Health guarantees on a kitten

[The Kasbah]

That's a really good idea Brigitte, I may have to consider this as well.

I also think that is a good idea. Thank you for sharing that suggestion, Brigitte!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Things definitely don't always go as planned and this section of many contracts, including my own, is either not fully understood or basically not considered seriously until something unfortunate happens.

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I don't think any contract can cover every situation. We do the best we can and then reserve the right to be more generous than the terms of the contract at our discretion

 

[Lori Greer]

Indeed. It has never occurred to me that one day she would write and simply say, "I am ready and would like a kitten born in September!" I nearly had a heart attack...for none of my girls were even due to be bred until the first of the year (resting period after delivery and nursing). She was equally stunned when I wrote back to explain things. WOW...it IS shocking to realize how both parties to our transaction assumed!

I wasn't quite sure who it was, just that every time she ordered she mentioned wanting/waiting for a kitten from a specific pairing and being so excited. That was a while ago and I was just giving a couple examples, including my own, where buyers will need to be patient if they anticipate a replacement.

 

[The Kasbah]

I wasn't quite sure who it was, just that every time she ordered she mentioned wanting/waiting for a kitten from a specific pairing and being so excited. That was a while ago and I was just giving a couple examples, including my own, where buyers will need to be patient if they anticipate a replacement.

LOL. Yes, it was me. I bent over backwards to get the situation resolved quite early on, but because my client was not in any hurry, finalizing our transaction and providing replacement just dragged on and on...which was wildly stressful for ME! WOW......what a relief it was when she came to my house, met her baby in person and packed him up in the car for the long journey back to Canada! Although I'm sure she was stressed at times as well, all is well that ends well, as they say...and she has turned into one of our biggest fans. She posts photos of her baby boy, "Sabre" to the FaceBook groups almost weekly and has recommended our cattery to several of her friends, which of course is the best endorsement of all!

 

[Michaela]

My contract covers
-72 hr.
Life time FIP, and
Genetic and congenital defect resulting in death within the first year of life kitten.

My baby is less then 10 mo and echo ++ for moderate HCM

There is nothing to cover this if he lives and requires lifetime cardiac echo and medications

His mom is having babies in February and I hope she does not have more kittens with this Autosomal Dominant Genetic disorder.... or dad

HCM usually does not show in first year and there is no gene yet for bengals and SV genetic testing ( my baby has SV and Bengal ) I don't even have the pedigree of my kitten ...

My last cat with HCM lived 9 y on medications and Echo then had a massive saddle embolism in 2007.
It was sad and painful for me and the cat... But my echo s and meds were covered for free from the adoption....
Xoxoxo



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Michaela L

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I think that these kind of "guarantees" are completely WRONG. As you say, although in more severe cases (like your baby) the HCM is usually only diagnosed in that first year but is an absolute death sentence. It should be covered in a health guarantee. There is strong evidence that this is a genetically inherited disorder (although many genes so it is hard to offer one DNA test for this disease) and it is fatal. Good responsible pet ownership will extend the life but to not accept that this is a genetic health defect and as such should be covered by a health guarantee, in my opinion this is wrong.

As I said, my first Savannah was diagnosed with a heart defect. Although the contract was exactly as yours and required death in the first year, the breeder was ethical enough to accept that I would try to extend the life of my cat as long as medically possible.... and STILL replaced the cat. It was the right thing to do. I simply cannot see why a GOOD breeder would not do the same in your case.

I agree, it is VERY disturbing to know that your cat will have more siblings arriving soon with apparently no recognition of the issue.

I saw your post in the F2 Savannah photo folder... I actually used to own the full younger sister to your cat's mother. She was retired from breeding years ago from my program but I can tell you that not only did she scan clear for heart disease, so did her daughters (I scanned three of them) and grandchildren (I scanned four). I have her grandson still, so a somewhat cousin (or second cousin). Heart health has been a priority for me since my first Savannah and so I've scanned every cat used in my program (and many others that I purchased for my program but never used for various reasons, one because they did scan for a defect).

