I provided pictures of that kitten to the buyer while the kitten was raised by me. The buyer came to visit the kitten every 2 weeks. Thу kitten never had herpes. These are the pictures of the kitten that is claimed to have herpes (eyes virus that makes eye drain puss). These and many more pictures were sent to me by the buyer on different occasions. Eyes of this kitten look normal, not swollen, no puss. Our cattery never had herpes.
The buyer did not follow my contract. I sold the cat as indoor. The buyer was taking the cat to construction stores and said the cat behaved as a dog, everyone was coming to the kitten to pet and to admire. The 3 month old kitten weights about 3 lb, raised as indoor, should not be outside, exposed to viruses and bacteria at such early age. The buyer did not follow the vaccination regimen either.
My indoor kittens at the buyers house shared the litter box with adult indoor/outdoor cats. We do random fecal tests every 6 weeks-2 months and its always negative. We tested it in house ( at vet's office) and in lab, spin and float, and everytime it is negative. We did it at two different clinics. Copies of the fecal test results were sent to the buyer. And only later found out that the buyers kittens shared the litter box with outside adult cats, that could have brought giardia ( lives in standing water as puddle of water or in feces of other animals) to the litter box. We do not have overcrowded cattery. Each momma cat has a separate litter box. regularly tested and the kittens are dewormed as a standard procedure. Every kitten leaves the cattery only after examined by the vet and confirmed healthy.
If the first kitten indeed was sick, why did the buyer buy the second and then the third kitten?
The buyer was supposed to send proof of spay and neuter for the second kitten. I never received that. After requesting it several times, I was told that the buyer moved and cannot locate the proof. I asked to contact the vet and send me the proof. The buyer replied that the vet closed business...and disappeared?
I have never received any proof that any of the kittens had any health issues, no vet bills, no diagnosis by the vet. no autopsy, confirming the cat had FIP. No proof - no refund. My health guarantee was against genetic diseases for 12 months. I stated to the buyer, that if I had proof from the vet, we can talk about it(FIP is not genetic) Still, no proof.
The buyer insisted that I have to sell her my breeding females so she can make money. I only sell kittens as pets. The same rule for everyone. So, I refused. The buyers response was: If you do not let me make money(by selling cats) I will close your cattery. The animal control came, found no violations. Business license in place. Every cat is registered, tested. All kittens are registered. No bunch of dogs in the garage. Clean cattery, not overcrowded.
I am very sorry for the loss of your cat. 41/2 is not long enough for the cats life, but long enough to build a relationship. I totally understand your frustration. All cats from the shelter or from the breeder are exposed to corona virus at some point of their life. Only a small percentage develops FIP. FIP cases increased since COVID 19. Based on the article provided and in case the link does not open here is the summary. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7911697/
Domestic cats can be infected experimentally with SARS-CoV and develop active infection, shedding, and pulmonary changes very similar to those seen in fatal human cases [32]
5. Evidence of Human-to-Cat Transmission of SARS-CoV-2
At the time of writing (30 December 2020), there have been numerous sporadic reports of domestic animals from COVID-19 households that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and were presumed to be infected from their owners.
The first two cases of feline SARS-CoV-2 infection in the United States were confirmed in New York by the CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The cats originated from separate households and were epidemiologically linked to suspected or confirmed human COVID-19 cases in their respective households [54].
Zhang et al. [67] reported that cats become infected with SARS-CoV-2 following natural exposure to infected people, with 15 of 102 (14.7%) cat sera collected following the outbreak in Wuhan testing positive for antibodies that recognized the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 by ELISA, eleven of which (10.8%) also tested positive for neutralizing antibodies. The results of this study imply that cat populations could become infected in any region affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
