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A pet owner in Singapore took to Facebook on July 27 to share that three of the cats she had purchased from a pet store called CatSmart had died due to a virus spread in the shop.

CatSmart has since denied the allegations made by the lady named Sofi Sui on Facebook, adding that the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) from the National Parks Board (NParks) has conducted a check in store on July 29 and confirmed that there were no sick cats.

Owner claims that cats purchased died due to viral disease caught in store

In her post, she explained that she had bought three cats from the pet store nine months and five months ago.

While she claimed that the cats "all died one after another due to deadly feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) that spread in the pet shop among [the] cats" in her post, Sui later clarified with Mothership in September that one of the cats named Hero ran out of the house in May 2021.

Sui shared in the post that Prince, one of her cats that passed away, was born on Nov. 2020 and died on Jul. 27, 2021.

She also revealed that she paid S$7,000 for Prince in a comment.

Sui also highlighted bad attitude from the staff when she tried to contact the shop owner, the staff allegedly said, "boss don't want to talk to you so just too bad or sue us".

As of July 30, Sui's post remains visible to the public and she urged others to share the post.

Sui's post has also elicited some comments from customers who did not have a positive experience with CatSmart as well as comments which urged cat lovers to adopt, don't shop.

What is FIP?

For the uninitiated, FIP is a viral disease caused by a feline coronavirus that affects wild and domestic cats.

This type of coronavirus is different from the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 in people.

Feline coronavirus is very common and usually does not cause any serious issues, aside from mild diarrhoea.

However, when the feline coronavirus changes to a specific strain of the coronavirus, FIP can develop.

Although FIP is not believed to be contagious, it is a very serious disease as it is progressive and almost always fatal.

CatSmart denies allegations

In response to Mothership's queries, a CatSmart spokesperson said that based on their records, only one kitten, a ragdoll, was purchased by the pet owner, not three.

The ragdoll kitten went home with the pet owner on Jan. 17, 2021, and was imported legally with an AVS import permit.

CatSmart also said:

"We work only with licensed breeders in Ireland. The breeder’s name is clearly stated on the passports of all our kittens. We do not breed kittens and we are not a backyard breeder."

CatSmart also said that they did not receive any call from Sui regarding her sick cats.

In September, Sui shared with Mothership receipts of the purchase of three cats, two cats were bought under the name "Wang Tsan". Sui said that Wang gifted her the cats.

Wang was also the one who made the call to CatSmart.

"We are very certain that the kitten left us healthy"

In addition, the store claimed that the ragdoll kitten was imported together with five other kittens who "were all healthy" and had "no FIP symptoms during their stay" at the pet store.

The pet store explained that if the kitten had contracted FIP at the store or before it arrived in Singapore, the other five kittens would likely have developed signs of FIP as well, however, this was not the case.

"Hence, we are very certain that the kitten left us healthy," the spokesperson said.

CatSmart added that AVS conducted a check on its premises on Jul. 29 and confirmed that "there are no traces or sign of sick cats in the premises".

The spokesperson also shared a document supporting that AVS has approved that the shop is allowed to keep up to 30 cats in store and has been rated "A" in the license.

CatSmart also said that they "will not tolerate any further false and untrue claims" and will consider suing Sui for defamation.

Top photos via Sofi Sui's Facebook