- Joined
- Sep 17, 2023
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- 8
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I purchased a ragdoll kitten from what I thought was a reputable breeder as they are very transparent with their queen/king pedigrees and their kitten raising process. However, two days after bringing the kitten home we found two fleas on him. The breeder admitted they have an outdoor kitten whom they found fleas on after I notified them. We brought him to the vet to get flea medicine and after acquiring it later found ringworm on his paw. If that wasn't enough, his fecal results came back and he tested positive for coccidia. All the while, he developed a bad URI that we had to put him on antibiotics for. I also have a resident cat at home who is now potentially infected with all of these things. All in all the vet costs have totaled to over $500, but the real burden is on our mental health, time spent cleaning, nonstop researching, and going back and forth to the vet so many times. Thankfully he has majority recovered from the URI at this point and no more fleas so we are only dealing with ringworm and coccidia now.
According to the contract we could've returned him after finding fleas and URI, but I picked him up from across the country and didn't want to stress him with a flight back on top of all his current conditions as he likely would have suffered even more from the stress (plus I already love him). The contract states no compensation will be made for vet costs after purchase but legality aside, what we're going through now seems simply unacceptable from an ethics standpoint. I originally asked for flea medicine compensated for just his share (my resident cat needed it too as advised by the vet but I was willing to pay for that myself) and she only wanted to pay half of his dose. I notified her the rest of the conditions and she sent one bottle of a supplement which I appreciate but don't feel the matches the severity of the situation. What course of action can I take here? My current thought is to politely ask for compensation for all the medical bills out of good faith. If this request is denied by the breeder, am I able to file complaints anywhere that would actually do anything? The breeder is registered with TICA whom I know has a complaint form.
According to the contract we could've returned him after finding fleas and URI, but I picked him up from across the country and didn't want to stress him with a flight back on top of all his current conditions as he likely would have suffered even more from the stress (plus I already love him). The contract states no compensation will be made for vet costs after purchase but legality aside, what we're going through now seems simply unacceptable from an ethics standpoint. I originally asked for flea medicine compensated for just his share (my resident cat needed it too as advised by the vet but I was willing to pay for that myself) and she only wanted to pay half of his dose. I notified her the rest of the conditions and she sent one bottle of a supplement which I appreciate but don't feel the matches the severity of the situation. What course of action can I take here? My current thought is to politely ask for compensation for all the medical bills out of good faith. If this request is denied by the breeder, am I able to file complaints anywhere that would actually do anything? The breeder is registered with TICA whom I know has a complaint form.