This section of my site contains information that is based purely on my opinion. You are absolutely free to take or leave that as you will. I will list sites that I either know have used stolen images or text from other breeders. If you ever have a question about a site, I recommend that in addition to contacting TICA, please absolutely contact the Savannah Cat Scam Group on Facebook, The Savannah Cat Association, Savannah Cat Chat, or the Facebook Groups https://www.facebook.com/groups/svcatchat/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups/SavannahCatLovers/ www.facebook.com/groups/SavannahCatLovers/.
I will not recommend breeders to anyone whom I do not personally know. My advice to those who looking to avoid scams is to reach through my article (linked further down this page) and become familiar with common scammer practices and then seek out further advice if needed.
If I were personally looking for a breeder I would do the following:
1. I would look for sites that have current lists of kittens. I would follow the advice I give in my scams article to week out potential problem sites. Remember, if the price is too good to be true, it probably is. If the photos look suspect, ask to have the original emailed to you (as many sites now embed photos, which makes checking this on your own impossible). There is data encoded into photos, including the date it was taken. If you do not know how to search for that information, ask someone tech savvy to assist you.
2. I would only look for registered TICA breeders. Note that registered breeders usually do not post their certificate on their site (though some might), get the REGISTERED name and location of the cattery and talk to the folks at TICA.org about it. Make sure it is not a phony dupe of a legitimate breeder's site.
3. I would personally not buy a kitten that looks exactly like a serval. There are "high percentage/HP" kittens out there (where an F1 girl is bred back to a serval, sometimes this is done repeatedly producing a kitten that is almost totally serval, and only very little domestic). Most "HP" Savannah's STILL look like Savannah cats, even if they are much more servally. Servals are not legal in many places, and you run the risk of having your cat taken from you if you are in an area like that (and possibly never returned or even destroyed). It can be very hard to prove if a cat is just a very high percentage hybrid or an exotic and I personally would not take that risk. Further, there is the issue that some scammers are selling "F1 kittens" that are actually full servals and again, you can run the risk of having your cat removed from your home. Beyond that, note that F1 cats are a whole lot of work and servals are even more work (many times over). They are wonderful, but not typically easy and most of them spray even when fixed at an early age. I personally would not take the chance on getting a very high percentage hybrid that could spray on everything in my life (including me, because often they hose down their owners because they love them so much). Many of the amazing SV breeders out there can point out quickly which cats are servals instead of high percentage hybrids. I would talk to them and take their advice were I in question.
4. I would talk to others on Facebook forums or Savannah Cat Chat. I would ask about the breeders I am considering and get opinions from those who have purchased from those breeders. SV owners LOVE to talk about their kittens! Ask around, see who has happy, healthy, well-socialized kittens. Ethical, long-time breeders will not push their kittens on you and are often happy to discuss breeders they know and like as well. Remember that these breeders often also have to purchase from each other, and they know what lineage they have in their own cats.
5. Look at the Savannah Cat Association site, as they vet breeders more stringently than TICA does and they have a wealth of information on finding your perfect new companion.
6. I would never, ever consider purchasing from someone who contacts me online, with out my asking, or who has a friend who sells cats and they just want to tell you about them. That is simply not how this works. If I am interested in a cat, I make an inquiry with the breeder and they then come to me and we talk about a whole lot of things, including whether or not I am a good home for their babies.
This spring I crafted a blog post about Savannah cat scams, as I see more and more people have their hearts broken when they think they are getting a loving and wild new companion and only find out later that all they really got was a reduced bank balance. Savannah cats are expensive, I am not going to lie about that. This makes "cheap" Savannah cats, with pretty pictures, and a valid appearing website to be a powerful tool for scammers.
The reality is, it is actually very easy to clarify how valid your potential breeder is if one takes the time to ask the right questions in a few places. I have a list of tips and hints, as well as links for Facebook groups and a website that have folks that can very easily clear up issues and let you know what breeders are real or not that can be found here: themerryrosette.weebly.com/blog/education-and-avoiding-scams
The reality is, it is actually very easy to clarify how valid your potential breeder is if one takes the time to ask the right questions in a few places. I have a list of tips and hints, as well as links for Facebook groups and a website that have folks that can very easily clear up issues and let you know what breeders are real or not that can be found here: themerryrosette.weebly.com/blog/education-and-avoiding-scams
Below I am going to manage a running list of scam sites that are known to rip off photos from legitimate breeders in order to sell their kittens. These sites are not even worth contacting as they do not actually breed kittens. They exist purely to try to take your money. Note that there are far, far more scam sites than I have listed here, as I have just begun to work on this resource. Please, please verify your potential breeder with the good folks on the sites linked in my blog post above.
