AJs Best Friends Purebred Cat and Small Dog Rescue

Animal Breeding/Hoarding/Collecting is not something new to us in rescue. Whatever name you call them, these people find their victims from ads on the internet or in newspapers. Unaltered pets are the most appealing to the Breeders group because they can breed the unaltered pair and sell the kittens. Many of the offspring that come from these unions have deformities or other health issues associated with inbreeding. The bottom line to these people is money. As long as the female cats produce kittens they are kept alive and confined to small cages until they can't breed any longer. Then they are dumped, or euthanized, as soon as a younger replacement can be found.

Persians and Siamese seem to be the most sought after by these breeders since they are the most recognized. Owners give up their Persians to people who look normal, act normal, and say all the things the owner wants to hear. The owner thinks their precious little loved one is being placed into a loving home, when in reality, the place the cats are housed in is a livng hell.

Please educate yourself about what backyard Breeders do, and what Hoarding and Collecting is. If you know of someone who may fit the description of any of these 3 groups, please contact your local Animal Control agency, or Humane Society immediately. Do not let these beautiful animals suffer in these environments any longer.

Please spay or neuter your pets immediately. Altered pets are easier to place, and are unappealing to Breeders. We have a Spay/Neuter section that lists low cost clinics in the Phoenix, AZ area. You may contact us for advice on what to look for when adopting your pet yourself. If you wish to surrender your pet to us, we may be able to help you with that too. Prior to adoption, all of the pets in our care are spayed/neutered (per Arizona State Law), vetted, and vaccinated.

We thought you may be interested in reading about some of the larger cases that we have been involved with. We were called in to help with these situations by other rescuers, neighbors, Police, Sheriff's Office, Animal Control, Humane Society, or the owners themselves.

Please help us to continue our work for these beautiful animals by donating whatever you can for their maintenance and care. It costs us an average of $300.00 per animal during their stay with us. These costs can be higher if the animal needs medical attention outside of the normal spay/neuter. Some of the costs include: spay/neuter, testing, vaccinations, revolution, ringworm treatment, microchipping, grooming, food, litter. Thank you for helping us so we can continue to help them.

Or mail your tax deductable check to:
AJ's Best Friends Rescue
PMB 401
835 W Warner Rd, Suite 101
Gilbert, AZ 85233

2008 - Peoria, AZ - We took in dozens of Persians from a dog groomer who thought that becoming a breeder was going to be easy. She had all of the cats in an 8x10 bedroom, four cages on floor and 4 cages on top. There was barely enough room to walk between the cages. Each cage contained 4-6 adult cats. The litterboxes ere overflowing, the litter was in the water and food bowls, the cages hadn't been cleaned out in quite some time. They cats were depressed and fighting with each other. The male cats were kept in smaller carrier on the floor, with the kittens being kept in smaller cages in the closet and around the floor. The stench from unspayed and unneutered cats made your eyes water. She relinquished the cats and kittens because they were unsocialized and therefore unsellable.

2008 - Apache Junction, AZ 175 Animals were confiscated - http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0206animals0206-ON.html

2007-2008 - Phoenix, AZ 90 Persians Live In Filth - Elderly lady had so many Persian cats in her home, that even she didn't know how many she had. Her Homeowners Association told her to get rid of the cats or she would be forced to move. In the course of a year she relinquished over 90 cats, and we believe that she still has more. The cats have major breathing issues, eye issues, are flea infested, are full of worms, some have earmites so bad some of the cats are deaf. They were kept in cages 24/7. The litter boxes were overflowing and litter was seen in their food and water bowls. Most of them have never been handled and are considered semi-feral.

January 2008 - Sacramento, CA - Elderly Breeder Becomes Too Ill to care for her persians. All 50 of these beauties have lived in small cramped cages in solitary confinement their entire lives. All have feces stuck to their behinds, many can't walk upright, some walk in circles when left out of the cage, many have rotted teeth and are in terrible pain. They are full of worms, have earmites, and will have ongoing health issues.

September 29, 2007 - Breeding/Hoarding 16 Persians in Home, Chino Valley, AZ - Here is another story about this woman. The case went before the judge and he refused to turn the animals back in to her possession. The rescuers who have been caring for the animals will now be able to get them vetted and ready for adoption. We took in 10 Persians, the other 6 Persians were cared for by fosters in the Prescott area. Jeanne Semet, the hoarder, received 87 days in jail and 1 year probation.

August 30, 2007 - Hoarding 52 Cats, 6 Found Dead, Tacna, AZ - The Breeder in this case had been shut down several times before, but nothing was done to her other than they confiscated her animals. Since there was no jail time or fines imposed, she was allowed to start her operation up again and again. We took in the majority of the cats from this Breeder. The rest of the cats went to a California rescue. This woman was breeding Scottish Folds, a rare and hard to find breed, and very expensive if obtained from a reputable breeder.

