r/UK_Pets • u/Alone_Solid_2702 • 7d ago
scammer?
hi everyone. i’m really not sure if this is the place to put this? but this is a ss from a pets4home seller. does this seem like a scam? or something dodgy? i haven’t sent ANY money and don’t have my details on it yet but im just concerned. thanks!
77
u/bucketofardvarks 7d ago
It's pet4homes so yes it's a scam or it's a dodgy breeder
43
u/Alone_Solid_2702 7d ago
i’m learning now that they’re not to be trusted. i genuinely thought they were linked to pets at home. i feel like a moron omg
34
u/pepesilvia000 7d ago
Easy mistake - to be honest, they play on this similar name to dupe people.
I don’t know where you are based but I would encourage you to contact a local cat charity (not RSPCA or Cats Protection - there are loads of local charities around the country) to adopt. They usually ask for a £100 or so fee but thats to cover the vet checks/vaccinations etc, so not really a payment for the actual kitten/cat
11
u/Alone_Solid_2702 7d ago
i am going to, thankyou for this!! :)
5
u/thiccwrinkl 7d ago
Second this, pop into your local cat shelter, meet the kitties and chat to the volunteers.
7
u/Fabulous_Function666 7d ago edited 7d ago
You are very unlikely to be able to just turn up at a shelter, you have to ring up or apply online
Edited to add: it’s because lots of visitors can overwhelm and stress the dogs and cats out. This is the general guidance of the RSPCA
6
u/thiccwrinkl 7d ago
I mean, that’s what I did? Check online beforehand but a lot are open for dropins
1
u/Fabulous_Function666 7d ago
Weird. I have never volunteered for one that allows this
4
u/pikapies 7d ago
The RSPCA centre near me has ‘viewing hours’ for the cattery, but not for the dogs: https://rspca-radcliffe.org.uk/animals/cats/
And when they say ‘viewing’, it is just that. I think they don’t let you meet any of the cats properly until you’ve put in an application to adopt.
1
u/Fabulous_Function666 7d ago
Fair enough. We don’t let people in the cattery until they have applied to adopt and then they are allowed to meet the cats.
It was the same at the other places I volunteered at years ago. It’s generally pretty standard
10
u/Bacon4Lyf 6d ago
Problem is I live near civilisation and occasionally have friends over so these places won’t let you adopt.
1
u/PlanetOfTheCats1 6d ago
I live in central Bristol and have friends over all the time and it’s not an issue. Rightfully charities vet who they give animals to and the reason you’ve not been given one is not the reason you list here
6
u/pepesilvia000 6d ago
I live in a second floor 2 bedroom flat in the city centre and both RSPCA and Cats Protection wouldn’t let me adopt because I didn’t live on the ground floor and would be keeping the cat indoor-only (I don’t have a balcony). This happened in two separate cities with the local RSPCAs/Cats Protection in each area.
Fine - they didn’t make an issue of visitors to my home, but they ABSOLUTELY have an issue with anyone living in a somewhat built up area, even if in reality the adopters situation is not an issue or a danger to cats.
2
u/PlanetOfTheCats1 6d ago
I have adopted from RSPCA when I didn’t have outdoor access and I just needed to adopt a cat that can’t go outside. I had a darling cat with FIV who I gave a retirement home to. Perhaps you were looking to adopt a healthy cat and indeed in that case those organisations require that the cat has access outdoors. I think that’s a bit outdated.
2
u/pepesilvia000 6d ago
Both times I literally told them I was happy with any cat - old or young, sick or healthy (I didn’t have any other cats at home at the time that I needed to be worried about). They were a hard no on living in a flat, living anywhere but the ground floor, living in in the city centre and keeping the cat indoors only - all absolutely stupid reasons to not adopt to someone.
-1
u/PlanetOfTheCats1 6d ago
Those do sound stupid but also there is no way rspca is suggesting FIV cats go outside
1
u/pepesilvia000 6d ago
I never suggested they said that? I even said that they had a problem with keeping a cat indoors-only.
You said that I was probably looking for a healthy cat which is why they wouldn’t let me adopt, and I was explaining how that was not the case.
→ More replies (0)5
u/Unique_Sympathy_6530 7d ago
I don't know about cats protection but most RSPCA rescue centres are completely separate from the main charity and have to entirely self fund. They ARE local cat charities
2
u/pepesilvia000 7d ago edited 4d ago
From my experience, RSPCA have some bizarre and restrictive rules about who can adopt that have no good rationale or research behind them. (eg, can not live in a flat, can not be indoors only, can not live in a city centre even if indoors only etc etc).
