New cat became seriously ill and died within week of getting her...

UKTigerlily

I really don't think the breeder owes you a refund, sorry to say. It's not her fault in anyway, illness happens, terrible as it is I know. Unless it can be proven that the Cat was ill before she left the breeder & the breeder should've known, I can't see how she owes anything?

Just as an example, there's an illness Dogs can get called Bloat/Gastric Torsion which can & does kill them. It comes on very fast & i'm sure there's many illnesses Cats can get that come on just as fast unfortunately.

I'd definitely mention it to the breeder, most want to know anyway how their Cats are doing & also she should want to know what happened in case it was something that might affect the rest she has. Is there any reason you wouldn't take a male if offered? There's no difference in how they are. (But they'd probably get on better wheras Mum & Daughter may have fought when older)

It's upsetting but when we buy a pet we accept it may live to be 20, or may die within a short time & that they do get ill & injured thru no fault of anybody. I have 1 cat & her brother who I also took on died through illness that came on quite suddenly but sadly it's part of ownership, we never know how long they'll be with us.

I do understand you feel ripped off, but honestly, a Vet said the breeder would have had no idea she was ill & they have their reputation on the line too, most show their Cats & wouldn't want to be selling sick pets. Also, if she had had a poisonous plant, she'd have been ill quicker I think (Not sure)

I think you do need to let the breeder know, e-mail if talking upsets you to much right now but let her know that's why you're e-mailing & that you will call in a few days, but don't ask or hint at a refund or partial money back, the breeder has probably had the Mum for quite some time & will be devastated even more than you are!

She may offer something, but IMO she's under absolutely no obligation to do so. I really am sorry for your loss, hope your kitten is ok & the above is just my opinions & how I see it all x

Fleago

lowis wrote: »

Haven't you? I did loads of research on allergies many years ago due to personal circumstance and have seen dry skin called dander many times.

This is from VetInfo, dander is commonly used as a generic term for the flakes found on cats, sometimes called 'pet pollen'...which can be a mix of dried saliva and dead skin:

Cat dander allergies are due to an allergen called Fel d 1, which is found in cat saliva and dander from sebaceous and anal glands. Cats produce this allergen in fairly large amounts, especially male cats who have not been neutered.
http://www.vetinfo.com/cat-dander-allergies.html

No, it's not the dry skin bit I was wondering about, Iowis, it's the spittle bit - Having mainly dogs, I'd always thought of the dander as dry skin and bits (ie scales), similar to dandruff, but hadn't heard of the saliva bit. It makes sense for cats though, as they are alway licking at themselves, so their dried spittle would be mixed up in the detritus coming off their coats. Thank you for clarifying!

donnac2558

lowis wrote: »

Allergies are definitely not entirely down to dander (dry spittle), some people are allergic to the hair, some the dander...whoever says allergies are caused entirely by dander are very wrong!

That's very interesting about people managing with the Maine Coons, I guess with it suddenly becoming a very popular breed over the past few years this piece of info is only just coming to the fore perhaps?

I really hope the breeder does the honourable thing here though...a cat shouldn't pass away within 3 days of leaving it's home if it was 100% healthy.

I said most allergies are down to dander. And I did mean the dry danduff like bits which fly up into the air if you brush or even stroke your cats. I was actually given allergy tests in the hospital due to sinus problems. The doctor tested me for cats and dogs too, she said it was usually the dander being inhaled. Most cats don't go round sneezing all the time, for it to be inhaled by humans.

supersaver66

hi I do think you are entitled to a refund at the least, I doubt she was 100% healthy when you brought her home. If she is a good breeder she should offer you the money back.

eira

so sorry to hear about the cat

1) Don't blame yourself-you did the best you could
2) It seems odd that the cat got so ill so quickly and i do think there should have been a longer gap between the spaying and you getting the cat
3) In the first instance I would ring up either the Governing Council of the cat fancy or the breed club for advice. I've found cat breeders (the good ones) to be really fierce about keeping their reputations. The breed club may also know of breeders with kittens for sale.be warned that you may have to travel to get the kittens.Also pedigree cats usually come with free 6 week (Petplan) insurance

