Should I pay for their vet treatments

[Crazycats1991]

I sold a ragdoll kitten last Monday at 14 weeks old from my litter of kittens 3 days later her eye has swollen and become infected the new owner has taken the kitten to the vet and it turns out she has herpes virus or Chlamydia virus from contact with another cat, she said he hasn't been near another cat but none of the other kittens in the litter are unwell and neither is mum and the other cat in my household. I have however offered to pay for half the vet fees.
AIBU to only offer half the vet fees and should pay the full amount
Or
AINBU and i don't need to pay any of the vet fees
No receipt or contract was given and the kitten was in good spirits and seemed healthy and she even sent me videos of her playing and jumping about in her new home
What should I do?

RedHelenB, which sounds like a good thing to me.

Oh please please effin please just don't get a cat.
EVER
@RedHelenB

Oh please please effin please just don't get a cat.
EVER
@RedHelenB

Maybe that's why there's no paperwork

Surely u need to contact the vet anyway to see if this infection poses a risk to your other cats and kittens. Then pay vet directly. Sorting out paperwork asap

OP,
I won't continue the pile in, but ethically I think you should take the kitten back and refund or replace. If the buyer wants to keep her then you should pay for the full round of treatment.

Off topic but the below is the strangest cat related comment I've ever read. Just why?
That's not actually true. Some people don't want a rescue and would have no cat rather than a rescue

Love it when someone barges in shouting about responsibility while annoucing they should neuter a 13 week old kitten. You couldn't write this shit.

Unless you’re missing a few brain cells or two, then anyone advocating for younger kittens to be sterilised to reduce cat over-population is a much more responsible one than one that makes money from an animals womb, sells sick animals and has little understanding in responsible pet ownership/breeding.

Didn’t hand over paperwork but is fully aware that the new owner is intending to breed from the kitten. Yes, this one has responsible breeder written all over it.

@XelaM decent Breeder insurance covers illness. New owners should take out their own insurance policies in advance of collecting their kitten, so that by the time the kitten is in their new home, the 2 week exclusion period has ended.

Responsible breeders selling a pet to responsible owners will between them ensure that the animal is never uninsured during the handover/settling in process

There is no excuse

God I hate shitty breeders.

Just to say while I have tried to support rescues, DH and I decided recently that we wouldnt have another cat rather than go rescue again.

We and various family members have had lots of rescues over the last 20 years. We are finding: the only kittens they seem to get are the offspring of feral cats. Even when taken as 12 week kittens & worked with extensively, they become poorly socialised fearful cats which frankly speaking make crap family pets as they avoid most people and all children.

The older cats in rescues where we live are often similar. Relatively fearful, almost semi feral cats or one with chronic health conditions or other poor behaviours. Rescues often refuse to let people with young children have a pet.

By contrast, we also adopted a kitten, given away for free by a friend who's lovely family cat had an unplanned litter. We got her at 9 weeks, she is extremely social, loves our children and is happy to be stroked and fussed over by them and visitors, neighbouring children etc. Neighbour who bought a kitten from a breeder at similar age has had similar experience.

Rescue vs buying cats are different things. Rescues are driven by animal protection and welfare and whether unconsciously or not, don't really care if an animal will be a suitable pet for the family, as long as the animal's needs are met. It's not very sustainable as most people just want a friendly pet tbh.

That is a bizarre statement.
Some people may want a specific breed of cat, but I imagine there are re- homing centres bfor specific breeds of cat, likely run by aficionados of that breed.
If one wants a kitten, there are reams of crossbreed kittens desperate for homes, and of course, adult cats too.

@InChocolateWeTrust
No idea which rescues you are going to but I have had the exact opposite experience to you.
Currently have four cats (two pairs aged 11 and 4). All came fron Battersea as kittens.
Excellently socialised by the rescue and have all grown up to be very friendly cats.

Rescues ...don't really care if an animal will be a suitable pet for the family, as long as the animal's needs are met.
wheras private sellers only care that the buyer has plenty of cash and diesn't give a fuck about the animal's welfare...

