We're adopting a new baby!

We have made a very difficult decision regarding one of our breeding males, Sullivan. If you read about him and Beatrix in our previous posts, they both came from a breeder in Russia (Magnet Coon or Coon Magnet). Before I adopted them I thought that I had done all of my homework about this breeder in particular. Looking back there were several red flags I missed; I don't think Beatrix was the kitten I put a deposit on , she only sent a few pictures in the months I waited for her, and never sent promised papers or a contract. Even though I will never meet this breeder in person, she is a horrible unethical person that was operating a huge cat mill. My credit card companies and Western Union were of absolutely no help to recover the thousands of dollars I spent on my cats; one is dead and the other will be neutered (NEVER USE WESTERN UNION...that's a different story).
There are several other people that have come forward that have cats that are either deathly ill, or already dead, from either Maria (of Magnet Coon) or her Michigan partner that knowingly imported sick cats yet sold them anyway. Why would anyone do that? The only reason I can think of is greed and money. If you're importing kittens from Russia for $2400-$3000 EACH and charging $1000 in shipping, that is a LOT of money over time. Especially if you're selling anywhere from 1-50 cats a month. This Michigan breeder knew the kittens were sick when they arrived, but chalked it up to stress from traveling. Then would block people on Facebook, not respond to them, or threaten them. She did have a contract in place but didn't offer to refund any money to her customers or pay any of the vet bills.
People think I am airing this dirty laundry to snuff out competition...in all actuality I want to share my story and save people the heartache of adopting a sick animal. We have shut down the Michigan breeder and the Russian breeder, but they won't be the only ones out there selling sick animals for a profit. ( If your on Facebook, feel free to check out the group: Stop Melissa’s Maine Coons & Magnetcoon Maria/Karina).
Because of the astounding number of sick cats that came from Maria, we have decided to neuter Sullivan and rehome him as a pet. My number one goal is to be able to provide people with a healthy kitten, and I can't guarantee that with Sullivan. We have met a few highly recommendable, reputable breeders, and have decided to adopt a new male from MyCat Maine Coon Cattery. His name is Oziris Asar and will be joining us in a few months. (Fingers crossed the travel ban is lifted due to the coronavirus and he can come home in May)!

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