Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/17/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 11-12-2022 I picked up a kitten/Teddy I purchased from Kristi P******** of Big City Ragdolls. I originally put a deposit down through ****** and the rest she would only accept cash upon pickup. The total price was around $2,000. I hastily bought this kitten upon looks and after reading all the complaints about her and FIP issues (first warning sign) I became very worried but I already paid the non refundable deposit. I also believe this kitten was a rehome situation because of his sickness. I missed the opportunity to put a deposit down on one of her kittens and then checking her website weeks later she had the cat I initially wanted back up on her page and I quickly put down a deposit down to claim it.
  
  When I picked the kitten up she would not let us come to her place but instead meet us at a restaurant near her house. Again, this was very troubling not letting us come to her place of business (a big warning sign ). The kitten looked nothing like its photo-shopped picture. It didn't even have bright blue eyes or seal point features as the picture given to us on her website. She said the eye color changes during the kitten stage. We looked at the kitten and its eyes were watering and it was sneezing non stop. She assured us/ me an my fiancé that would stop and that it just started and it might be because of nerves. The next day the kitten was still very sick and we took it our vet 11-14-2022. The vet visit was $146.47 and Kristi agreed to pay for part of it which she did and refunded us only $80.47. The Vet gave us *********** to help kill whatever was making Teddy sick. Both the Vet and Kristi suggested giving Teddy ******* a respiratory supplement twice a day and we did get that and have given it to him and my other cat that became sick because of Teddy ever since.
  
  On 12-13-2022 we took the kitten back in to the Vet and it still was very sick and sneezing non stop. The vet again gave us medicine to help kill whatever was causing Teddys problems. The vet bill was $79.00. On 01-03-2022 we took Teddy back to the Vet again and did a Respiratory Panel test to see more what exactly was wrong with Teddy. We previously did not do this since Kristi said Teddy had the test done right before we got him and everything was negative (another lie). The vet bill was $229.23. The test came back positive for 4 of the 7 things that were tested. My Vet said Teddy was the first animal he has ever had that came back with that many positive test on one panel. Teddy was very sick. He tested positive for Feline ***********, Feline ***********, ********** **************, and ********** *****. The vet again gave us new meds that cost $88.29 and we are hoping these meds will help get him healthy again but he will always have underlining health issues and flare ups the Vet said.
  
  I called Kristi to share the test results and she didn't care in the least. I think she already knew these were the health issues since most likely all her kittens are sick with the same things. How else did she know to give the ******* to help with all the issues. I am very surprised she is still in business. People pay big money to get a kitten and they expect that kitten to be disease free and healthy and have a family history of good health. Kristi is a disgusting for profit breeder/kitten mill breeder that produces hundreds of kittens for sale a year and she only cares about money and nothing for her cats. It is curial to breed sick cats and to sell kittens that she knows have health issues.
  
  I asked for my money back because all the health issues, vet visits, problems with my other cat getting sick from Teddy and she sited her contract. She would not even pay the additional medical bills. We will do everything we can to give Teddy a good life but it is so sad that he was the product of this horrible breeder/Kitten mill and has to take meds the rest of his life twice a day. My hope is that someone considering buying a kitten from her sees this and does more research before having all the issues I have to deal with Teddy and my other cat that got sick from Teddy. What she is doing should be illegal. I am not even sure Teddy is a true Ragdoll given its odd coloring and I have no TICA or CFA documentation from this so called breeder. CFA told me they don't recognize his coloring (Sepia).

