I am not a cat breeder. I am simply the owner of pet Persian cats. I have dealt with a variety of breeders and purchased quite a few pedigreed pets over the last 45 years.
A friend sent me a link to the Boutique Kittens website www.boutiquekittens.com and asked if I knew who this breeder was. I did not, but I looked over the website because they had traditional Persians and I am very fond of them.
This website is a beautiful marketing job. It's full of pretty pictures that have portrait studio backgrounds and cute little accessories. They more than likely bear little resemblance to reality.
[1] One of the first things I noticed is that this breeder does not tell the potential customer who they are, not even a first name. They have 2 different address's. One is 4255 South Buckley Road #242, Aurora, CO 80013. The first thing I thought is how can they have a cat breeding operation in an apartment. Well, it's not an apartment. (The 2nd one is 6140 S Gun Club Rd K6-102 Aurora, CO 80016.)
[2] It's a UPS Store where they rent a mailbox. Their phone number is a business telephone listed as Boutique Kittens with no address.
[3] At this point, I start to wonder what they're hiding.
[4] I counted more than 30 breeding cats pictured on this website and found other names on little birth announcements that were not pictured.
[5] No registered names were given for their breeding cats so the customer doesn't know what lines they come from and I
[6] couldn't find any pedigrees. They have several different breeds. They show solids, bi-colors, silver and golden, and colorpoints among their Persians. Each of these is pretty much a separate endeavor from a breeding standpoint.
[7] This tells me that they are only interested in production.
They also have Munchkins and Napoleons. I think Munchkins are delightful cats. The Napoleons are a Munchkin/Persian cross; Persians with dwarfism. These turn me off, but that's a personal prejudice. I don't believe in munchkinizing pedigreed cats.
The last "breed" is something they call a Ragaper; a Persian/Ragamuffin cross.
[8] These are not even a registered breed as far as I know. I couldn't even find them In TICA and TICA will pretty much register anything that says meow. So, these Ragapers
[9] are mixed breed cats and they want $950 for a kitten.
They make sure to let you know that they have a Dept. Of Agriculture license as though it was a big deal. The State of Colorado has a program called the Pet Animal Care Facilities Act (PACFA) which is administered by the Ag Dept. They license animal care facilities; breeders, shelters, groomers, boarding facilities, rescuers, etc.
A cat breeder is supposed to have a PACFA license if they have 4 or more litters a year or if they own more than 15 cats. All you have to do to get this license is fill out an application and send it in with the appropriate fee and they will mail you a license. If there are no complaints against a facility, they might see an inspector once every 3 years or so.
I don't know that there is anything wrong with this cattery. All I know is that it sends up a bunch of red flags for me I hope you go through that website and check out some of their business practices.
[10]I became curious about them in the first place because they are so secretive.
Let's say hypothetically that I'm a kitten buyer who lives in the Denver metropolitan area.
[11] I must fill out their application and give them all kinds of information about myself before they will even talk to me. If I am truly interested in buying one of their kittens,
[12] I must make a non-refundable deposit before I will even be offered a kitten.
[13] I can't go to their home to observe the kitten and see what type of personality it has.
[14] I can't watch it interact with it's Mother and siblings.
[15] All I can do is look at a picture. It looks like their standard price for a dollfaced Persian is $1000 to $1500. They can ask any price they want for their kittens. It's a free market. A pet Persian is worth $250-$300. Perhaps as much as $500 if it's a rare color.
[16] I don't even know if the kitten is socialized until I pay for it and take possession When my kitten is ready for delivery,
[17] I can't go to their home or cattery and pick it up.
[18] They will meet me in the lobby of Alameda East Veterinary Clinic and I
[19] must pay a $75 "delivery charge " for them to do it.
[20] I would never consider buying a kitten from them, but obviously people do or they wouldn't be in business.
[21] Eventually, the people who paid those outrageous prices for pet Persians will figure out that they got screwed.
[22] They won't have any recourse. It will leave them with bad feelings toward all cat breeders.
[23] Nowhere on their website did I see anything about a sales contract. I found mention of a health guarantee,
[24] but couldn't find a copy of it. They say that they are a CFA and TICA registered cattery,
[25] but they say nothing about giving you registration papers for your kitten. I couldn't help noticing that you don't "buy" a kitten from them, you "adopt" it.
Is there any problem with this cattery? I have no idea because they obviously don't want the customer to have any idea
[26] I don't know if their kittens are raised like part of the family or if they are raised in cages in an outbuilding.
Most of them probably get shipped out of the State. I have no ax to grind. I have never done business with this breeder. I don't even know them. These are just the thoughts of one person who looked at their website. Noone wants to be scammed out of their hard earned money in these difficult times so when dealing with a business with so many valid red flags, buyer beware!
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