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Karabel’s Cattery Christine Arnold Sent me my kitten sick Ancaster.Ontario Ontario
My kitten arrived all stuffed up with large amounts of bloody mucus coming out of his nose when he sneezed. Which was often. The first day I thought maybe it was from the dry airplane air but the next day when it continued I emailed Christine and she said it was nothing- it's just a cat cold . The day after, he was so sick I took him to the vet and he was put on antibiotics. They didn't help so we did a panel test which cost over $400. It came back that our kitten has calicivirus (FCV) which is a form of herpes. And it is not curable.
All his life he will be plagued with this, especially if he gets stressed. Also, he has Bordatella Bronchiseptica (Kennel Cough) which he is on new antibiotics for. Two different vets confirm he came with these illnesses, because of the time it takes for a cat to show symptoms. And the worst part is that if he had his vaccinations by the vet when he should have, he likely would have been fine. A kitten should be vaccinated by a vet for FCV at 6-8 weeks of age, and then 4 weeks after. Our kitten was not vaccinated by a vet until 5 months of age!! And so, he only came to us with the one vaccine, still needing a booster, which we still can't give him because he is sick.
Christine says she did her own vaccinations but was very secretive about it. When pressed, she said she got the vaccines from the vet who vehemently denies it. Then she recanted when we confronted her with saying the vet denied it, and so she then said she purchased them from the US. And, if she did give him his two vaccinations at the proper time, why would the vet give him his first vaccine at 5 months? It make no sense at all. We had numerous emails and conversations with Christine. In the end she said we can send the cat back to her for a refund. This was after a lot of lies, evasiveness and abusive comments by her.
We have bonded with this little guy and the thought of putting him through another flight would be so stressful for him and would bring on his FCV and we just don't want to do that. And, what kind of breeder takes a sick cat in that will infect her other cats?....or are they all infected with this, I wonder? And the way she has dealt with us makes us wonder if she would actually even refund us. She is a very strange lady. She sends very aggressive and unprofessional emails with capitals and yellow highlights, no matter how polite we have remained.
She has done this even before we got the cat. She insisted he be sent on a flight that would arrive in Vancouver in the middle of the night. We would have to get up at 2:30am to get to the airport to pick him up. We kindly asked if we could arrange another more reasonable flight. She sent her first of many aggressive messages back to us, accusing us of not being cat lovers. So we found another direct flight that came during the day and she didn't believe us until we proved it to her, so she agreed to send him. But boy, was she ever angry, just because we asked! All we are asking for now is half the money back for the cat to compensate for all the money and extra medical care our cat has needed and we will keep him and look after him for his whole life.
We have spent a fortune on vet bills and we've only had him for 4 weeks now. But she is ignoring my request. This breeder needs to be stopped. We called the Cat Fanciers Association and the lady we spoke to's first comment was "Oh oh, what has Christine Arnold done now". That says it all. We will pursue whatever we need to, to stop this lady from continuing to get away with this.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Mike
5302 Teskey Rd,British Columbia,
Canada
The Truth
#3Author of original report
Sat, April 17, 2021
There is never any shame in being truthful. And we were being truthful . Plain and simple. I would hope Karabel’s would feel shame but sadly, that is not the case.
Margaret
Ancaster,Ontario,
Canada
KARABEL REBUTTAL
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, April 16, 2021
I could not allow your outrageous and erroneous report about Christine and Karabel cattery to stand unchallenged. I have known Christine for 20 years and have been involved as an exhibitor in the cat fancy for many years. I have several Karabel cats, the oldest being 15. If I were to acquire another kitten, Christine would be my first choice.
Christine is a caring and responsible breeder and she would never send a kitten to you or anyone else with known health issues. I am sorry you have had problems with your kitten. But if you were a knowledgeale pet owner, you would know that the first year of any young animal's life is the time they are most vulnerable to illness due to their immature immune systems. Being shipped a long way to a new home is a stressful experience and it is understandable that this could have resulted in a flare-up of upper respiratory symptoms.
Had you done your research, you would know that a large % of the entire feline population carry feline herpesvirus and calicivirus so good luck trying to find one who doesn't have it! Some cats will have occasional breakouts of upper respiratory symptoms, usually when they are very young or very old, often triggered by stress. Others will be carriers but will not exhibit symptoms throughout their lifetime. Vaccinations are helpful but are not perfect. In all probability, your kitten's symptoms will disappear as he or she matures.
All experienced breeders vaccinate their own kittens and this is standard and responsible practice. Sometimes when kittens are being shipped to far away locations, they will receive the third of three vaccinations from a veterinarian so that their health can be checked at the same time. If Chris indicated that your kitten had 3 vaccinations including 2 which were administered by her, then you can be assured this is true. You can also be sure if the kitten had respiratory symptoms when vaccinated the 3rd time by the veterinarian prior to shipment, these would have been identified.
Regarding Bordetella, this is not a common infection in cats, and as long as I have known Chris, she has never had a Bordetella infection in her cattery. The most likely source of Bordetella for your kitten was the airplane which certainly must have been shipping puppies or dogs. Bordetella is much more common in the canine population. My internet research suggests an incubation period after as little as a couple of days after exposure! It is unfortunate that this happened, but Bordetella is treatable with antibiotics.
You reported that Christine has offered to take your kitten back for a full refund and this is totally fair and consistent with her standard contract. I do not know of any cat breeder who would send you money for vet bills as you have asked. This is totally unreasonable to expect. Kittens are living beings - not something like a refrigerator which can be purchased with guarantees, extended warranties, service contracts, etc.
Christine has hundreds of loyal customers like me, who have purchased Karabel kittens over many years. We continue to return to her to replace a beloved cat after a long and happy life. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for choosing to slander this excellent breeder and caring human being.