Complaint Review: Heartfelt Bengals

 I also bought a cat from this breeder and have had nothing but health issues with my Bengal since purchase ! Never received paper nor did she ever respond but one time ! It's my cat has constant stomach issues and was under weight when I received him and have spent thousands of dollars on him ! Glad she is no longer in business ! I have cancer sick or not business is business and you still have to have respect to others ! The biggest issue I have seen is her not even handling situation or communicating which if she isn't makes her very guilty of selling sick cats and not caring!

I am the daughter of Karron Taylor and I am also a witness to what went on with Davina George. The kitten that Davina bought had TF and she paniced over the parasite problem. She called my mother almost every day with threats demanding my mother to pay her vet bills and she did not listen to anything my mother would say on medication dosages to cure the problem. As my mother listed in the report. This lady Davina George and her friend Joseph are people working together to find and shut down catteries at any cost with no concern of the owner or there cats. My mother was a registered nurse for over 15 years at Kaiser and worked with premature babies who were sick, that was her expertise. She had retired and started her cat business with bengals and put in more time with her cats then she did with her family. My mother has died from cancer in 2013 thanks to the great deal of stress that Davina george and Joseph have caused her with trying to shut down her business that she loved. Breeders be aware that Davina George and Joseph Pistone are not interested in a cat they are more concerned about shutting down your hard earned company.

I'm sorry to make another post, but I couldn't get this poor man and his kitty out of my mind, so I hope this gets to you, Joseph.  I remembered after Jazpurr tested negative for the TF parasite, he continued to have diarrhea.  I got lucky when a rotating vet diagnosed him with food allergies and suggested I change his diet to a novel protein.  I purchased Evangers dry cat food, Pheasant and Whitefish formula.  You can buy it online or at a specialty pet shop (or they can order for you.) 

Also, I got some glutathione and slippery elm at the health food store.  Glutathione helps heal the gut and the slippery elm soothes the intestinal tract. (You can research this online and the TICA site has an article about it, if I remember correctly.)  I coated his dry food with both powders.  I also feed him some canned venison and duck with pea formulas that you can find at PetCo or other pet stores.  Eventually, I changed his diet to Acana Lamb formula and he was even able to eat the Acana Chicken formula and other canned foods.  His gut healed and his stools were solid in no time, so he was free of diarrhea almost immediately.  Hope this helps you and your baby.

Joseph:

I am truly sorry to hear this.  This is why I posted this originally, hoping to save others from the pain I had to go through.  When I got Jazpurr, he howled when he got in his litter box.  At first, I was afraid of a UTI or blockage.  I kept my eye on him.  He didn't have a bowel movement for three days...then the diarrhea started.  I truly believe Karron plugged him with Kaopectate or something similar, so he would pass the three day exam period on the paperwork.  Well, I got him to the vet in time, and the vet also diagnosed colitis and put him on Metronidazole.  I had done a lot of research and found out about TF.  I actually sent for the collection packet for the lab test.  I wish I had another vet with more knowledge, but there are no catteries in my area, and my vet was not up to speed.  BUT I fault Karron, because I actually asked her if she had this problem BEFORE I purchased my cat.  She sat there, holding a kitten and shook her head no.  The reason Jaz went through so many treatments was because he was growing, the vet was going by the recommended dosage, and, most of all, Karron was NOT truthful about the problem.  She REFUSED to give me her vet's name.  If only she had acknowledged it, it could have been dealt with immediately.  Instead, he was practically tortured for months.  And I mean the diarrhea was unrelenting... 9 times a day.  He would step in it and get it everywhere.  But I never gave up.  All I can say now is I hope your vet has done a complete diarrhea panel on your cat to determine there is no TF or other parasites.  The other people who contacted me had the same problem.

