Tara Norgate of

Complaint About Tara Norgate

After I returned the cat to Tara and gave her sufficient time and she didn't
return my money I decide it was time to see if the cat had been resold. I
put a note out on the CFA & Persian lists to see if anyone had purchased a
brown tabby & white low breeder quality persian from a breeder in Washington
State some time after Thanksgiving and into the first few months of the
following year. I had a response and found out that the cat was resold to
another breeder with the littermate's blue slip that had been listed as
"calico" and that color was crossed out and "brown tabby & white" was
written in. I knew it was time to get busy as I had proof she was
falsifying registration papers. I also took a better look at my health
certificate and realized it was hand typed and not an official Washington
State health certificate. The writing on the envelope in which she mailed
me the contract and the writing on the contract all matched the writing on
the health certificate. My friend in Canada started calling around to
locate the vet from the information listed on the certificate and it was
falsified too. Another breefer in CA contacted the Washington State
Veterinary Office and verified that the vet information was false according
to licensed vets in Washington State.

I emailed Pam DelaBar and asked her would I should get in touch with about
filing a Protest and she referred me to Diane Vetterl in Central Office. I
got in touch with Diane and she told me to forward my information to her for
review and she would let me know if I had sufficient information to file a
protest. After reviewing the material she felt I had a valid case and send
me the Protest form and instructions. I then continued to gather additional
information including posting things to the list which was not well received
at all by the list administrator, let's just say I had my fingers severly
slapped for it and a lot of people jumped all over me for posting a specific
breeder's name and the fact I felt they were unethical. OH WELL......

I did get additional information from various people who had bad dealings
with Tara Norgate and I included those items in my protest along with copies
of the falsified health certificate, contract & envelope verifying Tara's
handwriting, copy of the contract showing she had purchased two littermates
from Little Hearts and had 2 blue slips, also a note from the Little Hearts
breeder and the contract she used to sell the two kittens to Tara which
verified one was a calico.

The I contacted Mark Hannon (this is off the record please) to ask how to
find out what parts of the CFA Constitution were breached so I could list
those specific sections on the Protest form. I filed 4 sections as being
violated and in the end she was convicted on all 4 charges and will be
permanently suspended from CFA. The Hearing was held in Houston on Feb. 2nd
and I contacted Fred Jacobberger on February 4th and he informed me that the
Protest was upheld and Tara was charged with all 4 counts and permanently
suspended from CFA. I was also in touch with Fred when I received notice of
the hearing and he told me it wasn't necessary for me to attend the
hearing, that he doubted that Tara would show up since she had not responded
to any notices she had been sent by the Protest Committee. I did ask what
would happen if she showed up and I wasn't there. He said she would be
allowed to present her case and he would ask for a continuance on my behalf
so I could appear before the board at the next Hearing. I'm glad it didn't
come to that but I would have spent the additional money to fly to the
hearing, hotel & food expenses, etc., whatever it took to get rid of Tara
Norgate.

Hope this makes sense and it's beneficial to your article. If you have
questions or need more info please let me know, N

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Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc.
1805 Atlantic Avenue
P. O. Box 1005
Manasquan, NJ 08736-0805

Attention: Diane L. Vetterl
Sr. Administrator

Dear Diane,

I am entering a protest against Tara Norgate, Kevara Cattery in Washington State. The details of this protest follow. I am also enclosing a completed Protest Form and my fee of $100. If you need additional information please let me know.

1. In December of 1998 I purchased a Little Hearts brown tabby & white female from Tara Norgate and the cat was shipped to me on January 20, 1999. When the cat arrived she weighed less than 5 pounds, was filthy and very sick. I called Tara and told her I was very unhappy with her condition and wanted to send her back. Tara talked me into keeping the cat and breeding her for a litter. I registered the cat as Littlehearts Bugsi Did It of Nanc-C, Reg. # 1143-1238636.

2. In November 1999 it was decided through mutual agreement between Tara and myself that the cat would be returned to Tara and the purchase price and shipping would be refunded. I kept the papers to assure I would receive the promised payment. To date I have not seen one penny of that refund and I still have the cat's papers.

3. A breeder I know named Kim Beaton (Josee' Cattery) in Canada received a sick cat from Tara in June 2000 and the nightmare began again. Kim has photos of the cat when she arrived and vet documentation. So another cat had been sent out filthy and sick.

