Hi everyone,
We picked up our new kitten from the breeder today, she is a ragdoll. Having never had bought from a breeder before (she is a registered breeder), I wasn't sure what to expect. So we pick up our kitten and she stunk, she'd just done a poop and the breeder said she'd stepped in it, so cleaned up her feet. The breeders house absolutely stunk, not of cat poop or week, but it was like a wet dog smell. Anyway, the breeder said she had five dogs as well as all her breeding cats etc.
So after our hour long drive home, we put Deliah in her safe room, and she came straight out and was happy to explore. Then hubby notice she had poo (runny) all up her tail and around the fur around her bum etc. She didn't eliminate in the car on the way home, so this was there when we picked her up. It was so bad I had no choice than to bathe the poor thing! I have no problem with bathing a cat (although this is the first time I'd ever done it), but Delilah would be stressed enough having just come into a new house with new people, let alone having to have a bath as well! She has been bathed before (so the breeder said) but the bath water was disgusting even before I shampooed her! She still smells of whatever that smell was in the breeders house (like wet dog smell), but not as bad. She has got a bit of diarrhea because she was all clean but now her bottom is dirty again. I know they can get that a bit from stress.
So I'm just a tad upset because you would think if you're paying a lot of money for a purebred cat, they'd at least be clean when you pick them up. It was so bad that my three kids (aged 8, 12 and 15) wouldn't even touch her until she'd had her bath. That just doesn't seem right to me that a cat should be that smelly with poo everywhere when being picked up. They may not have noticed it on her tail as she had a dark tail, but still, WE managed to notice it.
So now I am worrying how well the kitten actually was raised, because of how stinky she was and the house was. Like I said, she is a registered breeder AND the president of a cat fancy. She was quite bad with communication, too, over the few weeks we were waiting for Delilah to be ready. I'd send emails that went unanswered, then I'd text her and she'd always have some excuse like she didn't get my emails etc.
Other than that, Delilah has settled in well and has already explored some of our house. She's very confident and now she's clean again, the kids have been playing with her. She' gone back in her safe room to have a nap, but she's crying at the door constantly! I told the kids not to let her out because if they do everytime she cries, then she'll cry all night.
I'm wondering, though, if the breeders house is cause for concern? I don't know what standards breeders are meant to have, but something just sits wrong with me.
We picked up our new kitten from the breeder today, she is a ragdoll. Having never had bought from a breeder before (she is a registered breeder), I wasn't sure what to expect. So we pick up our kitten and she stunk, she'd just done a poop and the breeder said she'd stepped in it, so cleaned up her feet. The breeders house absolutely stunk, not of cat poop or week, but it was like a wet dog smell. Anyway, the breeder said she had five dogs as well as all her breeding cats etc.
So after our hour long drive home, we put Deliah in her safe room, and she came straight out and was happy to explore. Then hubby notice she had poo (runny) all up her tail and around the fur around her bum etc. She didn't eliminate in the car on the way home, so this was there when we picked her up. It was so bad I had no choice than to bathe the poor thing! I have no problem with bathing a cat (although this is the first time I'd ever done it), but Delilah would be stressed enough having just come into a new house with new people, let alone having to have a bath as well! She has been bathed before (so the breeder said) but the bath water was disgusting even before I shampooed her! She still smells of whatever that smell was in the breeders house (like wet dog smell), but not as bad. She has got a bit of diarrhea because she was all clean but now her bottom is dirty again. I know they can get that a bit from stress.
So I'm just a tad upset because you would think if you're paying a lot of money for a purebred cat, they'd at least be clean when you pick them up. It was so bad that my three kids (aged 8, 12 and 15) wouldn't even touch her until she'd had her bath. That just doesn't seem right to me that a cat should be that smelly with poo everywhere when being picked up. They may not have noticed it on her tail as she had a dark tail, but still, WE managed to notice it.
So now I am worrying how well the kitten actually was raised, because of how stinky she was and the house was. Like I said, she is a registered breeder AND the president of a cat fancy. She was quite bad with communication, too, over the few weeks we were waiting for Delilah to be ready. I'd send emails that went unanswered, then I'd text her and she'd always have some excuse like she didn't get my emails etc.
Other than that, Delilah has settled in well and has already explored some of our house. She's very confident and now she's clean again, the kids have been playing with her. She' gone back in her safe room to have a nap, but she's crying at the door constantly! I told the kids not to let her out because if they do everytime she cries, then she'll cry all night.
I'm wondering, though, if the breeders house is cause for concern? I don't know what standards breeders are meant to have, but something just sits wrong with me.
