New kitten intuition vs. a shady breeder
I have a M Ragdoll that’s about to be a year old. He lost his brother to FIP on Christmas Day. I need advice or anything that can help me decide whether I should rely on my gut to get him a new brother while he’s still a playful 1 year old cat vs. waiting 6 months or longer on a kitten I may never get. He is super attached to me & I can’t be here everyday. I wanted bonded brothers so they’d have each other. I work remotely so they rarely are alone, but he’s still grieving loosing his brother.
The breeder who I got the kittens from promised to replace the other kitten since it was part of our contract & he died so young almost overnight.
Ever since then she’s talked me out of liters, lied about liters & reservations (on her stuff), just had the litter she had me waiting on - only to find out only 1 kitten & it was a female. She’s posted things online that when I’ve mentioned them she’s gotten really intense like she was upset & didn’t realize I could see what she’s posting.
She now says she had no planned upcoming liters, she has 1 F she said she was going to retire now saying she’s waiting months for her to go into heat. Her information isn’t consistent & now she said she has no planned liters which is odd because she has 9 liters almost ready to go now that she didn’t realize I could see she had with unknown parents. I shared my feelings that I didn’t want to wait too long for my boy to wait for the other kitten because I really want him to bond with another cat. She told me to “get over it & my cat will be fine & I’ll get him a brother one day”. Her information doesn’t really sit right with me.
Everything I’ve read, researched & heard first hand is that with his age that I should get a kitten now before he phases out of the time period to be able to bond with another cat. My sister is moving so she’s taking 2 of our dogs next week so I feel so disheartened for myself & also for my Ragdoll. That’s going to be another huge transition & I’ve prepared for that & even have taken off work to make sure I can be there as much as he needs me. What is the best thing to do for him?? I don’t want him to get too old to really bond with another cat & I just have a gut feeling the breeder is going to try & work around replacing the other kitten.
Please be kind & I appreciate any & all advice!!