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Jasmine’s Confession of Finding Her Mentor

As with many other breeders I contemplated starting a cattery for several years before I actually began one. Until then in my never ending quest for guidance all I encountered were closed doors. I was hungry for information and a place to begin understanding the complex world of cat breeding.

Attending an annual cat show appeared to be the perfect opportunity to meet breeders and receive the guidance required to start my own breeding program. The large hall was filled with breeders from all over North America proudly showing their beautiful felines. I approached several breeders in an attempt to question them. However their attention was totally focused on the show and they appeared annoyed with my interruptions. Others were overly anxious and willing to promise anything in an attempt to make a sale. I was afraid a breeder would simply sell me any kitten, grab my money and run.

I was intimidated by their breeder jargon and many of the exhibitors did not appear to be interested in responding to my inquiries. My ‘buyer beware’ instincts were on constant alert while questioning them. I felt terribly shy and was completely out of place totally overwhelmed by the excitement of the cat show environment.

In utter frustration knowing I had accomplished very little I left the show floor. Just prior to exiting the hall I discovered several cat breeding magazines which I quickly purchased. Finally I’d found some information in plain language that I could understand and use to educate myself. After devouring the material in the magazines I began reading the ‘Breeder’s Advertisements’. During the next several weeks I wrote to over one hundred catteries in search of information and hopefully some reasonably priced breeding cats.

In my initial contacts I stressed that I was starting and was therefore naïve to cat breeding. However many breeders did not take my situation into consideration. I received many written replies. Some were professionally presented while others were far too informal considering the prices they were requesting for their cats. I was forwarded complex correspondence with detailed cat pedigrees written in endless breeder jargon. The information was confusing and impossible for a novice breeder to interpret.

Today with internet access the situation is far different. If books such as the one you are presently reading had been available to me then I would have saved thousands of dollars. To this end, I have also written Volume 2 in the Felines by Design series entitled the Insider’s Guide to Buying Purebred Kittens. This is an excellent resource for both breeders and buyers. For example, you will discover how to:

• Question the breeder in your initial telephone contact.

• When visiting the cattery know the essential questions many breeders • prefer not to answer when you are viewing their litters.

• Know how to present yourself in the cattery without the breeder realizing the extent of your knowledge.

• Be able to identify a correctly priced kitten protected by a sound Ownership Contract.

• Recognize a responsible breeder operating a good cattery.

• Know the correct sequence of questions to ask when speaking with different breeders. As a buyer you will also understand how to interpret the breeder’s responses prior to completing your purchase.

• Know your rights in order to protect your kitten investment.

• Learn the principles of Kittens by Design and be able to identify the traits of kittens at various stages of development. It is possible to determine from the many litters you are viewing various personality traits. You will learn to recognize which kitten will eventually become a lap cat, an independent feline or may be the perfect companion for your present cat and will complete your feline family.

This guide is strongly recommended to breeders as they will gain an insight into how they are perceived through the eyes of kitten buyers. With such insights gained sales will increase when breeders incorporate the appropriate changes.

The Insider’s Guide would have greatly assisted me with my initial contact with the cattery where I eventually purchased my girls. To have known the right questions to ask in order to receive the answers which breeders are reluctant to disclose would have saved me from wasting money. Likewise, I would have negotiated a better price and realized earlier that I did not receive the breeding quality for the price I eventually paid.

Having been better advised of my rights I should have known to inform the cattery with my dissatisfaction of their assessment of good breeding queens. When purchasing breeding cats sight unseen the buyer must rely on the breeder’s discretion and honesty. I purchased my first two breeding queens as kittens from a cattery 3,000 miles from my home. I honestly believe a little disception with a touch of ‘cattery blindness’ was an explanation for her inability to correctly assess the kittens’ quality.

I am now aware that I spent far too much and did not receive the quality which was promised. As an experienced breeder when reviewing pictures of my girls sent from their originating cattery it came as a surprising revelation. With a trained eye, I realized the breeder had carefully chosen pictures which displayed each of the kittens’ strongest assets while hiding their obvious faults. Having fallen victim to another breeder’s touch of cattery blindness I was determined to be ethical when dealing with other breeders. It became my personal code of ethics to be extremely truthful when selling kittens sight unseen to other catteries. I was overly detailed regarding both the kitten’s assets and faults. I would provide in written format exactly why the kitten was priced according to my Cat Association’s standard. As a result I never had a breeder question my evaluation of a kitten’s quality as I’d been forthcoming from the very first encounter. I felt an obligation to never have one of my buyers repeat my first experience. As a new breeder, I had made a classic error and fell victim to a cattery that had ‘kept the best and sold me the rest’.

