Shockingly unprofessional experience.
My partner and I recently visited Belle Ayr Cattery and fell in love with a kitten and were really excited to bring him home and had progressed to receiving an invoice. Throughout the process, I asked some reasonable questions about his health, genetic testing and veterinary care, as any responsible prospective owner should. This evening, after receiving the invoice, I was reviewing the purchase contract and asked two simple questions about neutering (specifically when is best to have it done) and whether we needed to get him any additional vaccinations. The breeder suddenly became hostile, told me my due diligence was “over the top”, and cancelled the invoice within minutes. I was then blocked on WhatsApp, without even being given the opportunity to respond. Whilst there is a generic terms and conditions section on the website, I had only just received the actual contract accompanying my invoice and wasn’t even given the opportunity to finish reading it before the sale was cancelled. Surely prospective buyers should be allowed to review the specific terms they’re being asked to agree to before making payment? Especially when its a large sum of money. At no point was I rude or disrespectful. I was simply trying to ensure we were fully informed before bringing an animal into our home for potentially the next 15–20 years. The complete lack of professionalism and abruptness of this response was really shocking, particularly after we’d visited, bonded with the kitten and made clear our intention to purchase him. If this is how prospective owners are treated for asking basic questions before paying, I’d be very concerned about the support they’d receive if an issue arose afterwards.
By JL