Sick kittens bought from pet shop last week - help!

ccastley

Hi all,

I bought two kittens from our local pet shop last week who we have become quite attached to. They are eight weeks old and are pretty perky and happy but before I even left the shop I noticed that one of them had weepy eyes. Now they may have 'saw me coming' (I'm no au fait with cats) but when I asked I was told he would be fine, he had a bit of a cold and if I used the eye drops which they would provide and bathed his eyes with cooled boiled water daily he'd be fine in no time. He's still not well a week on and seems to be getting worse.

The other cat I'm more worried about...she's very clingy and has horrendous diarrhoeah (sp?) and they also both smell awful. For all I know this could be usual for kittens but when I made the appointment for tomorrow the vet didn't seem to think so.

Quite frankly, I'm skint and I was wondering if the pet shop have a responsiblity to at least contribute towards the vet fees as they seem to have sold them in poor health. I don't want to simply take them back - they've become part of the family already, but I am obviously worried about money.

Hope someone can give me some advice. Unfortunately though we have a low income as we are not in receipt of Housing Benefit therfore we do not qualify for PDSA or RSPCA assistance.

If you can offer any advice to us it would be much appreciated...as i said I'm pretty fresh off the boat as far as cats are concerned.

Their diet consists of a mixture of wet and dry kitten food (whiskas), cat milk, and obviously water.

Thanks in advance!

Crystal

tiamai_d

Phone citizens advice.

With all 'livestock' you are legally entitled to a 6 months guarantee that if you do all that is required to keep said animal healthy (proper diet, proper husbandry etc) then teh animal should stay healthy.

As it would appear that the animals were ill when you purchased them, then it is the pet shops responsibility to replace or refund.

You are attached to them, so I'm guessing what you would like to do is the pet shop to cover the cost of the vet fees, phone citizens advice and have them negotiate on your behalf. You should be able to arrange to take the kittens to a vet that the pet shop chooses (each pet shop should have a vet that they use anyway) and have the vet bill the pet shop for the fees.

But, the pet shop will try and deny this, saying that there is only a 7 day guarantee, so it is important to speak to CAB.

Have you still got your receipt? And did they take your name and address? Another legal requirement when pet shops sell livestock.

(I worked in a pet shop so have had experience of this)

sandy2_2

Local authority would be another port of call, trading standards.

hope kittens are Ok, I'd stop giving them kitten milk for the moment, could be too rich for them and won't help diah/..pooing. Could be just a change of diet has upset them having been with their mum before.

Snuffles and runny eyes could lead onto something more serious but the vet will sort them out. Some vets allow you to pay their fees a bit like HP

Also do you know how long the shop had the kittens before you bought them, vet might want to know this, also they could have picked up a bug in the shop, if there waspoor hygeine, or they were in a draught
Let us know how they progress

tiamai_d

sorry, my CAB and trading standards are the same building, so I tend to lump them together.

The point is, she shouldn't have to pay vet bills at all. But it is very hard to get the pet shops to pay them for you in these situations, so get CAB/trading standards etc to have a word with them.

Eels100

I would be very suspicious of this - these kittens have clearly been sold on despite ill health, and I doubt they've received any worm treatment. They're probably also bred from animals of unknown vaccination status. Your vet is right - kittens should not have diarrhoea, any sort of ocular discharge or a bad smell.

I suspect the pet shop is pretty disreputable to be selling kittens on like this anyway, so you may find you have difficulties getting any headway with them re vets bills. Have you taken out insurance? Although I doubt it would cover any vet bills for a condition which was pre-existing when you bought the kittens or which has arisen within such a short period of your policy commencing, it might be worth investigating if you have cover in place.

The vet will definitely hold you responsible for their fees - whether you can claim back from the pet shop is not their responsibility, and from a vet's perspective you bought the animals and so are responsible for their upkeep and welfare. I think you should start by making yourself (and your local pet shop) aware of the new Animal Welfare Act which came into force earlier this year. They have a number of responsibilities towards the animals under their care as a result.