I don't believe this story that she has cancer.  The web site is down and it says to contact Dave (her boyfriend).  I think it has more to do with liability and collecting money.  She told me she was on disability.  I'm sure there is a limit as to how much extra you can make when you are collecting SS disability.  How this went on this long, I cannot understand.  I only wished I had lived closer.  I guarantee you I would have had her shut down.  Her property was not zoned for a cattery; she was not a licensed business either.  She was in total violation of animal control laws.  But I had a sick cat and was fighting for him.  By far, he was the most expensive rescue I ever undertook.  I truly hope your cat does better.  Please research his condition and don't be afraid to ask your vet questions.  Make sure his diet is the best.  If your vet recommends Science Diet, question that also. (It's not good food, and most vets are not up on nutrition.  They get a kickback on the food they sell.)  Go to your local pet store and get someone who knows about cat food (I don't  mean PetsMart  or PetCo...  find a small dealer).  Canned food is the best for them biologically.  I also recommend probiotics. That will help stabilize his colon health.  I fed Jaz the best diet possible.  He had the best of everything.  That's my only consolation.  I wish you well.

  I am very saddened to hear about your cat Jazpurr, this brought tears to my eyes, I was also a victim of her cattery, my kitten is almost a year old now and has colitis, I pray for her everyday that she will get better, this cattery has to be shut down quick, a guy named Dave is now running it for Karron, supposedly she is sick with cancer and doesn't have long to live, which who knows if that is true or not because she probably has a lot of lawsuits against her, these people are bad people and knowingly selling sick cats, hopefully this cattery will be shut down to say the least, first is to get there website off the internet i will do whatever i can to help in doing so!!!

I'm the original person who filed this complaint.  I cannot tell you how happy I am to hear that this woman is going out of business.  My beloved Jazpurr died of lymphoma.  He was only 4 years, 2 months old.  I believe all the medications he received (and God  knows what else at Karron's hands) wrecked his immune system.  I have rescued animals all my life.  As a humane officer, it was just my nature to adopt them.  The only reason I bought a purebred cat was because my beloved Bengal mix cat that I had for years had died.  I loved his personality and knew I would be disappointed with another cat.  He was just very special.  So, you see, Jazpurr was my dream cat.  When I paid almost $1000 dollars, I expected a healthy cat.  The fact he had ear mites (and tri-trich), although common (as noted above) was ridiculous.  TICA does nothing to enforce these catteries.  In fact, YOU have to pay THEM if you want an investigation.  So the fact that a member is in good standing with this organization means they pay their dues - period.  Nobody checks the cattery.  TICA just keeps the breeding lineage records and collects money for that also.

I was previously contacted through my Facebook page by two other people who got sick kittens from Karron.  I walked them through the process of what they had to do.  Then I was informed that one girl had someone on the inside to work there.  I was sent pictures of sick kittens.  I tried to tell them the process for animal contol and how to get them involved, but I wasn't sure how it turned out.  I was told that Karron told her worker she couldn't afford to pay her, and offered her a sick kitten, which she turned down.  If I hadn't lived so far away, I would have gone to Sacramento myself to get the authorities involved.  I did everything I could, but it was impossible being 100 or more miles away.  I am so sorry for what everyone else had to go through.  I can't be more pleased this gentleman posted this report.  I was going to tell the whole story about Jazpurr, as initially I was angry when I made this post, but I decided to leave it in God's hands.  I'm glad He finally took care of it.  By the way, I found two Bengal mix brothers, who look exactly like my favorite kitty, through the local shelter.  I adopted them both.  They had ringworm, but, hey, they are shelter cats.  My total cost for these guys?  $44 plus $74 vet fees for the ringworm dip.  And they were already neutured, microchipped, and had their shots. Sure was a lot cheaper than what I went through with Jazpurr.  Not to mention his end-of-life care.  That was another $2000.  I miss him and I will never forgive that woman for what she did to him and for lying to me about his condition.  It would have been so much easier if she had just fessed up and done the right thing by getting her kittens to a vet.

