Complaint Review: Jeanne Maurer of Catskill Valley Bengal Cats

I was just giving Jeanne an update on my little Bengal, Puck, that I have had for one year. I am shocked to discover such a negative post about Catskill Valley Bengals. When I went to get my cat from Catskill Valley Bengals, Jeanne was a consummate professional and I couldn't have been happier with her professionalism. As for the cattery, the cats have a clean and well maintained place and they have plenty of space.

Concerns about aggression were likely related to the stress of being around particular cats that a certain animal doesn't like. Aggression is fairly common between particular cats, so it's pretty unrealistic to think that ALL cats will be docile to one another at ALL times. Cat aggression, regardless of breed, is biologic and has very little to do with the owner. Some things cats may become aggressive about include access to food, water and litterboxes, all of which this cattery has plenty of (one of each per cat, plus two additional litterboxes).

To the point about the cats' low weight: Bengals typically experience a huge amount of growth from about 4-6 months until they are about a year old. For example, Puck was about three pounds at four months of age and is now nearly thirteen pounds and just over a year old. This seems to be a bit later than other domestic cats grow, and perhaps the OP was unaware of that nuance with the Bengal breed. Finally, Jeanne regularly checks in to see how Puck is doing and always helps with advice when I need it. She really just loves to find homes for her cats and help animal lovers, unlike most animal breeders that just forget about you after the transaction.

My name is jonas and I recently visited this womans home where she houses several other animals confined to little or no space at all.  ill just stick to the topic at hand which is the bengal kittens. i went to this house located on sunny hill rd in freehold ny and let me tell you it was disgusting. How this lady has one satisfied costumer is beyond me because i walked in and was immediately uncomfortable about to buy a 800 dollar kitten. So anyway she invites me in to her home and it immediately smells like cat piss and s**t upon enetering the place. i walk inside and they have two male kittens that are supposedly ready for their new homes. She let me play with the kittens and i immediately said something about how i seen fleas all over the little guys and how they were just chewing at themselves. She responded with some bullshit a*s excuse that the cats had just been treated and the fleas were dying thats why they were running wild on the kittens. the kittens were supposedly 8 weeks old but were tiny and again full of fleas. Her husband or boyfriend proceeded to tell me how they have cats they cant even handle because they can be agressive. All in all these ppl were the most unprofessional and dirty ppl i have met trying to run a business involving animals. i even read bad reports on this woman and gave her the benefit of the doubt and still went to check this place out. Total dissapointment. But i did locate an awesome breeder helderberg exotic cats. The price of the kittens is more expensive but the professionalism and the cleanliness of their facility is unmatched and i happily, i repeat happily spent 1300 on a male kitten. i could play with all the parents and litters of kittens and they were all friendly and excited cats. The love was def there. Do not buy from this lady jeanne maurer at catskill valley bengals. You can easily go there and check her place out if you think i made this post in anger or hate. i Really just care about the animals and what they have going on there is just down unprofessional

Attached you will find the vet diagnosis of the kitten that was sold to me. Here it clearly states the multitude of problems that this kitten had. I indeed contacted Jeanne Maurer regarding a refund. This kitten was a clear violation of the contract we had signed.  This kitten was “guaranteed to be of sound health”. This kitten was knowingly sold to me sick. There is no possibility that the symptoms this kitten exhibited were not present at the time of purchase (as I witnessed symptoms of the upper respiratory infection myself in both kittens that were available at the house).

My veterinary stated to me that they contacted Jeanne Maurer and offered to have the kitten tested so that the exact type of infection the kitten had could be determined. This test would have cost $200 and would not have benefited the kitten as it was not treatment. They stated that Jeanne did not want to pay for this test to be done. I was also contacted by Jeanne. She offered to reimburse me for any medications needed for this kitten. She also just restated in her rebuttal below that she would have reimbursed me for the medications for this cat. Then I ask you Jeanne, where is my reimbursement? If you are the upstanding person you like to say you are than I am giving you the perfect opportunity to follow through on your word. Attached is the vet bill where it lists all of the medications that this poor kitten needed. You have already been in contact with my vet, if you need confirmation that this bill is legit feel free to contact her.

As for the claim of slander, everything I have stated above is true, the attached photos of the vet bills and vet diagnosis are legitimate. This posting is the only statement I have ever made about my interactions with Jeanne Maurer. If there were supposed other statements made than I would have expected to be contacted by an attorney as Jeanne claimed she contacted.  As I have not been contacted by anyone I will assume this is an outright lie.

I bought 2 kittens from Jeanne. One last year, and one from the litter that you bought yours from. BOTH were healthy.

I don't understand how you can say that. She has the cleanest cattery I've ever seen.

It sounds like your bitter about something. I don't know why you would say those things.

My kitten is so active and healthy! I saw the other kittens in that litter and none of them seemed sick to me!

If I ever get another one, I'd get one from Jeanne. I trust her. If anyone else is planning to get one, I would definitely recommend her.

Why on earth would you say those things. That hurts her and it is so untrue.

I will tell everyone I know how untrue your words are. Her kittens are the best!

As the owner of Catskill Valley Bengal Cats, I regret that Ms. Stangle had to misconstrue the course of events that transpired during this transaction.  Ms. Stangle had contacted me to purchase a particular kitten she had requested pictures of. She came to see that particular kitten and did not have any contact with the other kitten that was available (also, not a male as stated by Ms. Stangle.) That kitten was placed in a new home 2 days after Ms. Stangle purchased her kitten and I have spoken to the new owners and they are very happy with their kitten, which had her vet check and showed no medical issues. My kittens are excellent health, and if they were showing such obvious symptoms of illness (as Ms. Stangle stated in her complaint)  why would she purchase a kitten from me? Ms. Stangle also asked if the kitten needed to go to the veterinarian soon and I stated yes as she was due for dewormings, etc. that week and it is also in my contract to have your own veterinarian examine the kitten within 72 hours.

 Ms. Stangle then contacted me saying she needed a refund because the kitty had runny eyes. I explained to her that is a common manifestation of stress. Then, in her own words " Let me be honest with you...My husband is furious..I thought we were on the same page.... I need a refund..The kitten is wonderful." When I explained the content of my contract, she said the kitten was sick. I said I would pay any medical expenses related to an illness (and I strongly believe there was no illness) however, Ms.Stangle only wanted her money refunded. Her veterinarian did contact me and stated that Ms. Stangle refused testing as she only wanted her money refundedfrom me, obviously due to the discord it created in her family. Since their was no testing (which I offered to pay for) the veterinarians diagnosis was "presumptive." She had also indicated that the kitten was with her other cats. I offered Ms. Stangle payment of any medical expenses related to an illness or a replacement from the beginning, but she made it very clear that she only wanted a refund because her husband was "furious."

Ms. Stangle then stated she was seeking legal counsel and proceeded to slander me on my own sites and various pages, which I in turn forwarded to my attorney and explained to Ms. Stangle all future correspondence would be between our Counsel. She immediately deleted her slanderous comments until now. If there had been a $300 veterinarian bill due to an illness, I would gladly have paid it- however, I am sure this was not the case as this is the first time I have heard about a $300 bill- again, her veterinarian said she refused testing and the invoice that was shown to me was only $77.00 for an initial vet check and fecal exam.

I have many satisfied customers- kittens that are companians for special needs children, a kitten that became a service cat for the developmentally disabled- I have NEVER had a complaint. I get frequent updates from many of my customers- how my kittens are now cats that are treasured family members. It is unfortunate that Ms. Stangle did not consult her husband on the purchase of a kitten and, in turn, feels I wronged her in some way.