Beware of OKGOWILD breeder

[Honda90]

I have ended up with a lousy breeder. I love my little girl she is a snow and the best every. But she came with some crud in her eye....

My story...
I found this guy online http://okgowild.ca/ and spoke with him many times, my mom went up there to see and she said it wasn't the cleanest and the odor was nasty but I figured it was safe being that she was allowed onsite. He seemed like a nice guy and so I bought her and my daughter was local so they picked up the kitten on the way to the airport to come home. The kitten went from his place to the airport and home to my house. I texted Dan the cat guy immediately because I saw the crud crusty in the corner of her eye. He explained how stress can make things come out in them and that she was healthy as can be.

I did make an appointment for her shots the end of the week and my vet took a look. He agreed that it was likely stress and gave me some drops. 2 more weeks and I went back to my vet again and she gave her different drops but the eye seemed a bit better. Went back for the booster shot and saw a different vet at the same clinic. She said she was the resident cat expert and asked me where I got her. I said from Dan at okgowild.ca, she asked me if she was sneezing at all, which she had been occasionally but don't all cats??? She said that she'd like to do a swab of her mouth and eye so that we could see exactly what was going on with her inside. It's not inexpensive but I love my kitten....a week later and wow she has an upper respitory infection both clamidia and mycroplasma was present in the sample....wow. She said it's very common when you get kittens from shelters or catteries because of their close contact etc.

My kitten is on anitibiotics and on the road to recovery...I did text Dan at okgowild.ca letting him know that he has this infection going around in his cattery. From that point he said he had only healthy cats and she must of caught something on the plane. The info online is that once the goop in the eye is seen then you can go back 5 days to the actual infection...which was when she was still at his place. Still he denied everything. I was polite asking for him to come to the table to help with my bills as she wasn't all that inexpensive to purchase....Nope but he could throw me a few bottles of wine if I liked.

Dan was not interested in the idea that he has this infection running thru his cats/kittens and is now selling them online to people. I have all the documentation from my vet to back up everything I've said. I didn't want to give her back I didn't want him to pay the whole bill, but I would have appreciated a token back as it's clear that he sold me an infected cat.

The hard thing is that she looks healthy, except for the eye so he said he contacted others and they are all happy owners. Unless you get this swab at a cost you would never see that she looks sick. My on the ball vet says it's a basic A to B because so many animals have this coming from catteries etc and obviously this cattery is not as clean as it needs to be.

I guess I thought Dan had more integrity and instead of turning tail and run he'd even offer me some kind of refund on the kitten.....So buyer beware as usual, and Dan the cat guy at OKGOWILD.ca has infected cats.

 

[John Popp]

How old was the kitten when you took delivery? Age can be the cause of issues as the cat may not have a fully developed immune system.

Establishing blame isn't a good place for anyone to start, but finding solutions and as well as offering suggestions should be the level of expectation. Viruses and bacteria is everywhere so there really isn't a way to establish where stuff came from, but likewise a breeder should offer help ahead of promoting their innocence.

 

[Honda90]

How old was the kitten when you took delivery? Age can be the cause of issues as the cat may not have a fully developed immune system.

Establishing blame isn't a good place for anyone to start, but finding solutions and as well as offering suggestions should be the level of expectation. Viruses and bacteria is everywhere so there really isn't a way to establish where stuff came from, but likewise a breeder should offer help ahead of promoting their innocence.

Yes I agree about blame. It's my poor due diligence and should have realized he doesn't guarantee their health. the kitten was born Apr 5 and she was picked up from his cattery the 10th of July 2hrs before the flight left. The eye was noted before being picked up and I texted him within the first hour of her arrival. she was no where else outside if his place and I have no animals. the data says that once the goop is present you go back 5 days as to when it was infected. I gave him the option of helping but he refused. it bothers me more that he really didn't seem to care about his other kittens and that says a lot. all about the no 1st for Dan.

 

[Patti]

Mycoplasma and chlamydia are very common upper respiratory infections in cats and I have no doubt they came from Dan's cattery because, as you have already figured out, infections require an incubation period before they become obvious (thus the required two week quarantine period we always recommend as that is usually the longest it will take an infection to show itself). Having said that, at least you are dealing with bacterial infections that can be treated with an antibiotic - if it was herpes (the most common upper respiratory infection in cats) or another viral infection there would be no treatment and the kitten would likely be a lifelong carrier.

Hopefully she is easy to medicate and is getting better already. We would love to see some pictures of her! What is her name?

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

If you picked your kitten up and took home in cabin then the chances of being exposed to germs are pretty low. If the kitten was checked as cargo then it might have been exposed via other pets in that compartment.

I agree, a breeder should be concerned about these pathogens. Of course the breeder might have felt defensive, and thence went away and tested their cats. I don't know...but I think most contracts do not cover the breeder paying vet bills but for the return of the kitten for replacement or refund. It really pays to read the contract before signing and agreeing to the terms as they cannot be negotiated afterwards...

Fortunately, chlamydia and mycoplasma are both treatable infections, so hopefully your kitten will bounce back and be a joy to you and your family

 

[Honda90]

Mycoplasma and chlamydia are very common upper respiratory infections in cats and I have no doubt they came from Dan's cattery because, as you have already figured out, infections require an incubation period before they become obvious (thus the required two week quarantine period we always recommend as that is usually the longest it will take an infection to show itself). Having said that, at least you are dealing with bacterial infections that can be treated with an antibiotic - if it was herpes (the most common upper respiratory infection in cats) or another viral infection there would be no treatment and the kitten would likely be a lifelong carrier.

Hopefully she is easy to medicate and is getting better already. We would love to see some pictures of her! What is her name?

Thank you for all that and she is doing wonderful. I'm greatful that the 2nd vet being into cats pit rhings together in about 10 seconds. I wish I had seen her the first visit. apparently Dan is not familiar with these very common conditions not does he care.