Question for Cat Breeders

I have owned cats before but they were housecats and just picked up from neighbors. So I have no clue about cat breeding- pros or cons or legalities of it. But have a question for a friend of mine....here is her story as she explained it to me and would like to have your opinion.

We have established that our new Ragamuffin kitty (I have eliminated her name- Jan note), is a great pet. And as you have read, she has a congenital eye condition. First, if any of you are animal breeders or have much experience in this world, I welcome your insight. And second, this is a “buyer beware.†Before I begin, let me say that in my mind I am separating my cat's non-monetary value as a beloved pet from the business side of the transaction. Is it fair to do so? In my mind, yes. I welcome opinions on this as well!

So, let’s go back to my visit with my cat's ophthalmologist, shall we? At that appointment, within the first few minutes, the doctor stated that my kitty had multiple congenital defects and very limited vision. She asked if we had a health guarantee, and I stated that we did and it said that if there was a health problem, we could return her for a replacement kitty. I said that I hesitated to do that because we were already attached to our kitty. The vet thought it would be reasonable to either receive a refund, because this kitty could never have been sold at the “going price†for Ragamuffins with this condition, or to receive a replacement kitty without sending our kitty back. In the words of the vet, “What are they going to do with her? They can’t resell her!†Good point. The vet also recommended that we have an attorney draft a letter to the Ragamuffin breeder stating those options.

So, being the nice people that we are, we decided getting an attorney involved was a bit much, and we drafted our own email letter, emphasizing that we love our kitty, but that come on!, she’s not quite the kitty we paid for. We received an email back stating that the ONLY offer we would get was that we could either ship the kitty back at our expense and have them ship us another kitty at our expense (And folks, have any of you ever shipped an animal? It ain’t cheap, my friends.) or we could purchase a second kitty from them at a discount. And even with that discount, I might add, it would be cheaper to go elsewhere to get another Ragamuffin.
So we have a beautiful Raga Muffin cat. We paid full price. Well, not really, because they had a previous buyer back out, so this one was a bit older than normal, so she was “discounted†a bit–probably the cost of the deposit. But we paid a hefty fee, and the discount was not related to the eye condition.

So, we were told that our two options were basically to spend more money (shipping our kitty back and having a replacement shipped to us) or to spend more money (purchasing a second Ragamuffin at a discount). Not quite what we were looking for. I replied AGAIN and stated that we seemed to be at an impasse, and that we would keep our kitty. However, I informed the breeder that I will forward the vet report to the RAG (Ragamuffin Associated Group) and that I assume they will as well since they are required to submit information about any congenital anomalies.

So folks, give me your opinion. All of our pets except for Max, the burping Golden Retriever, are mutt-cats either from the pound or about to be sent to the pound, so my experience with breeders is very limited. So I ask you–is the way this breeder handled this situation typical? Is this a fair offer, or should there be some way for us to keep our kitty, and yet receive at least a partial refund?

Thanks all!

Man, shame on that breeder! Sorry to hear you're having this trouble.

What state do you live in? Some states have "lemon laws" regarding dogs, maybe the same is true of cats, I don't know.

I've never bought a cat from a breeder, mine are all from the pound (the closest I have to a purebred is a Siamese mix), so I don't know how common this experience is, but I certainly hope you can get some kind of refund.

I was hoping you would show up here Boemy, since I know you can track state laws on pet buying. They have been written in some states to protect buyers who fall in love with their pet and got a sick one and don't want to give it up, unlike a washing machine. lol.

Also, Jan, would you mind PMing me the name of the cattery and any website. I have a friend who is tight with the purebreed community. I'd like to run it by her.

You also might want to consider talking to the breeder and discussing what you think is a fair way to handle this without stressing the cat, before you go further. Who knows? At least you will have tried it.

My friend lives in Alabama and she is going to email me the name and location of the breeder and I will PM it.

She already tried to contact the breeder to work it out and the breeders response was that she could either ship the kitty back at my friends expense and the breeder would ship her another kitty at my friends expense which is expensive I guess for shipping....or my friend could purchase a second kitty from them at a discount.

thanks you all....any more ideas?

Well let's wait till Boemy does her magic. Then we will know more of what your other options are if you need them.

Alabama does not have any puppy/kitten lemon laws that I can find but it may be worth your while to contact a lawyer anyway.

Here are the states who definitely have lemon laws: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and Vermont. (The terms of the laws vary from state to state.)

Oh, Alabama sucks. Your not going to find one good thing about this state regarding animals. =/

Ack. I was afraid it was one of those states.

Jan, the website indicates that this cattery is not in Alabama right? it's in Maine. Was your cat shipped from Maine? Or is she doing a farmout operation?

My friends cat, not mine. She said it was shipped from Maine to Alabama, for 250!!! WOWZA!

When I get to work Monday I will look up the cat lemon laws...new area of law to me!

thanks so much!

I have sent you a PM.