Honesty and Integrity for Savannah Cat Breeders
In our community today, we have many good breeders who have concern for honesty and integrity for Savannah Cat Breeders.
Due to the popularity of the breed, however, there are those who set up a website or a Facebook page. Then steal pictures from other breeders and act as though the pictures are their own cats. They then draw in unknowing buyers, good people who want a Savannah and think they have found someone to work with that is less expensive. They will pay that person for their beautiful Savannah and then never hear from the person again. Their money lost and hopes for a Savannah Cat is even further away now, that they’ve spent what funds they had. Even more important they don’t know who to trust.
Kitten Mills
In addition, we have Kitten Mills who have gotten Savannah cats in various ways. Mostly buying a pet and then not spaying or neutering. Then breeding to another breed or another Savannah cat obtained the same way. Many are sold in litter lots to pet stores. There are no papers that come with the cat kitten. What does come, many times, is a kitten that is sick or or very unsocial. One that has not received proper nutrition, no worming, few if any immunizations and maybe even no vet visits. The reason, these ill-gotten cats keep the breeders away from mainstream breeders who share information and have mentor groups to help new breeder to learn proper care.
Savannah Cat Association
Our Board of Directors were discouraged by the number of scammers and mills, so we decided to bring together the cream of the crop. Breeders who do the best job possible raising their kittens. Ones who fall in love with each kitten as though it was the only cat in their lives.
Our breeders have joined and shown paperwork to prove they are breeders. Any person interested in purchasing a Savannah is welcome to look at our breeder list and see what lengths a breeder will go to in order to have clean and socialized cats available. Each column on the list is a goal our Board has considers important.
Some breeders will not do everything and some are so conscientious they want to be the best. What is important is that you will not find a kitty mill or scam listed on our site. Even Google search cannot be trusted. There is currently a scammer on there advertising.
Arbitration
Although we have tried very hard to present the best breeders, we know that sometimes issues will arise. Our Board has tried to cover that instance as well. In our Breeder Pledge, each of our SCA breeders agrees to arbitration by their peers if a situation should arise and no easy solution has been worked out.
We have well-defined strategies within the Savannah Cat Association group and each of our breeders has signed the pledge in order to achieve these goals of honesty and integrity for Savannah cat breeders. However, success cannot be sustainable unless we commit to and operate according to our values. First among these is Honesty in all aspects of our conduct. This includes acting with integrity in how we run our catteries, both with respect to our external dealings with customers, suppliers, representatives, and competitors and in our internal dealings with colleagues.
All breeders have the responsibility to:
- Comply with all applicable laws and regulations in their States.
- Be understanding and attempt to address any buyer concerns.
- Understand the Code and all other requirements for their job.
- Use our Breeders Only section to learn how to be a better breeder.
- Demonstrate the SCA’s values and a commitment to responsible business conduct in all of their actions.
- Know the TICA Breed Standard and breed to meet that standard.
The Savannah Cat Association Board has made a commitment to responsively address all concerns made in good faith. It will investigate any reported concern and, where a violation has occurred, take corrective action to resolve the matter.
The SCA will not tolerate retaliation against any individual who makes a report of suspected misconduct in good faith or provides assistance to an investigation, regardless of his or her position.
The Savannah Cat is one of the newest breeds in the history of cats. Yet, it does have a history.