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Cat Forum / Rescue / March 2005Beware this Backyard Breeder in Calgary
Weepurrs is a backyard breeder (kitten mill) in Calgary run by Phyllis Mikesell. Her house is filthy and reeks of cat urine. (My first mistake - I should have turned around the minute I smelled/saw the place.) The kitten she sold me for $600 is the most adorable little guy in the world and my family has fallen in love with him. He is five months old. Unfortunately, we have since learned that he has several health problems including Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), which will kill him. Phyllis offers a "one year health guarantee" but has not returned any of my phone calls or emails. The vet doubts that I will ever get my money back and I will be forced to have him eunathized when his illness gets very bad. Please be careful when you invest your money and your heart in an animal. Just because the breeder seems reputable because they are listed on several web sites and is a member of organizations like CFA and TICA doesn't necessarily mean they are reputable. Check it out for yourself - insist on seeing the area where the cats live, as well as the parents of the kitten you are buying. GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. And if you become aware of a kitten mill like this, raise hell. Someone needs to protect those cats and prevent people like Phyllis from exploiting them. And why aren't you reporting this person to the local SPCA, rescue groups or law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing the animal cruelty laws in your area? I would think with such deplorable conditions you'd be reporting it to them. Yes, backyard breeders need to be stopped but they need to be reported first.  SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com > Weepurrs is a backyard breeder (kitten mill) in Calgary run by Phyllis > Mikesell. Her house is filthy and reeks of cat urine. (My first mistake [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > needs to protect those cats and prevent people like Phyllis from > exploiting them. I have reported her to the SPCA - they have had several complaints about this woman but every time they go there the place is spotless, so they will not go again. She is very clever, although I can't imagine all this being worth it. Couldn't she make a much better living raising healthy cats and not being so dishonest? I also called several breeders associations in the area, and they have ALL heard of her. But they WILL NOT intervene in a dispute between a breeder and a buyer - I am in the process now of filing a formal complaints with TICA. One organization told me that she used to cross-breed Ragdolls with Himalayans, and then selling the Himalayans as purebreds. It just disgusts me that nobody is willing to DO anything when everyone knows what she is up to! My next move is to post an ad in the local paper where she advertises her kittens, telling people to check with the local breeders before they buy a cat from her. I don't think you have too many options here. If you publically state that she is being dishonest then she could sue you for slander. How did you discover that her place is spotless from the SPCA? If they found no wrongdoing then the only option is to write to a newspaper or something. Maybe they can do a story about this person. SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com >I have reported her to the SPCA - they have had several complaints > about this woman but every time they go there the place is spotless, so [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > paper where she advertises her kittens, telling people to check with > the local breeders before they buy a cat from her. I think if I word the ad carefully I can get away with it. Something like; "Before buying from Weepurrs cattery, please check with your local breeder first." I'm sure the newspaper would advise me. The SPCA told me that they had been there before and that the place was always perfect, but admit that something is obviously wrong there if so many people are complaining. I can't for the life of me figure out how she gets rid of the smell. I was thinking about campaigning her neighbours - maybe if enough of them complain she would get her business licence revoked. And the purpose of campaigning the neighbors would achieve what exactly? In some ways you would be partly to blame for keeping her in business by purchasing a cat from her. If you truly wanted a cat you could have gotten one from the shelter that needed a home and also save a life. $600 is a lot of money and many animal shelters that rescue cats could have used it. SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com > The SPCA told me that they had been there before and that the place was > always perfect, but admit that something is obviously wrong there if so [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I was thinking about campaigning her neighbours - maybe if enough of > them complain she would get her business licence revoked. I have to wonder why you didn't adopt a cat from a local shelter? So many need good homes and buy purchasing from a breeder you merely add to the overpopulation problem not to mention deny a cat that needs it a good and loving home. BTW, even if you were to defame this person in an ad you could still get sued. SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com >I think if I word the ad carefully I can get away with it. Something > like; "Before buying from Weepurrs cattery, please check with your > local breeder first." I'm sure