Kitty cancer photos

It was suggested that I share some photos of my kitty that has cancer. I'm still new to this blogging thing so suggestions (or how to's!) are welcome!

Here's some photos of her before her cancer.

 

And here's some photos of her with the E-collar (which didn't last long) and her stitches from her first surgery.

It was pitiful to see the first time so I didn't memorialize her second surgery with photos.  But it looked pretty much the same, except she yanked out most of the stitches and we had to return for her open wound to be stapled. 

Here's a Fox news story about how little we know about the rabies vaccine schedule and although it does't speak about cancer, it does show a dog who has had side effects.

Fox News story on the rabies vaccine

My cat has cancer...

My 3 year old kitty has cancer. That's horrible, right? Nature gone awry and making my cat the victim of it's wrath.

But actually, it's not entirely nature being cruel.  Ever hear of Vaccine Associated Sacroma? It's (in my completely non-medical terminolgy) the drug manufacturers cruel joke on law abiding citizens who follow the law and have their pet vaccinated with the rabies vaccine. Yes - you read that correctly. My cat has cancer because I followed my the advice/directives of veterinarians and the state of PA.

I won't bore you with my the hell I've been going through emotionally knowing I did this to my cat. When I adopted her, I promised to take care of her. And I thought I was taking care of her and doing what was right by getting her vaccinated.  Well, I thought wrong.

As of this date, she has had two surgeries to remove lumps on her right leg.  Maybe you remember back in the day when the vets would give injections into the scruff of the dog/cat's neck.  Well they discontinued doing that because when cancer occurred in those unlucky pets, there wasn't much to be done because of the location of the cancer.  Giving them the injections in the leg gives them a chance... a chance for living with three legs, which is certainly better than the alternative.  I've been told and read that tripod pets get around quite well and can live a pretty normal, happy life. But I'm still angry! No one ever told me of the risks of vaccinating my cat. I've had cats for nearly 25 years. No one ever said, "Hey...just wanted to let you know before I stick the needle into your cat - there are some considerable risks from the vaccine". Nope.. no one ever said those words to me in over 2 decades.  Should I be angry at the veterinarians my pets have seen though the years? After all, they're the ones injecting my pet.  Shouldn't it be part of their job to inform the pet parents of the risks and after agreeing that they (pet parents) understand the risks, then and only then consent to the vaccine.  It's called Informed Consent. I'm still learning about that so I'm not gonna say too much about it at this point.  But I'm still angry with the vets my pets have seen. I feel like they failed in not giving all the information. I read that it's been known for nearly 20 years that a possible side effect of the vaccine is cancer. *Twenty years*.  If they were doctors for humans wouldn't part of their job be to tell you of the pros/cons of whatever procedure they were recommending?? Why should it be different for pets??!!!

I read that statistically, VAS (vaccine associated sarcoma) occurs in approximately 1 in 10,000 pets who receive annual vaccinations.  Now think of how many pets you and your friends have had through the years. Add in the pets that your family and friends of your family, co-workers and neighbors and even acquaintances have had over the years.... you can get to 10,000 relatively quickly. This isn't an uncommon phenomenon!  But have you ever heard of it??!! I didn't until about 2 months ago. Now I find stories all over the internet of pet parents emotional struggles, guilt and financial headaches from the effects of the vaccines.

I'm certainly not blazing a new trail here when I tell you I'm requesting that the manufacturer of this particular rabies vaccine reimburse me for my financial costs incurred becuase of their vaccine.  Alot of people have already received compensation for their pet's cancer.  The amount of compensation has varied from person to person and from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Approaching the rabies vaccine manufacturer for compensation doesn't change anything in my cat's life. I can't honestly say I'm doing it 'for' her.  She's probably clueless about the reasons she keeps getting stuffed into a carrier and enduring a car ride to the vet's office where she either has surgery or gets stitches and/or staples in her leg removed.

So yes, I am doing it for the money. Dear Lord, I paid to have someone give my cat cancer! That sounds more like the basis for some weird sci-fi/revenge movie than it does real life. But it is real life.  Damn skippy I want my money back. I want my money back for all of the tests and surgery she's had and may have. I want someone to pay for my mental anguish and my cat's physical pain and decline in her health. It's not fair or just that no one told me (and everyone else) of the hazards of these vaccinations. So, I'm (hoping to) getting them in the wallet... plain and simple - I want compensated for my cat's cancer caused by their vaccine.

This isn't going to be a short process, but I'm going to see it through until I have a check in my hands. 

Got my $ back, but still have issues...

I know... some people are never satisfied. I should be hootin' n hollerin' 'cuz I got my money back from a retailer that says 'no refunds'. But I'm just not satisfied....yet.

Since my $31.80 was safely returned to my credit card, I'm thinking with a clearer head. And in doing so, some things have become apparent to me about being 'kiosked'.

The receipt itself. Check out one from any store - it has the store name, address, telephone number, maybe even the manger's name.

This receipt had the name of the business and the name of the mall. No telephone number, no address, etc. Even the mall management office has a bogus, out of order number for them.