Anyone making nice comments about Karron Taylor on this topic is most likely a friend or got LUCKY enough to receive a healthy cat.  Her health guarantee is not valid- these kittens are not checked out by a Vet, which is what the proper procedure for adoption is.  Don't discredit the lady who wrote she received a sick kitten because you don't know what it's like to rack up thousands in vet bills and have to fight tooth and nail to get any sort of reimbursement. I, personally, am glad that she is going out of business and won't be able to sell any more sick kittens or rip any more people of for thousands of dollars.  I hope the remaining kittens that get adopted out (should actually just be given away for free!) are healthy and more owners do not have to go through what myself and the other lady had to go through.

There are thousands of cats out there who need good homes.  Breeders purposely saturate the market with more animals that take homes away from the ones waiting in shelters on death row to have a chance to be adopted.

If you adopt it is much cheaper and you are giving a home to an animal who otherwise has no chance.

Shelters screen these animals for everything prior to adopting them out and they are altered and up to date on all required vaccinations and parasite treatments.

Think about that the next time you pay $950 for an animal purposely brought in to this world for profit.

I purchased my first Bengal cat from Heartfelt Bengals three years ago. She is a gorgeous Silver Spotted Bengal. She is the foundation queen in my breeding program.

Karron was and has been an absolutejoy to work with. Always helpful and I can tell inlove with her cats. I called her the other day with a question and she answered her phone immediately and talked with me for 45 minutes on the topic.

We have acquired other bengals since and on one of them dealt with a truly wicked breeder (which is why I ended up on this webpage to begin with where Isaw this report).

In reading this, I am saddened that the poster is accusing Karron of being a kitty mill, preying on an unsuspecting publicand questioning the legitimate nature of her business.

Karron is a long term bengal breeder. She stays with and mentors new breeders. She produces beautiful cats, loving in nature.

When I have buyers contact me and I don't have kittens ready for adoption,I recommend Karron as an alternative and will continue doing so.

And, to the know it all vet tech, breeders advertise via mulitple channels in order to build up a waiting list of GREAT parents for our beautiful cats. Not because they are kitty mills.

How do you know you are in a kitty mill? The owner won't let you see the cattery. There is no health guarantee. They certainly won't pay your vet bills. The phone rings, but they never pick up (excuse is they will call you back). Theirkittens are under $400 - sorry, but Bengals kittens should be $500 or above unless you are rehoming them. They don't interview you in addition to let you interview them. They don't give you a copy of the contract you signed. They don't give you a receipt. They aren't associated with TICA (cat registry) or TIBCS or other bengal forums. They can't offer references. Remember, reputable bengal breeders want to be in your life for the lifetime of the cat they sell you.

Karron Taylor is a reputable bengal breeder.

I am a veterinary technician who is looking for a kitten.  I saw this and other complaints while searching.  I checked out this web site and noticed the breeder claims to be Tritrich free and HCM free.  I find this doubtful because in order to make this claim, you need to perform PCR (DNA) testing on all your cats.  This test is around $100.  HCM is a heart condition.  In order to claim your cat is negative, you need to do a heart scan.  Our clinic doesn't even do these because it requires a board certified cardiologist.  The test runs about $500.  I can tell the legitimate breeders from the scammers by noting how much information they give on their web site about these conditions.  If they are legitimate,they will offer the scan and their vet's reference information on request.  Don't get taken in by these claims.  This is BIG business and you can tell the mills by how aggressively they market their kittens.  If they have numerous postings on the Net, be suspicious because that means they are breeding lots of kittens to saturate the market.  Good breeders are not in it for the money.  Kitten mills do not use vets or feed good food because that cuts into profits.  In fact, a good place to start looking for a kitten is to ask your vet for breeders in your area.  The breeder should provide a certificate of health from their veterinarian.  This is a big initial investment - get the most for your money and avoid the heartache.

we purchased a kitten last year from Karen and we have had no problems, it was a great experience.  Unless things have changed in the last year, I suggest getting the kitten tested before purchasing in to make sure.