the newspaper would advise me. 1. let her sue you the publicity would not help her. 2. Arrange a sting operation with the SPCA (i assume this an equivalent of the RSPCA (Royal society for the protection of cruetly to animals) http://www.rspca.org.uk 3. It's a good job this did'nt happen to me i would be in lockdonw by now 4. campain outside her house or leaflet the nearest telephone poles/streetlamps >I have to wonder why you didn't adopt a cat from a local shelter? So many >need good homes and buy purchasing from a breeder you merely add to the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> like; "Before buying from Weepurrs cattery, please check with your >> local breeder first." I'm sure the newspaper would advise me. I think the best way to handle her is legally and carefully... she is very clever but I know I have already scared the crap out of her. She is not answering her phone, and I made several enquiries about her cats via email (disguised as someone else, of course) and she has not responded. So for now, she is not selling cats, which is good! I am currently filing a formal complaint with TICA which will hopefully strip her of her license to sell purebreds. (Not that that would stop her, but it's a step in the right direction.) As I told her (in one of the million emails I sent her) I will not rest until she is shut down. I will keep after her until she has no more cats. She will never know if it's me (or someone on my behalf) asking about a cat, and she will spend the rest of her life living in fear. Hopefully she just gives up the cat business. My cat is doing fine right now - his corona titre came in very high but there is a chance he will survive. I hope so, because he is the sweetest, most loveable little guy in the world. (Just very spoiled right now!) If you really feel that strongly about it take her to court. BTW, shutting her down may be good but what if that doesn't stop her from having more cats and selling them? You could have avoided all this by adopting from a shelter. SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com >I think the best way to handle her is legally and carefully... she is > very clever but I know I have already scared the crap out of her. She [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > sweetest, most loveable little guy in the world. (Just very spoiled > right now!) I know, I know... you keep reminding me about that and I have learned my lesson. But I believe in karma and maybe if I hadn't bought from this "breeder", she would have continued to do what she is doing. Believe me, she hasn't met anyone like me before - I am not going to drop it. So some good might come out of this. As far as going to court? I think it's a waste of time. There will be no "bad publicity" ... the newspaper and TV crews don't cover small court cases, and it's highly doubtful that I would get my money back, if this was about the money, which it isn't. The best way to handle this bitch is to get her license to sell purebreds revoked - that will cut down hugely on her opportunities to sell cats. I am filing with TICA right now (which costs $50 - not really an incentive for people to report poor breeder practices!) and am collecting all the data - emails, phone records, etc. to build a strong case. I know that, regardless of what I do, she could still keep selling cats but if she is as smart as I think she is, she will realize that it's just not worth her while. I can't imagine it being a very lucrative business, and the added stress of *me* making her life miserable may just persuade to pursue a more suitable occupation, like cleaning toilets. (Yes, I'm mad as hell.) Actually animal abuse cases and neglect get covered here where I live. If the person goes to court you hear about it. SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com >I know, I know... you keep reminding me about that and I have learned > my lesson. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > just persuade to pursue a more suitable occupation, like cleaning > toilets. (Yes, I'm mad as hell.) May I remind everyone, that you only have one side of the story. This person posted here at the behest of someone who runs a website designed solely to slander purebred cat breeders, one Rosemarie Zizzo. Zizzo's sole mission is to destroy the reputation of people who can legitimately breed and register cats, something she can no longer do herself, since she was suspended for life from CFA, for twice abandoning her cats at a kill shelter, and also for the harassment conducted via the website. Until proper evidence is presented no organization or body will deal with this. As of today, the buyer had not sent the breeder any veterinary evidence that the cat is ill. She has been claiming it has FIP, and now says the corona titre is dropping. No such thing happens in FIP, but either Liesl or her vet is trigger happy with that diagnosis. Ask yourselves this: If the woman was so "bad", she would have been caught by now. The SPCA can make cold call inspections. They would have seen things. And we only have the buyer's word that anything is wrong to start with. Yes, there very well could be some unsuitable conditions. But this person has no proof, and what she is currently posting, unless proved, constitutes libel in a court of law in Canada. And no, a newspaper will not print any such add with a name. It leaves them open to a charge of libel as well. I have also had an experience with this Cattery. I would like to know if this woman actually has a breeders license. Has anyone seen it?
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