This is a follow-up article to the one written by Elisa about the cat breeder/cat show judge who allegedly hoarded cats. You can click on the link below to read the story.
Anonymous tipster posts pictures online and accuses cat breeder and cat show judge of animal cruelty
This follow-up post adds some context to the story and explains what went on from a different angle. It is also in defence to a certain extent of the behavior of the person in question. The source of the information that I write here is very reliable and I have to trust it. It paints an entirely different picture.
There’s a lot more to the story than is portrayed in the videos. The videos were made by friends of the breeder (Oriental breeder in the USA) who were paid to help de-clutter the house. The cat breeder paid them $600. They did a couple of small tasks and then took photos and videos without the breeder’s permission or knowledge. They went viral on Facebook. There were allegations of squalor et cetera. The first point to make, therefore, is that the breeder was ripped off financially and then back stabbed by these so called friends who took the money. It is argued that they need shaming and that the breeder needs some sympathy.
Also, the clutter in the house had accumulated when two relatives died and their possessions had to be moved out of their homes. These items were being sorted through to decide whether it was rubbish or should be kept or donated. The breeder reached out to her friends, as mentioned, for help.
Apparently, some of these items ended up in her cattery. Further, this is a ‘caged cattery’ meaning the breeding cats are kept in cages which itself has attracted criticism. I would agree by the way that the breeder should be criticised for this but it is a different matter to the one being discussed. Although, personally, I am against all cat breeding. It seems that the possessions got in the way of cleaning the cages that day.
My source rightly says that if a person such as this breeder is unfairly or over criticised and undermined by backstabbing through viral videos it is counter-productive in preventing others when asking for help if they become overwhelmed through family circumstances or because of mental and physical illness.
My source feels strongly that this is not a simple “dirty hoarded” story and should not be presented as such. The key point is that the woman asked for help. The people she paid for help abused her trust. They took her money and ran. She has been involved voluntarily with animal services. And I’m also told that she was not tipped off about a visit.
My source I think correctly tells me that when other breeders get overwhelmed, this sort of publicity will deter them from asking for help.
I hope this post helps to put the matter into context and from a different perspective. I welcome comments which may further add to the story.
ANIMAL CRUELTY and INHUMANE conditions should not be tolerated or protect the criminal. Take action to correct
Thanks for sharing Darlene. I’m just presenting all the arguments to be fair.
Many shelters and rescues now have their cats spend part of the time in open rooms. It lets potential adopters interact and get to know a cat. Cages in shelters are stainless and can be sanitized. the cages in the pictures are wood framed and filthy. The filth is stuck on the hardware cloth. Wood retains moisture therefore bacteria.
Tossing out all the human clutter both physical and verbal in this case the cats are living in deplorable conditions.
Never pay anyone in cash. If the owner of the cats hasn’t she should stop payment or contest payment with the bank or haul the scammers into court and sue them for the funds. If you pay cash never pay until the job is completed and you are satisfied with the result.
I raised my babies in a cage in our living room. They were only in it at night and when unsupervised. It was metal and the pickiest human would have found it suitable for living. If those are indeed true representations of the living conditions for those cats it’s appalling and gross.
Whatever possible blood feud going on between adults doesn’t interest me.
I had a horse brought in once that was nothing but bone. It lived by the couples front door. The husband tried to tell me his wife was in charge of feeding. I asked him if his arms were broken and he couldn’t feed the horse himself. I turned my relatives in for animal abuse. We can’t get along but that wasn’t the reason. They were abusing animals.
I cut my teeth on horse shows and the demented culture back in the barns. Very few allegations go anywhere unless there is some provable truth. In this case it would seem the pictures speak for themselves.
It would have been nice if there was a full shot of the cattery and the cages instead of the close-ups.
Just because they cages are legal doesn’t make it right.
A full shot of the cattery would have undermined the claims of dead cats and cats living in air vents. Then there would be no vendetta-fodder.
I’m not impressed in any way with the cages those cats are in.
I’m also familiar with the cult of protectiveness that exists between various cliques and the need to protect the other person from the perceived enemy. The groupies that surround my BAD VET protected her and were well aware she was and most likely is a sot. By protecting her who knows how many more innocent animals suffered because of the them. The person housing the cats here probably has something wrong to keep them in those conditions. Everyone around her is the real problem. I don’t care about the personal crap between the people just the way those cats are living.
