The following passages are from texts and emails I wrote to my breeder.

When we brought our kitten home, he carried such a strong odor that I had to change my clothes after holding him. While giving him a bath, I found his paw pad crusted over with hair and what I'm now sure was dried blood from an injury. Jasper had dried feces under his tail and the tops of his legs. His eye was tacky with yellow discharge. He has been on and off of Clavamox, Onsior, and Chlorahex solution to overcome his infections. I feel uncomfortable relating my perspective because I know it may be hard to hear, but I think this is important feedback. My husband and I don't feel as though we purchased a kitten from a reputable breeder, though you do breed beautiful cats. Rather, we feel that we rescued a kitten that was dirty and sick. I do not feel confident that he was raised in a clean environment, or given the attention and care that he needed. I hope that Jasper is a fluke and my experience has been singular. With that said, we have no intention of returning Jasper. He is a member of our family now. We love him. We are just waiting for him to regain his health.

***

When I texted you last, I thought we wouldn't need to speak again. However, on September 5th, Jasper went to the West Salem Animal Clinic for a biopsy. Recently we got the results of that test. He has eosinophilic granuloma. There are some studies indicating that genetic factors may be involved, particularly when the illness presents itself in younger cats, as is the case with Jasper. He's been to the vet at least eight or more times since we brought him home. He will soon be starting an elimination diet in the hopes of determining what is causing his infections. He will likely be on some form of medication his whole life.

I understand that you sent our kitten off months ago. You haven't heard from me in a while. And I'm sure you've off-loaded many healthy kittens to happy homes. But unfortunately, things did not go smoothly this time. And while you've no doubt rationalized your perspective as being totally reasonable, this is what the situation seems like from my perspective.

My husband and I were ready to add a cat to the family. In my research, I learned that Maine Coons often do well with dogs. I started to search local forums like Craigslist for a potential kitten. I came across an ad for our kitten. I liked the expression on his face. He looked open, calm, and not the least bit fearful (all traits I wanted as he would have to put up with an energetic dog). I reached out about the fee. It turned out that I was not dealing with a family cat who needed to offload a litter. I was dealing with a breeder and the fee was $3000. I had to talk to my husband about it. We weren't in a good position to spend that kind of money. But finding a new member of the family is such a hopeful time and I had already grown attached to Jasper simply from seeing his picture. So, when you reached out to say that a family was coming to look at the kittens, and that if I wanted Jasper, I needed to put down a deposit asap, I folded to the high-pressure sales tactic and found myself rushing to gather money and sign a contract.

The day came when we were finally able to pick up Jasper. Roundtrip, it was a seven hour drive out there. I was surprised to see that you operated out of a suburban home. Upon entering the premises, my first thought was of the smell. It was a strong odor, and not a pleasant one. The room where the cats congregated was dark. I couldn't help but notice that what looked like a self-cleaning litterbox was not full of cat litter, but a pile of feces that covered the entire bottom. You walked over to Jasper. He had yellow pus oozing down from his eye. You wiped it off with your thumb as you made a dismissive comment, as though he just had a runny nose. We took him home. That was January 20th. Whatever was wrong with his eye, it only got worse. I scheduled the first available appointment I could make with my vet (February 6th). Something I also noticed upon bringing our kitten home was that his back paw seemed irregular. The fur was matted with crusted blood which made the fur stick to his paw pad. And stranger still, the paw pad was flaking. I remember, because I Googled to see if it was normal for a kitten's paw to peel as it develops. It was not. I believe I contacted you at some point about this issue too. But at the time, I was reaching out for guidance as our kitten's nose was swollen from the infection in his eye. You recommended an ointment on Amazon, which I purchased and administered until our kitten met with the vet.

The vet was able to confirm that our kitten had an infection. I was given the proper medication (the vet said the one from Amazon was not the best option). Our kitten's infection went away. However, a short time later his paw grew inflamed as the infection returned. We have been taking him to the vet about once a month for treatment of these flare-ups. The vet recommended testing. In the first week of September, he underwent a biopsy. The results indicated that he has eosinophilic granuloma. A quick internet search reports the following: "There is evidence to suggest that genetic susceptibility may play a role in the development of eosinophilic granuloma complex (EGC) in cats...One study found a higher frequency of EGC in young animals, which was associated with a genetic predisposition." The source was titled Some aspects of the diagnosis and treatment of eosinophilic granuloma in cats in case you are interested. I was under the impression that reputable breeders would want to know this kind of information.

To sum up my experience, I take full responsibility for being overly eager, and too free with my trust. I did not do my due diligence before signing a contract. In hindsight, I should have gone to check out the premises to see with my own eyes if it appeared like a reputable establishment. Those are my mistakes.

What I know for certain is that you sent Jasper home with an infection, violating our contract. Additionally, based on the peeling I saw on his foot, he had already had an allergic flare-up during the first few months of his life when he was in your home. One of two things is possible. Either, you knowingly sent a sick kitten home with me without breathing a word about it. Or, you didn't realize that Jasper was sick because of gross neglect.

I was offended that you would only offer a refund if I agreed to return Jasper to you. I had previously stated, "We have no intention of returning our kitten. He is a member of our family now. We love him." However, I did ask what you would do with him because I was curious: Were you disingenuous enough to make the offer of a refund, already knowing I wouldn't accept under those conditions. And what if I did accept? Would you have put Jasper to sleep? When I asked you point-blank, you said, "Unfortunately at this time I'm not able to answer that question." For all these reasons, I do not believe you are a reputable breeder. I also have strong doubts about your morality/ethical practices.