Woman who paid shelter a fortune to adopt a rare breed of cat claims they ‘scammed’ her with a standard tabby
- Chloe Mitchell claims the shelter told her cat was a rare breed and cost more
- Read More: Woman divorces husband for giving cat to shelter without consent
An influencer claims a no-kill rescue center made her pay $900 for a cat they said was a fifth-generation ‘super rare’ African Savannah cat.
However, Chloe Mitchell, 23, from Michigan, began to suspect her new pet might not be everything the shelter had described after sharing a video on TikTok.
Although adorable, her followers couldn’t believe the cat named Puka was this supposed rare breed, suspecting she was actually a standard tabby and urging her to get a DNA test.
Chloe, who documented her story on TikTok with more than 30 million views, recently told fans that she’s ordered a DNA kit to test Puka’s DNA and if it reveals the cat is not an African Savannah she may press charges against the shelter.
African Savannah cats are typically hard to breed, which can push the cost of them up to anything from between $1,000 and $20,000.
Chloe Mitchell, who has a huge following on TikTok and social media, whipped her fans into a frenzy by telling them she would get her new cat DNA tested
Fur-baby Puka is now in her forever home with Chloe, who says she bonded with the feline and could never take her back to the shelter
In an update to her followers, she revealed: ‘As of now, I don’t know if I want to take legal action against the shelter.
‘It costs money, and I don’t know exactly how to go about doing that.’
Chloe went on: ‘I can’t help but feel kind of obligated to take action. But the shelter director kind of scares me and I’m just trying to live my life.
‘But not only has she scammed me, but she scammed a lot of other people out of a lot of money.’
Followers flocked to comment under the videos and share their ‘expert’ opinions on the matter.
One person wrote underneath: ‘That is simply a tabby cat.’
‘Most expensive basic tabby I ever saw! Glad she has a great home though,’ added someone else.
While a third joked: ‘We should call her Savannah because that’s the only way she’s getting that name,’ to which Chloe replied, ‘HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA.’
‘Google a 5th generation African Savannah cat cuz that’s ain’t even close,’ penned another follower.
The news quickly spread and it wasn’t long before the name of the shelter became public and people began inundating them with comments and questions.
Taking to their own Facebook page, they explained that there are multiple reasons a cat’s adoption fee can be higher than normal.
They also revealed that Puka’s litter had all been very sick and reportedly cost $450 each to treat.
They wrote: ‘All of our animals leave here fixed and with all of their shots and preventatives, as well as being microchipped.
‘This all costs money. No one is making a profit here, everything goes back into the shelter for medical supplies, food, etc.’
However, Chloe says she wasn’t told about the medical costs and that the reason Puka was so expensive was because she was a rare breed, and this was also why she had been at the shelter for so long because no one wanted to pay that much.
Chloe has been urged on by her followers to get Puka DNA tested and if it proves she’s not an African Savannah cat then to take legal action against the shelter
Chloe says she fell in love with Puka and didn’t care what breed she is. However, later she said she wasn’t happy with paying the $900 adoption fee
The center then accused Chloe of being untruthful about the situation, with its director writing: ‘I’m so mad about this because she’s not only lying about this story but she’s making a profit off this.’
In one of her own videos, Chloe says the shelter has offered to refund her, if she returns the cat, something she has no intention of doing.
Due to Chloe’s claims that she’s been scammed, the rescue center say her followers have turned vigilante and left scathing reviews and harassed staff over the phone – including death threats.
One voice message that was heard by news site FOX 17, said: ‘I’ll blow this number up, and I’ll blow your location out as well. Hope you have a wonderful day.’
As such, the shelter say they’ve had to report the situation to the police who now keeping watch over the property.
Chloe says it was never her intention for the shelter receiving these kind of comments, threats and messages.
She told FOX 17: ‘I never asked for the Internet to go call them or leave Google reviews in my defense whatsoever. … I’m not asking to be defended; I’m just asking to be heard.’
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