Buyer beware!
Let me preface this statement by saying that I don't expect any recompense from this cat breeder, I am filing this statement merely to let anyone out there thinking about buying a Somali cat from this woman to PLEASE, PLEASE run in the opposite direction.
I purchased two Somali kittens from Anne Paul and met her in Houston a week ago to pick them up. I didn't look at them as she handed them to my husband and he put them in their carrying case. It was only on our trip home that I noticed that the male kitten had a gummy eye and that both the male and female had strange dark markings around their face and ears (I presumed incorrectly, they were scars from fighting). I called Anne from the car and told her my concerns about the gummy eye. She told me that she hadn't noticed anything wrong. I assured her that I would be taking both kittens to my vet to get them checked out and she asked me to wait over the weekend to just make sure that they had a chance to recover from the stress of the trip.
When we got the kittens home I noticed bloody stool from the female. Needless to say, I was even more concerned and couldn't wait to get both of the kittens to the vet's office on the following Monday.
On Monday I spent more than one and a half hours at the vet's where both of the kittens received a full and thorough examination. At the conclusion of the examination, the vet informed me that although the bloody stool looked clear for anything unusual, both kittens had upper respiratory infections AND ringworm. The ringworm, apparently, is not such a huge deal because it can be treated and cured (it IS however a health hazard and extremely communicable). The major concern was the respiratory infection because it may recur down the line if either animal becomes stressed. I imagined a future looming of huge vets bills and no peace of mind. Needless to say, I was devastated.
Upon arriving home I called Anne and told her about the vet's visit. I made the VERY difficult decision to return the kittens and get my money back. Although she was very dismissive about the vet's diagnosis she agreed - without any problem - to give me my money back having told me that I would have to drive to her home in Louisiana to make the kitten/money exchange (a five and a half hour journey each way).
I made an appointment to return the kittens to Anne the following Saturday. I treated the kittens all week with anti biotics, anti diarrhea medications, immune supplements and terramycin for the infected and gummy eye. My vet advised that treating the kittens for the ringworm was inadvisable because he was worried about too many varying medications simultaneously and told me that the best plan of action would be to treat this condition when the respiratory symptoms had cleared.
On Saturday, my husband and I made the journey to Louisiana where I met with Anne and she returned my money in full. She categorically refused to pay for the vets bills - even though I had provided her with all the reports from the vet, all the medications and the medication protocol. She was haughty and dismissive in refuting the ligitimacy of the vet's diagnosis, claiming that gummy eyes were a 'characteristic of the breed' (!!) and that respiratory infections could only be confirmed with lab tests. She told me that I should have gone to a 'breeders vet' for a correct diagnosis. She refused to accept any paperwork that I brought, or medications, so those babies will not finish their course of anti biotics. She also refused to call my vet for a phone consultation. The kittens hopped right out of their carrying case into a milieu of a dozen or so cats, so I can only presume that those cats have the same health problems. Anne breeds Ragdolls too.
My only hope in filing this report is that it deters people from buying from Bayou Foxes Cattery - if this even helps one person I will feel vindicated.
Thank you for reading...
Oh, one more thing, the kittens had fleas too!!!
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