Maine Coon Kitten Scammers – be careful!

March 28, 2019

What And Who To Watch Out For…

Maine Coon Kitten Scammers have been very active recently there have been several scams regarding the sale of Maine Coon kittens.  These kinds of people drive me crazy and make me angry. The biggest draw seems to be on Facebook, I try to stay active on the Maine Coon Forums and help buyers separate truth from reality where sometimes the love of that Coon you just saw on the scammer’s FaceBook page or Webpage was too much to resist, it’s burning a hole in your heart or worse your child’s heart, lately lots of victims on pages and groups that are used for selling “Maine Coon Kittens”, many name variations.

Also when you use Google the Ads it presents on the keywords you searched on are typically loaded with fake websites. These are typically the Google Ads, or Websites claiming to have Maine Coon Kittens on Sale or “Buy Now” buttons that get you to pay for a kitten that does not exist. Certainly not Google’s fault but none the less they exist, so be careful!

Many times Maine Coon kitten scammers are people who find random photos of cats and kittens from legit websites and then try to sell them as their own. As a legitimate, ethical, and reputable breeder, and from others like us our material gets stolen all the time, I have also heard from several of our clients that have been victims or almost victims of these scams.

There are also other types of Maine Coon Scammers to look out for, these are the “kitten flippers” they usually DO NOT BREED their own cats in a healthy or ethical manner instead they import what amount to usually low quality or sick kittens at a huge discount from bad breeders and backyard breeders in America, Eastern Europe and other places in the world, many devastating stories of crippled and dying kittens from the so-called breeders can be found on many Maine Coon Forums.

I am sure there are many other tricks used by scammers that I have not listed but these are the most popular ones.

Here are a few Red Flags:

  • Scammers insist on using Text Only to communicate.
  • Scammers won’t show the parents, I’m not talking pictures those are easy to fake.
  • Scammers won’t show pedigrees of the kittens and parents.
  • Scammers steal pictures off legitimate websites and put them on their websites.
  • Scammers usually want high deposits.
  • Scammers encourage the buyer to only communicate on Facebook Private Messaging.
  • Scammers can’t answer basic questions about the care of these special breeds.
  • Scammers can’t answer basic health and genetic questions about Maine Coon Kittens
  • Never use the Pay Now or Buy Now button to reserve or purchase a kitten without first validating this is a legitimate breeder.
  • Scammers use Google Ads to get to the top of search results to draw you in quickly and act on emotions.

How to Validate an Ethical and Reputable Maine Coon Breeder.

  • Everything I listed above doesn’t happen, early in the process messages do happen but if your a serious buyer that ends and we talk on the phone.
  • We will educate you on Maine Coons and the Health risks along with how we at Florida Maine Coons mitigate that risk.
  • We will give you verifiable references.
  • You can verify our cattery is in good standing with TICA, our cattery is OptiCoons and our registration number is 32814.
  • We encourage Cattery visits by appointment when we have kittens, come see how our furry family lives in harmony with our family and pets.
  • We will send you as many pictures as you want.
  • We will send you videos of the kittens.
  • We will volunteer to send you copies of pedigrees – the kittens and the parents.
  • We will show you videos of the parents with the kittens.
  • We will even do FaceTime Live with you and the kittens.
  • We can and will answer every question you and your vet could think of about our bloodlines and cats.
  • We will share with you upfront our contract, in fact, it is on our website right here.
  • Our deposit is reasonable and is fair. Our prices are set in mind so as many people as possible can afford a Maine Coon, we could charge much more but we want everyone to be able to afford a
    precious Coon.
  • Sure we advertise on Facebook, but we don’t sell off of FaceBook. We prefer to talk to you in person or on the phone. Messages are OK in the beginning but as people, we need to talk. Messages are way too subjective and only cause problems.”It is our best interest to earn your trust and for you to fully understand what you are buying, and when it’s all truthful, it’s easy.”

It upsets me to know that there are people out there that believe this behavior is acceptable and it’s okay to scam people. Good quality Maine Coon Kittens are expensive and to a lot of people, it’s a big financial leap to own and beautiful Maine Coon kitten.

