Does this sound shady, or is it just me?

tortiebaby

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I'm trying to find a good home for my 2, 3 week old kittens. Well, I've been conversing with a woman these past 2 days who "claims" to work at a vet clinic in Chicago, but I don't see her listed in the staff on the webpage, so I doubt it.

Anyways, I told her that I'm going to get them spayed, etc... before I adopted them out and she them asked if SHe could get them sayed. I, of course, said "no". She then asked if she could take them NOW(only 3 weeks old) and finish hand-raising them because she works at a vet and can get everything done for free. Again, I said "NO!".

Well, I had also told her how I need to get a minor surgery done(the tail-tip needs to be amputated) on Yang's tail and that my vet should be able to do it without putting the kitten under(to read the details, go here: )

Then she emailed me back with this: "Thanks, Nicole. I appreciate the time/energy involved with caring for the kittens and the advise youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re receiving. I am a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and know the time and commitment it takes to hand raise the little ones without their Moms. (Also I am a board certified veterinary anesthetist, just so you know my back ground in this quest.) In all honesty there is no reason for a kitten to not be anesthetized if properly supported on IV fluids, heat and appropriate anesthetics provided. Many shelters do the spay and neuters on young animals of 4 weeks of age. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s easy (of youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d like for me to) to find that info for your vet and give it to them if they are interested.. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s called preadolescent gonadectomy. Its standard and accepted practice so the offering would be to have the tail and amputated and removed young (within the two week window you speak of) and have her spayed at the same time. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not really to save you money although its an added benefit…. but to allow the kitten to have proper anesthesia and analgesia for removing her tail segments which are cartilage/bone. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hard because a lot of vets thing because something is small they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t feel pain or are more susceptible to anesthetic risks. I do open chest anesthesia on 3 week old puppies and kittens regularly with very low mortality rates to correct congenital heart/pulmonary defects and if those guys can be anesthetized, pretty much anything can with care and conscientiousness.

For me, the issue isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t about money itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s about the quality of life for the animal long term. It is best to remove the tail I am sure due to tissue necrosis but also because of increased pain thresholds proven in the literature on young animals (Dobermans, rottweilers, etc) who have tail docs and dewclaw removals without anesthesia/analgesia and their lower pain threshold scores later in life. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been proven if theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re sensitized to it early, it has lifelong effects on them.

And also, the FELV/FIV test is not worth spending the money on until they are 16 weeks old. This is because the tests will yield false positives if the kittens have an upper respiratory infection or have an exposure to FelCoV (which is any virus in the distemper family) so it will not prove they do or do not have the diseases.

Just trying to offer the best possible options and help you make the best choices with all the options that are available."


I'm sorry, but who in there right mind would regularly spay 4 week old kittens?!?!?!?! That's horrible! That is NOT a "standard and accepted practice". Why do youthink so many vets and shelters make it very clear that kittens are required to be 8 weeks old and weigh 2lbs before getting spayed?!?!

Oh yeah, about the FIV, the first thing this person asked me was "are you going to test them for FIV, cause that's my #1 requirement in order to adopt them". It seems to me like this person is just looking to get some really young kittens to do who knows what with! She is officially checked off my list!
 

icklemiss21

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I would find a new adopter for them, anyone that strikes any kind of uh oh feelings in you means you will always worry if they went to a good home. The vet that will do early speuters here will not do it before 10 weeks and prefers 12 weeks.
 

katachtig

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It sounds suspicious and her credentials don't check out. Go with your gut instinct because from what I've seen on this forum, it usually is reliable.
 

diego

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Sounds a bit strange, I was to understand that vets are now being trained to speuter cats at 12 weeks at the very youngest.
If she is an anaesthetist I'm sure you could find something about her on the net.

Last but not least, I got a tingly feeling in my spine, that she might be working with, what do you say, a back alley vet? is that what you say? someone who isn't a vet at all, or perhaps a vet that lost their license to practice.
 
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tortiebaby

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She's definately NOT getting my kittens!

Heck, even if she DID check out, I still wouldn't trust someone with a mindset that it's perfectly fine to spay a 4 week old kitten! Peoeple like that have no ethics.