Tips for Avoiding Scams
- Is the cattery registered with TICA? You may never intend to show or even register your kitten, but taking time to verify that your chosen breeder is approved by TICA is the first step towards ruling out a scam. Note that just because a site uses the TICA logo, does not make it legitimate, as scammers will add that to the site to help convince you they are real. (Occasionally scammers will even try to imitate a legitimate breeder by using their cattery name, and this can make it more difficult to work around, but checking that it is a TICA cattery is a good first step regardless.)
- Prices that are too good to be true. There are no healthy $950 F1 kittens to be had, not today, not tomorrow, likely not ever. No, you did not happen to find the best bargain on the web, what you found is an elaborate scam. If your budget is tight, you can consider later generation cats, watching for breeders who have older kittens for sale, retired breeders or cats that need rehomed. If a price sounds too good to be true, it is.
- Website and photos. Note that site quality alone will not help you spot a scam artist. There are many wonderful breeders who operate solely on Facebook or who have older, not technically savvy websites. Often though, what you will see is that the scammers will have a variety of stolen photos that have no cohesiveness in terms of photo quality or background content. Absolutely talk to folks on the forums listed in my blog post here to verify if the breeder is even real.
- When in doubt, check on the Savannah Cat Scams and Warnings Facebook Group!!! www.facebook.com/groups/svcats/
- If you are placing a deposit on a kitten that you believe to be in the US and PayPal warns you that the currency is going to be converted to that of a foreign country, it is definitely a scam!
UPDATED 11/15/18: New Types of Scams
- Scammers are posting messages on legitimate breeder Facebook pages with kittens for sale. If you do not know who the owner of the cattery is, you would see someone posting a pretty Savannah, and see the email/phone and possibly just call that number to make your deposit for that cat. The problem is, that it was not the breeder that posted it (in most cases, the breeders use the name of the cattery page to post info, not their personal accounts). The specific example that I saw was even using an email that is used repeatedly in scam posts in classifieds all over the US. It is always good to double check emails and phone numbers, even if they appear legit.
- Another, more elegant type of scam, is where they build a website that has a name very close to that of a legitimate breeder (see Jovial Persian Kittens below). If you research the breeder name, and contact TICA, they might pass as legit at first. It is still important to be careful and look at the website and do further research. Often, as with other scam sites, the photos themselves will give away the crime.
UPDATED 1/8/19: I cannot believe this one even needs to be said
- You are never, ever going to make a "friend" on social media who is going to "help" you get a good deal on a kitten if you work through them. Seriously. This is always a scam. ALWAYS. A friend would direct you to LEGITIMATE verifiable breeders, and let you work directly with them. (And, as always, there is no such thing as a $750 F2 Savannah or a $3000 F1. They don't exist outside of rescues or retired breeders and even then, you would be working with the rescue or the breeder directly).
- Please, PLEASE, follow the links I provide to connect with actual owners and breeders via social media. They can help point you to scams. If you need to, just contact me and I can try my best to help as well.
UPDATED 7/7/19: Looking up a breeder on the TICA site (and understanding what is real)
Sometimes scammers add TICA papers added to their site, often badly photoshopped. Double check the exact cattery name and spelling with TICA as this might be completely faked. You can always try to verify any TICA papers or claimed membership with the organization as well.
Sometimes scammers add TICA papers added to their site, often badly photoshopped. Double check the exact cattery name and spelling with TICA as this might be completely faked. You can always try to verify any TICA papers or claimed membership with the organization as well.
