Hi there, I don't know if this is the right place to post this (mammoth post).
I don't know what to do and am looking for some advice. I will try not to ramble...but I feel like the boring (long) story gives a good explanation as to why I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what to do next.
I purchased a purebred OSH kitten from a breeder (I wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t post anything that would easily identify this person) some months ago as a little friend to our rescue cat. I found the breeder on a well known cat association site, she had a website too and had won many prizes in shows for her cats. She ran her breeding operation from her home, there were pictures of the environment and the cats/ kittens as well as information about health guarantees etc.
I called her to chat and found her to be very, very nice and knowledgeable. I reserved a female and she asked that I just stay in touch with her over the coming months. She didn't want a deposit and said the kitten would be ready to go at 12 weeks & $600 CAD. She promised to send a picture of the kitten. I stayed in touch with her, she never sent me a picture despite my requests and always cited being to busy, losing her camera cord etc.
When I called to arrange a time to collect the kitten, she apologized and said the kittens were unwell and on medication for a skin complaint. She asked if I would like her to have the kitten spayed before we picked it up, we agreed that if I could wait 2 weeks or so that she would do this and I would collect a healthy, spayed kitten. OK, so the next time I called she said she still wasn't happy for the kitten to leave. The next time I called her she said the kitten wasn't socialized and would I like a friendly boy instead. I conceded and we agreed I would pick him up two weeks later (neutered).
We made the 4 hour drive to her city. Her home was beautiful, there were lots of friendly happy cats and kittens all over the place. Our kitten was in a mesh play cot, she said she had bathed him and shampooed him because some of her cats had had a fungal infection and she wanted to be sure he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have any spores on his fur. Alarm bells should have rung. I was blindsided, he was so beautiful, he had a couple of rough patches on his ear and nose and she said they would disappear soon and were a result of his skin complaint. She wormed him and gave us his vet papers too. She took us to a room where we saw his mum and the other kittens. Anyway, I paid her (cash) and she told me to keep $100 for our first vet visit, she then advised he was still intact. I was a bit peeved but still wanted to take him. I asked her about his papers and she said she would forward all that to me, including some information about his parents.
We got him home. The next day I took him to the vet who took a really good look at him and asked me to call the breeder and ask if the skin complaint was ringworm. I called her. It was. He had ringworm. I thought ringworm was a parasite. The breeder told me she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think he had it and that if he did have any lesions, I could put a q-tip with a diluted bleach solution on them. Obviously I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t do this.
The breeder offered to take him back a few days later after I had sent her an email (I was too upset to call her). In effect she said I should wait 10 days and someone would come and get him- she was away and at shows. This didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem like a solution. I said I would keep him but said I was very upset and hoped we could continue a dialogue to resolve the situation.
Thus ensued months of grueling lime sulfur dips, medication ($), quarantine, cleaning and stress.
I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t hear from her. After 7 weeks he was healed and I contacted her to advise he was well and asked her if she would pay his vet bills. She indicated she would (although didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t explicitly say she would), she asked for my address (I assumed to send a cheque). I waited, Nothing. A month later I emailed her again. She said she had been busy and would send something. I waited, Nothing. So far nothing, it's been a couple of months now. The vet bills were about $650, I feel cheated – I spent months treating this. It consumed my life. The vet bills were only the start of the costs we incurred (duct cleaning, clothing etc. ruined by bleach etc., etc.).
I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what to do now. I feel like she is ignoring me and telling me what I want to hear with no intention of following through. I do not want to ruin this womanâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s reputation but it is clear to me all her cats have ringworm and she is still breeding and selling kittens and taking infected cats to shows.
What would you do?
(thanks for listening btw)
I don't know what to do and am looking for some advice. I will try not to ramble...but I feel like the boring (long) story gives a good explanation as to why I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what to do next.
I purchased a purebred OSH kitten from a breeder (I wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t post anything that would easily identify this person) some months ago as a little friend to our rescue cat. I found the breeder on a well known cat association site, she had a website too and had won many prizes in shows for her cats. She ran her breeding operation from her home, there were pictures of the environment and the cats/ kittens as well as information about health guarantees etc.
I called her to chat and found her to be very, very nice and knowledgeable. I reserved a female and she asked that I just stay in touch with her over the coming months. She didn't want a deposit and said the kitten would be ready to go at 12 weeks & $600 CAD. She promised to send a picture of the kitten. I stayed in touch with her, she never sent me a picture despite my requests and always cited being to busy, losing her camera cord etc.
When I called to arrange a time to collect the kitten, she apologized and said the kittens were unwell and on medication for a skin complaint. She asked if I would like her to have the kitten spayed before we picked it up, we agreed that if I could wait 2 weeks or so that she would do this and I would collect a healthy, spayed kitten. OK, so the next time I called she said she still wasn't happy for the kitten to leave. The next time I called her she said the kitten wasn't socialized and would I like a friendly boy instead. I conceded and we agreed I would pick him up two weeks later (neutered).
We made the 4 hour drive to her city. Her home was beautiful, there were lots of friendly happy cats and kittens all over the place. Our kitten was in a mesh play cot, she said she had bathed him and shampooed him because some of her cats had had a fungal infection and she wanted to be sure he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have any spores on his fur. Alarm bells should have rung. I was blindsided, he was so beautiful, he had a couple of rough patches on his ear and nose and she said they would disappear soon and were a result of his skin complaint. She wormed him and gave us his vet papers too. She took us to a room where we saw his mum and the other kittens. Anyway, I paid her (cash) and she told me to keep $100 for our first vet visit, she then advised he was still intact. I was a bit peeved but still wanted to take him. I asked her about his papers and she said she would forward all that to me, including some information about his parents.
We got him home. The next day I took him to the vet who took a really good look at him and asked me to call the breeder and ask if the skin complaint was ringworm. I called her. It was. He had ringworm. I thought ringworm was a parasite. The breeder told me she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think he had it and that if he did have any lesions, I could put a q-tip with a diluted bleach solution on them. Obviously I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t do this.
The breeder offered to take him back a few days later after I had sent her an email (I was too upset to call her). In effect she said I should wait 10 days and someone would come and get him- she was away and at shows. This didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem like a solution. I said I would keep him but said I was very upset and hoped we could continue a dialogue to resolve the situation.
Thus ensued months of grueling lime sulfur dips, medication ($), quarantine, cleaning and stress.
I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t hear from her. After 7 weeks he was healed and I contacted her to advise he was well and asked her if she would pay his vet bills. She indicated she would (although didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t explicitly say she would), she asked for my address (I assumed to send a cheque). I waited, Nothing. A month later I emailed her again. She said she had been busy and would send something. I waited, Nothing. So far nothing, it's been a couple of months now. The vet bills were about $650, I feel cheated – I spent months treating this. It consumed my life. The vet bills were only the start of the costs we incurred (duct cleaning, clothing etc. ruined by bleach etc., etc.).
I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what to do now. I feel like she is ignoring me and telling me what I want to hear with no intention of following through. I do not want to ruin this womanâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s reputation but it is clear to me all her cats have ringworm and she is still breeding and selling kittens and taking infected cats to shows.
What would you do?
(thanks for listening btw)
