Menu
Login
I have a complaint against Aisling Rags, a ragdoll cat breeder in Waverly, NY. Here is my story. I saw her website and emailed her to see if she had any available ragdolls. She emailed back that she had a young ragdoll cat she'd like to sell. I asked her why she wanted to sell the young cat and she said she bred the cat when it was 17 months old and that she wanted to sell it because she wanted to use one of its kittens it had as a breeding cat. I decided to look at the cat. She told me in the email that she doesn't ever meet clients at her house and that I'd have to meet her in a parking lot to see the cat. I would of rather have met at her house because I think it's a good idea to see the living conditions the cats are in. But she would not agree to that and so parking lot it was. I drove 90 minutes to see the cat. It was a cold day out and I was chilled to the bone standing in a parking lot holding the cat. I mentioned the cat seemed very lightweight and she agreed and she said it would put on weight after it was spayed... I gave her a deposit she required, and she said I could pick the cat up 2 days after it was spayed by her vet. I thought that was quite soon after a spay to take a cat home, but figured she was the "expert". I went to pick the cat up, in the same parking lot, and she put the cat right from her cat carrier into mine, into my car. I handed her and her husband the rest of the money, several hundred dollars total for the cat. She then, for the first time, tells me the cat has a problem with its one eye. She said the eye weeps and runs "but mostly when it's stressed" she said and that she and her vet didn't know what it was. I asked her if it was an eye infection. She replied, "no". (I should mention that I found out from her vet that the only time she brought this cat to the vet was to have it spayed and a rabies shot, done 2 days before I picked the cat up.) She kept wiping the discharge away that was under the cats eye. Anyhow, she also hands me some lysine tablets that she said she got from Walmart. I didn't know what lysine tablets were. All way home the cats one eye was running bad, puffy looking underneath eye and it had eye discharge. I get home and take cat out of carrier and almost fell over. For first time I see the cat standing up and it was very thin, bones sticking out. I look on spay sheet and the weight said 8.2 lbs. It was so small and underweight. She gave me some "Special Kitty" dry cat food from Walmart, which is of a very low quality, inexpensive cat food that was recalled couple years ago for salmonella contamination. She claims on the kitty care sheet that she gives all clients, that she feeds her cats Iams cat food. Not true, because she told me she feeds this cat "Special Kitty" cat food, that she told me she buys from Walmart! Guess she knew she wouldn't be breeding or keeping this cat so she gave it lousy food. Cat wasn't a money maker for her anymore...just a commodity. The cat also was always extremely scared the entire time it was with me and so I knew this cat wasn't "socialized" like she claims her cats to be. One could tell this was probably always a caged cat. It also used its litter box as its bed so that is also a sign it was likely a caged cat. Another reason she wouldn't want you to meet at her house I'm sure, because then you'd see how the cat really acts, and this cat was extremely fearful, and if had gone to her house I would of seen that, whereas a parking lot, one can't tell its behavior.
The day after bringing the cat home I called my vet and asked about the eye condition and the vet said all the symptoms sound as if it has the herpes virus which attacks the one eye. Also that cats with herpes virus also are low weight and small in size. And that many catteries have the herpes virus. I am sure that this breeder knew it had herpes virus of the eye! It's a virus that can never be cured, is lifelong and a cat can go blind if it gets bad. Since she bred the cat, it means the virus can be passed to the kittens it had. I know one kitten was black and she had it up for sale on her website and she must of sold it because it's no longer available on her website. The other kitten was a white kitten that the cat had, and she told me she was going to use it to breed it. So the kittens that this cat had can surely have the herpes virus, which means she would be selling people kittens with herpes virus, since the virus can pass from mother cat to kittens.
The same day as I got home with the cat, I called her up and (since I didn't want to tell her the cat was sickly, because I knew she would get insulted), I told her I wanted to return the cat. She said she would not take the cat back. She said she would not refund any of the money I paid for it. I then asked if I could return the cat to her at least, and she said no. I could tell she was glad to be rid of the cat and get her money. To make a long story short, I was able to find another home for the cat with someone who is better able to care for her and she is living a life of luxury now. So, I lost several hundred dollars and spent 8 hours driving in multiple trips to get the cat. In the end I feel I at least "rescued" the cat from this breeder and suspected bad and/or unsanitary living conditions. I am very upset and just want people to be aware of my experience with this breeder. I might add that the contract one signs with her states she's not responsible if the cat she sells you has a virus. Also, the medical records she gave me were incomplete. The only time this breeder brought the cat to a vet, (according to what her vet's office told me), was the one time, when she had it spayed and a rabies shot two days before I picked the cat up from her. The cat was never tested for FIV or leukemia. I just assumed it would of been tested. I asked her in an email after I got the cat home, if it was ever tested for FIV and leukemia and she said "no, but the cats parents were tested". She had purchased the cat, when it was 3 months old, from another breeder. If the cat was never tested for FIV and leukemia, then perhaps the cat I bought could have FIV and/or leukemia. I found out from talking to my vet on the phone that many cats that have FIV and/or leukemia also have herpes because their immune systems are weak. I had already spent hundreds of dollars when I bought the cat from this breeder, and I didn't want to spend more money to see if it had FIV and/or leukemia also. There were many red flags I should have seen, but I never bought a cat from a breeder, and I'm a very trusting person, but I learned the hard way. I'm an animal lover. I just want people to be aware of my experience with this breeder. Let this be a warning to others to be very careful when selecting a breeder to buy a pet from.