List of Bogus Breeders
Baseline Savannah (added 9/24/18): Pretty sure this is the same crew of thieves that ran the Morgan Foundation site or one of the others I already listed below. Same exact stolen photos that were used before (and that have the same consistency flaws) and ridiculously low pricing. http://baselinesavannahs.us/about-savannah.htm
Bengals and Savannahs (added 10/1/19): Price and stolen photos are the dead give away. Bengalsandsavannahs.wix.com/hybrid
Blessed Kitten Homes (added 12/10/18): This particular scammer shows you how incredibly stupid they can be. In all their specialness, these idiots actually misspell Savannah repeatedly on their site. Add to that the ridiculous pricing for F1s and the usual assortment of stolen photos and I am pretty sure this one deserves some sort of award for stupidity. I especially love the line about kittens with round faces. Sorry, please at least read the breed standard before you try to scam someone. Honestly, I could go on for days here but the fact that they say that the F2 Savannah comes from a domestic and a Serval.... It also looks as though the Savannahs were the afterthought on a page to scam for British Shorthairs as they talk about both breeds together, sort of.... just incredibly dumb. https://blessedkittenshome.com/
Brittle Savannah Cats (added 5/1/19): Nothing new here, this is actually one of the first scam sites I saw and realized it was a scam. They just keep slapping a new name on it and perpetuating their evil scam. https://brittlesavannahcats.com
Caravana Cattery (added 10/1/19): www.carvanakittencattery.com
Cheerful Savannah Cats (added 9/24/18): This website is just bad all around. Who the heck designed this thing (and clearly they did not bother to proofread a bit of it)??? And to prove these folks are extra stupid, they use two different supposed cattery names on the same site. There is also the Free Delivery and pricing that makes me think this is the same crew that ran the now defunct Grace Land Savannah Cats site that I listed below. http://www.cheerfulsavannahcats.com/
Eldorado Exotic (added 10/1/19): Testimonials are cut and pasted from legit breeder sites.
Exotic Paw: This site features stolen photos from many prominent breeders, including Select Exotics where two of my babies came from. On the surface, this site looks a little more convincing than some (and they at least give a phone number and email contact). But here you can see that the prices are too low for the kittens they list, the photos lack any sort of consistency at all in terms of quality and/or background. The real give away though is that they have F3 Queen listed, but also F3 kittens. It doesn't work that way. The real sign here though is the "F3 Stud".... there is no such thing as an F3 male would be sterile. https://www.exoticpaw.com
Giant Savannah Cats (added 11/25/19): Should I start with the bad grammar, the terrible spelling or the swiped photos? Maybe that ridiculous $950 price tag or using serval photos for F1s? This one pretty much fails every test it could and is so bad I cannot believe anyone would fall for this one. They are pretending to be US based but everything here screams "international scammer". http://giantsavannahcats.com/
Grace Land Savannah Cats: This site features images stolen from one of the most visible breeders of F1s. They offer "Free same day delivery"? Rarely do breeders offer free shipping for kittens (the airfare is usually $300-400). "Discounts this month only"? They want to pressure you to make a choice and send money before you can think too hard about it. And F1 kittens for $950? Nope. Just not happening. http://gracelandsavannahcats.com/
Greensburg Savannahs: I am pretty sure this is the same scam site as a few of these other sites, just labeled with a new name so the jerk who runs it can continue his/her scam. Stolen, inconsistent photos, free delivery and that $950 pricetag is the dead giveaway that this is not real.
