Annette Maze Texas Burmese Selling FIP Kittens Spicewood, Texas

My kitten also has FIP- 9 months old.  This is my 3 kitten from Annette over 17 years.  Warning!!

Last August (2013) we trapped a female Burmese living under our house, she was all of five pounds. The little girl was spayed at hope Animal clinic via Hill Country Cats. A few weeks later we spoke with a neighbor who told us of another little burmese cat that showed up and that it was being cared for. Three weeks ago a friend called me to tell me she had trapped two more and asked me to come look at them. They are a spitting image of the first one I trapped and spayed, however they were at deaths door, both are being cared for now and are in much better shape. This past Friday one showed up on my porch and was very thin. I got him into my barn with food where he stayed until I trapped him in the barn and took him to Hope Animal Clinic where he was checked out and neutered at which time they found him to be cryptorchid. He is now back in the barn and extremely cautious of humans, in fact all of them allow human contact without a fight but dont much like it (the girls like it more than the boys). The cats are believed to be roughly two years old except for the newbie who is suspected of being one year old. The question is, where did these exotic cats come from? I live 1/4 mile away from this breeder and pray that these arent the undesireables being let out to fend for themselves. I hope there is an explanation. I want to be clear, I dont know this lady and am not accusing anyone. Is this a coincidence that we have been overwhelmed with these beautiful little creatures when a breeders is that close? Attached is the female that we trapped in August.

Unfortunately I had the same experience with Annette.  I got a beautiful Sable in 2010 who was very healthy.  One year later I added an adorable Platinum Burmese. 

Within a few weeks of bringing the new kitten home I thought something was off.  He became very standoffish and would not play.  Shortly after he stopped growing and within six months had turned into a potbellied pig.  The Vet took one look at him and contacted an expert in North Carolina.  FIP was suspected.  A month later we lost the kitten.

When I contacted Annette she was initially very concerned, but said she had never had a cat with FIP.  She indicated the kitten had gotten it from staying a the vet, but the kitten never stayed at the vet.  After a couple of concerned emails, Annette stop responding to me at all.  I never blamed her or asked for money back, but wanted her to prevent this from happening to other people as it is very distressing to watch.

My Sable has tested positive with coronavirus.  After an agonizing year of waiting to see if the Sable would get ill, we wanted to add another kitten to mix.  I contacted Annette several times about getting another kitten or if she even thought that was a good idea.  She has never responded to me again.  That is very sad as I thought she really cared about her kittens finding good homes.

I hope Annette is taking these complaints seriously and has cleaned out her cattery of any FIP mothers. 

I was astonished at this negative report.  We have two Burmese from Annette Maze, and both are perfect, as verified by our vet.  We brought home our first boy in February, 2012 and returned in December, 2012 for our second.

We found Annette and her cattery while searching online.  We called several other catteries, but were won over by Annette's personality and her realistic prices.  So we went to visit her, were given a tour, and were pleased with our experience.

We recommend Annette and TexasBurmeseCats.com to all our friends who admire our cats and want one for their families.

I found Annette on the internet and contacted her via email. I was looking for two Burmese kittens for my family. She was very helpful, asking and answering my questions. We agreed to set a date and time for me to drive out to Austin (I live in Houston). When I arrived I was greeted by Dianne (her assistant) and Annette. The place was very clean and kept up. Annette brought up several female kittens for me to look at (she explained to me that the kittens are kept with their mom/brothers/sisters in their own houses on the property). She further explained on how she takes care of them until they find a home, even going as far as giving them warm goat milk! Another important point: She breeds these kittens on the side because she truly cares for these animals and loves putting kittens in homes, not to make a living.

After holding several kittens, I decided on two (from seperate litters). She gave me their shot and check up records, and also mentioned that her vet had bought kittens from her before. She also gave me an extra kennel, dry and wet food that they were used to and their blankets. Annette raises these kittens like they are her children, and teared up when I loaded them into the car.

After a week of getting them home, one of our kittens wasn't fitting in well with my family and the other kitten. She was sweet but shy; not right for two young kids and a very active "sister". Emailing for advice on how to adjust this kitten to our home and the other kitten, Annette suggested that I return the kitten and "exchange" her for another one. She explained that she had a kitten that was perfect for me (also a rare champagne color). We met halfway between Houston and Austin. I never expected that from her; she went above and beyond helping me. Our new kitten is working out great, getting to know our family and is now best friends with her new "sister".

If you are looking for a fantastice breeder, someone who truly cares about Burmese cats/kittens, consider her! I couldn't be happier!

