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Cautionary tale about a pet purchased from marketplace site

ncmc

I know this comes up on this forum again and again, but yet another cautionary tale about a pet purchased off a well-known marketplace site. My niece bought a kitten off a private seller sourced through this pet-for-sale site a couple of weeks ago. Gorgeous little thing, she paid €100 for it which she thought was steep (it’s not a pedigree cat or anything) but the seller said they have to charge for kittens to avoid them being taken by unscrupulous sorts who would use them as dog fighting bait. Well, her problems began almost immediately, poor little kitten was showing signs of sickness almost straight away. She has been in and out of the vet numerous times, little guy is riddled with worms among other things and it looks now like he’s not going to make it.

I know she was very naive to buy from this site in the first place and she wasn’t knowledgeable enough to spot that he was sickly. But she was excited about getting a kitten and overlooked the warning signs. It’s a harsh lesson for her. So please, please, please don’t buy animals from these sites unless you have done serious due diligence! I have heard so many horror stories like this and there are some very unscrupulous people out there.

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ncmc

Cocker, it is possible to feel sympathy for more than one thing at once! Of course I feel bad for the kitten, but I also feel very sorry for my niece, she didn’t set out to make such an error and she’s very upset about the whole thing. She gave the kitten every chance at life and spared no expense to try and save it. My point with this thread was to point out that a lot of people still don’t know the perils, pitfalls and downright scams that are rife on marketplace websites. Despite what you may thing, she is a very intelligent woman, possibly very naive, but she is certainly not stupid.

I mention the vets fees because not only is she devastated about the kitten, but it’s also a lot of money she can ill afford. Again, the point of the thread is to warn people about these websites and to show that not only is it cruel on the animals, but can also be a very costly mistake for the buyer.

Cherry Blossom

Cocker5, let's drop the passive aggressiveness. Quite frankly continually throwing abuse and insults at a third party to the thread is rediculous and goes against the spirit of the rule that posters are required to be respectful to each other. If you've nothing constructive to say don't bother posting.

Thanks,
CB.

.......

ncmc wrote: »

Again, the point of the thread is to warn people about these websites and to show that not only is it cruel on the animals, but can also be a very costly mistake for the buyer.

To me this is obvious - I am surprised that anyone would use a website over a rescue. This is pretty well advertised, both through rescues themselves, and newspaper articles telling people not to buy animals online, and even a cursory google.

The attraction of buying a pet privately rather than going to a rescue is that you wont be subjected to a home check, you wont have people who care about animals asking you questions and viewing how you handle the animal before they hand it over and you wont have them following up to ensure you and your pet are getting along well after you have gone home. Its also probably faster, you simply drive to the person, hand over the cash and drive away with a (sick) kitten in a box. I dont have a lot of sympathy for someone who chooses the quick and easy way when its the welfare of animals at stake.

But realistically the only way people will stop buying from these websites will be if there is a solid crack down to prevent sales of living creatures on these websites.

Make it a criminal activity, make it culturally unacceptable, make it something associated with people who are scumbags (the sellers that is). However, that kind of social and cultural change takes decades, and no matter what laws are in place, as long as there is someone willing to buy privately, there will be someone willing to make a quick buck on the back of an animals misery or death.

The unfortunate truth is that it is people like the OPs niece who fuel this industry. If there was no market, there would be no marketplace.

For the OPs niece this has been an expensive and sad lesson, so take from it, spread the word, and maybe someone else will think twice before using a website to buy a pet.

tk123

....... wrote: »

To
The attraction of buying a pet privately rather from a puppy farmer than going to a rescue is that you won't be subjected to a home check,

Reputable breeders exist... They interview prospective owners.. they decide which puppy is the best fit.. they socialise the pups..they offer support to owners and will take a puppy back. Your post is all well and good but you're tarring all breeders with the same brush like most rescues rather than educating people on how to source a pet from a reputable breeder. Also not all rescues are reputable..

The OP's niece is the perfect example of somebody not having a clue what they were doing because there's no education on the matter and the poor girl has had a horrible experience because of it.

.......

tk123 wrote: »

Reputable breeders exist... They interview prospective owners.. they decide which puppy is the best fit.. they socialise the pups..they offer support to owners and will take a puppy back. Your post is all well and good but you're tarring all breeders with the same brush like most rescues rather than educating people on how to source a pet from a reputable breeder. Also not all rescues are reputable..

The OP's niece is the perfect example of somebody not having a clue what they were doing because there's no education on the matter and the poor girl has had a horrible experience because of it.

It was a normal house cat. Not a dog. No reputable breeders exist for ordinary house cats.

Knine

....... wrote: »

It was a normal house cat. Not a dog. No reputable breeders exist for ordinary house cats.

Yes they do. Where do you think surplus kittens go when someone breeds their pedigree cat?

sillysmiles

tk123 wrote: »

The OP's niece is the perfect example of somebody not having a clue what they were doing because there's no education on the matter and the poor girl has had a horrible experience because of it.

^ This.

The OP's niece went a bought a kitten because she wanted a kitten - and clearly didn't know the pitfalls associated with it.

But I often feel that places like this are a bit of an echo chamber, as people who frequently forums like this are more interested that the average person in animals and animal welfare.

But, when as a nation, we are such a poor record and place such a low regard on animal welfare in the general population, I think the OP's niece is as such a symptom of the lack of knowledge/insight in the general population as anything else.

OP, talk to you niece about going in a month or two to a rescue - kittens season should be in full swing in a few months I think - and look at adopting two kittens (not one!).

.......

Knine wrote: »

Yes they do. Where do you think surplus kittens go when someone breeds their pedigree cat?

It wasnt a pedigree cat - it was an ordinary kitten?

Im not sure what argument you are trying to make here?

I pointed out that people should know not to buy animals off websites privately. This was countered by a poster saying it was ok to buy off a registered breeder. It is of course, but we were not talking about pedigree animal, we were talking about an ordinary house cat.

Nothing was mentioned in the thread about either registered breeders or pedigree animals. The entire thread has been about dodgy people selling online versus rescues.

I would have thought it was quite obvious that a registered breeder would not hand over a sick kitten for 100 euro to a stranger?

tk123

....... wrote: »

I would have thought it was quite obvious that a registered breeder would not hand over a sick kitten for 100 euro to a stranger?

Well it's obviously not otherwise nobody would be buying from bad breeders and we'd have empty rescues.

.......

tk123 wrote: »

Well it's obviously not otherwise nobody would be buying from bad breeders and we'd have empty rescues.

Sorry - I should have said "reputable".

I can see the pedantism around here is reaching critical mass. Good luck to ye all.