March 11, 2007 - Hoarder had over 100 Cats in her home, Sierra Vista, AZ - It took two rescuers over a year to gain the confidence of this mentally ill woman and little by little she allowed them to take the cats out of her home. The woman was eventually hospitalized and the cats were finally removed and rehomed. We took in a Ragdoll from this place. When the cat first arrived she was so depressed, her fur was matted, filthy, full of dandruff, and in horrible shape. She trusted no one, and there was no life behind those sad blue eyes. The gentleman who eventually adopted this Ragdoll had been looking for a female Ragdoll for over a year. He had his name with breeders and rescues all over the country. And where did he live? - in Sierra Vista of course!!! The cat we called Ragtime, literally went from Rags to Riches in a matter of days. She and her new "dad" are constant companions.

August 15, 2006 - Iowa Animal Abuser Moves to Queen Creek, AZ - We had received many calls from people who adopted a Persian from this woman. We eventually were able to meet her and were successful in removing 3 Persians she had, but she would not let us have the rest. Sheriffs from Maricopa County and Pinal County were called in to investigate her and her property for neglect and abuse. They are keeping an eye on her.

June 9, 2006 - Boxes of Persians Left Outside of Animal Control, Mesa, AZ - These cats had ringworm, earmites, upper respiratory, and a host of other ailments. They were no doubt intended to be "breeder" cats as all of them were not altered. The owner must have realized how expensive it was going to be to treat this many cats so her solution was to dump the animals at Animal Control before they opened. There were 7 females and 1 male.

March 30, 2006 - Breeder Dies & Leaves Behind Dozens of Persians, Bizbee, AZ - Elderly woman dies and leaves behind her "breed" stock. She was supplementing her Social Security income by breeding and selling Persians. It took several transporters to get the animals to us.

March 13, 2006 - Boxes of Persians Left Outside of Humane Society, Phx, AZ - These cats were so sick with upper respiratory, it took several different kinds of antibiotics to finally get the cats healthy.

November 12, 2005 - Breeder left Husband and Dozens of Persians, Tucson, AZ - We were called by the husband so we didn't have any trouble getting these cats removed from the home. The cats had been living in a caged area off the kitchen, they had one water bowl, and a footlong food bowl. We are guessing that they were fed and watered only once a day. When they were fed they gorged themselves on food then promptly vomited it up because they were so hungry. Most of them were sick with upper respiratory, skin rashes, itching, sores, runny eyes, diahreah. One of the cats we adopted will still gorge on food, so he has to have his food rationed out in several small amounts throughout the day.

July 15, 2005 - Owner was jailed for possession of Cocaine, Apache Junction, AZ

Owner was breeding Persians to subsidize his drug habit. These cats were located in a separate building at the rear of the family home. They were housed in a 7' long by 5' wide by 7' high building. No windows, no shelves, no toys, no air conditioning, only a 6" wire opening around the entire perimeter of the roofline of the building to allow air in. The interior of the building was divided down the middle by wire fencing, and on each side were 2 mating pairs of Persians. On the floor was a litterbox, food bowl and water bowl. The litter from the litterboxes, looked like they have never been emptied, overflowed into the food and water bowls, the food was in the litter box, the water bowls were empty. The building was sitting directly in the sun, no shade anywhere. The temperature outside was 117 degrees, and of course it was hotter than that inside the building. The cats were panting and were in severe heat distress. We removed four cats, one male cat was completely blind, with missing patches of hair all over his body. More than likely he pulled out his fur to be cooler. All four cats had missing and rotted teeth. Lack of vet and dental care caused infections in their body, which caused a whole host of other ailments. Only one cat could be saved, the other three had to be euthanized.

November 9, 2004 - Hoarding 80 Mostly Purebred Cats, 3 Dogs, Mesa, AZ
These cats were kept in a 1 bedroom 500 sq ft apartment. The cats had pee'd on every surface. I never saw the inside of this apt, I couldn't get near the door without getting sick. My friend said the counters and the floors were inches thick with pee and feces. At some point the excessivly pee'd on sheetrock in the bathroom gave way making a huge enough hole that was a convenient hiding spot behind the bathtub. Many of these cats had major health issues, including lung problems. Kendall found these purebred cats from internet sites where people posted ads similar to "FREE TO GOOD HOME".

October 4, 2004 - College Student Breeding Persians, Mesa, AZ

College student was evicted from two apartments when complaints by tennants brought his activities to the attention of the Apartment Supervisor. The college student was breeding and selling Persians to help pay for his education. We removed the 13 teenaged kittens whose white fur was stained from urine and feces. Several bathes later it was somewhat better, but the stains had not dissapeared. We took the females to one vet for their spays, and we took the males to another vet neutering. Within two days every kitten but one, had died. The Vet suspected the cats were so inbred that they had heart and other internal problems.

