Complaint Review: Gildethros Turkish Angoras

This is a shame how the Author of this report viciously made a false Report

Gildethros Turkish Angoras

I for one am not afraid to use my real name when filing complaints or responding to them. My name is Meg and my daughter and I own the cattery Gildethros Turkish Angoras (Gildethros is an anagram for our last name). The lady who calls herself Joann here is known to us as Jill. Ms. xxxxxxxxxxx did in fact file complaints/protests with the BBB and the CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association). I only wish I had known about this blurb so I could have posted my rebuttal here in a more timely fashion!

This tale is no where near as straight forward as Ms. Cxxxxxxxxxxxx makes it out to be. I kind of need to start my version of everything at the end and then work my way back up to it to paint the whole picture. So please bear with me.

The first time I ever saw the veterinary bills that Ms. xxxxxxxx was claiming I owed her reimbursement for was when the BBB contacted me about her complaint. You can only imagine my surprise when over $500 worth of the bills were for pre-operative labwork and the neutering of our kitten! The only mention of any possible eye problem that we might have been liable for was the first bill that was included with those submitted by Ms. xxxxxxxx. Back then though, Ms. xxxxxxxxxx emailed me at least once a day and had told me that she was playing with our kitten with a feather toy and a feather had hit him in the eye. I have emails to prove this. She did in fact have a vet come to her home to check his eye out. But even that vet bill shows that the veterinarian did not think the eye was ill or even injured and the notations on the bill indicate that absolutely nothing was prescribed to treat the eye. The email and the bill confirm that this happened only days after Ms. xxxxxxx got our kitten.

Although Ms. xxxxxxxxx did in fact complain to me about how incompetant that vet was, no mention was ever made of the eye or any problem that might be related to herpes again for many months. And you can be absolutely certain that no court or regulating body would hold us responsible for the fact that Ms. xxxxxxx paid way too much to have her kitten neutered! This said, the BBB and the CFA both dismissed this complaint even though there are bills dated several months later that suggest there may have been problems.

Whether or not our kitten did wind up with herpes will never be known. As I already said, Ms. xxxxxxxx sent me at least one email every day. She alternated between glowing reports of how wonderful our boy was and how great it was to have him in her life and mournful reports of one illness or another. After she had our kitten only a few months, she had complained of so many problems including lousy veterinary care from the walk-in clinic that was close to her home that I got other breeders involved. I offered her referrals for veterinarians near her home that breeders in her area swear by and they even offered to let her use their names to be sure that she could become a new client.

Nonetheless, Ms. xxxxxxxxx constantly complained that it was too difficult to make appointments and keep them with any of these vets because it was too difficult for her to get to their offices (the walk-in clinic she insisted on using was within walking distance of her home). Yet she continued to claim that the care she was getting for our boy was not acceptable. Honestly, when I finally received the bills she submitted to the BBB and the CFA, I expected to see 20 or more bills for illness related visits and care dating back to only days after she took our boy to her home. But other than the one bill I already mentioned, the only illness related veterinary visits Ms. xxxxxxxxx submitted bills for started many months after she took him to her home, well after she even had him neutered.

Did Ms. xxxxxxx fail to submit any/all bills that might make it look like she was only looking for attention for herself because our kitten was in fact perfectly healthy? I'll never know. But as far as I knew at the time, our boy was in terrible health and Ms. xxxxxxxx was not willing and/or able to take him to a qualified veterinarian. So I finally got seriously worried about our boy and told her that I wanted to take him back so my veterinarian could manage his care and treatment and we could take responsibility for him here in our home. Again, I have emails, oodles and oodles of emails to prove all of what I'm saying.

Despite her numerous complaints previously that our boy's health was horrible, it was then and only then that Ms. xxxxxxxxx become angry and vengeful toward me. Although she had become irritable with me previously if I failed to respond to one of her bazillion emails immediately, it was only when I asked to take our boy back that I heard of herpes and what a bad breeder I was. Although Ms. xxxxxxxx did submit bills to the BBB and the CFA dated many months after she got our kitten that say she complained of ulcers and eye problems, there was never any notation from a veterinarian indicating that herpes had been diagnosed. Nor were there any bills for prescription medications that would have been dispensed for any kitten or cat with herpes.

