Dear MCBFA:

My question is can be very detailied, but I will try to shorten as much as possible. What would be expected from a breeder under these circumstances:

A breeder sells 2 littermate females for breeding. They are shipped to the new owner on 12/3/98. The buyer notices dull coat, and was told - didn't have time to bath. Buyer notices poor appetite and breeder states that all of ker kittens are "picky" eaters. No red flags up at this time.

on 1/28/99 the buyer wakes up and one of the 9 months kittens is dead. Buyer rushes the cat t the State Lab for necropsy. & days later buyer is informed the kitten was tested positive for Fe-LV - through bone marrow testing. Moreso - lesions were found around the heart and all other major organs. The kitten died due to her heart from the lesions, due to the immune system being so low. But keep in mind that the kitten was active. This was sudden. The state lab informes the buyer that looking at all major organs, this has been an on-going problem for months. The buyer only had the kitten for 45 days before the first death.

The buyer notifies the breeder with hopes that the breeder will take back the other littermate - the buyer is told not an option. The buyer askes for a refund back - the buyer is told not an option. The buyer offered to absorb all shipping costs of when the littermates were shipped, all medical bills on both cats, and was willing to jsut accept the refund on the cats. Again - buyer was told not an option. The buyer asked the breeder to take the remainig littermate back - not an option. The breeder was made aware that the remaining littermate was ill - but testing proved to be nagative - but clearly - an ill cat.

The buyer has gone to every extreme to work things out with this breeder. The breeder will not consider any option except to "replace the one kitten with anither kitten". But the replacement kitten would be coming from a different cattery other than her cattery. The buyer declined as she alrady had a cat from that cattery.

While this buyer realizes that legally she can pursue this in court, she prefers that the breeder will meet hald way to bring all to a closure.

In a situation such as this - what would MCBFA advise in hopes to brig this matter to a rest. Any suggestions or ideas, thoughts woudl be greatly appreciated.

-- Anonymous, March 03, 1999