But what really gets me is what I noticed when those ladies at the kiosk made their purchase yesterday.  And this is so slick. You never see the sales slip until it's printed out with your signature. You sign your name on the computer monitor with a stylus.  The only box there is the box for your signature. There is no detail of the sale, like you'd see at Wal-Mart or Target or even a convenience store.  Effectively, you're signing your name and agreeing to the charges on your credit card without even seeing the charges that you're agreeing to.  Case in point, I was told my product was $29.99. When I got the receipt she'd charged me $30.00. Now I realize that's a penny - but it was my penny. Maybe it was the lucky penny I've been looking for all my life. Maybe I'm just being too particular. But the point is, you could be overcharged by a penny or a hundred dollars - and you signed that receipt, never seeing the total, until it's printed out with your signature. You're agreeing to charges you haven't visually accepted. If I was Clark Howard, I'd be running to the alarm button he has and screaming 'NO! NO! Don't do it!'.

Now, could this just be an oversight on their part? No contact info for them on the receipt? Having you sign a receipt in which the total is unknown? Sure.. and I'm tall, blonde and a size 2.

I finally saw their 'no refunds, exchanges only within 14 days' sign yesterday. It's printed in black ink on white paper in a plastic photo frame that stands vertically. If I had to guess, I'd say it's about the size of a photo in your wallet.  Unless you have been graced with the exceptional vision of our feline friends - it's doubtful you'd even notice it. I sure didn't.  It's small and yesterday,  it was hiding behind a Starbucks iced coffee cup.

I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt.  But, I just can't do it.

UPDATE: Meant to add that according to CapitalOne, this merchant has on file with Visa/MC a no return policy. That means, if you file a dispute, chances are significant that you're going to lose.  Wouldn't it be nice if us mere consumers - the backbone of the financial world - were alerted to such things so we have all the necessary info in order to make intelligent buying decisions??

How are we to know which retailer to trust? I'd never heard of a retailer actually having their merchant account set up that they do not accept returns or do refunds.  The honest consumers are always on the short end of the stick. It's frustrating. It's unfair. And ya know what? Since that image of Clark Howard running over to his alarm buzzer is in my head, I'm going to send him an email about these kiosk people .. not so much the bad reviews of their products, but their sales tactics such as having you blindly signing your credit card receipt.  Clark is a consumer advocate.  I'm sure he gets about a million emails a day, but hey..., if people don't know about less than honorable sales tactics, how can you avoid them?!!! Oh, Clark...... can we talk? (I'm a fan of Joan Rivers.., what can I say?!)

Good news!

I had an unpleasant weekend as I was audibly accosted by some beeping noises all weekend so I was really geared up to go to the mall today and get my money back.

When I got to the mall I noticed the second kiosk the dead sea product sellers had was missing. Gone. Enter sick feeling in my stomach that they had upped and left.. and with me, minus my refund.

I rounded the corner and saw the kiosk I'd made my purchase from - still there. Immense relief.  And as luck would have it, two ladies had their credit cards out, just making a purchase. Now no one saved me from these stealth salespeople, so I spoke up. I told them about the different websites with the unhappy customers, their no return policy, etc.. I wanted to save them. But ya know, some times you can't save people hell bent on being suckers.  They got snippy with me and made their purchase.

I hadn't really intended to go in there like someone who downed 3 Red Bulls in 3 minutes, but that's how it happened. I delved right in trying to protect those gullible women from their purchase but my efforts were ill-received by the customers and the salespeople.

A male salesman came over to me while the other cashier closed the deal on those 2 customers who were willingly donating their money to the kiosk folks.  I was unpleasant. Now, in his defense, he personally hasn't done anything to me, and maybe my tone wasn't deserved, but seriously, it's been one day short of 5 weeks waiting for my refund. I'd filled out a 4 page refund request and never heard anything. So maybe you can understand my unpleasantness.  I'm not proud of it.

He said he didn't sell me the item. He can't credit me. He gave me reasons upon reasons why he couldn't refund me. For one he said Keren sold me the items (her name was on the receipt). I countered with if I return something to Wal-mart,  I don't need to find the cashier that rang up my purchase in order to get a refund.  A cell phone magically appeared and he walked away.


Well I'm standing my ground, waiting for the kiosk lady to finish up her sales. She was really prolonging those sales, purposely I'm sure, so she didn't have to contend with me.  But I waited. And waited. And she had no choice but to turn her attention to me. She didn't speak English very well in our conversation - although when she was selling her goods, her English seemed pretty good.  Maybe it's like their credit card machine - works fine for taking money, not so well for returning it (I was told initially that the machine wouldn't do credits the first time I returned to get my money back!).

The salesman comes back and starts doing something on the computer. I saw the word 'refund' on the monitor and I took out my credit card that I'd made the purchase on.  I did so with a smugness that warmed my own heart. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but in my head I was patting myself on the back and saying 'you go girl'!

Apparently refunds are a 3 person job - I assume since they don't do them very often, it took the two sales people and the person on the phone to produce a refund for me.


The bottom line is this:
No mall security was called, nor were the police. I received no escort out of the mall and no directives not to return. I received a credit for the full amount of the ill-fated purchase on my credit card. SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some things I learned today:
I learned that sarcasm does not translate from English to Hebrew very well.
I believe I heard the phrase 'crazy bitch' in Hebrew.  I can't be sure, but I'd bet my refund on it.
And a 'no refunds' policy doesn't mean no refunds. It means being creative and persistent and if necessary, a
 כלבה משוגעת
That's crazy bitch for those of you who don't speak/read Hebrew.  Translation courtesy of http://translation.babylon.com/english/to-hebrew/.

The case isn't closed though. I'm still going to complain to the malls about their sales tactics.