I purchased a burmese kitten from Annette in early January for my grandson's Christmas present.  I saw this report only hours before leaving my home in Louisiana to pick up our kitten. I called Annette on the way and she was very open in answering my questions about this referral. I decided to go ahead with the purchase but accepted Annette's offer to receive emails forwarded from satisfied customers.  She sent me a number of emails.  They were all within the previous month and were all very positive.  Based on the number so recently received, Annette probably gets a large number of emails from customers that are now friends. 

Our experience visiting and picking out our kitten was very positve.  We spent quite a bit of time visiting with Annette, two of her staff, several kittens that were available, and Annette's personal pets, two neutered males.  The kittens were all bright, lively, and just beautiful.  Annette's boys, Max and Pinkie, were absolutely beautiful and friendly.  Our little guy, Jazz, is doing great.  He has received a clean bill of health from the family vet with none of the concerns shared in the original report from that person's vet. We are all thrilled with him and just so greatful that we got past this report and bought Jazz from Annette. 

I found the rebuttal with all the research very interesting and convincing. While I have no additional research to share, I can share the same support of Annette Maze as a first rate breeder of high quality Burmese with bloodlines from Virginia Deal's champion cats.

I recently got my kitten from Ms. Maze in January 2013. In the past 28 years I have owned, bred and showed Burmese kitties. I do not currently breed or show but during this time I have consistently had at least two pet Burmese living in my home.

My dear cat Bosco, who I purchased as a kitten from Virginia Deal in 2000, had to be euthanized last September when he went into acute renal failure. In December I began scouting Burmese breeders with the hopes of getting my son a kitten for Christmas. I was so pleased to find Annette Maze and even more pleased to find that Virginia had entrusted Annette with her cats at the time of her death. I doubt there are any in the Burmese world who arent familiar with Virginia Deal or Deal cats as she did so much in her lifetime to improve the Burmese breed and to educate other Burmese breeders about safe breeding practices. This endorsement alone was enough to let me know that I was interacting with someone who knows and cares about the Burmese breed.

I visited Ms. Mazes cattery in December of 2012. Had I seen anything out of the ordinary runny eyes and noses, sneezing or lethargic cats, I would not have considered purchasing a kitten from her. What I did see were very clean living conditions with happy, healthy, energetic and beautiful Burmese kittens and cats that are very well cared for by both Ms. Maze and her staff. She worked diligently with me for over a month to get me exactly what I was looking for in a kitten. Ms. Maze is a very intelligent, kind and honest woman who lives on a sprawling ranch which houses a working goat farm along with her cattery. She understands what it takes to raise healthy animals. She judges goats on a national level and works closely with 4H groups to encourage best practices so the young members learn what it takes to produce healthy, strong animals. This is a way of life for her.

My kitten was vet checked by my veterinarian this past Thursday and received a clean bill of health. Having seen a negative report on this site I researched the disease and went to my vet prepared with questions. I showed her the letter written on this site. My vet told me that it has been her experience that when someone loses a pet, they go through the Stages of Grief. One of these is Anger. She feels that when one is in that stage they want to blame someone. She said that blame commonly falls on the vet or breeder because the owner is in pain. I believe this persons comment demonstrates this grief:

Unresponsibly bringing animals into the world only to suffer is not only negligent but a form of cruelty. I understand that many, many cats who carry the coronavirus will never actually develop FIP but it is unethical for a breeder with a known health problem in the cattery to place infected cats with the hope that they won't develop FIP. That is gambling in its worse form and the manipulation of good-hearted people seeking a pet family member. It is the kind of "rip off" that breaks hearts.

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If you are questioning whether you might purchase a kitten from Ms. Maze or any other breeder, it is important to understand what FIP is and what it is not:

FIP develops from the Feline Coronavirus (FCoV). According to my vet, ALL cats carry this virus in their systems. According to Arnold Plotnick MS, DVM, ACVIM, ABVP (article referenced below) infection with feline coronavirus (FCoV) is common in cat populations everywhere. Approximately 25 to 40% of household cats are infected with FCoV. In breeding catteries and other large colonies, the number rises to 80 100%. Despite this high level of exposure to the virus, FIP is a relatively uncommon disorder.

This is because most infections, as stated above, are with the fairly harmless strain of the feline coronavirus (FCoV) the one that produces only mild diarrhea. Cats from breeding catteries and other large multicat households show a higher prevalence of FIP, and this is a reflection of the fact that exposure to the feline coronavirus is hard to avoid.