http://greensburgsavannahcats.com/
Hybrids F1 Savannahs: Images are stolen from other breeders. You can see some of the details here . This one actually has a nice looking site, compared to some (if you can get over the really annoying music that autoplays on launch), and the prices are fairly believable. Once again though, they feature many kittens that were actually produced and sold elsewhere. http://hybridsf1savannahcats.com/
Jessica Savannah Home: Same old, same old. Stolen photos with no continuity and prices that no F1 will ever go for. Any of these sites using a shipping company (which is a scam in and of itself) and leading you to heartache. https://jessicasavannahhome.com/
Jovial Persian Kittens (added 11/15/18): This is a more unique type of scam, and slightly more clever than some of the other idiots here. This site features a name jovialpersiankittens.com that is close enough to a legit breeder (JovialPersians.com) that one still get tricked without due diligence. If you contacted CFA to see if Jovial was a legit breeder, they would say 'yes', but this particular site is not owned by a breeder. Further, while the URL reads jovialpersiankittens, the text that appears actually says Jaimepersiankittens. That is a serious giveaway. As with these others, the kitten images have no uniformity and the Savannahs are listed at $750 (what the hell is it with that price tag???). Further research has this site showing up on a scam-watch site. https://www.jovialpersiankittens.com/
Loft Savannah Cats (added 9/4/18): As always, images are stolen from numerous other breeders, including little Pearl, whose image tends to show up regularly in scammer circles. They actually put slightly more realistic prices on the kittens and many scammers do, but still not in the right range for early generations. The copy used on the site is identical to that used on a now defunct site for "Miracle Savannah Kittens", so it is likely the same batch of idiots regurgitating their same scam. (They also need some lessons in copy editing, lol, the whole site is just bad.) http://www.loftsavannahcats.us/
Melrose Savannah Kittens (added 2/10/20): This site is using the same old photos that the ten incarnations before used. One of those photos has been floating around the internet at least since 2017 (and they are using it for a kitten that is supposedly currently for sale). Further, the website was just launched 2 weeks ago, and there is no personal information there at all. No owner names, no mention of being TICA registered, no information on breeding practices or photos of their queens and sires. That plus all of the other info I mention in spotting scams means I would steer clear of this one. They have a link to FB, but it does not take me too their page (nor can I find one), and supposedly they have been talking to people using that outlet? Plus, on top of all that, they have made the PetScams site already! https://petscams.com/tag/SavannahKittens/ http://melrosesavannahs.com/
Morgan Foundation Savannah Kittens (MFKH): Copy is swiped directly from a real breeder's website, AND they forgot to even take out the name of the real breeder when they did so. (They get bonus points for being a really bad scammer for that.) Photos likely stolen from elsewhere, as there is no continuity in them. And copy is stolen right from at least one other site. https://www.mfsavannahkittens.com
Noah Savannah Cattery (added 1/30/19): I give this one credit for at least using a clean looking site template. However, stolen photos, "F1s" that are actually serval photos, no info on the mating pairs, and pretty much every other pitfall (including fake reviews that you can tell are fake because the names do not match up...), and of course, the ridiculous prices. www.noahsavannahcattery.com
Bengals and Savannahs (added 10/1/19): Price and stolen photos are the dead give away. Bengalsandsavannahs.wix.com/hybrid
Blessed Kitten Homes (added 12/10/18): This particular scammer shows you how incredibly stupid they can be. In all their specialness, these idiots actually misspell Savannah repeatedly on their site. Add to that the ridiculous pricing for F1s and the usual assortment of stolen photos and I am pretty sure this one deserves some sort of award for stupidity. I especially love the line about kittens with round faces. Sorry, please at least read the breed standard before you try to scam someone. Honestly, I could go on for days here but the fact that they say that the F2 Savannah comes from a domestic and a Serval.... It also looks as though the Savannahs were the afterthought on a page to scam for British Shorthairs as they talk about both breeds together, sort of.... just incredibly dumb. https://blessedkittenshome.com/
Brittle Savannah Cats (added 5/1/19): Nothing new here, this is actually one of the first scam sites I saw and realized it was a scam. They just keep slapping a new name on it and perpetuating their evil scam. https://brittlesavannahcats.com
Caravana Cattery (added 10/1/19): www.carvanakittencattery.com
Cheerful Savannah Cats (added 9/24/18): This website is just bad all around. Who the heck designed this thing (and clearly they did not bother to proofread a bit of it)??? And to prove these folks are extra stupid, they use two different supposed cattery names on the same site. There is also the Free Delivery and pricing that makes me think this is the same crew that ran the now defunct Grace Land Savannah Cats site that I listed below. http://www.cheerfulsavannahcats.com/
Eldorado Exotic (added 10/1/19): Testimonials are cut and pasted from legit breeder sites.