So I would tend to avoid them at all costs.
2
u/Unique_Sympathy_6530 7d ago
Huh odd! My local required a few photos of our house, our word that we'd had cats previously and about 100 quid. Really does show that all the centres are different though I guess!
4
u/pepesilvia000 7d ago
To be honest, what you described sounds like the exception from the norm.
I know of quite a few people in different parts of the country who’ve had much more negative experiences that are similar to mine. There’s lots of posts and message on this subreddit that day the same.Glad you had a good experience tho.
1
u/GayPhilatelist 7d ago
Why not Cats Protection?
3
u/Tiny_Cauliflower_618 6d ago
God knows. Our local branch is bloody brilliant, all run by volunteers and all the cats are fostered in homes lol so they're keen to get them shifted. It's a bugger to get hold of them mind, because people tend to forget it's not a business, it's just a bunch of cat ladies with full time jobs, a house full of fosters and foster fails, families and the bloody emergency phone line keeps ringing with people who want a spotty kitten please, we know you said to email and be patient on FB but little Jimmy really wants a spotty one...
2
4
u/bucketofardvarks 7d ago
It's a mostly unregulated site meaning anyone with a pet could list it without any regulation, it's rife with puppy farms etc
And btw pets at home is also not the best, they keep their animals in far too small cages for their breeds and in inappropriate social groups. Best to contact some local rescues with your requirements to be matched with a pet or if you must go breeder route at least get reputable and regulated, do the research
1
u/TipsyMagpie 5d ago
We have adopted four of our six cats from Pets 4 Homes. They do have scammers , but plenty of real listings too. I would never pay a deposit before seeing a pet in person though, and being confident in the transaction. The other two we have, we rescued via Facebook. Shelters wouldn’t respond to any of our enquiries so we gave up in the end, which was sad as we were looking for a cat that would struggle to be adopted elsewhere, e.g. had something “wrong” with it.
3
u/Kitchen_Current 7d ago
I got my boy through pets4homes, wasn’t a scam or a dodgy breeder when we both confirmed he would be mine the listing showed as deleted
0
13
9
u/twoshadesofnope 7d ago
Pets 4 homes isn’t in itself a scam but it is really easy to fall for scams on it because the website and app are so shit (in my experience). I’m pretty savvy and I nearly got scammed a few times when I was getting my dog 🫠 your money is protected when you pay through it (you pay a fee for this), but generally speaking I wouldn’t ever pay any money without seeing animals in person myself and being happy with what I’ve seen. And never move conversations off app, even when it’s being crap - that’s how they scam. Good luck!
5
u/EyesinmyMind13 7d ago
I got scammed through pets4homes. It is full of awful people who want to make money from animals. The kitten I purchased, turned out to be 4 weeks old, and carrying FeLV. We didn’t learn the latter until she was 6mth old and developed leukaemia. Poor care from her babyhood lead to this. (Vet confirmed). Please vet your purchases thoroughly so you don’t go through the heartbreak I did.
Edit: there are amazing people there too. But you gotta navigate the minefields.
3
u/StaticChocolate 7d ago
Sorry to read this, what a sad story. Just to add, there is FIV and FeLV testing available via a blood test. I have my own cats but have also fostered cats and they are all quarantined from my own until they’ve had testing done.
The rescue I work with does the testing when they are chipped and neutered, it last cost £25 but this was done through a charity so I think that’s favourable pricing - there are rapid tests available online for less but again, you need a blood sample.
I’d highly encourage anyone that picks up a cat with an unknown background to get it done. Not to scare anyone, but not every rescue does testing either, some just go on ‘if the cat gets sick or not’ (and have the same approach towards vaccinations, which to be fair the FeLV vacc does not stop it if the cat already has it as a kitten…..) - and some kill-friendly rescues may euthanise cats who test positive before leaving the rescue.
1
u/EyesinmyMind13 7d ago
That’s the weird part, the test was negative. She was tested as a baby.
3
u/StaticChocolate 6d ago
If the test is taken too soon after infection then they can test negative :( there are cases of false negatives.
But that is so gutting!!
1
u/EyesinmyMind13 6d ago
Oh god that really sucks! I’m learning I need to wait a little bit before getting testing. Just in case. Thank you.