This lady gives a whitewashed version of events. The way I heard this story, she should be grateful Davina came along when she did.  It was Davina who researched and suspected her kitten had this rare parasite.  It was Davina who persisted, despite months of diarrhea, day in and day out, and insisted the vets in her area test for this bug, even though she was treated like the crazy lady, everybody thinking it was a long shot. It was Davina who contacted the vet in N.C. who knows about it, and it was Davina who informed this dumb owner of what was going on in her own cattery.  If she is so responsible and knowledgeable, how did all this escape her notice?  Right under her nose - get real!!  Something stinks here and it isn't cat poo.

This woman claimed to know nothing about it, until Davina's kitten was finally diagnosed, and then she suddenly became an expert.  Sounds fishy to me.  It was because of Davina that this lady's cats got treated as well as some other cats she sold.  If you ask me, Davina saved this woman's business.  If this is how she treats her customers, I sure wouldn't want to be one!

Davina is the most responsible person I have ever known. Because of her humane officer background, she has seen the worst of the worst. If she says it happened, you can bank on it.  This lady should thank her lucky stars that her business was saved.  She should be thankful her entire cattery wasn't infected - or maybe it was and she already knew about it when she sold those cats.  Do the right thing and give her her money back.

Hi my name is Karron Taylor. I am a Registered Nurse who has cared for the Bengal breed several years and has acquired a lot of experience and knowledge about them. 

Davina George and her husband purchased Jaz from me Dec '08 and I gave them a health record showing Jaz's Immunizations up to date along with a dose of ear mite medication as he had some symptoms. His stools were soft but some kitties have soft stools depending on their diet. I offer a written health guarantee and offer to stay on as a mentor/support for all of my families. I had no TF in my cattery that I knew of so didn't think about this parasite as being a problem. Davina ran up her Vet bill and I offered to care for Jaz, but she refused. Instead complained frequently to me of the problem. Until finally got a diagnosis of this parasite. The reccommended dose for treatment, Ronidazole, is 30-50mg/kg twice daily for 14 days. I called the family that bought the sibling and their Vet started treatment at 50mg/kg and in 14 days their cat was free of parasites. Davina took her cat in and the Vet refused to give more than 30mg/kg for each of the 2 week episodes and Jaz tested positive each time. I called her Vet to ask why she treated at the same dosage twice and stated she refused to go higher because of possible neurological side effects. Jaz still had not been able to get rid of the ear mites either. I told Davina I could give him the Ivermectin by injection as systemically it would rid him of this very quickly. I felt he was not being treated often enough topically for the ear mites as it had been over 2 months now that he continued to have them. I felt bad for the suffering that Jaz was going through for so long now, knowing this could have been shortened given the proper dosages.

We were in close communication as I felt if she wouldn't allow me to help her care for her sick kitty at least I could help her with advise per protocol of treatment. She consented to treat her kitty at a higher dosage against her Vet's advise, as she knew with 2 positive results now at the lower dose wasn't getting Jaz well. In treating at 40-45mg/kg just shy of 2 weeks gave him a negative result. I agreed to pay her Vet bills for both Jaz and Cinderella, her other cat and felt I was done as we were to go our separate ways until a few weeks ago when she emailed me and said he had the same symptoms that he had prior to the neg test. I wrote her back and said I would not be able to financially reimburse her any longer and to get another PCR test to see if he has converted to positive.  

After treating my queen, mother of Jaz, that was positive for TF, she tested negative as well as all the other kitties here. I take this very seriously as I am a very conscientious person and think of my kitties as my own as their health is very important to me. That is why I have medication on hand if needed in an emergency to administer at night if needed to save lives. I feel comfortable administering these meds from my past experience as a nurse and have spoken with several Vets on a professional basis, as they respect my judgement as a professional. 

