1st Complaint Against:
Breeder: Angelia Schultz
Catteries: Nectar & Trinket Persians Catteries Websites: [1][2][3][4]
Address: 284 Altahama Drive
City: Ellijay, GA 30540
Phone: 706-273-CATS
Complaintant: Lorraine Caggiano
Date: Date/Time: 2007-08-29 20:42:50 PDT

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What will satisfy your complaint?

I really don't know if money is the issue any longer, as to me it's a matter of principle that other people don't fall victim to this woman!

She actually said that "the plane gave the cat fleas", then that "my vet gave him the fungus" and lastly that "I hurt the kittie and defected his eye". It's such a long sordid story, that I doubt you have enough room to take it all in. So, here is a link to a webpage that I've created, which will give you the whole rundown. Website

Share with us about your experience with this particular pedigree cat breeder here.

Well, at first I felt she was just so nice. Then I started to realize, whenever I called her about a problem, that she was full of it and lying. When on August 2 I wrote her saying that I did not want to return the cat, that my daughter, husband and I loved him and wanted to try to cure him, and all I wanted was my money back to cover the doctor bills, she did not respond. Two more emails, no response, nor did she return my husband's call. She only surfaced when I sent her a link to my webpage, saying that I was going to send to her competitors. And, she said that she NEVER got THREE emails or the PHONE MESSAGE. In this day and age of technology?

She refuses to take any responsibility for this, and I've heard from others that she has screwed people over in the past as well. I've even written her vet, asking how they could have missed this eye, etc., you will see al the letters on my pdf file which I've sent to you. This breeder is threatening to sue me for slander, defamation, etc., however, how can it be that when I have documented proof of the problems I have been enduring? As I said, It's a matter of principle. She must not be allowed to breed cats which are sick.

9/1/07 I purchased a teacup Persian (male) from Angelia Schultz of Nectar Cattery in the amount of $2, 000 plus $300 to ship him to New York via Continental Airlines.

I arrived on June 21, 2007 and, that evening while brushing him, I noticed a bug in his coat, but the bug moved so fast that I wasn't sure if I was seeing things. The next morning, my daughter told me that she saw a bug on Tuttie. Never being a cat owner prior, I didn't know what this could be, so I immediately called Angelia to tell her that I saw a bug on the kitten. She didn't ask what kind of bug, color, what it looked like, etc., instead her immediate response was he must have gotten fleas on the plan, go purchase some Advantage and they will be gone in a few hours. Not wanting to argue over this and giving her the benefit of the doubt, I just said okay. Instead, I took Tuttie to the vet, as he was scheduled anyway for his well visit. The vet gave him a treatment of Ovitrol and, from the amount of fleas that came off his coat and the large amount of flea dirt within in, the vet and I felt that there was way to much infestation for it to occur on a three hour plane ride. At that same visit, the vet told me that I should have his eye checked by an ophthalmologist, because his left pupil stayed continuously dilated. At that point, I was more concerned about de-fleaing my environment to prevent an infestation in m house, and a recurrence on Tuttie.

About nine days later, I noticed that the tip of Tutties right ear had turned black and that the hair had fallen off. I thought that maybe the kitten wounded himself (although I couldn't imagine how, ) so I took him back to the vet. At that visit he was found to have conjunctivitis, and the vet thought that maybe it was a wound as well, so he gave me a bit of ointment for it. At that visit, I was informed by the vet that his rent had tripled due to a new owner and he therefore had to close shop in a months time, and he was sending my records to a new vet.

About five days after seeing the initial black spot, I gave Tuttie a bath and noticed that on his left ear, there was a perfectly round black spot, the size of a quarter, and the hair had fallen off during the bath. The next morning, I took him to the new vet, who immediately took a culture for ringworm; while waiting for the results, my doctor prescribed an anti-fungal to treat the ear. At that visit, he noticed the dilated pupil as well, and asked me if I wanted to keep this kitten. I told him that giving him back was not an option, as my 7 year old daughter would be devastated (as well as my husband and I). He said that the dilated pupil could be as simple as being blind in one eye, or as serious as a neurological disorder where I could be stuck with a cat who has seizures, and exorbitant medical bills. That evening, I phoned Angelia to say that my cat has black spots on his ears, and she said, Oh my, he must have gotten a fungus on that plane. I rolled my eyes when I heard this latest finger pointing at the airline, while she told me that it must be ringworm and that she has never seen ringworm before, but has heard about it.

Back to the vet, as Tuttie tested negative for ringworm, and the vet then took a slide to get a cytology reading, as the problem was worsening. That was another two-week wait. That night, I wrote Angelia to outlining all the medial problems the kitten was having, told her that at that point I had spent close to $700 in medical bills (in just six weeks, ) and that although I understood her policy was to return the kitten for a new one, that was not an option as my daughter was emotionally attached, and I preferred a refund for the kitten so that I could use that money to try to find a cure for the worsening fungus and to determine was exactly was wrong with the eye as, if it were neurological, I would need an MRI, which would cost approximately $1, 000. That same night, my husband left her a message on her voice mail; the call was never returned.