I sincerely hope your boy responds well to his medication and does have years of good life ahead of him. I know the scary specter of an embolism...my SV with the heart valve defect had severe regurgitation and because of that was at high risk of clotting. It's a lot of stress to live with.

 

[Michaela]

I think that these kind of "guarantees" are completely WRONG. As you say, although in more severe cases (like your baby) the HCM is usually only diagnosed in that first year but is an absolute death sentence. It should be covered in a health guarantee. There is strong evidence that this is a genetically inherited disorder (although many genes so it is hard to offer one DNA test for this disease) and it is fatal. Good responsible pet ownership will extend the life but to not accept that this is a genetic health defect and as such should be covered by a health guarantee, in my opinion this is wrong.

As I said, my first Savannah was diagnosed with a heart defect. Although the contract was exactly as yours and required death in the first year, the breeder was ethical enough to accept that I would try to extend the life of my cat as long as medically possible.... and STILL replaced the cat. It was the right thing to do. I simply cannot see why a GOOD breeder would not do the same in your case.

I agree, it is VERY disturbing to know that your cat will have more siblings arriving soon with apparently no recognition of the issue.

I saw your post in the F2 Savannah photo folder... I actually used to own the full younger sister to your cat's mother. She was retired from breeding years ago from my program but I can tell you that not only did she scan clear for heart disease, so did her daughters (I scanned three of them) and grandchildren (I scanned four). I have her grandson still, so a somewhat cousin (or second cousin). Heart health has been a priority for me since my first Savannah and so I've scanned every cat used in my program (and many others that I purchased for my program but never used for various reasons, one because they did scan for a defect).

I sincerely hope your boy responds well to his medication and does have years of good life ahead of him. I know the scary specter of an embolism...my SV with the heart valve defect had severe regurgitation and because of that was at high risk of clotting. It's a lot of stress to live with.

The breeder offered to replace Him now or when he passes but not likely to testing her all her cats
I declined the replacement and will cherish him for ever
The TICA pedigree is hard to interpret
what generation he is ... But he has a lot of bengals and they are prone to HCM ++.

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Michaela L

 

[Michaela]

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Michaela L

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

The reason your cat's pedigree is difficult to interpret mainly is because he comes from a controversial "high percentage" program.... So the heritage of many of the cats involved, Sir Spotlahad of Camelottaspots for example, is only disclosed as "unknown". So the Servals are not appearing in the pedigree like most Savannahs for you to be able to determine generation so easily.

And some cats are listed in pedigrees as "experimental shorthair" either because the heritage is unknown (mixed breed domestic shorthair) or because they don't wish the breed to be listed (this happened in a lot of Savannah pedigrees when breeders wished to hide the amount of Bengal they were using).

You might find this link useful, http://www.kirembosavannahs.com/ourcatfamily/katieexplanationpopup.html
This is something I wrote years ago to explain the theory behind my Katie, who is Camelottaspots Lady Merryn's full younger sister. This is the theory, many will simply tell you that Spoterlin is a Serval and Katie is just a straight F1 with Bengal mama.

 

[Kristin]

The reason your cat's pedigree is difficult to interpret mainly is because he comes from a controversial "high percentage" program.... So the heritage of many of the cats involved, Sir Spotlahad of Camelottaspots for example, is only disclosed as "unknown". So the Servals are not appearing in the pedigree like most Savannahs for you to be able to determine generation so easily.

And some cats are listed in pedigrees as "experimental shorthair" either because the heritage is unknown (mixed breed domestic shorthair) or because they don't wish the breed to be listed (this happened in a lot of Savannah pedigrees when breeders wished to hide the amount of Bengal they were using).

You might find this link useful, http://www.kirembosavannahs.com/ourcatfamily/katieexplanationpopup.html
This is something I wrote years ago to explain the theory behind my Katie, who is Camelottaspots Lady Merryn's full younger sister. This is the theory, many will simply tell you that Spoterlin is a Serval and Katie is just a straight F1 with Bengal mama.

Great article Brigitte!