Exotic Paw: This site features stolen photos from many prominent breeders, including Select Exotics where two of my babies came from. On the surface, this site looks a little more convincing than some (and they at least give a phone number and email contact). But here you can see that the prices are too low for the kittens they list, the photos lack any sort of consistency at all in terms of quality and/or background. The real give away though is that they have F3 Queen listed, but also F3 kittens. It doesn't work that way. The real sign here though is the "F3 Stud".... there is no such thing as an F3 male would be sterile. https://www.exoticpaw.com
Giant Savannah Cats (added 11/25/19): Should I start with the bad grammar, the terrible spelling or the swiped photos? Maybe that ridiculous $950 price tag or using serval photos for F1s? This one pretty much fails every test it could and is so bad I cannot believe anyone would fall for this one. They are pretending to be US based but everything here screams "international scammer". http://giantsavannahcats.com/
Grace Land Savannah Cats: This site features images stolen from one of the most visible breeders of F1s. They offer "Free same day delivery"? Rarely do breeders offer free shipping for kittens (the airfare is usually $300-400). "Discounts this month only"? They want to pressure you to make a choice and send money before you can think too hard about it. And F1 kittens for $950? Nope. Just not happening. http://gracelandsavannahcats.com/
Greensburg Savannahs: I am pretty sure this is the same scam site as a few of these other sites, just labeled with a new name so the jerk who runs it can continue his/her scam. Stolen, inconsistent photos, free delivery and that $950 pricetag is the dead giveaway that this is not real.
http://greensburgsavannahcats.com/
Hybrids F1 Savannahs: Images are stolen from other breeders. You can see some of the details here . This one actually has a nice looking site, compared to some (if you can get over the really annoying music that autoplays on launch), and the prices are fairly believable. Once again though, they feature many kittens that were actually produced and sold elsewhere. http://hybridsf1savannahcats.com/
Jessica Savannah Home: Same old, same old. Stolen photos with no continuity and prices that no F1 will ever go for. Any of these sites using a shipping company (which is a scam in and of itself) and leading you to heartache. https://jessicasavannahhome.com/
Jovial Persian Kittens (added 11/15/18): This is a more unique type of scam, and slightly more clever than some of the other idiots here. This site features a name jovialpersiankittens.com that is close enough to a legit breeder (JovialPersians.com) that one still get tricked without due diligence. If you contacted CFA to see if Jovial was a legit breeder, they would say 'yes', but this particular site is not owned by a breeder. Further, while the URL reads jovialpersiankittens, the text that appears actually says Jaimepersiankittens. That is a serious giveaway. As with these others, the kitten images have no uniformity and the Savannahs are listed at $750 (what the hell is it with that price tag???). Further research has this site showing up on a scam-watch site. https://www.jovialpersiankittens.com/
Loft Savannah Cats (added 9/4/18): As always, images are stolen from numerous other breeders, including little Pearl, whose image tends to show up regularly in scammer circles. They actually put slightly more realistic prices on the kittens and many scammers do, but still not in the right range for early generations. The copy used on the site is identical to that used on a now defunct site for "Miracle Savannah Kittens", so it is likely the same batch of idiots regurgitating their same scam. (They also need some lessons in copy editing, lol, the whole site is just bad.) http://www.loftsavannahcats.us/
Melrose Savannah Kittens (added 2/10/20): This site is using the same old photos that the ten incarnations before used. One of those photos has been floating around the internet at least since 2017 (and they are using it for a kitten that is supposedly currently for sale). Further, the website was just launched 2 weeks ago, and there is no personal information there at all. No owner names, no mention of being TICA registered, no information on breeding practices or photos of their queens and sires. That plus all of the other info I mention in spotting scams means I would steer clear of this one. They have a link to FB, but it does not take me too their page (nor can I find one), and supposedly they have been talking to people using that outlet? Plus, on top of all that, they have made the PetScams site already! https://petscams.com/tag/SavannahKittens/ http://melrosesavannahs.com/
Morgan Foundation Savannah Kittens (MFKH): Copy is swiped directly from a real breeder's website, AND they forgot to even take out the name of the real breeder when they did so. (They get bonus points for being a really bad scammer for that.) Photos likely stolen from elsewhere, as there is no continuity in them. And copy is stolen right from at least one other site. https://www.mfsavannahkittens.com
Noah Savannah Cattery (added 1/30/19): I give this one credit for at least using a clean looking site template. However, stolen photos, "F1s" that are actually serval photos, no info on the mating pairs, and pretty much every other pitfall (including fake reviews that you can tell are fake because the names do not match up...), and of course, the ridiculous prices. www.noahsavannahcattery.com
Savannah and Bengal Kittens for Sale (Facebook Page): I am not really sure how this one is trying to present itself. The page is a business page, not a group, but the title reads like the many (legitimate) groups were you can look for your next potential kitten. Regardless, this one is a scam and they have swiped photos from a number of breeders. Actually, the more I look at this one, I could go on all day about how very many things are wrong with it. So they claim champion bloodlines, but dont mention any cattery names, or the champion name. They "have' more sphynx than anything else, despite the (lame) name, and Russian Blues and Burmese and British somethings.... Looks like they also did a direct cut-and-paste from another cattery because some of their kittens have the name of a legit cattery attached to their kitten names. Honestly, this one is so poorly presented that it should set off alarms even for a neophyte!
