FAQ | Freequently Asked Questions
Why do you recommend adopting two kittens?
I personally never had just one kitten. Getting two kittens at the same time is best for both your family and the kittens. You will have 10 times more fun with two kittens than with just one. It is a whole new world! The kitten will have his buddy with him when leaving his mother and our cattery, and the travel and transition will be so much smoother. All the crying (and meowing) of the first days will be eliminated, and stress from new environment will be cut in half.
Two kittens will keep each other company when you are not home. Each kitten needs at least one feline and one human companion. We also discount the second kitten and we charge only one shipping fee for both. Unfortunately, your elderly cat is not a suitable companion for a young kitten. He can watch the kitten play, but will not interact much with him, so even if you do have a cat at home, you still need to consider two young kittens.
Based on many years of experience of breeding, I know they miss feline to feline interaction, and suggest they get adopted together. A boy and a girl make the best combination. Two boys are still a better combination than two girls, unless raised together.
What is a REFUNDABLE deposit?
When a kitten is reserved for you, it is taken off the market, so to speak. It is your kitten now, you are just waiting for him to finish nursing and learning all necessary life skills from his mommy, and get ready for his or her new home. The kitten is now not available to others, who may also be interested.
(Canceling suddenly triggers a large amount of new bathing, new grooming for photographing, cropping, publishing, advertising, new communication with a new possible families. There is a lot of time involved with it and all that makes the kitten more expensive.) The DEPOSIT is £400, but please be sure about your kitten before you pay, since as with all other catteries, the deposit is not refundable.
Are you able to ship your kittens?
We had over several years of a good experiqnce with cargo shipping all over US. With Covid-19 airlines policies have changed so please inquire with me first about shipping.
1/We prefer and recommend to all adoptive families to pick up their kitten in person and take it in cabin. ( Check the policy of the airline you choose, please.) It is the safest and most comfortable way for the kitten. I will take your kitten to the airport to meet you there.
2/ We can use a PET NANNY service – again – I will take the kitten to the airport and you will get it from her at your airport.
3/ We do use several airlines pet cargo programs, and even though they have temperature controlled and air pressurized pet cabins – they are imperfect. There is a weather restriction – only between 45 – 80-F airports temperature, some smaller airports have day and time pet program limitation or are closed over weekends. Rabies vaccination is the last complication
Kittens are vaccinated in after 4 monnths old and than 4 weeks of vaccine waiting.
What if I live close by and do not need shipping?
If you live near us – and you already RESERVED a kitten on our website, then you can pick up your kitten in our home, after they have been weaned, vaccinated, and prepared for a new home. All the other rules are the same as for the customers who need shipping. During Covid-19 we follow all safety guidelines.
What is the difference between standard and non-standard?
Non-standard cats have long legs while standard cats have short legs.
How do I RESERVE a kitten?
When our new kittens are about 3-4 weeks old, we place their first picrutres on our websites. With the Application, you can place £400 deposit on the kitten via our bank account, (contact us for account details) and it will be reserved for you. Once the kitten is reserved, the deposit is not refundable and generally not transferable to another kitten. The deposit does apply toward the kitten adoption fee. Please note kittens are reserved on a first come, first serve basis in terms of receiving your deposit (not your application). Some Applicant like to facetime the kitten before the deposit paid. It is possible.
At what age can the kittens go to their new home?
The Cats Associations’ answer is : at 12 – 16 weeks old. There is the earliest possible age, and then there is the optimal age. There are really many factors involved in this: size and maturity of the kitten, whether or not the kitten will need to be shipped, whether or not one kitten is traveling, or if two are going together, customer cat experienced or new cat owner etc. Most of our kittens go home on the early side of this spectrum.
1. If the family lives locally, no shipping is involved, older children, adult at home (or working from home), taking two kittens at the same time, the kittens are average size, if experienced cat owners in the past: In this case the answer is – at the age of 10 – 12 weeks.
2. If a single person, working long hrs, shipping across country, one really tiny kitten, if a first time cat owner: the time frame is closer to 13 – 16 weeks. Our veterinarians do not want kittens weighing less than 2 – 2.5 lbs prior to shipping.
So – it all depends on the size and weight of the kitten, his independence from mother, life skills he already learned (newborn kitten for instance does not know how to retract his claws, and his mother and siblings have to teach him. Same with biting. You do not have the ability to teach them).
An important fact is – that a kitten starts bonding with people when about 11 – 12 weeks old. ( Before that age they prefer the mother and siblings.) So it does not make too much sense to really push to get him younger than that. When to ship the kitten is strictly my decision, together with my vet.
How about the kitten's pedigree?
All my breeding cats are pedigree cats, they are all registered with TICA.
Your kitten comes with a Contract and a Health Certificate and with a one year guarantee against a hereditary disease. You are not allowed to breed our kittens without breeding rights, which have to be agreed and paid for ahead of time. Part of the Contract is, that the kitten has to be neutered at the age of 6-8 months. After you provide us with a veterinary proof that the kitten was spayed, and when arranged ahead of time, then we can forward you kittens registration documents and a small TICA fee will be due. This has to be arranged prior the adoption, because it is quite time consuming and 90% of families do not request registration. We randomly neuter some kittens.
Are your kittens spayed or neutered before leaving the cattery?
Sometimes. Our decisions are made together with our veterinarian, who is very experienced and specializes in cats only. Yes, in some catteries the kittens are fixed very young and since it is a major surgery for females, sometimes they die. Some breeders do it -since they want to be sure the buyer will not breed the cat illegally. We have the statement in our CONTRACT and we trust our adoptive families, that they will abide by the contract and will not breed the cat illegally, without breeding rights. 🙂
How do I prepare for my kitten?
I have two sections to read under More Resources (on my website): Preparing for your Kitten, and Kitten Nutrition. Please look at those, and it will give you a great starting point and answer nearly all of your questions.