ragdollsNW.com review: Bad breeding 1

RagdollsNW response to this complaint:

First, I would like to say that I appreciate follow up information about the health of kittens. It is important for breeders to know when there are health issues. The only way breeders can know about breeding issues is by hearing back about kittens as they age. This is the first serious concern I have heard about with one of the kittens from my cattery. I have feedback from many happy customers and I do my best to breed and raise healthy kittens. It turns out that I had actually already retired the female that had this kitten for other reasons by the time I heard about this kitten’s ear issues (she didn’t meet my expectations as an adult cat), so this was the first and only kitten from that breeding. I actually had already done what the customer thought should be done before she contacted me.

Once kittens leave a breeder’s care, it is impossible to know what they are exposed to and about their care so most breeders ask for a vet check to occur within a few days of delivery. If the kitten is not in acceptable health, it should be returned at that time. I also have a 1-year genetic health clause in my contract so if there are issues that are truly related to “bad breeding” in terms of genetics, the kitten can be exchanged. I am so sorry that this happened and did not hear of the issues until they had already been dealt with.
I would like to clear up a couple of things about this specific situation.

The kitten was given to the family along with a bag of the food the kitten was currently eating and information about the name of the food with instructions to continue the same food and only gradually switch the kitten to a new diet. Instead, the kitten was put on canned food the day it was taken home, so of course, it ended up with diarrhea. All the literature about taking home a new kitten says clearly that it is important to switch diets slowly to avoid stomach issues. Since the parents let the daughter give her new kitten the canned cat food, I felt bad and didn’t want to make the daughter feel bad about her mistake. I keep a closed cattery which means I don’t allow any cats from outside my cattery into my home to avoid contamination and health issues. However, since it had only been a couple of days and they did not have other animals, I agreed to take the kitten back until it was better. After several days on the diet the kitten was used to, it’s stools were fine and I returned the kitten to the new owners. The original reason the cat had trouble was from not following instructions given at the time the kitten was picked up.

As for the accusation that I am doing something “shady” by not inviting strangers to my home: I do not have people to my home for two reasons. The first is safety. There have been cases in which people feign interest in purchasing animals so that they can be let into the home and “case” the house. While I am not an overly-concerned about safely, I have been cautioned by caring friends that I should take steps to be safe; hence the decision to meet people in a safe, public space. I always tell people about this policy of meeting them in a public place in case it would impact their decision about purchasing from me.

Secondly, I run a “closed” cattery which means my cats are isolated from exposure to animals not in my own care, and to contact with humans who have had contact with other animals. I cannot take kittens back once they have been outside my care as I cannot control what they have been exposed to. While I cannot totally exclude all exposure since people handle the kittens when they look at them, I do my best to protect my home from exposure. My policy is similar to other respected cat breeders. If you read the policy information on other cat breeding sites, you will see that many do not allow people into their homes or cattery for the same reasons that I indicated. I certainly understand if this is not acceptable to people wanting to purchase a kitten and would encourage them to find a breeder that they feel comfortable with.

Regarding the indication that the paperwork provided was not adequate: The paperwork given included the names of the wormers and vaccinations as well as the dates these were given, and I always dose the kitten with revolution before it leaves. When I receive breeding cats from breeders in other parts of the country, this is the same information that I receive. There is no need for additional vaccinations. I have had other customers tell me that their vet recommended vaccinations that most cat breeders do not agree with and also recommend vaccinations even though the breeder had given the vaccinations. It seems to me that this approach is a way of adding expenses to an office visit, since there is no actual need for the additional vaccinations.

In response to the accusation that I am just in this to make money: While it surely would be nice to be making money, I have not come close to making enough money to pay for all the costs involved in this hobby. I love cats and had been an animal-lover all my life. I can’t imagine being without my purring friends on my lap. Raising kittens is a lot of hard work, and while I am surely make mistakes, I honestly do my best to raise wonderful, healthy kittens. My adult cats come from responsible breeders in other states and I have done my best to acquire healthy breeding cats with no known health issues.

Finally, about ear polyps: According to information online, there are theories about the causes of ear polyps but the actual causes are unknown. Ear polyps can occur in all breeds of cats and in both genders. For a vet to assume the polyps develop due to “bad breeding” without more information doesn’t make sense to me. I have taken many litters to my vet and they have been healthy, happy kittens. (I have three vets who all charge reasonable fees. I took me many visits to many vets to find and trust the three vets that I go to. I use the different vets depending on their availability and the particular procedure needed. For example, I have a bird vet that is excellent with bird care. I do know there are vets that charge very high fees. I recommend all people do some shopping for a good vet because care and fees can vary tremendously. I have shopped for vet costs and found that there can be a wide range of fees for the same procedures.) According to the information online, the cause of feline polyps is unknown.

Here is a quote from a website discussing the issue:

Cause: The cause of feline inflammatory polyps is still unknown. Both the temporal relationship between polyp formation and inflammation and the site of origin remain unproven. Two common theories link polyps to congenital or infectious causes. The young age of most affected cats suggests that feline inflammatory polyps are aberrant growths, remnants of the branchial arches. Based on histopathology and clinical signs, however, polyps appear to be produced in response to inflammation (see Histopathology section). Pasteurella multocida and b-hemolytic Streptococcus were the two most common bacterial isolates in a clinical study of 12 cats with inflammatory polyps.1 Klebsiella, Achromobacter, and Bordetella spp have been isolated as well.3, 6 However, one study found bacteria in only 3 of 29 cats with polyps.3Whether inflammation and infection are primary or secondary to this disease is still unclear.3 It has been postulated that microorganisms migrate from the nasopharynx into the middle ear. In support of this idea, feline calicivirus has been isolated from some polyps and the nasopharyngeal region, although the direct relationship has not been determined.4, 7Experimental ligation of the auditory canals leads to polyp formation as well.7, 8
Source: http://www.vetfolio.com/surgery/feline-inflammatory-polyps-and-ventral-bulla-osteotomy

No breeder ever wants a kitten from their cattery to experience health issues and as you might imagine, it is devastating to hear bad news about a kitten. I am grateful that this kitten has such a dedicated and caring family and I will continue to use feedback from customers about health, disposition, and other characteristics to continually improve my cattery.