Buying a Savannah safely

Real money and a living animal are involved, so slow down and check these before you pay anything.

Start with the verified badge, then go further

Only work with breeders who show the verified badge and have active listings in Kittens or Breeders. That confirms a TICA check passed and the breeder currently holds an advertising plan in good standing. From there, do your own layer of diligence: ask for a video call, ask to see the parents, and ask other members in the forum if they have heard of the cattery.

Scam red flags

• Urgency pressure: "moving out this week," "kitten needs to go today," or any story designed to rush a deposit before you can think it through.
• Kittens "always available." Savannah litters are small and infrequent because early-generation males are typically sterile, a real cattery usually has a waitlist, not a shelf of ready kittens.
• Stock photos or photos that show up elsewhere online. Reverse-image-search anything that looks too polished.
• Requests to pay outside the normal channel, especially by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. These payment methods cannot be reversed, which is exactly why scammers ask for them.
• Someone posting "on behalf of a friend" to get around verification. Legitimate sales go through a verified breeder's own listing.

Never wire money, ever

Wire transfers, gift cards, and crypto payments are the single biggest tell in a kitten scam, because none of them can be clawed back once sent. A real breeder selling a real kitten will work with you on a payment method that has some buyer protection. If anyone pushes hard for an unreversible payment method, walk away.

Deposits: what is normal

A reasonable deposit secures your place on a waitlist or holds a specific kitten, usually a few hundred dollars against the total price, in writing, with a clear refund policy if something falls through on the breeder's end. If a deposit request feels vague, rushed, or unusually large relative to the total price, ask questions before you send anything.

SavCatChat is not a party to the sale

The site is where breeders advertise and where the community talks. We do not process kitten payments, hold deposits, or arrange shipping, that is always directly between you and the breeder. Our job is verification, visibility, and a place to compare notes with other buyers, not to guarantee any individual transaction. If something looks like a scam, report it, that queue gets checked first.