Author Topic: Advice needed  (Read 1941 times)

Offline Amanda

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #12 on: September 04, 2008, 17:52:27 PM »
Many thanks Angeladeedah - so sorry to hear that your cat has been diagnosed with this devastating condition too. :(
Hope that the treatment will give him a good amount of quality life.
"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it"
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Offline Angeladeedah

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2008, 21:34:20 PM »
Firstly, I would like to pass on my sympathies to your family.   :RIP: Paddy

I have just recently found out that my 2 and a half year old cat has been diagnosed with HCM - its a genetic disorder (and my cat is a cross-breed) so the breeder wouldn't have known that he had it.   My cat also has a brother but so far he appears to be ok.  With my cat its the heart muscle walls that are too thick and preventing the blood from pumping to the heart.  I've just been told today that he will only have another 2 - 4 years to live so I am devastated as I always thought I would have them for many years. 

Offline Amanda

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #10 on: August 31, 2008, 04:58:23 AM »
Thank you all once again for the kind wishes.

Having slept on this (well sort of - it's 4.50am!  :tired:) I am feeling more that it's an out of the blue unfortunate event. Although the vet has advised all other kittens from this pairing be checked my feeling is that there is unlikely to be a problem with any of the others - as such we'll let the breeder know and leave the decision to her (which is all we can do in any case).

Alfie is sitting on me and purring his head off at the moment - he is more settled now - and he's gorgeous, the picture of health.

We'll ring the breeder again today and send her a copy of the vet's report. I think this is a one off event though - sad and unfortunate but couldn't have been prevented.
"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it"
Ferris Bueller

Offline Gill (sneakiefeline)

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #9 on: August 30, 2008, 23:36:58 PM »
I am so terribly sorry to hear about little Paddy, RIP little man.

Sorry I dont know the answer but I am sure the breeder should be notified.


Offline Kirst

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #8 on: August 30, 2008, 21:45:47 PM »
Im so sorry to hear this - we  lost our Birman Oscar to HCM earlier this year. The rest of his litter mates have shown no signs of it , and there is no history in his bloodline - it was just bad luck.

HCM can strike out of the blue ,and the breeder would have had no idea he had it. :'(



Offline Millys Mum

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2008, 21:45:04 PM »
Did you stick with the same company?


Offline Amanda

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2008, 21:40:36 PM »
Many thanks Millys Mum. I thought as much - I know the breeder is a good one and that she would not have knowingly sold a kitten who was ill - he came with six weeks pet insurance too. Sadly this had just run out and had switched to the new plan - he wasn't covered for the first two weeks.

Am so sad still. Mum has just gone to bed and taken Alfie with her. Mum is shattered (not tired shattered - just shattered) and has gone to bed. She has taken Alfie to bed with her as the poor boy is pacing and calling for his brother  :(

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it"
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Offline Millys Mum

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2008, 21:35:36 PM »
What a sad story  :(  :hug: :hug:

Its down to the buyer to get insurance sorted as no one can 100% guarantee the health of their kittens.


Offline Amanda

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2008, 20:27:46 PM »
Many thanks for the kind wishes expressed so far.

Thank you also Team Svartalfheims for you wise words. Am guessing you are a breeder and I think I was hoping there would be breeders here who would reply.
The lady who bred these kittens is a reputable breeder - I think there were only three kittens in this litter and obviously my parents had two of them - the third went some distance away.

Do breeders have insurance for these kinds of tragedies? Or do they leave it to the purchasers to insure using Pet Insurance for these rare occurrences?

Parents are both still shell shocked and feeling bad that they didn't realise Paddy was so ill. Vet has reassured them that they couldn't have known because Paddy was behaving so normally and that even a week ago it might not have been apparent.

Beautiful cats by the way TS - have just looked at your website.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2008, 20:29:06 PM by Amanda »
"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it"
Ferris Bueller

Offline Team Svartalfheims

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2008, 20:12:35 PM »
First I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to your parents, such a tragedy.

I would think that legally the breeder cannot be made to refund the money to your parents unless the vets picked up a heart problem at the kittens health check before it left her. She may however do it as a goodwill gesture as no doubt she is absolutely gutted that a kitten of hers has died and especially due to what it has died of as it's a disease that breeders dread due to the seriousness of it.