The vet may help with advice as to how long the cat was likely to have been ill for. For example one of our moggies has just been diagnosed with a hear defect-vet says she was born with it and it wouldn't have been detected. Our Siamese has had elaborate(but non invasive) investigations and has been found to have a displaced heart and only one functioning lung. In his case the vets think that cat flu as a kitten affected one lung and the other lung over developed pushing the heart to one side. (The breeder never bred again ) In his case they consider it was the illness that caused it

The kitten should have been fully vaccinated when you got it-as should the mother

You did your very best no one can blame you

UKTigerlily

supersaver66 wrote: »

hi I do think you are entitled to a refund at the least, I doubt she was 100% healthy when you brought her home. If she is a good breeder she should offer you the money back.

The Vet has said the breeder wouldn't have known she was ill, so why would the OP be entitled to a refund? And also, what makes you think the Cat wasn't healthy when the OP got her, the Vet who Spayed her wouldn't have done a sick Cat, and the new Vet said the Breeder wouldn't have known.

Sounds like something the Cat got ill with after leaving the Breeder to me!

lowis

i just wanted to add that should the breeder offer you one of the remaining male kittens, that it might be a good idea to take it. a male/female combo is usually the best in terms of how they along with each other (only if they are neutered though!). i know you mentioned that you were a little wary of going back to somewhere that you had a negative experience with, but maybe look at it from the other side and think that if you were offered a male kitten as a 'refund', that these two little cats were meant to stay together?

please keep us updated x

ka7e

How awful for you! I'm sure you should be due some recourse from the breeder, but a couple of points are ringing alarm bells with me. She doesn't sound like a particularly competent breeder to me.

I'm surprised the breeder let a cat go 2 days after a major op - it sounds most likely that she died as a result of a post-operative complication like a lung embolism. That's not to say it couldn't have happened if she hadn't been rehomed so quickly, but it's reasonable to expect a cat has had it's post-op check-up before selling it on.

Also most breeders wouldn't sell a neutered ex-breeding queen at full price. Even though they are often only a couple of years old, my breeder gives away her queens or charges a nominal price. She is just pleased they go to good homes - most go to previous customers who already have Maine Coons.

I would expect to be offered another kitten (and the males are usually gorgeous and very loving!) at the very least. Vet's bills are a bit more tricky, but again a conscientious breeder would consider repaing them.

FelinePrincess

Hi all,

Thanks for your responses. I e-mailed the breeder this morning explaining what had happened and that I am very upset about it. I also mentioned that now we will need to get a new kitten and that I paid over £300 in vet fees. I didn't ask for a refund but I will see what she comes back with. I know that perhaps I'm not entitles to a refund but I would appreciate something as a goodwill gesture.

My vet thinks it started after she got spayed but before we got her. He has spoken to the vet that spayed her and he said everything was fine then but after we took her home on sat night she I woke up to her coughing in the night and because of this the vet thinks she already had it when we took her. He says it is very unusual for such a young cat (4 and a half) to get so ill so quickly. The vets did think the whole situation about how she was spayed, sold and got ill so quickly quite odd. I feel a bit stupid now about not questioning how long she should be left to recover after being spayed before taking her. The breeder seemed nice and seemed to care about the cats so I just presumed that she knew what she was doing.

We paid 130 for the cat plus the cost of neutering at 60, she sold us her kitten at a discounted price as she said she would really like to see them go together.

I had originally wanted girls as I had heard they were a bit better with allergy sufferers, how much of a difference it makes I don't know and my boyfriend has had no problems at all with maine coons so maybe it wouldn't matter. If she does offer us a male kitten I will consider it, especially after the comment about how males and females may get on better then 2 females.

Feline Princess

fatpiggy

Sorry to hear about your poor cat. I hope it works out ok for you with the breeder. I have to say if I'd just had a cat at the vets for what is quite major surgery, I nor the vet would want it sold on in a matter of hours. What about aftercare and post-op checks? Call me cynical, but breeders (of any animal) are simply looking to make money and some will quite happily tell you anything you want to hear.