Pennsylvania | Civil Litigation
Legal Question
Limits to animal breeders liability
I raise Siamese kittens as companion animals. Two months after a family took two, one developed a terminal disease (FIP). FIP typically kills within a week, and occurs when Feline Enteric Corona Virus (FECV) mutates into FIP (rare). Coronovirus exposure, including FECV, is common in cats, and all yield a positive test result. Because exposure is common, testing is not considered indicative or relevant for diagnosing FIP. My vet confirms that in the absence of FIP type health issues there is no reason to believe that FECV exists in my group. The owner is suing me ''for selling a kitten with a pre-existing terminal illness'', based on the supposition that it couldn't have come from her so it must have come from me. When this disease develops it kills in about a week and she had the kittens for at least two months. To give her the benefit of the doubt I offered to replace the kitten, but my offer was rejected demanding the cost of the kitten, medical bills, and costs associated with the civil suit. There is no way to rule out to a medical certainty that the virus, although normally benign, could not have come from my group. Regardless the ''terminal illness'' developed months after the kittens left my charge.
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