No follow up visits to see if said medications were helping... NOTHING. Only one bill with a vague notation about an oral ulcer on it and only one bill with a sheet of notes taken by the person in the clinic who made the appointment that indicate that Ms. xxxxxxxxx told that person that her cat had herpes. Even that veterinarian with the thorough intake form (one of the few veterinarians I'd recommended previously!) never prescribed anything for the alleged pain or condition that Ms. xxxxxxxxxx claims her kitten was in. There were no notations or fees for any medications that could have helped make him better. And there certainly weren't any bills dated within a reasonable period of time from when she bought our kitten that even suggest that she thought he had herpes until I asked to take him back.

And yes, I did offer to pay her back 100% of what she paid for him if he was in fact sick and my vet confirmed this. No one knows for sure how long herpes takes for kittens/cats to become symptomatic. But you can be sure that if an animal does not show any symptoms for well over 90 days, it is ludicrous to suggest that any virus was contracted over 90 days previously. Although some breeders will only guarantee the health of their kittens for 30 days, our contract covers viral illnesses like herpes for a full 90 days or more if there is any reason to believe we are responsible. And so it is that I told Ms. xxxxxxxxx point blank that I would pay her back every dime she had paid for him and reimburse her for the veterinary bills if he was in fact sick, regardless of where he might have picked the virus up from at that point. But Ms. xxxxxxx refused to let us take him back!

As for Ms. xxxxxxxx's final note that our boy died of renal failure... I have no idea if this is true or not. The only reason that I never did take our boy back from her is because she immediately responded to my request by saying that she had given him to someone else so we could never find him. I only wish that the laws protecting animals were enforceable so I could have made her give him back to us when I first suspected that she was not providing decent medical care for him. But we all know that it takes outright abuse, far beyond simple neglect of medical problems to even get the SPCA involved. And even then, people often get their pets back! So you can well imagine what it would take to get a judge to order someone to turn over an animal. Nonetheless, in this situation even enforceable laws pertaining to neglect would not have helped since there aren't even any bills to suggest that our boy was sick back then... hence my reason to wonder if he is not still alive and well.

To further make my point, you can only imagine my shock when only four or five months after the BBB and the CFA dropped Ms. xxxxxxxx's complaints against us, she actually emailed me in October 2006 saying that our boy needed a new fur friend! I was absolutely stunned that she would even dare to ask me for another kitten!!! Needless to say, I never responded to that email and I immediately notified all of the breeders I know not to sell her a kitten. And I only ever heard from Ms. xxxxxxxxxx again in January 2008 when she sent me one final email stating that our boy had died of kidney failure. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether or not he is alive.

I am an honest breeder and would take responsibility if we had any cats or kittens with herpes. Or if there was any reason to believe our boy had died of renal failure even if it wasn't related to any health issue he was born with. Turkish Angoras are a natural breed with no known health issues and they should be (and are!) a delight to own. But we never have never had a cat or kitten with herpes and still don't! And because of Ms. xxxxxxxxx's incessant need to lie about things in the past, I had no reason to believe that our boy is now gone and absolutely no reason to entertain her warped games by even responding to her when she emailed me to say that he was. Breeders do face health issues that the average pet owner never does, especially if we show. You can only imagine the slew of things we can bring home from shows! But responsible breeders do take excellent care of their cats and kittens. We have to if we want to continue breeding and producing healthy kittens. Simple things that a house pet can live an entire lifetime with without any repurcussions can have devastating effects on breeding animals, newborns and young babies. The fact that this is the only complaint ever filed against us with the BBB or the CFA for any health issue at all speaks to the fact that we do have a healthy breeding program.

In closing, I would like to suggest that Ms. xxxxxxxx is the one with a serious problem. Her incessant emails and constant insistance that I respond immediately to every single one of them indicate to me that she has a very serious emotional disorder. If any one out there recognizes her name and the behavior I've described here as part of a pattern, please get her help!

He was 2 and a half years old and the REDBANK Vetenarian Hospital had him for 4 days trying to clear him of his sickness, however he was incurable and now is in heaven. The Redbank hospital states it was heriditary. I am glad you are having better luck with your cat. However i was told that BeauBeau has seizures and is incurable with his own sickness. BeauBeau was Kaplans brother. He is her cameo male that is the domininat breeder. She still ignores me as well as other breeders that she does not speak to anymore. Her way of resolving problems is by clamming up and hiding under a rock.

I purchased a Turkish Angora kitten from this cattery one and a half years ago. The kitten was healthy at purchase and I have had no problems of any kind. After purchase a thorough veterinary exam and screening blood work were clear of any problems. I have found the owners very responsive to my questions (usually concerning kitten behavior).

I will get another kitten/cat from this cattery again.