I have had 99% of my customers respect my professional knowledge and appreciate what I have done in the past to help them, but there are always a few like Davina that want to do it on their own and reap the consequences. She did however allow me to watch Jaz while she and her husband vacationed for a week and he was without symptoms the whole time.

I received email correspondence from Ms. Taylor's attorney stating, in part, "You also state that my client is knowingly selling kittens that are infected'. While we acknowledge that their (sic) was an event that took place some time ago, that has been resolved. So what you are saying is not true which states that the cattery is currently selling animals with tritrichomonas foetus."

Per the above statement by Ms. Taylors attorney, he offers assurance that the event has been recognized and resolved. So, in good faith, I retract my statement that this cattery is knowingly selling kittens that are infected.

My other comments are based on my experience, the events surrounding the purchase of my kitten, the adoption papers/contract, subsequent emails with Ms. Taylor, and my experience as a humane officer and should be read and interpreted as such.

Anyone purchasing a cat or kitten from any breeder should obtain a veterinarian's health certificate. Ive learned my lesson. Please be assured, if I ever do this again, I will do so. If the cat you are purchasing is in a high-risk group for this parasite, ask for certification that the cat is PCR negative and a written guarantee that any and all subsequent fees for treatment of this condition be covered. Most importantly, if you suspect your cat may be a carrier, get it tested. Make sure your cat is TF free.

I refer the reader to the guidelines published by Dr. Jody Gookin, the foremost authority on this parasite, as stated in her publication "AN OWNERS GUIDE TO DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CATS INFECTED WITH TRITRICHOMONAS FOETUS" [Jody L. Gookin, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM (Internal Medicine) North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine] published and available online at http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/jody_gookin.html

Tritrich and earmites are as common as tails in the cat world.

Earmites are easily eradicated by Ivermectin, not worth mentioning in my opinion.  There are many simple and quick cures available.  During hot summer months they do tend to be around.

Tritrich can be eradicated by Ronidazole, correct dosage a must.  It is not hard to administer.  Put it in something yummy and the cat will willingly eat it. It is possible that diatomaceous earth also eradicates it.  Yes, it is difficult to get rid of.  It dies very quickly once it is out of the cat.  Tritrich is hard to diagnose as infected cats  do not always have mucous and blood in their stools.   Tootsie rolls do not necessarily mean the cat's gut is clean.  We like to think so though.

I have purchased several cats and all came with something...because stress of rehoming allows bad things to get control...just like us. No breeders were attacked.  I took care of the issues myself.  I knew a kitten or cat from someone else would have problems of some sort.  Breeders give advice on how to introduce the cat to a new home and family to reduce the stress involved.  Cats really like the status quo to remain the same...just like humans do.

I do not know any breeders in the cat world who pay vet bills.  None.  Be blessed that she paid any of your bills.  You paid big bucks to solve issues most any breeder can handle  economically and correctly, you declined taking her advice...at that point you became responsible, when you choose to use a costly vet instread of the breeder.  She offered to take the cat back and treat it for you.  You should have trusted her.  She is a nurse and knows what to do. she is an honest ethical person. everything would have been better for both of you if you done whatever this breeder asked you to do.  The issues are not unto death, just irritating.

Vets are necessary but people breeding animals know a great deal about medical issues concerning the animals they own and raise .  Experience is priceless.

Karron Taylor has quality Bengals from excellent bloodlines.  She is an ethical breeder.  Her cats are well cared for.  She is also a very honest, kind and helpful person.  I would purchase a kitten from her in a heartbeat as I know she stands behind her kittens. 

I know you are frustrated and upset, I am sorry for that.  You should have let her solve the problems as she expected to.  Often bad things happen to good people.

I hope your kitty has a long healthy life, I hope you and Karron make ammends.  Life is short.   When folks refuse to forgive they are the ones being hurt.