4. Information was put out on a Cats4Sale List about Tara Norgate and I realized that I was only one of many that had received sick cats from this breeder and have been screwed out of their money or the cat they purchased but never received. Some have sent cats back with the assumption (and promise) they would be getting their money back. So I began to check further into the aspects of my deal with Tara through the help of some other breeders.

5. I have a copy of an official State of Washington Health Certificate I am forwarding to you. (Exb #1) I am also forwarding a copy of the hand typed Transport Certificate, on a half sheet of onion skin paper, I received when I got the brown tabby and white cat from Tara Norgate. (Exb #2A) It appears this Health Certificate is a forgery. I am also forwarding a copy of the envelope in which Tara returned the contract and papers to me for the cat. You will note the handwriting of the vet's number on the bottom line matches the handwriting on the envelope. (Exb #2B) I have also enclosed a copy of the contract Tara sent me on this cat showing her signature and the "N" matches the writing style of the signature for Dr. Moon. (Exb #2C) Another breeder checked with the Veterinary Board of Governors in Washington and the Vet License Number shown on the certificate is not a valid number. (Exb #3) The Veterinary Medical Association provided the necessary information on Dr. Gerald Moon. He practices at Value Vet Animal Clinic at 10120 Evergreen Way, Suite 8, Everett, WA 98204, phone 425-438-1776. This office was contacted and there is no record of Tara Norgate being a client at this clinic or any of the surrounding clinics in the State of Washington. Dr. Moon's office did not issue a health certificate or rabies certificate for the cat in question.

6. I put a message out on the Persians List asking if anyone had bought a brown tabby and white female persian cat from a breeder in Washington State between December 1999 and May 2000. (Exb #4) I received a response from Cindi Srna stating she thought she had the cat in question. (Exb #5) She purchased a brown tabby and white female from Tara Norgate that was shipped to her in late March 2000. The cat weighed under 5 pounds and was infected and sick, the same condition she was in when I received her. Tara told Cindi the cat was sent back from a breeder in PA in this condition. She also sent Cindi a blue slip to register the cat which had the color "calico" crossed out and changed to brown tabby and white. Cindi contacted Denise at Little Hearts Cattery before she registered the cat because of the color being changed. The cat was then registered as Littlehearts Patchwork, Reg. # 1143-1296240. Owner: Cindi Srna, 401 W. Main St., Beloit, KS 67420, phone number 785-738-6240. Cindi had a photo of the cat on her website and it was the cat I sent back to Tara the day after Thanksgiving 1999. It appears Tara Norgate sold the same cat twice to two different breeders using the littermate's blue slip for the second sale. Therefore, the cat is registered twice and had a litter of kittens under each registration.

7. I contacted Denise Mueller of Little Hearts Cattery and she told me she sold two littermates to Tara Norgate in July 1998. One was a brown tabby and white and the other was a calico. I am forwarding a copy of the original contract between Little Heart Cattery and Tara Norgate verifying the purchase of these two kittens. (Exb #6) She marked the colors on the blue slips when she turned over the kittens but had not filled in the owner information. That is the way I received the blue slip when I bought the brown tabby and white female from Tara in early 1999.

Tara insists the cat I sent back had been placed in a pet home where the phone had been disconnected and her vet won't give her a statement and that Cindi has the littermate. Tara does not know that both Cindi and I know the littermate was a calico. Tara Norgate requested that Cindi Srna lie to me and tell me that she received her cat (the littermate as Tara is putting it) before I returned Bugzi, the brown tabby and white girl. I sent the cat back in November 1999 and Cindi did not receive the cat she bought from Tara until March 31, 2000. A copy of Cindi's airbill is attached. (Exb #7)

I have also enclosed complaints from others who have had problems in their dealings with Tara Norgate.

My main objective here is to stop this unethical breeder from sending out extremely sick cats, falsifying CFA papers on cats, and forging health certificates and rabies information.

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I filed 4 charges against her
1. fradulent health certificate
2. falsification of registration (reselling the same cat twice on the littermate's blue slip)
3. animal cruelty & abuse (referring to the health condition in which I received the cat)
4. her not refunding my money once the cat was returned.

She was charged "guilty" on all 4 counts and I don't know what really did it but I do know CFA puts more emphasis on the falsified health certification and registration fraud because they are concrete, verifyable things, where the animal's health (which should be a primary concern) is hard to prove and they don't get involved in breeder disputes thus non-return of my money meant nothing to them.

CFA Suspension
Kevara Cattery Listing