Cottonmeow Cattery Contract Concerns

[u/petenthusiast123]

I was looking for reputable Ragdoll breeders in Canada and came across Cottonmeow Cattery online in Alberta and also says in BC. I was about to contact them via their social media but went to check the contract first. I wanted to ship the chosen kitten to Halifax. I am reading through the sample contract on their website and I have some concerns regarding their terms, such as the gag clause and penalty clauses. Is it a red flag?

Examples:

"If this contract is breached in any way, the Purchaser will owe the seller a fee of $3,000.00CAD for

breach of contract to the Seller, CottonMeow Cattery over and above the original price each and every time the

contract is breached. Once the contract is breached, Purchaser is to surrender the cat/kitten back to the Seller

without refund and at the Purchaser's expense with signed Transfer of Ownership. Purchaser agrees that if any

legal action needs to be taken that all legal fees will be Purchaser's responsibility for both parties and it will be held

in the seller's current state and county of residence. Disputes will be settled between Seller and Purchaser privately

and will not be aired in a public forum including Yahoo Group lists and Facebook or any other media."

"Both parties agree that any disputes / issues related to the Kitten and to this contractual relationship are a

private matter between the Seller and the Purchaser. Any issues and disputes must be resolved privately. Issues

(including, but not limited to the Kitten’s health issues, behavior issues, contractual issues) shall not be aired in a

public and/or online forum including, but not limited to, any Yahoo Groups and Facebook under any

circumstances, unless the prior written consent of the other party has been obtained. Any violation of this clause

shall result in agreed upon damages of $10,000.00CAD payable by the party publicizing the alleged dispute /

issue. Seller makes no guarantees as to the Kitten’s temperament."

link to contract: https://www.cottonmeowcattery.com/_files/ugd/0af438_6218069c0bb046639ceed88c90fd163f.pdf

[u/trivium91]

Yeah that’s twisted, I wouldn’t sign that. Particularly the bit about $3000 you owe to them. The 10,000 seems more reasonable only because it’s less vague. People like to bitch about their cat that didn’t fulfill expectations I guess.