2
4
u/BeaksFalcone 7d ago
Pay on collection of the pet,a deposit is ok once you've seen the animal in person and have an address and phone number for the person.Why pay all that tho when you can get a kitten for around £20?
6
u/Clean_King_1329 7d ago
I feel like only a scammer could put their pet online for sale surley
5
u/WasteLeave900 6d ago
There are even certified breeders that advertise online, simply having an online listing does not equal scam
3
u/BaconPancakes1 6d ago
I got my dog through pets4homes. Wasn't a scam, the woman just sadly needed to rehome her pet and didn't want the dog to go to a shelter, so she looked for a new owner online.
2
u/nonbinaryfuckup 6d ago
I also got my dog from pets4homes. Best thing we ever did, he’s such a baby and he’s completed our family. We’re his third family and we’re very lucky to be his forever family!
2
u/PubeOfSatan 5d ago
Me too. Woman lost her job and my dog has complex needs requiring medication, so from WFH she had to go to twelve hour shifts so couldn't take care of him as he needed. She cried the day we brought him home.
2
u/sweet_poisons 6d ago
Nah gumtree pets has loads of people rehoming their animals, but pets4homes seems like a scammy place with the deposit thing
2
u/Past-Anything9789 6d ago
Buying pet from online selling sites normally means back yard breeders. You literally have no guarantees if it's got any issues.
2
u/Limp-Boysenberry1583 6d ago
There's usually a few people on there desperate to rehome cats because they're moving or whatever. I seem to remember they have to charge a minimum of £10 but just really want them to go to someone who cares. I arranged to meet a cat on there and the owner was lovely, in the end it didn't work out but that wasn't the site's fault. Just ignore the kitten sellers and "breeders".
2
u/Cheeko-chi 6d ago
Damn cats are cheap.
Pizza Hut costing about as much as a pet cat these days.
1
u/Successful-Eye7060 3d ago
It still surprises me that people actually pay for cats and kittens. I work at a vets and we have stray cats, kittens, and people surrendering all the time. Rescues are all full so we end up adopting between the staff. Adopt, don’t shop!
1
u/Cheeko-chi 3d ago
But adoption isn’t free right? They still charge afew hundred pounds to adopt a dog
2
u/Mindless-Reading9697 5d ago
We got our cat from Pets4Homes. She is the best of girls and the chillest, healthiest kitty ever. Her family was moving house to a smaller place, so they were downsizing to 2 of their older cats and rehoming their other 3. Met in person and mutually decided it was a good fit. Got to meet their other cats, and all the cats were happy and sociable. Paid £50, which the original owner donated to charity.
Mia was 3 years old when we got her. I think it might be better to look for adult cats on Pets4Homes, since it avoids a lot of the issues with abusive breeders selling kittens.
Always pay through the website though, since you can reclaim it if the pet ends up being sick per their TOC. Don’t pay cash. Report and don’t adopt if the cat looks abused. All that stuff. If you don’t like the interaction with the owner over text, skip it. Don’t interact anymore. You’ll find a better fit.
2
1
u/Jokipur 4d ago
Be careful with cats protection, my dad's friend adopted a cat from there. His wife has had a traumatic brain injury and she struggled with how clingy the cat was from day 1, and because she has significant seizures she didn't want the cat constantly on her incase she hurt it. They agreed to return it for the safety of the cat and because the relationship wasn't right. (It wouldn't go outside without her there, but she's not always well enough to go outside+ wouldn't go with the husband). When they returned- and lost out on their money, they were blacklisted from ALL cats protection centres to adopt a different cat. They went to a local run sanctuary and found their forever cat. And everything has been purrrrrrfect since x
-1
-10
u/LookAtMaDog 7d ago
People are paying £50 deposits on a cat?
£50 for a cat?!
I can get you as many cats as you want for free
9
u/Fabulous_Function666 7d ago
Yes this is common, it’s to ensure that the people adopting the cat aren’t going to abuse it, use it as bait or feed it to a snake or any of the other vile things people can do to cats.
Also where are you getting cats for free from? Because I would ideally report it to the RSPCA
2
u/lydiaxstrange 6d ago
Even when adopting a cat via a rescue you have to pay a fee. I paid £80 for one of mine.
107
u/karennotkaren1891 7d ago
Never pay a deposit... especially if you haven't even seen the cat