The feline coronavirus (FCoV) has two different forms; the FECV (Feline Enteric Coronavirus) that infects the intestines and the FIPV (Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus) that causes the disease FIP (Feline infectious peritonitis). The virus becomes FIP when random errors occur causing the virus to mutate from FECV to FIPV. This can happen spontaneously at any time during the cat's life.

A study of all cats diagnosed with FIP over a 16-year period at North Carolina State University revealed that purebred cats were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with FIP, and that Abyssinians, Bengals, Birmans, Himalayans, Ragdolls, and Rexes have a significantly higher risk, whereas Burmese, Exotic Shorthairs, Manxes, Persians, Russian Blues, do not appear to be at increased risk.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) What You Need To Know, Arnold Plotnick MS, DVM, ACVIM, ABVP

http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/Feline_Infectious_Peritonitis.html

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Here are my findings which I feel rebut this persons claims:

Finally, with the results of multiple tests in hand along with the now glaringly obvious physical symptoms, our sweetie was diagnosed with non-effusive FIP."

Our clinic was amazing and so kind. They also made it very clear that this disease came from the cattery. I wrote back that we had seen three different vets and all had confirmed the diagnosis.

That's when my blinders fell off and I realized she had been putting one over on us from the beginning. All the red flags from before indicated that she knew full well she had a coronavirus positive (or worse) mother and knowingly placed kittens with a high likelihood of developing FIP.

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There is NO diagnostic test for FIP and it is extremely difficult to diagnose. The only way to accurately diagnose FIP is by histopathology tests obtained by autopsy after the cat has died. This disease is historically difficult to diagnose because FIP can mimic other diseases. This is especially true of the dry or non-effusive form. 25-40% of cats carry some form of the coronavirus in their systems. (My vet feels that this number is low). It is when the virus spontaneously mutates that it may develop into FIP or Feline Infectious Peritonitis.

References:

Feline Infectious Peritonitis, http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fip.html

Does Pancho have non-effusive FIP?,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JLdLQKpoyA&noredirect=1

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) in Cats, http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_ct_feline_infectious_peritonitis

This specialist veterinarian reports that 80% of her referred cases are misdiagnosed and turn out not to be FIP.

Does Pancho have non-effusive FIP?,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JLdLQKpoyA&noredirect=1



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This was not one time aberration in a litter that affected only one kitten. We purchased two cats from Annette at the same time--they were brothers. The surviving cat has tested positive for the coronavirus --mid level titers. We are watching him closely, almost holding our breaths, that he will not develop FIP.  

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The number that is reported from these tests is called an antibody titer. Low titers indicate a small amount of coronavirus antibodies, while high titers indicate much greater amounts of antibodies. A healthy cat with a high titer, however, is not necessarily more likely to develop FIP or be a carrier of an FIP-causing coronavirus than a cat with a low titer. The level of antibodies is not a predictor for your cat's susceptibility for developing the disease.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis, http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fip.html

More specific testing may be used by your cat's veterinarian, including a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which may differentiate the unique DNA of the FIP virus, but again, this often only shows that the virus is a coronavirus, not what type it is.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) in Cats, http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_ct_feline_infectious_peritonitis

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SUMMARY 

I believe this person was grief-stricken and needed someone to blame for the death of his/her cat.

The information just doesnt hold up to what Ive learned online or to what I learned from my own veterinarian about FIP.

There are 2 sides to every story, so I believe that if this concerns you then you should at least contact Ms. Maze and hear her side of the story.

My 18-year-old Burmese male is getting old and has begun to have kidney failure. I give him IV fluids daily and with that help he has an excellent quality of life. I know he wont last forever, but when he passes and I feel the time is right for a new kitty, I will be contacting Annette Maze to find a replacement for him and would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone else looking to add one of these very special breed of cats to their family.

     

Incase you would like to know what her cats look like this is the image

I purchased 2 Burmese kittens from Annette Maze one month ago.  I was concerned because of the comments above, but I am extremely happy that I chose to buy new family pets from Annette.  

I did tell her of the negative online report and she was aware of it.  She was very understanding of my concerns and went above and beyond what I would have expected!  She even provided me with the SNAP test that test for feline aids and let me write a post dated check.  I promptly took the kittens to my vet. and they tested negative for feline aids.  

They are very cuddly and my daughter just loves them because they are so gentle and have the sweetest disposition.

I am sure "Hook" and "Princess", as my daughter named them, will be in their forever home for many years to come.