On a brighter note, it may be that these kittens simply need a decent worming programme, and treatment for cat 'flu, which although pretty nasty can sometimes be successfully managed. I hope your vet can offer more specific advice, but I am afraid I'm not optimistic that you will get your money back from the pet shop. Sorry

~Chameleon~

ccastley wrote: »

Quite frankly, I'm skint and I was wondering if the pet shop have a responsiblity to at least contribute towards the vet fees as they seem to have sold them in poor health. I don't want to simply take them back - they've become part of the family already, but I am obviously worried about money.

Hi, I'm sorry your kittens are sick and I really hate to criticise at such an upsetting time, but I wonder whether you really thought out the implications of taking on a couple of vulnerable animals if you are too "skint" to afford the vets bills.

How will you afford the vaccinations, worming, flea treatment, neutering, insurance fees etc etc if you can't afford vets fees now when you've only just got them?

Like I said, I'm sorry to criticise but taking on animals of any description is a huge responsibilty and if you can't afford it then you really shouldn't have them.

All said, fingers crossed your kittens will be ok, and I really hope you report this pet shop for selling sick animals. I must admit I wasn't aware pet shops still sold kittens (or puppies) ... I thought that practice died out many years ago!

FBThree

My kitten (a farm rescue) started diorrhea (spelling) shortly after we got him home. The vet brought his worming routine a little earlier, as he said that the kitten could be carrying a parasite he'd picked up from his Mum. The worming treatment seemed to sort the problem out and will probably help in your kittens case. It does sound like they have cat flu too (also something they could have picked up from Mum).

Please take your kittens to the vet as soon as possible if you haven't already, before they get dehydrated or worse. You wouldn't let a baby suffer, so don't let a kitten suffer due to lack of money.

Also please start budgeting for all the pet costs Chameleon mentions immediately. These kittens rely on you.

Plus it could be worth reporting the pet shop to the RSPCA. Selling sick animals is wrong.

ccastley

Hi all,

Thanks for the above useful advice, though one of your posts has left me with a bee in my bonnet.

"Hi, I'm sorry your kittens are sick and I really hate to criticise at such an upsetting time, but I wonder whether you really thought out the implications of taking on a couple of vulnerable animals if you are too "skint" to afford the vets bills.

How will you afford the vaccinations, worming, flea treatment, neutering, insurance fees etc etc if you can't afford vets fees now when you've only just got them?"

I really do not appreciate the inference here that I am irresponsible. I am well aware of the financial implications of animals and am a responsible working mum. I have made financial provision for vaccinations, worming, flea treatment etc, and unfortunately as another member above said would be the case, their insurance doesn't cover them due to them being under cover less than a week. Most of the above happens after the kittens are aged 12 weeks and we have been saving towards this. The fact of the matter is we have been very unlucky to incur vet bills a week into ownership of our kittens and I certianly don't want to to give them back to the pet shop as I don't know what will happen to them and I know we can offer them a good home.

The very fact that I have already booked them in to the vet rather than waiting around to see what I can do about getting help certianly shows I am prepared to cough up to make them healthy surely. I just wanted to know what my legal position was re: the sellers.

I love this site and on the whole it is a wonderful community - what saddens me is there is a small proportion of members who seems to just wait to jump on whatever negative/attackable point they can find in a post.

Ok rant over...

Tiamai, Sandy - thanks for the pointer. Will look into the CAB/Trading Standards today and also call to speak to the manager. Didn't want to do so whilst ill informed.

Eels - will also be reading up on the new Animal Welfare Act - thank you.

I have put them both onto dry food and water last night, and apart from seeming a bit hard done by they seem happy enough though neither condition has improved.

They will be seen at the vet at 6.10pm tonight and I will keep you all informed on how they are.

Thanks all

C

X

ccastley

As I said in the OP. I HAVE MADE THEM AN APPOINTMENT AT THE VET.

I am not holding off until I find out where else I can get the money from. I just wondered if I had any legal rights as the kittens were sick when I got them.

As much as all your help and interest is appreciated, it is unhelpful to respond when you have not read the OP properly.

HelzBelz

You've done the right thing by taking them off the wet kitten food, when mine were little they were on it, but because they'd come from a sanctury it was too rich for them and and it was very messy, leave them on the dry for a few days then slowly re-introduce adult wet food.

Hope they're OK:A

sandy2_2

Let us know how you get on at the vets and also CAB etc