Diana Fineran Selling Registration papers for unregistered cats Options

[Christopher]

I'm concerned about the Traditional Cat Association run by Diana Fineran. She is apparently selling registration papers to breeders of currently unregistered cats. All a 'breeder' has to do is to turn in photos of their cat and the cat becomes registered, and Diana Fineran will sell anyone papers. I am concerned because I recently contacted a breeder whose cats are registered with the Traditional Cat Association. This breeder told me her cats were pure Siamese and the papers she had from this organization proved it. Thats when I looked up Diana Fineran and her association and found that she offers to sell papers to anyone for a price. The cats that this breeder claimed were pure Siamese were striped and had golden blue eyes. She also had tabby cats on the premises who were obviously pregnant. She claimed that her cats weren't of mixed blood, but there was every appearance she was just buying papers for mixed breed cats in order to sell them for more money. I was shocked and disappointed, but going to Diana Fineran's website, she has this offer listed clearly there. Is this common or accepted generally among breeders?

[Christopher]

To follow up. The Traditional Cat Association, is based in the U.S. and many people have been duped into thinking they were buying purebred cats when many of the cats 'registered' with this organization have, at best, very questionable heritage.

[Catlovr]

Here is some more information for you. Please help me keep Diana Fineran and the TCA from hurting other cat lovers.

I am a cat lover and cat owner and not a breeder but I feel I have been and continue to be wronged by Diana Fineran and her organization, The Traditional Cat Association (TCA). Sometime ago, I purchased 2 cats from a local breeder. It was very unfortunate that no one realized that one of the cats had a congenital defect. I was very upset by this and at first blamed the breeder. I wanted the breeder to return the purchase price and help me with vet bills. When I did not hear from her, I assumed that she would not help me and I contacted Diana Fineran and her association, the Traditional Cat Association, to see what might be a procedure that I could do. Diana Fineran seemed eager to get my complaint, told me she had many complaints about this breeder and encouraged me to write a letter to her. I did write a letter, but asked her not to post it as I felt I was still working the problem out with the breeder and it wasn't clear what the outcome might be. The breeder did agree to reimburse me for the purchase price of the cat and help me with the vet bills. I repeatedly told Diana Fineran not to post my letter as it contained personal financial details about me that I did not want available on the Internet. Subsequently, I learned that the defect my cat had could not have been predicted or diagnosed earlier and the breeder was very supportive and helpful both emotionally and financially. Since the breeder was not obligated contractually to help me financially, I realized that she was actually extremely reputable and I changed my opinion of her completely. I also learned that the other 'complaints' that Diana Fineran had about this breeder were from people who also had settled their differences with the breeder or that these complaints were questionable to begin with. In spite of my protests, Diana Fineran posted this letter in her newsletter for the Traditional Cat Association. I wrote Diana Fineran immediately and have written her numerous times since, asking to have the letter removed from her web site. Diana Fineran does not even bother to respond to me. It is now clear that Diana Fineran is far more interested in posting complaints about legitimate breeders in order to further her own profitable business of selling registration papers to questionable breeders for cats that may not be of pure lineage. How can I get Diana Fineran to take down my letter and stop doing damage to me and to this and other legitimate breeders?

[Christopher]

What a terrible situation. Looking on Diana Fineran's web site I see that she does have some procedures or rules for her complaints such as not posting 'resolved complaints.' Did Diana Fineran not follow these procedures?
I do think that part of the reason Fineran is able to continue and people do not shut her down is that she attacks anyone who speaks out.

Here is an email passed to me yesterday from another concerned person, Apparently the writer of this email is someone also listed on The Traditional Cat Association site as a bad breeder. So I presume that this Ms. Fineran makes a habit of attacking anyone who disagrees with her, in my opinion, unethical practices.

Hello,

I do not support TCA in the slightest. They do indeed "register" cats as purebred based upon simply a photo and (their most important factor) a check. They make claims to desire keeping the traditional cat alive and well, but the bottom line is that they are into it for pure profit. They "register" barn cats and pound kitties as "purebred", and the unscrupulous "breeders" who sell kittens from TCA registry charge as much as, or in some cases, even MORE than breeders such as myself, who register exclusively with CFA. CFA requires a MINIMUM of eight generations of PROVEN pedigree in order to register a Siamese cat.

Can you get lovely kittens registered with TCA? Certainly. But you can adopt lovely kittens at the animal shelter or from your local paper at a fraction of the cost and get the same caliber animal. If what you are looking for is a TRUE, pedigreed purebred Siamese, stick with CFA (Cat Fancier's Association) or TICA (The International Cat Association). Another reputable registry is CFF (Cat Fancier's Federation) for Traditional Siamese.

As you can imagine, I am highly unpopular with Traditional Cat Association because I am not afraid to stand up to them and their unfair and untrue registry process. I am unaffected by their opinion of me, because I am a reputable breeder with true pedigreed breeding stock. I care very deeply about TRULY preserving the Siamese cat of yesteryear, and I will not shrink from telling people the truth about false "registrations".

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions.

Sincerely,
C------ ---------