That’s not a true reflection of rescues at all. I have three friends who have rescued cats from a well-known charity and all are super-friendly and great with their children and also I would rather offer a home to a rescued kitten/cat that may not be the ‘ideal’ pet than see it euthanised because it’s not the kitten/cat everyone wants.

Where I live there are never kittens in rescues except semi feral etc.

You don't need to buy kittens as people give accidental ones away free. We paid nothing for ours so I dont think the "seller" was in it for the cash.

We were turned away from 6 rescues due to having 2 children under 5. Only one had any kittens at all despite it being kitten season, and they were kittens from a feral mother.

The others said none of their cats were suitable - several had cats with spraying issues, and most said the cats simply were suitable to go to a home with children. This was in the home counties.

Rescues round here are not bursting at the seams.

I have an adult male cat (?12 years old) who was abandoned and mistreated on a sink estate. A large tabby moggy. He came to me via a friend who knew that I had to have my beloved companion cat (aged 22) pts due to acute onset kidney failure. Eighteen months on, he is reducing his over eating, aggressive behaviour and is sometimes coming to sit next to me. He goes out and comes back to call. He's beginning to accept a mini groom with a small rake brush. He's vaccinated and I've fully insured him.
I always have rescue animals and expect nothing from them for as long as they live.
With calm, kind and appropriate management, they have all done well and become valued and much loved companions.

Astrak

Good for you but that's just not really what most families want from a pet.

The moggy kitten we were given for free has been the best pet ever. The whole family love her to bits, she is very attached to the children who give her tons of attention.

You should as a minimum offer to take your kitten back and ensure yourself that it receives appropriate Health treatment and refund the buyer. Can’t imagine the sadness as a family of being excited for weeks to Welcome a new fur baby into the family and immediately be plagued by vet bills and poor health making a happy time a sad time, it doesn’t portray you well as a breeder and word of mouth really is worth it’s weight in gold and I certainly would be speaking loudly if I was the new owner

Don't think OP is coming back

I really don't understand how people can sit there telling me I'm a back yard breeder and breeding for money when my kittens are alot cheaper than going rate as I don't breed to just make money or "use an animals womb" as one person put it.
My cats have had all reccomend gene tests before being bred they have been in the last 16 months scanned for HCM they also have saliva tests sent to the lab, and they are health checked yearly and before and during pregnancy.
I attend shows and therefore my cats are vaccinated and upto date with boosters.
I DO HAVE breeders insurance and provide 14 days free insurance with petplan to the new owner but this insurance only covers injury in the first 14 days if they then chose to carry on themselves with this insurance it will then cover illness and that is normal of any insurance!
I breed ethically and with care and compassion. There may well be plenty of moggies in the RSPCA but what you will not find is any of my cats I have a breeders clause where if they chose not to want their cat anymore they are to come back to me! They are only allowed to breed with another registered cat that I agree to therefore to enhance the gene pool and the bloodline.
Not everybody who breeds is a bad breeder
This woman came to my house with 3 young children one of which was screaming and the other two running around which was why when I handed over the TICA paperwork I forgot to handover the receipt for the kitten.
I have offered to collect the kitten and treat her at my own house and bring her back when she is better the lady has declined this she is not unhappy with me offering half the vet bill as she said she took her to her mum's to meet her and her cats in the way home!
I just do not understand how a cat who came from somewhere where everyone is vaccinated and tested for these things regularly and a kitten that is also fully vaccinated now supposedly has feline herpes virus.

How would she have caught herpes virus if she went to a stud who was tested and does not have it and she is an indoor cat?

OP I think you should take the kitten back, as the new owners don't sound good. Also, do they still intend to breed from a cat that has feline herpes?

Not everybody who breeds is a bad breeder
This woman came to my house with 3 young children one of which was screaming and the other two running around which was why when I handed over the TICA paperwork I forgot to handover the receipt for the kitten.

Generally good breeders don't sell tiny animals to a woman with out of control children.