Was the breeder unreasonable?

[Amanda3266]

I won't name the breeder or the name of her business but wondered what other breeders thought.

My Mum recently had a significant birthday and being cat mad decided she would like a Burmese kitten. Her family were happy to raise the money for this as we know she is an experienced cat owner and loves them as part of a family. She has kept Burmese before and adores them.

Mum looked round and eventually found a kitten some distance away from us, the breeder sent photos and indeed the kitten was lovely, well socialized and the breeder knowledgeable.

We decided to go and see the kitten which was ready for homing and bring him home if Mum was happy.

We got to the breeders home which had lots of cats, beautiful all of them and the breeder obviously loved them. They bred two different types of cat plus dogs too but important to say that they are not kitten or puppy farmers, we met Mum of the kitten and older siblings from a previous litter. I thought the house smelly and dirty but not anything more than you'd expect for a house with plenty of cats.

The kitten had a watery eye which the breeder said was from a reaction to vaccinations. I know this can happen but it rang alarm bells, however Mum loved him so she took him.

Just 48 hours later the kitten was ill, he was sneezing and obviously unwell. Mum spoke to the breeder who wanted a specific blood test done to check for a particular bacteria. Now my Mum's own vet was away so she ended up with Companion Care but a very good vet there who is used by local rescues and came highly recommended. I see him with my own cats so I know and trust him.

The vet felt that the test the breeder was suggesting was not likely to yield any positive results and diagnosed cat flu. However as the breeder wanted this test done he said he could do it but the cost was £170 on top of the £70 cost of seeing and treating the kitten. All in all a £250 bill for a kitten collected just 48 hrs before. The breeder did not want to pay £170 for the test, was dismissive of the vet "is he foreign?" etc. So offered to take the kitten back and get the test done by her vet and return the kitten once the results came in. As it was some distance from my Mum we felt this was unrealistic as it would mean another two journeys which would be costly. We also felt it unfair to the kitten as it would mean uprooting him.

Now to be fair to the breeder she offered to take the kitten back and give a full refund. They even met my parents halfway and collected the kitten.

However, they did not refund any of the veterinary costs. Obviously the blood test wasn't done but there was a £70 consultation and treatment cost which the breeder has refused to refund despite the fact that the kitten fell ill so quickly and my parents had incurred costs in petrol for travel and vet bills.

The breeder now says the kitten must have picked up the illness from one of my parents other cats despite the fact that they have never been ill (my parents have had them from kittenhood) and the kitten had a weeping eye when they collected him.

So is this right?

My own opinion is that they need to chalk it down to experience and forget the extra money. They did the right thing in seeking immediate treatment for the kitten and I know the breeder will have taken him to her own vets too but I do feel she is placing blame where it doesn't lie.

I guess the moral of the story too is not to take a kitten if it shows any signs of ill health...even a slightly weepy eye.

I will stick to my rescue cats in the knowledge that they come vet checked and in a good state of health, I'd never pay such a huge amount of money for a kitten.Give me a cat who needs a home any day.

[Lilith]

As an ex-breeder myself (Siamese) I would say yes.

I would never have let a kitten go with a runny eye in the first place; it's true they can react to vaccinations. Also I don't care for her dismissive reaction to your local vet. It rather sounds like a case of 'attack is the best form of defence' to me.

Under the circumstances I feel that the vet fees should have been refunded to your mother - especially as the breeder has got the kitten back - and especially in view of that runny eye!

I'm very sorry that your mother's had such a bad experience - believe me I met some wonderful people while breeding, who really would have 'walked the extra mile' for both their cats and the people they sold them to.