Let the Buyer Beware. PLEASE NOTE – These sites have been reported to us many times as potential scammers, you the buyer should verify this information as true or false, do your own due diligence. We take no responsibility for its accuracy. If you see other sites please let us know, if you see one that is on this list by mistake please let us know and we will correct it after verification. This information has been shared with OptiCoons by various sources around the internet.
Known Scam websites  Aiden Maine Coon Kittens Al Cattery Home Alpha Coons Alpha Maine Coon Cattery Alpha Maine Coons Audreys Maine Coon Cattery Big Bone Coons Big Maine Coon Breeders Home Bryan Maine Coons Cassy’s Maine Coons Cats  and Kittens Home Catss Paradise Classy Maine Cats Costa Maine Coon County Lane Coon Cattery Cristar Maine Coon Cattery Danny Paw Coons Cattery Dazzling Feelings Elora Maine Coon Emerald Maine Coon Cattery Exquisite Maine Cattery Exuberant Maine Coon Cattery Family Coons Cattery Family Maine Coons Fancy Maine Coons Fanny Maine Coons Fantasia Cattery Five Maine Coon Cattery Flowery Maine Coon Frank Thomson Maine Coon Kittens Gentle Coons Gentle Maine Coon Kits GentleCoon Giant Dreamz Coonz Giant Maine Kittens Giant Purebred Coons Gorgeous Maine Coon Kittens Home Grace Maine Coon Cattery Greg Maine Coons Hales Maine Coon Cattery Healthy Maine Coons Home Maine Coon Breeder Cattery Home Maine Coon Kittens Home of Maine Coon Cattery Jason Maine Coon Home Kerry Maine Coons King Coons Cattery Kitty Classic Maine Coon Cattery Kitty Maine Coon Kyles Maine Coon Cattery Larry’s Maine Coon Home (website is larrymianecoonhome – yes, spelled wrong) Legacy Maine Coon Love Maine Coons Lovely Maine Coons Maine Coon Breeders Home Maine Coon Elite Kittens Maine Coon Kattery Maine Coon Kitten Home Maine Coon Kittens-4 Sale Maine Coon Legacy Home Maine Coons Legacy Home Maine Coon Palace Maine Coon Paws Majestic Maine Coons Mani Maine Coon Cattery Maria’s Amazing Maine Coons Marvelous Maine Coons Mason Maine Coons McKinney Maine Coon home Mega Maine Coons Melissa Maine Coon Kittens Home Midway Maine Coons My Maine Coon Gift Nicole Maine Coon Kittens Pawfect Maine Coon Cattery Pearl Maine Coon Kittens Popular Maine Coon Kitten Premier Mainecoon Kittens Pure Coons Pure Maine Coon Kittens Purebred Maine Coons Purmum Maine Coon Cattery Quality Pure Coons Reputable Maine Coon Breeders Reputable Maine Coon Kittens Royal Coons Cattery Ruby Maine Coons Ryan Foley Maine Coons Shag Kingdom Shalom Maine Coon Cattery Sidelines Maine Coon Kittens Home Silver Saint Maine Silvermate Maine Coons Silverways Skypaws Maine Coons Star Maine Coons Stunning Maine Coon Kitten Sunshine Maine Coons Cattery (must have cattery at the end) Tom Maine Coon Kittens Facebook and Instagram Scam Pages. Any generic Facebook page name is almost always a scam. Adorable Maine coons kittens for adoption Adorable Maine coon kittens ready for a new home Adorable Maine for adoption near me Anissa Mukimi (scammer on fb) Available maincoon kittens and cats near me George Edward (says Chasers Maine Coon Cattery) Geraldine Lisa (scammer on fb) Beautiful Full Maine Coon Beautiful Maine Coon Kitten Available Beautiful Mainecoon Available Bengal mainecoons kittens for sale Cats and kittens for sales Chat Maine Coon pour adoption Classified kittens and cats cattery Cute kittens for sale Cute Maine coon Daniel John (scammer on fb) Elen Rose (scammer) Franck Ebot (scammer) Friendly Maine coon cats and kittens for adoption Harry Winston (scammer on fb) Healthy Maine Coons Registered Healthy Mainecoon Home of Maine Coon verified James Michael (scammer on fb) John Mark (scammer on fb) Johnnas Saen (scammer of fb) Jones Kelly (scammer on fb) Joseph’s Kittens Adoption Center Joseph’s Kittens Cattery Joseph Mark Anthony (scammer on fb) Kathy Bartell (scammer on fb) Kelvin Zick Cothel (scammer on fb) Kingpin Coons Kittens for adoption Kittens for sale Kittens Ready for Homes Kitty Elena (scammer) Lori maine coon cattery Loveable Maine Coon Kittens for Home Maine coon cats Maine coon cats and kitten rescue Maine Coon Cats and Kittens for Rehoming Maine coon cats and kittens rehoming Maine Coon Cat’s and Kitten’s for sale Maine Coon cats/kittens for sale Maine Coon Cattery Maine Coon for sale Maine coon for sell Maine Coon Kingdom Maine Coon kitten for sale Maine coon kitten’s for sale Maine coon kittens Maine Coon Kittens Maine coon kittens Available Maine coon kittens breeders Maine Coon Kittens For Adoption Maine coon kittens for adoption near me Maine Coon Kittens For Sale Maine Coon Kittens For Sale Near Me Maine Coon Paws Maine Coons Cattery Registered Maine coons kitten for sale Maine Coon Kittens to Go Maine Coon Rescue Community (spanish) Maine Coonery Mainecoon kitten paw Mainecoon Kittens for Adoption Marco Jennifer (scammer on fb) Maria Ramon (scammer on fb) Marian Harper Mark Tom (scammer on fb) Millar Tasha (scammer on fb) Newell Johnson Julie Oteh Elvis Elvis (scammer on fb) Pretty Mainecoon kittens for adoption Rankin Joseph (scammer on fb) Rayim Mbogning (scammer on fb) Sabi Touts (scammer on fb) Sun Maine Coons Tracy Scott (scammer on fb) William Jones (scammer on fb) Brokers/Mills/Flippers/Questionable  catsdogs(dot)us kittensup4sale(dot)com happypaw