There is a big difference between hoarding cats and hoarding household trash. This woman is a cat breeder who happens to be a hoarder in regards to her home. Yes she breeds cats and most of them are in cages but that’s not against the law. The cages are four times the size of cages at animal shelters and I don’t see anybody complaining about those. Unlike in a cat hoarding case all of these cats are registered and have wonderful temperaments and are fed well and given lots of attention. Konnie S who runs the Bad Catteries sites lost a lawsuit with this breeder and is now on a personal vendetta to see that this breeder is ruined. Law enforcement has never been out to this cattery and Animal Control has yet to come out to look at the site. Clearly they’re not too concerned about it. The news report on channel 7 was 100% false. Cat associations like TICA have been kept up to date on the situation with daily reports. All associations have rules about things like this and they cannot randomly kick people out because of allegations. The situation is being taken care of with lots of support and that support will remain until we are assured that it is fixed.
Thanks Lisa for sharing your thoughts. It is appreciated.
And contrary to claims on the bad breeders page, a number of cats have been placed in new homes and she did not “cancel the cleanup”. I would dearly love some dirt dug up on the so-called “friends” as methinks they have some hidden agenda.
And the claims get wilder – that the situation has been going on for 40 years but the person who knew about it was too scared of retaliation to report it. I am starting to think that the Bad Breeders page is actually there as bullying page rather than there to do any good. Personally, I’d like to see several individuals instrumental in spreading falsehood get sued (and/or have to make very public apologies). Once the cattery room is fully cleared out the cats will get to spend more time roaming safely.
Sarah, you need to go look at their latest posts. https://www.facebook.com/badcatbreeders/
Lisa’s reply below is worth reading regarding the personal vendetta. The bad breeders page is full of vendettas (I’ve seen several allegations in the last few years that malicious) and this is just the most public of them. I’ve seen exhibitor/breeder X exhibit a cat that comes 2nd or 3rd in competition to breeder Y, and then breeder X posts all manner of allegations about exhibitor/breeder Y to try to stop people dealing with the winning breeder.
It’s the same in cat rescue. I barely comment these days because it only starts a fight. I never realized the breeder world is as insane as the rescue world. Where is the Bad Cat Breeders page getting their info or are they making it up as they go along?
Even if she was a hoarder I couldn’t believe how many were criticizing her for asking for much-needed help. I follow a LOT of people on Facebook and watch their conversations and anytime anyone so much as hints they have too many cats and would like to rehome a few to get things under control that person is jumped on and the thread turns into a literal train wreck of bashing.
I’m not sure if there’s a law forbidding photos, but if the ones paid to help clean the home didn’t do their job then the money should be returned.
I would never have written on this if not for the photos and the news video.
Social media is brutal and I don’t see it getting any better. I’ve been following the comments on two friends who saved seriously ill cats and they’re being bashed for not having them euthanized.
Most places have laws about taking photos on someone’s private property without the property-owner’s permission. Most also have laws about about verbal contracts – not doing what you agreed to do, but taking the money. There is a support group run very quietly by one registry that arranges practical help, but the politics between breeders accusing one another undermined that as well.
The ladies involved are in breach of contract even if it is verbal but no one wants to sue anyone. It is too troublesome.
When breeding animals are kept in a cage, not cattery but cages it is called a puppy/kitten mill.
However you may feel about cages breeding animals when you hire someone and they enter your home and take pictures it is likely not informed consent nor does it fall under laws in the US that allow you to take pictures or video of a neighbors property from your property or public areas. You cannot do things like take pictures into someone’s home but if you can see it from the road generally you can take a picture without permission. I’d be looking for a lawyer.
A “mill” is a bulk-breeding facility where litter after litter are bred. Cages alone do not define what is a mill and what is not. But that is a very different issue.
Two people were paid $600 EACH to help. By taking the money and not helping as they were supposed to do, they have committed fraud. They took the photos and video behind the breeder’s back. Considering what they have then gone on to do they should return that money. To ensure she had no right of reply on their FB pages, they unfriended her. That is very underhand and scummy treatment on top of the $600 each profit they made. If anyone needs to be shamed, these people need to be – they’ve preyed on someone who was vulnerable and overwhelmed and they’ve taken her money and given nothing constructive in return.
No-one tipped the breeder off about a visit from animal services. She was already tackling the situation including placing breed cats in new homes. So that allegation is an out-and-out lie – but in these days of “trial by social media” who cares about the truth when your video is going viral?
I don’t like the cropped pictures however just ignoring the obvious I don’t know of anyone who would buy a kitten if they seen the living conditions of those cats. Even the mesh itself has crud hanging on it. My understanding if this is a USDA licensed breeder ? The wood itself would be considered unsanitary as it can absorb bacteria.
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/rpt/2013-R-0309.htm
Even a hobby breeder especially a judge should maintain the minimum standards outlined.
That does not make what the people hired to do a job come in and take pictures right. Just because they’re in the wrong doesn’t make this cat breeder right.