(The result of the cytology was that Tuttie had a rare yeast infection, and we were told to keep treating him with the topical ointment, as he was much too small for an oral mediation, which could damage his liver.)

Angelia ignored my initial email requesting reimbursement. I sent her a follow up email approximately 8 days later, expressing my shock and dismay that she had not written back.

I then took Tuttie to an Ophthalmologist at Animal Medical Center of NYC. She found that his eye problem is most likely congenital, and coloboma-like. He has a low tissue volume in his left eye, which is why the pupil stays dilated and never constricts. She told me that 99.9% this is the reason; however, if I see him acting weird, having seizures, etc., then I need to see a neurologist. That night, I wrote Angelia yet again, and she again did not response.

Two days later, Tuttie came down with a serious Upper Respiratory Infection, and I had to feed him via syringe as he was unable to eat. All my research points to a high possibility that the fungus stems from an anti-immune problem and that the upper respiratory stems from the fungus!

In order to try to get Angelias attention, I decided to create a webpage containing pictures of Tutties hairless black ears and defective pupil, as well as a blog of the problems I was experiencing from Day One of having the kitten. I sent Angelia a copy of it, and again she didn't respond.

It was only after I sent her a further copy of the webpage, informing her that I was no longer interested in a refund, but in educating potential purchasers of teacup Persians to avoid them the pain, heartache and expense that I was enduring and that I was sending a copy of my webpage to her competitors, that she surfaced! Instead of constructively trying to correct the problem, she accused Continental Airlines for the flea problem, my vet for giving the cat a fungus and ME of harming the kitten and damaging his eye.and said that she was going to sue me for defamation! Defamation is NOT defamation when its true, and I have the bills and medical records to prove that I purchased a kitten from her with all these problems! I guess she never heard the old adage the customer is always right.

I also wrote her vet, who gave Tuttie a clean bill of health prior to his departure to NY, asking her specifically how she could have missed the eye and the flea dirt and inquiring as to how she ensures that the kitten she inspects is ultimately the kitten that is sent to the breeders client. She told me that her only requirement is to give the kitten a clearance to fly (i.e., no infectious diseases, ) that if any abnormalities are discovered, the owner (at that point Angelia, ) would have been informed and that any subsequent owner is prohibited from receiving the results of that examination, unless authorized by the owner, who would have been Angelia. I found it quite revealing that instead of this vet saying, I saw the cat and there was nothing wrong with his eye, she just stated that any abnormalities would have been told to the owner. Well, that leads me to conclude that (a) either shes a very bad vet who didn't notice what every single person notices upon their first look at Tuttie, or (b) she told Angelia about the eye and the fleas and Angelia sent him to me anyway, or (c) the cat that the vet inspected was not Tuttie, but another one from his litter who looked a bit better!!!

In the meantime, my vet took a biopsy of the ear, which was not responding to treatment and is actually spreading to other parts of his body. He has black spots on his back, losing hair and when I brush him, he has pain. The biopsy ruled out some disorders, but said that we now have to test for pemphigusand it states, As this is a highly unusual case, it is recommended that a dermatologist examine the kitten to pursue a diagnosis of pemphigus. I have an appointment with a dermatologist in NYC who has a special interest in the skin diseases of cats, so I am hoping that she can help Tuttie. In the meantime, my medical bills have totaled $1, 256 in the short eight weeks that Ive had Tuttie, and the dermatologist charges $150 for a consultation. Who knows what kinds of tests he will need

now. I find it reprehensible that this woman can breed cats with such problems and with complete impunity, and then send a guarantee, which states that if the kitten it found to be defective to send it back and get a new one. It also states that the purchaser is liable for any medical bills it incurs when it owns the cat. This is not fair for a few reasons:

- If this woman knowingly sent me a defective cat, she is then forcing me to incur medical costs for a product that she created and which is faulty.

- She knows that once you have the kitten, and your 7 year old child falls in love, it is highly likely that you can send a kitten back, as it would devastate the child.

- I only saw this guarantee when I received the cat, and it was only signed by her. Had I seen this guarantee prior to receiving the cat, I would have told her that the language needed to be changed to read that if the cat were found to have co-genital defects, then the breeder should incur the cost of the medical bills, not the naive person to whom the sick cat was sent. Otherwise, breeders can just keep releasing sick kittens to prospective owners until a healthy cat is received.

I am so thankful to this site, giving unsuspecting pet owners a sounding board and a place to help spread the word against breeders who are incompetent, unprofessional, inconsiderate, and just churning out kittens on a constant basis, charging tons of money for them, and then turning their backs on the owners when the problems arisein my case, blaming the cats problems on everyone but her own inadequacies.