I purchased a cat from her in 2009 and it too was sick. after more than 300 in vet bills he said it was a disease that would progressively get worse. The breeder did not want to take him back but offered us a new kitten. this left us with a choice to have the kitten put down or find someone who could care for the cat until he died. we chose to give him to someone with full disclosure of his condition and we did not take any money for him. the day before we were to pick up the new kitten, my told the breeder about what we chose to do and she went crazy. said she wouldnt give us the new cat or our money back. i took her to small claims, won my case and she still wouldnt pay me. not much i could do so i just let it go. terrible terrible terrible breeder.
I purchased a kitten from AislingRags who has similar symptoms as tryingtohelpyou's kitten. My kitten has chronic diarrhea. It happens on and off. 70% of the time I need to wash the poor kitten's rear daily (sometimes several times a day) due to runny stools. I thought it was due to diet and tried many gradual diet changes but the diarrhea still happens. I have not tested my kitten for Tritrichomonas foetus but after reading tryingtohelpyou's post I'm strongly considering having my kitten tested.
Strange how three of the above comments were from people who got kittens from the same litter, but ONLY the last person got a kitten that tested positive for a parasite MONTHS after she got it. If anyone would like to see written PROOF that this person is lying, please feel free to contact me!
PLEASE SEE MY COMPLAINT under Aisling Rags Ragdolls. This breeder is NOT reliable and sold me a sick kitten. I DO NOT RECOMMEND.
I have 2 cats from Aisling's Rags and couldn't be happier with my experience. Both times I went to the breeder's house at her invitation. I was able to spend time with the kittens and their parents. The cats are raised with the family, the cats have free run of the home and all were healthy and happy. There are no cages and the house is immaculate. I have found the breeder to be extremely generous with her time and expert advice. Whenever I have a question or concern I email her and she responds immediately and always follows up with me.
I would highly recommend Aisling Rags without any reservations. This complaint doesn't reflect any of my personal experiences and seems to be riddled with inconsistencies. We are very happy with our cats and this breeder.
I have purchased two cats from Aisling Rags this summer, and I am completely satisfied with both. One is an older, year old cat and the other is a 3 month kitten. Both are happy, healthy, and well adjusted. I bought the cats a month apart, and stepped into the breeder's house both times. She raises her kittens in her house with her family. The cats live all over her house and are given lots of love and attention by her entire family. There were definately no cages. I definitely would buy from Aisling Rags again. It was such a pleasant and easy experience. And I have been so happy with my cats.
Its hard for me to believe that this complaint is to the same breeder. It is the complete opposite experience. But from what I experiences, I would reccomend this breeder, without a doubt.
I do not normally participate in these types of forums however I do feel bad when I see negative comments towards reputable businesses. It is unfortunate what transpired, but I have to agree that it is probably a lack of communication or misunderstanding. I think this could have been a better experience if the client had of been more forthcoming and directly expressed their concerns instead of just stating they wanted to return the cat with no explanation.
As a pet owner I have a few comments to make. I have purchased a full grown cat and a kitten on a separate occasions from Aisling Rags and have been completely satisfied with their health and socialization. Both are beautiful, healthy, super friendly and affection cats that I just adore. Aisling Rags was extremely helpful in the purchase of the cats and great with communication. It is obvious to me she loves her cats, including the ones she is selling, and is passionate about what she does from talking to her and observing her actions. I have been to her home, it is neat and clean, and has a friendly calm atmosphere of happy kitties lounging on the sofas and cat trees. There are certainly no caged cats. As for the bottle of the L-lysine I believe natural remedies are best if possible, and that it is a sign of a breeder who is thinking about the cat's health. I myself have used L-lysine for kittens in the past with weepy eyes. The Special Kitty food is a food she has used in the past (not my choice of food), but has moved away from it. Some of the literature/coupons she may have provided with the cat, or the folder it was in, may have other cat food brand names stamped on it, but she never claimed she used those and was up front with the food she did use.
