Ciders Haven Cattery review: FIP Loss

An update (Jan 9, 2012): Now breeder Janae is arguing that we have no proof to show kitten (from Lacey x Blu) died of FIP.
Both our two vets from two different hospitals stated that kitten had FIP, based on blood tests, ultrasound, clinical symptoms especially ascites, anemia & lethargy. Kitten was 6 pounds at 6 months, and then gained almost 2 pound in two weeks because of fluid build up rapidly in her abdomen (she had wet FIP). There are not that many diseases besides FIP that could cause a kitten to be this lifeless & have pot belly according to our vets. Initially, Janae wanted a necropsy when we told her about FIP as a possible diagnosis, but the night before kitten's euthanization, she replied email & said "Don't' do that necropsy". Most likely because we asked her to pay for the necropsy if she really wanted to pursue it. She later explained she trusted us therefore it was not necessary to do necropsy. We also gave her contact information of our two vets in case she had any doubts about FIP as the diagnosis. She did not call.

Now as we're discussing about replacement, she's changing her words and said we did not have necropsy to prove the diagnosis of FIP. How absurd is that! She stated in her recent email that she is not giving us any replacement, breeching the contract. On her contract, she guaranteed a replacement of kitten if kitten is not healthy before 1 year old.

She said she had 11 years of breeding experience (but she's only in her mid 20s) with healthy kittens as a defense to deny the FIP case from her cattery. We all know no one can truly foresee health in any live animals. Any cattery can face kitten illness. We're disheartened to deal with such an arrogant breeder who refuse to accept kitten illness & learn about FIP precaution. She sent us two random internet resources saying FIP is not inherited. However she's ignoring reputable & updated resources from well-knowned FIP research institutes such as Winn Feline Foundation, Cornell University, UC Davis, & Dr. Addie's articles regarding genetic predisposition of FIP.

Health guarantee from the contract :
"should the above cat prove to have a genetic defect or health problem by his/her 1st birthday, the breeder will replace the kitten. Cosmetic problems not included."

Now breeder Janae Grove is not following her contract to give us replacement (" health problem by his/her 1st birthday, the breeder will replace the kitten"), even if kitten did not die from FIP, obviously kitten succumbed to severe health problems (ascites, non-regenerative anemia), which should entitle us for a replacement according to the contract.

Beware of this contract-breaking cattery.

GCCF breeding policy:
Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) – This is not an inherited disease, however, a genetic predisposition to the development of FIP was identified by Drs. Foley and Pedersen in 1996. They examined pedigree and health data from 10 generations of cats in several pure-bred catteries and found that the inheritance of susceptibility to FIP could be very high (about 50%) At present the advice from veterinary scientists is not to repeat matings that have produced FIP succumbing kittens.
It is likely a polygenetic trait rather than a simple dominant or recessive mode of inheritance. Inbreeding, by itself, is not a risk factor. Selecting for overall disease resistance is a helpful tool for breeders. The likely defect in immunity to FIP is in cell-mediated immunity. Therefore cats that are susceptible to FIP are also likely susceptible to some other infections as well, especially fungal and viral infections. This finding gives breeders the ability to achieve success in reducing the risk of FIP by using pedigree analysis to select breeding cats from family backgrounds that have strong resistance to FIP and other infectious diseases. See link: http://www.cfa.org/articles/health/FIP.html There are studies taking place at UC Davis into the genetic aspects of FIP and breeders’ participation is requested if they lose a cat or kitten to this disease. For details of this see: http://www.sockfip.org/fip-studies.html For more information and advice on this disease see: www.fabcats.org

Ciders Haven Cattery Scam (Warning against Lacey x Blu kittens, FIP)
It has been over half year since we lost our beloved black and white persian kitten from Ciders Haven Cattery to FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis), a rapidly fatal illness that has proven by researchers to have genetic predisposition. We're shocked that breeder Janae Grove still repeats the same breeding of Lacey and Blu (parents) together continuously without revealing any truth to potential buyers. Ethical breeder would have stopped breeding parent pair that has a history of kitten with fatal illness. It's sad when a breeder does anything for profit risking kittens' health and buyer's well-being & financial loss.
We lost thousands of dollars last year and breeder has breached contract about replacement kitten with the excuse that we posted some public complaints behind her back (Truth was that we tried very hard to communicate with her for about 6 weeks without reaching any reasonable agreement. All Janae wanted to do was to replace us a kitten from same parents which was absurd given that FIP has genetic predisposition. She ignored all the vet articles regarding FIP studies & prevention we sent her. ) We're writing to warn others against this cattery. This breeder is young, yet very arrogant to communicate with when problem occurred with kitten's health. She claimed to have over 10 years of breeding experience and would not change her way of breeding. We recommend choosing a more reputable and mature breeder when buying a Persian or exotic kitten to prevent a heartbreaking experience & financial loss.

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Another dishonest discovery after we purchased the kitten was that kitten had an obvious bump (~unicorn bump) on her forehead. We paid full price for kitten for show and breeding. Yet kitten had an obvious bump which is a major fault for show or breeding. However because we loved the kitten regardless, we did not complain to breeder about this fault. Whether purchasing a kitten as a pet or for show/breeding, we would recommend not choosing Ciders Haven Cattery based on our very sad & disappointing experience with the breeder.