Upset and mislead by cat breeder need advice

Ftbftbftb

We just bought a BSH kitten 2 days ago from a breeder who seemed very genuine as seems to advertise often.

Our kitten is gffc registered. After we purchased the kitten I went home I was having doubts already. The breeder seemed to force us to take the kitten. She wasn’t interested in ya or our background at all!

Secondly she described our kitten as being a spotted blue but there’s nothing spotty about her after googling what one looks like.

Thirdly the kitten hasn’t had her full vaccinations and she told us she would be due in another 3 weeks her final one.

And finally the biggest mistake, our kitten is ONLY 9 weeks old! She’s absolutely tiny. Our home is so peaceful and the poor thing is distressed. Is howling out all the time won’t eat anything. And won’t even come out at all a single bit.

I called the breeder on the first day asking if we could take her back and at first she said she would call us back and told us to just keep her for a day.

The next day she is completely busy and now isn’t returning my calls.

I have lost complete trust and feel like I have been mislead.

In the meantime We have come to be aware that we shouldn’t have bought the kitten or even be offered it, as it’s less than 13 weeks old and if they are registered with the GFFC then this is strictly against the guidelines that the gffc stipulate to all registered breeders and we shouldn’t have been offered this kitten, including not being fully immunised.

We wasn’t aware of the above guidelines at the time and we feel as an experienced breeder she would have been aware.

Tbh this has put me off owning a pet altogether and we just want to get the kitty back to it’s mother where she belongs and return her and hope she would offer our money back.

Please help guys. I’m really confused and upset and don’t know what route to take.

What would you do in this case?

[Deleted User]

If the kitten is upset I'd take it to a cattery for them to take specialist care of it. Thats if the breeder is ignoring you as it would be best with it's mother.

Hate back room breeders.

MovingForwards

Accept you have been !!!! on by a 'breeder', might be worth letting the GFFC know

You have to decide whether you are prepared to help this kitten stay with your family or let it go to somewhere else.

If keeping -


My first moggies I had were 8 weeks old when I got them.

Try yours on a little bit of milk / water off your finger to start with as it needs to learn to eat from a bowl.

Next move on to doing the same with a bit of kitten food, the jelly or gravy, again off your finger until it learns to eat from a bowl.

Is it toilet trained? If not, you will need a small box, I found a chocolate box is a good starting point and tissue paper in it to start with and a couple of bits of cat litter. You will have to pop your kitten it it so it knows where to go, especially immediately after going toilet somewhere it shouldn't.
- you may need to mimic what the mom does! Damp cotton wool ball, circular motion round the bits

Give your kitten time to settle in, it will be scared, it's an unfamiliar home, different smells and will be used to being in one room.

A kitten is loads of fun when it's settled in, don't let this put you off!

Brambling

I agree pedigree kittens aren't usually sold until after their second injection at 12 weeks and usually come with 4 weeks free insurance. Having said that I have had non- pedigree kittens at 8 weeks and they have been completely litter trained (usually by mum) and can eat normal kitten food, you shouldn't give any cat milk it can upset their tummies. If it comes from a home where it's been properly socialised with people it should settle down. If it's stressed keep it confined to one room too much space may be frightening for it, when i rehomed a cat from the cat protection this is what they advise

If you have any doubts it may be worth taking it for a check up at the vet

Some BSH coat patterns don't appear until they are a little older so it's possible it could change maybe contact another breeder and ask them

pinkteapot

Why has this put you off having a pet? Your little kitten needs a good home - as do so many other animals out there.

You could keep her. A friend took in an abandoned feral kitten and hand-reared at four weeks old and he’s now a hugely handsome two year old. Your kitten might not be the playful bundle of joy you expected right now but she’ll settle and you can help her. And if it was a bad breeder she may well be better off out of there.

Report the breeder to the GFFC and any other relevant bodies (I don’t know much about pedigree cats).

Take kitten to a vet for a full check-up and advice on settling her and caring for her at that age.

If you’re really set on not keeping her then find a specialist pedigree cat rescue to take her. There’ll be plenty of people out there who would love to give her a home.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you’ve encountered a dodgy breeder so I don’t like your chances of getting your money back.

[Deleted User]

You won't get kitten back to Mum, it'll simply be resold.

I got an 8 week old yesterday - this is actually now her second home as first sold 6 weeks then I got her after some time wasters said no.

It just takes perseverance. (I'm definately getting pet insurance for this new one) yes the kitten selling is a horrible market.

splishsplash

I've had many 8 week old kittens over the years. Each one spent pretty much every available minute snuggled into my neck or tucked inside the crook of an arm for the first few weeks.

It's only a tiny baby in a new scary place. It needs to bond with you and learn about its surroundings bit by bit.

Poor little thing. Make it a snuggly little bed for when you're not around in a nice cosy place that it can get to easily, but like any other little baby, don't leave it alone for long.

MovingForwards

Milk = cat / kitten milk available in supermarkets and pet shops

sheramber

We just bought a BSH kitten 2 days ago from a breeder who seemed very genuine as seems to advertise often.

The fact that they advertise often would raise alarm bells with me. Obviously breeding to make money .

hb2

Ftbftbftb wrote: »

We just bought a BSH kitten 2 days ago from a breeder who seemed very genuine as seems to advertise often.

Someone who 'advertised often' would ring alarm bells with me rather than reassure me!

I agree that handing this kitten back to the breeder, with or without refund, is not going to improve the kitten's life, she would most probably be resold to someone else rather than returned to the mother. In fact, if Mama Cat has stopped feeding, she possibly wouldn't want kitten nursing from her again anyway.

It used to be common to take kittens at 8 weeks. It is not ideal but it has happened so it is about doing the best for kitty now. Please don't let this put you off, a bit of time invested now will be well worth while.

Yes, kitten needs body contact as much as possible and somewhere warm and safe to sleep when she is not being held. Like all babies, she will need a lot of sleep at the moment. A ticking clock can be reassuring as it will mimic Mama's heartbeat. I would usually recommend a well protected hot water bottle too, but that might not be essential in this hot weather.

As someone said previously, never give human milk to felines, especially to kittens as they cannot digest it. Kitten/cat milk is OK at the moment but not necessary for adult cats.

Do take kitty to the vet for a check over and general advice about cat/kitten care.

I hope that you and kitty will spend many happy years together

jackieblack

hb2 wrote: »

As someone said previously, never give human milk to felines, especially to kittens as they cannot digest it.

Or cow’s milk