Cattery
Cattery is a term often associated with cats in cages and many litters with kittens. Certainly not in our case. Our cats, also while having kittens, always reside in our household with our dogs. Since we prefer a comfortable and ‘odour-free’ environment, we are very keen on hygiene. Due to growing-up in our household, kittens are optimally socialized and used to every situation when transferred to their new owner’s house. Our male cats commence mating as young as possible and can look forward to an early retirement before starting to spray which would make it hardly possible to keep them in house.
Our breeding is primarily aimed at maintenance and improvement of the breed, not just to reproduce. A combination of sire and dam is being chosen in order to achieve balanced improvement of (hereditary) health and exterior-type and to provide selected offspring for future breeding. Therefore, each particular combination will be repeated only once at the most. This has the consequence that we have only a few litters yearly. Often very disappointing for those who are very anxious to obtain a kitten, but we try to keep our waiting-list as short as possible by referring to fellow breeders or our Dutch Ocicat Breed Club (NORV/DOBC).
It is very important to us that an optimal and affectionate environment is guaranteed for our kittens. Candidate kitten-owners are always being invited to visit us for acquaintance, but ludicrous selection-criteria does not have to be feared.
It is generally accepted in the science of genetics that a breed with regard to its health can only flourish if and when the population-size is as large as possible within its given selection-limits. This means that all (internationally) available genetic variety of a breed should be able to interact to maintain the coefficient of inbreeding relatively low. Impedements to conduct certain combinations will counteract this. Therefore, we decline any breeding-restrictions or price additions for breeding kittens. All our kittens, irrespective of being a breeding-, show- and/or household cat, will be transferred to new owners for similar prices and without any restrictions for breeding use. Of course provided that other breeders who want to obtain our kittens or require services of our males, support this view and will apply the same rules for us in exchange. The price of our kittens is similar to the maximum price as agreed among breeders of our Dutch Ocicat Breed ClubIn the light of improvement of hereditary health and decrease of inbreeding-coefficients, we also participate in outcross-programs with Abyssinains, as advocated by our NORV/DOBC.
Another important measurement is testing for genetic conditions and diseases. All our breeding animals are tested and found negative for PRA (DNA-test). Within a certain time-span prior to third-party matings we require and perform tests for contagious feline diseases such as FeLV and FIV.
We are aiming at optimal (international) collaboration and harmony with fellow-breeders, since this seems absolutely required as basis for a sound and balanced breeding-program.
We are affiliated with the Dutch Ocicat Breed Club (DOBC or Nederlandse Ocicat Ras Vereniging NORV) and a general Dutch catbreeders assocication, the Nederlandse Katten Fokkers Vereniging (NKFV).