If she is a good breeder she should notify the owners of other kittens from the litter or from previous litters from the cats involved.

I think most breeders of Maine Coons and Ragdolls (and some breeders of other breeds) routinely have their cats scanned for HCM now and if the result is postive or equivocal they immediately neuter the cats. Sadly a cat/kittens parents may scan negative for it but still pass the gene on as most tests are done via an Echocardiogram of the cats heart which has to be done several times over the cats breeding life and a cat may test negative for several years and have several litters of kittens and then have a positive result at age X. I think however there is now also a DNA test for HCM in Ragdolls and Maine Coons but again not all cats that develop HCM will possess that particular gene.

 :hug: to you and your parents.
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Offline Rosella moggy

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Re: Advice needed
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2008, 20:00:10 PM »
Amanda. Just wanted to say that is heartbreaking. I'm so very sorry for you all. RIP little Paddy  :(

Sorry don't know answer to 1 but think answer to 2 must be a yes.

Offline Amanda

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Advice needed
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2008, 19:50:12 PM »
I'd appreciate some advice on behalf of my parents.

Seven weeks ago they became the proud owners of two Ragdoll kittens. Both are boys and came from the same litter - they were quite healing for my Mum who has lost two cats in the last 12 months - both mysteriously vanished and we never knew what happened - they just didn't come home. So for my Mum having two new Fur Babies was wonderful. Both kittens quickly endeared themselves to the household and have kept us endlessly entertained with their antics and affection.

Over the past few weeks we have noticed that one kitten (Alfie) grew more rapidly than the other kitten (Paddy). The smaller kitten ate well (indeed was a screaming banshee where food was concerned) and played as hard as his bigger brother. Last night we had fish and chips and Paddy did his usual shrieking for food - I gave him some left over white fish which he ate with relish.

This morning when I got up (I am currently living with my Mum & Dad) I fed the kittens and noticed that Paddy did not eat. Instead he went into the hall and lay down. I noticed that his breathing seemed rapid and counted his resps  - they were at 80 a minute and he was using his abdominal muscles to aid his breathing. I woke my Mum and Dad up and said I thought that Paddy needed to see a vet. We got an emergency appointment - it was not good - his breathing was rapid, the vet could hear a heart murmur one side but couldn't hear anything the other side and said she thought there was fluid on his lungs. She couldn't take his temperature as he got so distressed when she attempted it and she feared he might pass out if she continued. However, she thought he might have a temperature.

At this point it was apparent he would need an X-Ray which was not available at the surgery so my parents took Paddy back this afternoon to a different surgery. By this time he was really struggling and was aggressive when handled - the vet said that this was because he was using all his energy to breathe. The X Ray showed fluid on the lungs, an enlarged heart, liver and kidneys. At this point the vet said she needed to anasthetise Paddy and draw some fluid off his lungs - my parents had to sign to say they understood he may die as a result of the anasthetic - the vet said that it might be due to infection but felt it all pointed to a massive heart problem and that if this was the case the kindest thing would be not to wake Paddy up. My parents went home and 30 mins later the vet phoned - she had drawn 100mls of fluid from Paddy's lungs :( and his hbeart was dilated to 6x the size it should be. She advised that the kindest action would be to euthanase Paddy while he was asleep and so this was done. My parents are obviously devastated and Alfie (the other kitten) is pacing and calling for his brother.

The vet stressed that it was important that Alfie was now checked as he was part of the same litter. From what I've read on the internet this appears to be something called HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) and is being seen in Maine Coons and Ragdolls. My parents have obviously been unfortunate in having a kitten affected (although my Dad says he wouldn't have changed Paddy as he was a lovely kitten).

My questions are:

1. Can my parents approach the breeder for any sort of refund? I honestly don't think she knowingly sold my parents a sick kitten - the vet herself said that even if Paddy had been checked by a vet a week ago the problem (although probably present) might not have been detectable.

2. Should the breeder notify other owners of kittens from this litter? My parents have let her know about Paddy as the vet said the liklihood is that Paddy's condition was congenital.

My parents are both utterly bereft this evening and I am feeling so sad for them - and also for lovely Paddy who suffered so much in his last few hours. Only 20 weeks old - it's too young and I feel he's been robbed of the lovely life he should have had.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2008, 19:51:22 PM by Amanda »
"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it"
Ferris Bueller

 


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