Savannah Bengal Breeder (added 3/21/19): This site has the same rehashed graphics from other scam sites. Photos of servals, instead of F1s, at ridiculous pricing, with the same stupid "Free Shipping" graphic. It is not like this one is even trying, really. And what is the deal with all the pics of pet crates and a car full of critter catching gear (or whatever that is supposed to be? Also interesting... no mention of the breeding parents, or their serval, or anything else. They also lie about being a TICA breeder. http://savannahbengalbreeder.com/
Savannah Kittens Love (added 10/1/19): Site is a rehash of some of these others, and has thankfully been removed. https://savannahkittenslove.com
Siebert Savannahs (added 11/1/19): Same old, same old. It would help if these idiot scammers knew the difference between a Savannah and a Serval. I guess they should at least get bonus points though for coming up with unique reviews. http://seibertsavannahs.com/
Starland Exotics (added 10/1/19): Rebranded copy of the Noah Cattery site.
Tumine Exotics: This is the scam site that triggered my desire to start this page as a friend almost was taken in by them. They do not exist and have ripped off photos from a number of sources. They will feel legitimate because they actually run ads on Google. Note that it is very difficult to get scam ads removed (though I am in the process with this one right now), but please remember that just because it is advertised, it does not mean the business is actually real. What is wrong with this site? Photos stolen from other sites, lack of phone or email (most breeders will give you direct contact information), photos are all of varying quality with vastly different backgrounds. https://www.tuminexoticats.us/
Velvet Savannah Cats (added 1/30/19): Some of the text on this site is stolen from other webpages, and some of it is so poorly edited that I cannot believe they had the guts to post it at all. This is the same set of stolen photos that gets used over and over and over. And, as always, the price is the dead giveaway. http://www.velvetsavannahcats.com/
Savannah Bengal Breeder (added 3/21/19): This site has the same rehashed graphics from other scam sites. Photos of servals, instead of F1s, at ridiculous pricing, with the same stupid "Free Shipping" graphic. It is not like this one is even trying, really. And what is the deal with all the pics of pet crates and a car full of critter catching gear (or whatever that is supposed to be? Also interesting... no mention of the breeding parents, or their serval, or anything else. They also lie about being a TICA breeder. http://savannahbengalbreeder.com/
Savannah Kittens Love (added 10/1/19): Site is a rehash of some of these others, and has thankfully been removed. https://savannahkittenslove.com
Siebert Savannahs (added 11/1/19): Same old, same old. It would help if these idiot scammers knew the difference between a Savannah and a Serval. I guess they should at least get bonus points though for coming up with unique reviews. http://seibertsavannahs.com/
Starland Exotics (added 10/1/19): Rebranded copy of the Noah Cattery site.
Tumine Exotics: This is the scam site that triggered my desire to start this page as a friend almost was taken in by them. They do not exist and have ripped off photos from a number of sources. They will feel legitimate because they actually run ads on Google. Note that it is very difficult to get scam ads removed (though I am in the process with this one right now), but please remember that just because it is advertised, it does not mean the business is actually real. What is wrong with this site? Photos stolen from other sites, lack of phone or email (most breeders will give you direct contact information), photos are all of varying quality with vastly different backgrounds. https://www.tuminexoticats.us/
Velvet Savannah Cats (added 1/30/19): Some of the text on this site is stolen from other webpages, and some of it is so poorly edited that I cannot believe they had the guts to post it at all. This is the same set of stolen photos that gets used over and over and over. And, as always, the price is the dead giveaway. http://www.velvetsavannahcats.com/
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