Cat problem again....The plot thickens-- Any help?

[njordan]

Hello, I posted a message about my problem in here earlier this month. To recap, here is my original message:
My family and I decided to buy a persian kitten. About 1 1/2 months ago, I found a lady with an ad on a classifieds website. She told me the kitten was registered, I would have the breeding rights, and that she was a black and white persian. We made the 10-11 hour round trip to her home and bought the kitten from her. Just last week, I found out that she lied to me and the kitten can't be registered. She tried to tell me that she was a registered breeder with a different cat registry. I found out from that registry that she has no cats or kittens registered with them and is not a member. The number she gave me as her cattery number belongs to someone else. That is the third registry I have checked with (thanks to her changing stories) and she is not a member of any of them. I know I have been scammed, but do not know how to go about fighting back against her. Any help would be appreciated.


Now, for the plot twist: I emailed this person again yesterday and told her that this would be my last email before I proceed to filing in small claims court. I did actually receive a response this time. The email was supposedly by her "son" and he said she is dead and was buried yesterday. She told me herself that she had no children, so I am very certain this is also a lie. Also, the email was in the exact same style (mispelled words, words left out, etc) as all of her other emails, but I do not know how to find out if this is true. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

 

[totallybroke]

What do you want to happen here? Do you want your money back? If so you must be prepared to return the kitten also.

I would send a return receipt certified letter stating the facts, the misrepresentation of the deal and that you will take have no alternative but to pursue legal options if you do not receive a reply.

If the meantime, call the local newspaper and ask them to look in the obits for the last couple of weeks.

 

[njordan]

Yes, I do want my money back. The woman completely lied to me. The cat is not registered and isn't even a persian. She looked like she was a himalayan kitten when I got her, but she was only 8 weeks old. Now she looks like a mix breed siamese. If I have to return the cat to get my money back, I suppose I will. Sorry to sound heartless about the cat. The woman should not get away with what she did. She also sould the cat's litter mate to someone else that I haven't been able to track down.
I have already told her through email that I am very upset and want my money back. Also that I will be filing a claim against her. That's when I finally got the reply about her death.
I really do not believe she's dead. I think it was her emailing me in hopes of getting me to drop it. Like I said, she told me she had no children and it also seems odd that a child would be checking his mother's yahoo email the day after her funeral!
The only problem with finding out the truth is that she is in the southern part of Kentucky on the border of Tennessee and I am in Missouri. I'm not sure who to call to get access to obituaries there.
Thanks.

 

[tommigal]

I live in the southeast part of Kentucky if you will email me I will send you a link to all the surrounding area newspaper ....

 

[Burtha]

Do you have a copy of the ad?
Does it State CFA papers, or purebred? Didnt You see the papers or ask for them when you bought the kitten?
Normally, If you pay cash, you leave with the CFA registration papers in hand.(Some breeders wait for checks to go through & then mail the Papers) Maybe she was Impling that the Parents are registered. Did the lady look sickly? : Like she was going to drop dead? Is the Kitten healthy? Did you get any kind of guarantee?
You need more info. Good Luck.

 

[njordan]

The ad was an online classified. I printed it. Yes, she flat out told me in more than one email that the kitten was a registered black and white persian with breeding rights. As I have said, she looks like a siamese now. The "breeder" gave me ACFA papers filled out with a bunch of bogus numbers. Since I didn't know anything about the ACFA, I had no idea if they were ligit at the time. She signed them and the bill of sale and tried to act like she knew what she was doing. No, she didn't look sickly at all. I have a lot of proof from emails, the bogus papers, and letters from the ACFA, CFA, and TICA that she completely lied to me. I just don't know if this will be worth all of the trouble. She deserves to be sued, but I'm not sure the drive to Kentucky and all the expenses will be worth it at this point.