Aisling Rags has been a pleasure to deal with, before and after the purchase, with great communication and always willing to help. That is why I have purchased from her twice and would do it again in a heart beat.
You might want to become a Member of Ragdoll Central.http://www.ragdollcentral.com/forum/index.php
There are many reputable and ethical Ragdoll Breeders on this Forum and anyone of them is willing to answer your questions and inquiries. Yes! it is unfortunate that sometimes new pet owners are taken in by unethical Breeder Website but there are so many RED FLAGS which so many New Ragdoll Owners should be aware of before purchasing. The Breeding of Variant Ragdoll Breed Colors in opposite of the Breed Written Standard is one of them.so please join and have your questions answered by Experts.
Curt Gehm
Liebling Cats
Unfortunately this poor experience is likely one of misinformation or even lack of information from breeder to client.
I would also like to state that although vets do have their place, they do also work on client fear to make their money. They speak of some great generalizations and do not necessarily know the specifics.
I too am a breeder in Canada, Ragglerock Cattery...I have personally dealt with and received cats from Aisling Rags ... they were fine, no disease etc as mentioned, went on to be fine breeding cats indeed!
Cats who recently had a litter ARE underweight, cats LOOSE weight unlike us humans who gain weight during pregnancy. Also a weight of 8 pounds is NOT BAD at all for a female ragdoll, especially just after a litter of kittens, they do put on weight but it takes them about 6 months after surgery to start getting back to normal. During which time of course a good diet, TLC and no stress to the new environment would be added bonuses.
YES stress will cause weeping eyes, also the sign of a cat sitting in its litter box is one of insecurity. I often have shown my cats at cat shows where in those cages or in the hotel room they sit in their litter boxes. It's like Linus having his security blanket.
Herpes is quite common NOT ONLY amongst catteries but simply within the cat world, if you are the owner of more than one cat it is possible that one or more of your own kitties carry or have herpes. Actually the statistics are greater than 90 percentile. Not usually a big deal and CERTAINLY NOT life threatening.
YES a better food should have been supplied I agree, don't know the reason behind this...
As for meeting in a public place that is more than quite common, it has nothing to do with OUR HOMES ! It is a health risk to our cats to bring folks in who are "just looking" especially if they visited several other catteries or the SPCA or shelter or whatever have you just prior.
Worse yet is the horror stories we are told as breeders where some "client to be" shows up and stabs you or robs you in your own home, this is no joke it has happened, we need to be careful for ourselves and our cats!
We realize this does not make your job easy, but researching the Internet quickly let's us know who is a good breeder and who isn't ... Talk to people, get recommendations from friends who purchased their ragdolls, ask for references from the breeder. There are many ways to find out, take your time.
I DO NOT allow any visitations to my cattery and that is exactly how I keep all of my cats and kittens healthy. My place is clean, friendly, cats have their own room setups etc.
Good breeders will also resort to HOLISTIC means to keep cats/kittens healthy using L-Lysine is just one of the many things we use on a daily basis. I also will use Taurine, Slippery Elm, Chammomile, Pumpkin and much much more ...
Eyes that get inflammed are easily remedied with a warm cloth of chammomile tea applied to the eye... eye bright powder (from health food store) can be put directly on the food, Polysporin eye drops can be put into the eye(s).
This usually goes away once the cat calms down and settles into its new environment.
Generally speaking I provide my new owners with a take home sheet of instructions and part of this says: Set up a bedroom or space for the cat to have of its own for at least 3 weeks, let it settle in, and work at its own pace ... Be gentle, speak softly, go slowly
Cats in general HATE change!
My retirees are also spayed or neutered prior to leaving my home, once the appointment is booked the arrangements are made and my vet uses laser surgery which is a day procedure.
I keep the cat after surgery for 3 days, just to ensure it is eating, drinking, using the litter box and acting normally. Recovery of course takes approx 6 weeks but there is no point to keep a cat that long, as it can begin adjusting to its new home.
Well these are my comments and suggestions.
I know that I was not there in your particular situation and so I am only providing advise based on what I know.
However please, for anyone just getting a new ragdoll, do NOT become the overly protective new mommy as this can have some serious affects for both you and your cat. Relax and settle in slowly, can't stress this enough, I hope all is going well for you, and hopefully this information can help others who may find themselves in a similar situation.
Irene of Ragglerock & Sentimental Catteries
Ontario, Canada
http://www.ragglerock.com
http://www.ragdolls.ca