If my kitten has feline herpes, is the breeder responsible?
Posted on September 16, 2008
Filed Under Cats |
My kitten has had a tendency to sneeze and get a little crusty around her eyes ever since I brought her home from the breeder a month ago. It’s not a huge problem - I just wipe of the outside of her eyes with a wet cloth every day and other than that she seems fine. The cat was sold to me with a health guarantee. When I contacted the breeder to ask about what was causing it, she told me the cat’s health was ok’d by her vet but she probably has a mild form of feline herpes and just to supplement her with lysine. She said that herpes is *very* common in cats and not a big deal -she is still “healthy”. She is current on her shots. My question is, if the cat was guaranteed healthy, is her having herpes a violation of this guarantee or is it really no big deal and really that common? Slightly crusty eyes don’t bother me, but could this get worse down the line and require major vet care?
To elaborate - the breeder seems very responsible and is a reputable breeder. The cat had a written health guarantee in her contract, but it did not specifically mention herpes. I would not consider returning the cat to the breeder (I am very attached) but might insist on a partial refund of her purchase price if the disease is serious.
I also did receive written proof that a veterinarian examined her and certified that she was in excellent health and up to date on her shots, but it didn’t say whether she did or didn’t have herpes.
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9 Responses to “If my kitten has feline herpes, is the breeder responsible?”
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talk to your local vet
If you do not have a contract in writting about health issues the breeder is not responsible. Your contract would need to detail feline herpes spacifics about everything other wise it does not hold up in court.
It’s definitely something they get from their mother and the breeder had to know the feline herpes was present. Feline herpes is very common, easy to control and not a big deal. L-Lysine crushed up in the wet cat food daily will all but cure it. There is not a major vet care for feline herpes, my cat had it horrible for the first 5-7 years now I can’t even tell he has it. Use the L-Lysine like a regular vitamin and you will have healthy wonderful companion for a very long time. You probably could request to return the cat and get your money back but have you already gotten attached to the cat? Is a little inconvenience worth dumping the cat?
Okay so if you had a vet form that is kosha and your breeder is being helpful there really is not much else she can do. If one of my buyers was not happy I would give them a full refund and take the kitten back, then I would have the kitten treated and maybe sell her back to you. but before you can do anything you need to take the kitten to your vet and find out what is wrong. It could be you use powder on your carpets and your cat is allergic to it, your vet may just give you eye drops. I guess you got 6 weeks free insurance to? This would cover any major problems. But it sounds to me the breeder is doing all she can. Good luck with your new kitten I bet she is adorable.
I have 2 cats with feline herpes….a lot of vets don’t know a lot about it. the cat may have seemed healthy when she was examined and then the stress of moving to your home and all may have stressed her out which caused her to have a flare up.
just keep giving the lysine and you can give benadryl as well to her to help with symptoms, but you should check with your vet for proper dosage. she may need antibiotics Azyrithromyacin (not sure if I spelled it correctly or not) does wonders.
One of my cats just got over a flare up. e-mail me if you have any questions. and you should check out the yahoo group for feline herpes.
as for if you should ask for money back or not. I’m not sure but you should at least let the breader know about this diagnosis.
Your kitten has Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR), which is a herpes-type virus (it isn’t herpes like humans get). Although it is somewhat common, it is indeed something she got from other cats or from her mom. This is indeed the breeder’s responsibility. A responsible breeder does not have this type of disease spreading in her cats. Although it is very common, there are vaccines to prevent it, and it should NOT be present in a breeding program, where the breeder should be taking absolute steps to see that it isn’t present!
Breeders should be providing living conditions for cats and kittens that insure they are not exposed to other cats with Rhino or other forms of what is called Upper Respiratory Infection Complex. Cats get it from contact with other cats who are already infected, from food and water dishes, etc.
Don’t blame the vet - the symptoms didn’t show up necessarily in time for him to know. However, I would contact him and report it to him, so he can watch out for that breeder to bring other infected cats in.
What is really amazing to me is that the disease is spreading in your breeder’s kittens. The mother and ALL cats the kittens contact should absolutely be free of such disease, and all should be vaccinated against it. To run a breeding business knowing you have the disease present in your cattery is to me really immoral.
Kittens can DIE of this. In fact in kittens, the death rate is about 50%. Watch your kitty for dehydration - really important. Use a vaporizer - cold water/steam - to help him breathe. Antibiotics from your vet can’t cure it, but will lessen the chance of another infection such as pneumonia setting in and killing the cat.
If your kitty survives, he/she is likely a carrier of the virus for the rest of her life!! This means that in times of stress, she will show symptoms again - like a little cold. At those times, she can pass it to other cats. You must always keep her away from other cats she might infect, unless they are vaccinated. She should not have kittens.
I think you are entitled to be angry with the breeder, and I’d try to get some compensation for the vet bills you’re going to have in the next month or so, as well as a refund. Tell everyone you know about her breeding program. A verbal contract exists as well as written documentation. For her defense, the vet’s bill of health is worthless, because this is a disease she had to have known about beforehand. That can be proven in a court of law. Also, she needs to get scared by someone - she needs to stop selling kittens who have been exposed to FRV.
Love your kitty, and get a vet to help you make sure she gets through this initial bout and gets well. God help the breeder’s other cats!
The herpes is really nothing to worry about in cats. It is kinda like herpes in humans…there are outbreaks of it. But they will give you meds for it and it knocks it out in no time! They do get it from other cats though so yes it did come from the breeder! Watch out if you have other cats…they can catch it!!!
Good luck to you
Of course the breeder is responsible. It is irresponsible to continue to breed and sell kittens when she has not cleaned up her cattery.
It seems that she has covered her a** with her health certificate and the vet is obviously in conlusion with her in giving her kittens a clean bill of health.
Aside from the lysine which will help the kitten with the control of outbreaks you should look into the best possible diet for her so she can have a strong immune system. There is no question that this would be a raw diet. Go to to read about that. There are a number of Yahoo groups whose cats are fed a raw meat diet. Holisticat is an excellent one. You can receive a lot of support, information, recipes etc. from the group members in support of this healthy diet.
Call a local vet and ask them if this herpes is common in cats and if there is usually future complications or damage to the cats eyes…
Also inquire as to how they get this…. is it viral, passed on from the mother???
You could also research this on the net… but make sure you read reliable info…
After you get some answers take it from there… it sounds like the breeder had good intentions.
Good luck, I hope the kitten is better soon.