  Business Response

  Date: 01/31/2023

  This complaint is so full of false-hoods I don’t even know where to begin.
  I have never photoshopped a kitten – EVER.  Customers are provided several pictures of the kitten they reserve.  This complainant never once asked if he could have his deposit back. Quite the contrary.  He was so anxious to get his kitten, he asked if he could pick up early and asked if I could meet him off ***** the night of November 12 at 6:40 pm.  Upon pick-up he never mentioned anything about the kitten not looking like the kitten that he reserved.  This BBB complaint is the first I’ve heard of this allegation from him. 
  In over 12 years of breeding I have never had to take a kitten back for a health issue – let alone resold it.
  Kittens are either picked up from our residence or delivered door-to-door to a customer’s home upon request.  We are very proud of our home and have had customers pick-up from our residence since 2010.  Had it not been for HIS request, he too would have picked up here.
  All kittens are vet checked by my vet one week prior to going home.  They are examined and released by my vet as being in good health as well as spayed/neutered, microchipped and have received at least 2 to 3 ***** vaccinations.  The ***** vaccinations prevent two of the three conditions the Complainant claims the kitten had on the respiratory panel.  Had the kitten been showing any signs of illness, I would not have allowed him to pick up – let alone a day early.
  The very first paragraph of our contract states a few things that a kitten can experience from stress of a car ride, new home, other animals, etc.  One of those things is sneezing.  When Complainant contacted me by FB messenger the very next day stating his kitten had started sneezing, I called him. All kittens go home with a 30 day veterinary insurance policy through ********* which is provided at no cost to the buyer.   I called him to ask him if he had activated his insurance policy.  I was told emphatically, no, he was not going to do that.  I told him if he thought his kitten was sick, he should activate his policy.  When he again said he wasn’t going to do that, I offered to pick the kitten up to take him to my vet.  I told him I would refund 100%.  He said “no, my ****** has bonded with him,  I am not giving the cat back, I’ll take him to my own vet.”  He went on to say that he knew he never should have bought from me.  I offered to drive 2 hours to his home, pick the kitten up and give him a complete refund.  In fact, I offered that twice to him the first week.  Each time he turned me down saying his finance and his other cat had already bonded with the kitten.  His first vet visit he sent me the vet record stating that the kitten very likely was stressed or could be getting a kitten cold. I again offered to pick the kitten up for a full refund.  Again, he turned me down.  So, instead, I paid the vet bill (except for a fiv/felv test as the kitten was negative by parentage). 
  On January 11 (nearly two months after he picked up his kitten) he contacted me stating that he wanted a refund.  He also stated he will not return the kitten.  Now he complains that I am an unethical, disgusting breeder.  I’ve done nothing but go above and beyond to satisfy this customer.  He wants his kitten and his money too.
  This complaint is the first I have learned that his other cat was/is sick.  According to this complaint, the kitten was in complainant’s possession for 7 weeks prior to the vet running respiratory tests.  During that 7 weeks, the kitten received a 4th  ***** vaccine and a rabies vaccine.  Those vaccines were given at separate vet visits.  Most veterinarians will not vaccinate a sick kitten. If the kitten was so sick, why did he wait 7 weeks to run a respiratory panel instead of giving him well-checks and vaccines?  According to my vet, a false positive could result if the kitten had been recently vaccinated.  
  All kittens also go home with a 30 day veterinary insurance policy through ********* which is provided at no cost to the buyer.   The day after he got his kitten, when I contacted him to ask him if he had activated his insurance policy.  I was told emphatically, no, he was not going to do that.  I told him if he thought his kitten was sick, he should activate his policy.  When he again said he wasn’t going to do that, I offered to pick the kitten up to take him to my vet.  I told him I would refund 100%.  He said “no, I am not giving the cat back.
   All kittens are also sent home with TICA registration form, contract, vet records, microchip information along with the ********* 30 day insurance policy.  He has all of his kittens paperwork.
  Our kittens are registered through The International Cat Association.  We do not register with CFA. The TICA registration form is always provided when the kitten goes home. Pics attached were provided by complaintant.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/10/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 18824010, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

   

  This woman is an outright liar. Everything she says is a
  lie. When we picked up the kitten in a parking lot from her, the kitten was
  sick (sneezing and had watery eyes) and we asked about it. We  also asked
  about its coloring since it seemed different and she had all kinds of excuses.
   She said the sneezing just started and it was probably just nervous.
  Before we got home we called her and said we were taking it to ******. She said
  to take it to my own Vet and she would pay for it. We did that the very next
  day and she did pay for some of it. We didn’t use the Insurance she mentioned
  because you have to pay monthly for it even if it is free for 30 days at first.
  I didn’t buy a pure breed kitten for $2000 just to get a sick kitten I need
  insurance for that cost  $45 a month! We also didn’t test the kitten for
  the various disease it had because the vet first gave us *********** to try and
  clear up what it had. Plus, she said the kitten was just tested and everything
  came back fine/negative which had to be a lie since it was obviously sick
  before we even got it. I am wondering now if the kitten was refused by another
  buyer for its sickness and then came available when I bought it. This kitten
  was sold at later date then the rest of the litter and this might be why. I
  never reserved any TICA certification telling me this a purebred Kitten. It
  also didn’t look like its pictures at all. Ragdolls have blue eyes and are long
  haired and this cat is neither. The color of this cat (brown) is not recognized
  by CFA I was told. I am also making complaints to both organizations to stop
  this woman from defrauding other people and to stop selling sick kittens from
  her kitten mill. Which buy the way look looks like a shack in the back yard
  from the pics. on her personal Facebook page. I have paid a lot of vet bills
  already for this kitten and will continue to do so. I also paid over $2k for the
  kitten. I would not give this kitten or any animal back to this woman! Not that
  she offered to take it back and refund us. You can see in the other BBB
  complaint someone did that and she never refund them the money.   She
  should not be breeding animals or taking care of animals at all from her back
  yard kitten mill. You can tell this animal never received any socialization
  under her care. It was afraid of the tv noise even when we first got it. I will
  continue to give care to this animal (which I know is my choice) but it would
  be nice to get my original money back from this crook! I hope someone else sees
  these complaints and thinks twice about dealing with this horrible person!

  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** *******