WWYD: kitten died from FIP, breeder won't respond to emails

[RollerCoasterMama]

I posted a while back about having to put my kitten down when she suddenly got really ill. I figured she had birth defects or something like that since she was always very very small. But the breeder wanted to do a necropsy to make sure it wasn't something hereditary and the tests confirmed FIP. That absolutely makes sense with what her last couple of weeks were like as she slowly declined and then all of a sudden got REALLY bad the last 24 hrs. I'm not sure she would have made it another day on her own.

So I let the breeder know. Obviously they weren't trying to hide FIP or anything known since they were the ones that suggested and paid for the necropsy. I have no hard feelings about that. I'm not asking for a refund. They aren't contractually obligated to me in any way.

But it's really frustrating to me that they won't just reply and say "We're so sorry we sold you a sick kitten." That's all I really need for closure. Others have suggested that they do owe me a refund or a replacement kitten even if it's outside of the health guarantee of the contract. I don't want any money back. IF they offered a replacement kitten, I might consider it. Or even a reduced cost kitten at some point in the future. But I don't want to demand anything nor are they really obligated to do it. In their shoes, I would feel like it was a matter of good business to do something. But that's me.

I'm totally talking myself in circles. A month ago, I wasn't even considering a replacement kitten. Now if offered, I would think about it. I don't want money back for sure. When I found out that she got sick from a disease vs a birth defect, it sort of changed things. The pathologist's report indicated that her only problem was the FIP. No preexisting issues.

This got long and rambly. I'd just welcome opinions. WWYD? Let it go? Try to email the breeders again? I emailed them once since I received the report. I didn't ask for anything, just indicated that I'd reviewed the report with my vet and that it was FIP. That was a couple of days ago. No response. I only finally got the report from the vet after the breeder never got back to me the way she said she would when she had more info. She just disappeared. That was very different than any other interaction I had over the months with her.

[RollerCoasterMama]

ps. I did end up sending an email. Basically just making it very clear that I didn't expect a refund, that I understand that FIP sometimes just happens, I don't believe they had any reason to suspect FIP. But that by abruptly cutting off contact once a diagnosis came in, it was not compassionate or particularly professional. Hopefully they can take that going forward. I hope they do respond and just say "I'm sorry" That's all I really want out of the whole thing to get some closure. But at this point, I've said my piece.

[amcal]

I'm so sorry about your kitty I hope you get the respect of a response and closure you need.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by amcal

I'm so sorry about your kitty I hope you get the respect of a response and closure you need.

Thanks. I actually feel quite a bit better after sending the email. It wasn't mean or whiney. It was professional and to the point. And the point was that this wasn't handled well. If they respond, great. If not, it's fine, because I'm not steaming away. I was fine about it until I found out she didn't have any congenital issues. And then when they cut off communications immediately when they found out it was FIP. Now I've said what I needed to, and I'm not festering. Plenty of closure for me. If they choose to respond, bonus.

[VisionaryMom]

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We had a cat die from FIP, and it's hard to watch.

As for the breeders, perhaps they think just not saying anything protects them, but I understand the need for closure. My chiro once told me that her dog of many years died, and right in front of her, the vet said to his tech "okay, go get a box to put him, and we'll take care of him later." I think some people just have crappy bedside manner or don't know what to say.

[RollerCoasterMama]

I did actually get a response to my email. She left a voicemail on my cell last night. It sounds like there was some delay in her getting the pathologist's report, and she'd been away from email for a while.

Which is fine. But hopefully she takes away from this that regular updates are important when there's an unforeseen delay in getting information people are waiting for. And that when you run a business, it's import to check your email every day or two and REPLY to everyone that needs a reply.

I haven't spoken with her directly yet. I can pretty much anticipate how the conversation will go and I don't intend to make her feel any worse. She really is a nice person...but this could have been handled better. It's a learning experience. She's been mentoring with another breeder and actually was fostering my kitten and her mother when the kitten needed to be hand-fed. The original owner is the person I'd originally dealt with back when her cat was pregnant and she's the one that's been mentoring this other woman in how things work. She immediately called and made the foster breeder check her email and respond. Which is good. But she's staying very hands-off...which is still kind of annoying, but whatever. It's great when you're mentoring someone new to the business, but when the commodity is a living creature, sometimes the lines need to blur.

Oh well. I feel like I got my closure just by saying what I had to say. And it will all resolve just fine. I'm not going to throw a temper tantrum or anything.

[RollerCoasterMama]

So resolution. We're on the same page. It was one delay after another that added up and she didn't think to keep in touch during that time (won't make that mistake again). But drama-free and we're on the same page again.

They are retiring the mother cat...not because of the FIP so much. But because the litter my kitten came from, my kitten was the only survivor and then she was SO tiny -- 3 lbs at 5 months old when she was still healthy. They tend not to overbreed their cats anyway and retire them fairly young and adopt them out into a good forever home. So IF there was a genetic predisposition for FIP that happened to pop out in my kitten, it won't be repeated again. I feel good about that decision. There's no point risking everyone going through this again just for the sake of a few dollars.

I feel like this has come to a good resolution.

Oh, and the original breeder sent a message through the foster breeder...she sent her sympathies and apologized for not responding but didn't want to step into the middle of things when I'd been working directly with foster breeder most of the time. She thought she might be overstepping things by getting in the middle. So that feels better too.