Windrunner Cattery Munchkin Breeder

Yes, unfortunately things can go wrong any time your pet has surgery, whether it is for an injury, defect, enhancement, neuter, spay, de-claw, debark, or even a simple dental cleaning! It can be related to the anesthesia, the temperature, the actual surgery, the stamina and/or general health of the pet, allergies, or just an unforeseen event, like a heart defect or an aneurysm. The vet can do everything right, and the pet may lose his or her life. Or it can be a mistake during the process. It happens with human surgeries as well. It doesn't mean that you should fore-go a procedure that is for the greater good, like a spay/neuter or a dental cleaning. You should just take the best precautions with getting a blood panel, and following the pre-surgery protocol with respect to diet, water, and medications-if any. After that we and our pets are in the hands of the medical professionals. We can investigate the expertise of these professionals, but that is as far as we can go. You can ask the vet what his/her stats are for the surgery in question with a pet the size of yours. You can hope they will answer truthfully. After that it is a "leap of faith". It is terribly heartbreaking to lose a pet during routine surgery, but luckily that does not happen very often. If we never had surgery or anesthesia because of the risks involved, then no one would ever have kids! Then where would we be??? So, I'm getting down off my soap-box now! Thanks for your input, Charlotte

I've got a friend who had a moggie die when it was spayed and my Mum had an Abyssinian who died when it was neutered... I don't think it's altogether uncommon, many things can go wrong during a vet procedure. Perhaps the anaesthetic was calculated wrong and the vet doesn't want to admit it? Good luck in resolving your issues, it's never nice when a pet passes away 🙁

Thank you Elizabeth, Anna, Lauren, and Arlene!!! My three goals are to be blessed with beautiful, healthy, desirable kittens, and to pair those kittens with people who will love and appreciate and care for those new members of their families, and to do so affordably. I try very hard to spread happiness by producing wonderful kittens that can bring delight and comfort to folks looking for a unique and very loving furry best friend. Often that requires going the extra mile after the kitten has joined their new family. I am glad that you all love your babies, and that you are happy that you picked him or her from Windrunner. "The good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise", as they say, I will continue to breed wonderful Munchkins for many more years!
Thanks again,
Charlotte

Hello,
I just purchased a Munchkin Kitty from Charlotte he is a Cream pt. short hair boy (peaches' first litter) and I would like to say that Charlotte put up with me for almost a month and well she is the best breeder I have ever spoke to. She always answered my emails and phone calls.....Well all I want to say is that I definitively recommend her Cattery to anyone interested in purchasing a healthy and happy Munchkin;)She's the best;)
Tank you Charlotte.

My husband and i purchased a bi-color non-standard Munchkin from Charlotte in October 🙂 He is the sweetest, most loving, playful kitten in the world! He is also absolutely gorgeous, and has amazingly soft fur! He loves to cuddle with me, he's very smart, he loves to play fetch, and he loves company!I would definitely suggest getting a kitten from Charlotte 🙂

I purchased a beautiful lilac lynch point ragdoll kitten from Charlotte around November 2010. I just want to say he is the sweetest, most loving kitty in the world and I can't imagine my life without him anymore! He is very healthy and has an amazing personality. So glad I purchased from Charlotte!

Potential kitten owner,
Charlotte has been very professional and courteous in helping me to understand what happened. It's easy sometimes to be convinced of a thing and act on it without thinking of the effect on others.
In my case, I wish to retract previous posts, but Charlotte said they could not be removed. She offers a 1 year health guarantee. I said 48 hours, which is nuts. Apologies all around. I have zero proof that he had a congenital defect. It could have gone wrong on the vets end as well.
I wish for all to know that I respect Charlotte as a reputable breeder who dealt professionally and courteously with a distraut, overly emotional pet owner.
Deepest apologies.

Charlotte-
Please forgive my emotional posts and remove them with my apologies. While I do believe Shanti had some congenital (kidney) issue that contributed to his death, a better forum would have been to talk to you personally. Bad day, bad storm.

Peace.

Ok. I clearly remember you saying 10% of your cats have kidney problems. We were sitting in your cattery together, you were holding a kitten, and I was holding Shanti. I remember it gave me pause, but apparently not enough. I will not debate that. You said it. I should have listened.

There was no email string about the surgery situation, because I never emailed you about it, nor did you EVER offer to look at the surgery record, as you say you always do. You simply said you were sorry for me and guessed that the vet perhaps did not keep him warm enough during the surgery. That is possible. That's the thing Charlotte, I don't have any proof saying that he died because of a congenital defect, because the vet could not tell me exactly why he died. He simply told me, that in thousands of neuter/spays, he has never had a kitten die. Not one. It's about the most simple surgery in the world. The only way I could have provided proof was if I had a necropsy done, which is not done in San Diego at all, only in LA, and costs more money than I have to my name. I suspect you know that. That would not bring Shanti back. One of the signs of kidney problems (from my research after the fact) is that the kitten will drink lots and lots of water. Well, Shanti surely did. I remember being surprised, but did not take it any further than that, thinking he was a healthy kitten that was simply very active.