I understand if it's a life/death situation, but spaying a kitten that young and acting like it's a normal, everyday thing is just crazy.
 

white cat lover

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The fact that she would want the kitten at 3 weeks to "hand raise" is awful! They need to either be with mom, or if they're already being bottled be with littermates.....not moved all over!
 

duchess15

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She sounds like she knows more information than she should and makes me wonder if she isn't experimenting on young animals. I just got bad vibes reading her matter-of-fact response. Go with your gut instinct. It's normally correct.
 
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tortiebaby

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With all her responses she never once said how much she would love to have the kittens and that she would give them a good home, etc...All she was talking about was her being able to save me money by getting them spayed, etc.

She's too cold. I want someone who will LOVE the kittens, not just get them treated by a vet. It seems as though(if she IS a vet) she just wants one more trophy for her shelf.
 

lore

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Yikes, That woman gives me the heebie jeebies.

I certianly think you are doing the right thing by going with your gut feeling and taking her off of your list.

she does not sound like a loving new owner for your kittens at all...

 
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tortiebaby

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Ok, I know this is a little off topic, but do you think $100 is a little too much to be asking for an adoption fee? It's for both kittens(so $50 each) because they HAVE to go together.

I am getting both kittens spayed, they will have their shots, will be FIV tested, and I will also probably get the microchipped. I'm going to register the chips in MY name, but I'll give the new owners a form to re-register them. That way, if they forget to regiseter them and something happens, I'll be called first. Oh yeah, and, of course, I'll be getting Yang her surgery.
 
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tortiebaby

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Phew! I'm glad to hear that.

It's just that I live right near Chicago and since there are so many people there are a TON off kittens being given away every day. I figured that I didn't want to ask for TOO much or no one would offer to adopt them.

However, most "free" kittens don't have their shots and such already and those alone will cost the new owner about $50(at least). Not to mention the cost of spaying...
 

stampit3d

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Gut feeling here too that this woman is NOT on the "up and up" .
$100 for both kittens with all their vet stuff taken care of it not too much. A person REALLY WANTING a couple kittens to love and take care of would pay more than that to get the work done and would be glad to get a deal like that.
Listen to your heart!
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noludoru

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$100 is an amazing price for those kitties--you're practically giving them away. I know our shots and stuff, even though we got them done low-cost, were a fortune.... $100 wouldn't have cut it. I think if you add up all the costs from clinics in your area and show them to potential adopters what a real deal they're getting, they'd realize those 'free' kittens aen't quite as cheap as they look...
 

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Yup, the woman is a bit creepy to me, too. All this stuff about "pain thresholds" and no mention of loving them gives me a bad feeling.

That said, our kitty Sparkle was already neutered when we adopted her from the SPCA at eight weeks of age. Evidently, this is a routine practice here. They told us that she will be smaller than average when grown (which is true) but that was the only side-efffect. I didn't like the idea at all but it was already done to her and our daughter had already picked her out.
 
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tortiebaby

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Another off topic question...

Now that you mention the age of spaying. Do you guys think that 8 weeks is too young to be spayed? I already have my girls scheduled to get spayed when they are 8 1/2 weeks old.

My reason is that I want them to go to their new homes asap so they can bond with their new owners. From what I've heard, bottle-babies sometimes can have a difficult time bonding to a new person since they already would know me as their "mommy". Is that true?

I just want what's best for them, but if that means that I'll have to take my chances by keeping them a little longer, I can do that. I guess I can always allow the new owner "visits" to bond with the kittens while they're still young, but they would stay with me until they are spayed.
 

sofiecusion

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Her email gave me the heebie jeebies too! There sure are some weirdos out there!


Good luck finding them homes!
 

katachtig

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Here's a link to information discussing pediatric spay. I believe that many rescues are doing the spays at 8 weeks and are not seeing problems.
 

white cat lover

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Bottle babies will bond with the new owners. It's similiar to when they leave their real mom. Being together will help them, though. And I do not think 8 1/2 weeks is too young. Just don't be in a hurry to be sure they're weaned & send them off to new homes.

I've known one foster mom here to send them off too early & they aren't completely weaned!
 
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