any lawyers? bought cat from shelter on 2-12-07, had to be put to sleep on 3-21-07. .....?

Question

we bought a kitten from petsmart/clark county human society on 2-12-07. sign said neutered, fip/feline leuk neg. well on
2-22-07 took to vet for neuter,on 3-21-07 had to be put to sleep from having f.i.p(feline infectious peritonitis). do we have legal recourse? should i call shelter to alert them to the possibility of more f.i.p. cases?

update 3-26-07 on 3-24-07 went to petsmart. the manager said that they have had previous problems with the shelter and gave me 2 numbers to call. on 3-26-07 i called shelter. they said there was nothing they could do. after arguing and her saying they were not responsible, i mentioned better business bureau, the lady on phone talked to director. they gave us the $65.00 adoption fee back, but not the $210.00 vet bill or the $116.00 cremation fee. when we walked in, there was another woman in line. found out they let her adopt a dog that was agressive toward her other dog to the point of drawing blood when the big dog bit her daughter's little pug. it even went after her grand daughter. the animal shelters in other ohio counties are pretty responsible, why does the clark county human society in ohio gaving so many problems. so... we are out the other $326.00, have broken hearts from our loss. thank-you to all who answered.

Answer 1

First, I apoligize for you loss.

As someone who works with shelters often, Please notify Petsmart AND the shelter. Get a copy of the vets report and bring it to the shelter's attention. Something happened if the cat said neutered and he wasn't. They need to know immediately what happened.

They should also offer to replace the cat for free.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I'm not a lawyer but I know a fair bit about FIP. FIP is caused by a mutation of the corona virus.

Cats can have corona virus but never develop FIP, some breeders believe it has a genetic basis determining whether it develops into FIP.

The time of exposure to corona virus to full on FIP can be just days but it can take months. The virus can survive outside the body for 7 weeks but disinfection can kill it. It's always hard to prove where the virus was contracted and how. I guess there is a possibility that the cat was exposed at the shelter after it was tested with the corona virus titre test, or it could have been incubating it and therefore the antibodies didn't show up.

It's one of those diseases that really for all that is known about it, there's a lot that still isn't known.

I think you should call the shelter and let them know, yes it might save some more lives.

Answer 3

You definitely need to contact the shelter and let them know that the cat you adopted had FIP. They may want documention from your vet that the kitten did have FIP. I am not sure if there is any legal recourse that you can take. If you signed the adoption contract, see if there is anything in it that talks about what happens if you adopt a cat that turns out to have something and dies before a certain amount of time has elapsed. They may just return your adoption fee or they may not.

Answer 4

most shelters only run...felv/fiv tests....which is feline leukemia and feline AIDS....it is very rare for them to run the FIP test unless they had a mother cat brought in and suspected it...i would call and ask if they run FIP tests on all cats....if they do and they were wrong it could be that the cat FIP wasn't developed enough to show signs...if they dont then you really cant do anything as far as i know...only because it isnt in their protocol to run the test. I'm sorry for your loss...it is very hard to learn that your cat has this disease so early in life. If your cat came from a breeder than i would say sue the pants off of them, because those cats are supposed to be free from everything and they should have been checked before the parents mated. Goodluck in your findings! You may be able to get your money back...look on your adoption certificate for anything thats says unexpected death or disease.


and yes i would definitly call the shelter to let them know that your kitten was FIP positive. They can handle it from there.

Answer 5

You've gotten some great answers, do look at the paperwork you should have...but to keep you from wasting any time, while it's good that you've alerted Petsmart to the problem, they are not legally liable for any of the animals the shelters provide...they simply "lease the space out" to the local shelter and aren't responsible for anything the shelter does. So, concentrate your efforts towards the shelter itself, as it seems you've already started to do. If you have a copy of the paperwork for the cat that claimed it was neutered, etc., I'm sure you can take legal action. Good luck!

Answer 6

Most shelters do not guarantee a pets health, age, temperment etc. Most shelters test for FIV and Felv (Feline aids and leukemia) but NOT FIP. Check your paper and see if they did indeed test for FIP (which I doubt b/c this blood work would have had to be sent out where as FIV/FeLV can be tested using in house "snap" tests, which is cheaper than sending blood work out to a lab) Either way, definitely let them know what happened just incase this cat was exposed to other cats while in the shelter. Like I said, shelters, unlike breeders, do not guarantee health due to the unknown history of the pet. I am really sorry for your loss and wish you the best!

Answer 7

So he wasn't even neutered??? That's crap..

You should definitely call the shelter to alert them, they should willingly offer you at least your adoption fee back or another kitten (which I would be a little skeptical of), and I would be asking for medical expenses. I don't know if it varies from state to state or if shelters have the same obligations but there are laws about this!! MOST especially if they had a sign that said neutered and neg. for fip.... that's just crooked

I'm sorry you had to go through that, It sounds like it was pretty awful.

Answer 8

FIP is always a fatal disease and there is no definitive "test" for it and no cure. A test can detect the presence of the corona virus in the blood and many cats carry that virus in their systems. It is mutated form of the virus that causes the FIP so there is no way the adopting agency could have screened your kitten for it. From my shelter experience I know that no shelter would be so irresponsible to let you adopt a kitten with this fatal disease.

I am so sorry that you had to lose your kitten - it is heartbreaking especially as they are so young and vibrant until the disease takes hold.

Answer 9

Unfortunately, you probably do not have any recourse. Kittens are tested for Felv/FIV (not FIP, different disease) There is no difinitive test for FIP, can only test for titers (or exposure) and it cannot be determined until around 6 months of age typically. You should let the shelter know, as this is usually passed from mother to kitten in these types of cases, so any others in the litter are at risk, as well as any other cats that came in contact with them. I am sorry for your loss.

Answer 10

I'm not a lawyer, but I think I can help. Did you sign any paperwork for adopting this pet? In this paperwork, is there any clause regarding the guarantee of the pet's health? If you signed anything to acquire your kitten, you are subject to any stipulations therein.

However, this is something that I believe a company like petsmart would want to make right. It is of my opinion that they at least owe you a refund and perhaps a reimbursement of vet expenses if it can be proven that the kitten was sick before you adopted it. What did the vet tell you?

At the very least, the company should be notified of the problem and the possibility of tis disease spreading at their facilities. Hope that is helpful!