May 8, 2004 - Dozens of Cats and Dogs Removed from a Pet Store, Mesa, AZ - Several Citizen complaints brought the Sheriffs Officers to investigate allegations of animal abuse. Dead kittens, rabbits, birds, turtles were found in the store and the owner was ordered to remove all the cats and dogs with 2 days. We took out 24 cats, including an Exotic SH, an Egyption Mau, some Siamese, Burmese, and Russian Blue kittens/cats. The building did not have air conditioning and even in May it was stifling hot.

January 24, 2004 - Persian Found in a Sealed Tupperware Box in the rain in front of Animal Control, no air holes were in the box, the cat had a temp of 84 (normal is 102+/-), he had difficulty breathing, nasal discharge, and was dehydrated.

August 14, 2003 - Hoarding 88 Persians & Poodles, Gilbert, AZ - We took in several persians from this group. They were so matted we had to shave them. The feces was so thick in their behinds we could hardly cut through it. Many of these cats were very undersocialized to the point of being feral, because they had been caged and bred continuously for years. We talked to other breeders who knew this man, and we talked to several people who told us they adopted from this man. Even though the cat they were looking at was really sick and in bad shape, they felt so sorry for the cat they bought it because they didn't want to leave it there.

Jan 30, 2003 - Hoarding/breeding 74 Persian Cats, Phoenix, AZ - We took in several Persians from this case. Our cost to house, feed, spay/neuter, test, vaccinate, medicate, disinfect, and transport = $3487.59. Adoption fees only covered $1000.00.

July 20, 2002 - Hoarder/Collector 35 Siamese in a Mobil Home, Apache Junction, AZ - By the time we were done, we had taken out 35 Siamese cats & kittens. The owner's name was Buck, so each of the kittens had the name Buck in it's name.... Bucking Bronco, Bucko, Buckwheat, Buckeye, Buckshot, Buckles, etc. A happy ending to a 3 month long rescue effort.

July 13, 2002 - Elderly Woman Hoarding/Breeding Dozens of Cats, Emu, Ducks, Geese, Peacocks, Gilbert, AZ - It took weeks and an army of rescuers to convince the daughter to release the animals. Finding homes for the feathered friends was easy compared to finding a place for the feral cats. Cages upon cages of cats were lined up in two rows the backyard. The temperature was over 110 in the shade, it was very humid, no air movement at all, and puddles from the evening monsoons held mosquitoes. Each cat cage contained a unaltered male & female, some cages had very young kittens. Cats and kittens had no fur on their bellies. We discovered that the momcats would pluck out the fur from the newborn kittens tummies to make them cooler. After peeing on old squares of filthy carpet they layed on top of it to cool off. The heat, humidity, lack of exercise, stimulation, food and water made the cats look like death warmed over. There was virtually no life behind the eyes. Most of the cats had severe health issues and were feral or very undersocialized. It took months, but finally they were all spayed/neutered and adopted. Here is a picture of two of the girls in their new home in Fountain Hills, AZ. And another rags to riches story.

July 3, 2001 - Breeder turns over 29 Siamese, Laveen, AZ - The owner of these Siamese became very ill. She would not allow us to get on her property, but we could imagine what these cats lived in by the looks of their coat and their health. After several baths you could still see the yellow on their fur.

April 1999 - Hoarding/Breeding 65 cats, Tempe, AZ - A man was taken into custody after a domestic abuse call was made to Police. Inside the home they found a Meth lab in the kitchen. The 2yr old baby of the couple was taken to Child Protective Services, and we were called in to take the cats. Many of the cats were Siamese. We pulled litter after litter of kittens from inside the sofa cushions that were stored in the garage. Not counted in the 65 were dozens of dead cats around the house and in the backyard.

January 15, 1999 - Over 150 Cats Removed from Hoarder/Collector, Mesa, AZ - The neighborhood cat lady passed away and left behind over 150 cats in her home. Dead cats were even found in the freezer. Several animal rescue groups were called in to help. These cats exhibited signs of stress and depression, and many of them had lifelong illnesses caused by the strong ammonia fumes from urine and feces in the home.

November 12, 1998 - Hoarding 203 Cats seized from feces-laden home Phx, AZ - This case was a huge one, not only in terms of where do you find room to house 203 cats, but for the rescuers who had to witness this carnage in the home. It was the biggest case of Hoarding that we had heard of. Most people had never heard of Hoarders, they didn't know how to prosecute it, there were no laws against it, so it made a lot of headlines. Since this case a lot of study has gone into this behavior, and we now have a lot of laws on the books. 23 Law Colleges/Universities are now offering Animal Law in their curriculums. We expect to see HUGE changes in the next few years regarding the laws on Animal Cruelty, Abuse, Hoarding, Collecting, Fighting, etc.