants him? Maybe they can sell him for me then and I can get the kitten I’ve always wanted.
Overall, I am frustrated and underwhelmed with her service. Like I said in my email to her, the transaction and communication with her was flaky and stressful at the least. I wish I found these other complaints about Kathy Hunter and SierraGold Bengals BEFORE I mailed in my deposit! While I love my cat (please, please, please, don’t misunderstand. I love him to death and after getting to know him, could never give him up now) - I spent 4+ years saving my money and dreaming about a Bengal, and now have ~15 years to live with a cat that wasn’t what I wanted. I don’t feel he was worth the 4-years of saving and sacrificing. I love him now and could never give him up, but seeing that he isn’t what I wanted, I would have liked to take a summer vacation or spring break while in college. It’s kind of a wash. If I just wanted a cat with a good personality, I would have gone to the shelter. My Bengal, I feel is my $2, 000 shelter cat. And I get frustrated all over again each time I think about it. Please make sure you look carefully at your breeder, and not just the references they give you (you really think they’d put you in touch with someone that had a bad experience with them?). Check with breeders on the TIBCS website. (NOTE: Kathy Hunter is on suspension from TIBCS).
Another side note: I had my boyfriend write her in the beginning of our transactions with her (so she wouldn’t recognise it as me and maybe not be as friendly) to tell her that there are cats mislabeled on her website. She has a picture of a King Cheetah and an Ocelot, but labels them both as clouded leopards and states that she’s breeding for these patterns. These are two entirely different cats, mislabeled as a third different cat. A King Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus - 80 to 100 pound cat - fastest land mammal - home range: Africa. Not endangered - gets its pattern from a genetic mutation), an Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis - 10 to 30 pound nocturnal cat- home range: South and Central America) and a Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa - 30 to 50 pounds - very endangered and mostly arboreal. Home range: Asia) are NOTHING ALIKE IN ANY WAY! I should have seen this and ran the other way. If you’re breeding for a certain coat pattern, know what animal it is! Very unprofessional. He sent this email to her late 2009 and (to date: Oct 2011) she still has them mislabeled - embarrassing!
After all this, and all the complaints I have now found about her online, she has RAISED HER KITTEN PRICES! Absurd! What are people paying for?! She also states that the complaints are made by jealous breeders, and not clients . . . First of all, I WAS a client, and secondly, what are other breeders to be jealous of?
