Meet Lizzie
Lizzie is an ambassador of all purebred animals of suspicious origin so we would like to share her story with you.
She was on sale via resellers on a web portal. She arrived at the destination with documents that met the legal requirements, but a lot of data in the passport was false. On paper, Lizzie is a month older, which means that she was taken away from her mother too early and she was described as Main Coon breed, although she is actually mix.
The new owners immediately loved her, but they did not expect a kitten with serious health problems. Lizzie was completely bony and was lagging behind in growth because she had severe chronic diarrhea. For personal reasons (please, without judgments, they were justified), they could no longer keep her, but to pass a sick kitten to new owners would be impossible and irresponsible. That’s how the treating vet temporarily adopted her at the clinic. A lot of laboratory tests were required to exclude congenital gastrointestinal disorders, infectious and parasitic diseases, and thus find the cause of her illness. Lizzie needed a variety of medicines, probiotics and strict dietary nutrition for recovery. When it seemed that diarrhea had finally calmed down, her immune system collapsed after vaccination, and she was back in the beginning …
After a month, all the efforts began to reward, Lizzie started to gain more weight, and the feces became normal – nothing made us happier those days than looking at a solid feces. Just before the Christmas holidays, she went into a new home to experienced owners who knew that diarrhea could be repeated any time or Lizzie might have had lifetime problems. Luckily this is not the case, Lizzie is in excellent condition, she is a bit naughty, as is expected from a cat, and above all, she is an excellent company to all her people and dogs who live with her.
Please, help us share this story to spread the word that buying animals with an unverified history on web portals should stop. There are numerous stories where the owners’ (and veterinarians’) heart breaks, thinking that they have a cute companion to which they get attached straight away has enormous health problems. Sometimes veterinarians can help, but sometimes the problems are too severe. Undoubtedly, this is a significant and unnecessary financial and psychological burden for the new owner.
Besides, when purchasing animals (especially from abroad), considerable attention needs to be paid that the animal has all the necessary documentation. The legislation that wants to stop illegal trafficking of animals usually does not punish sellers and breeders with penalties, but naive new owners who do not know in advance what kind of documentation they need when acquiring a dog or a cat.
The right way to get a dog or cat is:
– adoption through shelter or association (preferably local animals);
– the purchase of purebred animals with the pedigree from verified breeders who provide all necessary veterinary testing for the hereditary diseases required by the breed standard.
PLEASE SHARE LIZZIES STORY THAT STORIES LIKE HERS WILL NOT BE REPEATED! (When there will be no more demand, there will be no more supply!)
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