No, I have no conclusive proof that he had kidney problems, or any congenital problems at all, only because I could not afford to have the necropsy done. All I know is that I have had probably 15 cats spayed/neutered in my life, and never had a problem, nor have I ever had a purebreed cat before. I finally scrimp and save for my Shanti, a purebreed, and he dies during the most simple surgery a vet can do. I know in my heart he was not healthy inside, but I cannot prove it. I have said that in both my posts, and I simply want people to be aware of what happened to Shanti. This is not an attempt to slander you or your business, simply to share my story. I truly wish you happy holidays and a joyous new year. I will not respond to further posts, as I wish to put this behind me. You know how to contact me if you wish to refund my purchase price, but please do not contact me for any other reason.

Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for commenting, even though you have had a negative experience. I want to know all of the feelings, good and bad, from folks who have gotten one or more of my babies. I looked back through my emails, and the last one I have from you was late June, 2010. It did not go into any of the surgery situation. If you changed your email since then, I was not aware of that. I remember talking to you about losing your kitten when he was being neutered, but I don't remember you saying it was caused by a congenital problem that the kitten had. I always ask the kitten owner to provide me the vet's report including the conclusion that the problem was caused by a defect in the kitten. None of the vets I have used near me will even neuter or spay a Munchkin kitten before 6 months because they are so little. There are many reasons a kitten can die during surgery, even a simple surgery. Saying he died from kidney problems that contributed to his death during surgery is very vague. If you will send me the vet's statement that he died from health issues that were caused by his care at my home, or an existing congenital defect, I will MOST CERTAINLY refund your money in full!
As far as saying 10% of my kittens have kidney problems, I would never say that, since that is totally not true. I would never breed parents that gave me 1 out of every 10 kittens with kidney problems. In 21 years of breeding kittens, I have had 1 Siamese kitten and 1 Siamese parent with kidney problems many years ago, and 1 Bengal kitten with kidney problems, and 1 Munchkin with kidney problems. In 21 years of breeding cats, with 2 different partners, sharing quite a few cats and raising quite a few litters, I'd say that is WAY WAY less than 1% of all of our cats and kittens that had kidney problems. Also the Munchkin kitten that developed kidney problems was a kitten I sold, but he was 3 yrs. old when he had the problem. That could have been caused by other things than genetics.
As far as malformed kittens, that number is true, one Munchkin kitten had a deformed rib cage, and died young. The other Munchkin kitten had a rear leg that never bent normally, hence she always had it out almost straight when she walked and sat. I gave her to a friend who loved her and cared for her, and she is fine to this day at age 4 yrs. old. So it is my hope and wish that you will send me the vet's report so that I can understand why the kitten died, and if it is a congenital defect or was caused in some way by my care before you bought him, I will surely refund all of your money. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, in spite of the hole in your heart that your little baby Shanti left. I am truly sorry for his passing.
Sincerely,
Charlotte

This year I purchased a Napoleon kitten from Windrunner. He was very sweet and quickly stole my heart. Charlotte told me that about 10% of her kittens have kidney problems, and that was the case with my kitten. When I took him in to be neutered at 4 months of age, he did not survive the surgery and died. I was completely devastated, as he had become a member of my family already, stole my heart away and was taken from me. I wish I could explain the pain this caused me and my family, not to mention the expense ($400 for the kitten). Charlotte states on her home page that she has had only 2 malformed kittens in 20+ years of breeding, but I beg to differ. How can this be true if 10% of her kittens have kidney problems? DO NOT BUY FROM WINDRUNNER. I wish I had more space to write, but since I have no absolute proof, only the vets opinion that there is NO REASON my baby should die on the table, except that there was some congenital problem. Buyer beware, her contract says you are only assured of a healthy kitten (free of congenital probelms) for a short period. Maybe only 48 hours. When I told Charlotte, she blamed the vet and offered me a free kitten. NO WAY I would go through that again. NO WAY. I Want my $400 back and I want to forget I ever knew Charlotte. CHARLOTTE, will you give me my $400 back? Nope, didn't think so. BUYER BEWARE.

I have to admit I have had my doubts about the munchkin breed and how they survive along with their short legs. The first time I saw one was at a swap meet and I must admit the poor things had a hard time keeping up with the regular kitties that were in the same cage. They seemed to be overwhelmed by the larger kittens. Your kittens are so adorable. What ever your doing you must be doing a good job. Keep it up.

Hi Charlotte, I found your article very interesting and informative - thanks a lot for sharing. It is nice to know that the potential health issues are rare in your case and perhaps that is the case generally with careful breeding.

I love the Munchkin/Ragdoll calico girl. Is she a girl - she looks it. She is very pretty.