Despite a lesson well learned, this cattery was the only one that made the effort to contact me personally by phone from the one hundred letters I had originally sent. The breeder had been willing to respond at her own expense not knowing if I would ever make a purchase from her cattery. Although the quality of her kittens were questionable, this breeder was willing to educate and offer sound advice despite the distance and money spent on numerous telephone calls. The internet has become a valuable tool for breeders to connect with each other. However the importance of personal contact should not be overlooked when assisting new breeders with their first important purchase.

Although I made several classic mistakes with my first purchases I was blessed with Chantal and Liberty. After travelling by air across the country my four-month-old girls arrived clean and in perfect health. They had been well cared for and obviously loved. So with everything considered at least I’d dealt with a reputable breeder who cared for the well being of her kittens. Not until several months later when purchasing my stud male from the same New York cattery did I realize that all along I had been dealing with two breeders who were working together.

The two breeders where I had purchased my kittens were friends with two separate catteries in different cities. I later discovered that the initial telephone contact was not from the cattery where my girls were born but rather that of the cattery where I was to later purchase my stud male. During the entire transaction I was ignorant of the fact that I had never spoken with my girls’ breeder.

When the kittens arrived with their paper work I was surprised to see another name and cattery on the documentation. Although I had dealt with competent breeders I also felt they had taken advantage of my ignorance and should have informed me of this essential information. It seemed unethical that I had never spoken to my girls’ breeder and neither felt obligated to share this information with me despite the cost of the female kittens.

When my kittens first arrived breeder gossip spread among the local catteries. Many breeders who had been unwilling to sell open breeding cats to me appeared interested in my newly arrived purchases from New York. Eventually a few local breeders offered my cattery a chance to purchase from their highly prized breeding stock. I soon realized however their ploy was only to have access to my newly purchased ‘bloodlines’. In order to make a purchase I was obligated to sign an extremely binding contract. Committing to such a document would have seriously limited my breeding program. To my good fortune, despite the cost and my naïvety, I had actually made a lucrative decision by introducing a new bloodline into the area.

For a while I became accepted as the ‘new breeder’ and was given some undesired attention. Over time several breeders came to see for themselves my well-known award winning bloodline. Even Theresa, the very first breeder I’d ever met decided to pay my small cattery an unexpected visit. However when she saw my kittens her biting comment was “Are you sure they sent you the right kittens? They just don’t look like they belong to their pedigree.” She felt I’d made a foolish decision and had spent too much money.

If you do not value a person’s opinions you should not take their criticisms to heart either.

Although Theresa’s observations were distressing, I decided to follow my own counsel. I have since learned that if you do not value a person’s opinions you should not take their criticisms to heart either. The previous year when she realized that I was serious about breeding and would eventually compete with her cattery sales, her only comment was “Don’t start breeding, it only brings heartbreak.”

My instincts told me she was wrong and the truth remains that despite some heartbreak I encountered more years of joy and made some wonderful friendships with clients that I still cherish today.

I soon realized that the local breeders did not think highly of my breeding program. I was politely advised that most breeders sell out within the first two years. Few catteries appeared concerned that I would last long enough to become any true competition for them. I decided that it was probably better to follow my own intuition, work by myself and remain a ‘closed cattery’. Little did I know that six months later everything would change. That’s when I was blessed with meeting my mentor.

Bill was a well-known and respected judge with a nationally registered ‘Cat Association’. He was internationally renowned and had been a professional cat breeder for many years. I was informed that he had never adopted the practice of providing mentorship to a novice breeder before. It was to my good fortune that for some reason he made an exception for my cattery. I soon realized what an envious position I was in for he was truly a knowledgeable and caring gentleman. Over the course of the next year he unselfishly assisted and guided me with my breeding program.

Bill confirmed that I had purchased two females of only moderate breeding quality. However, genetically they carried excellent bloodlines. He was also well aware of the breeding lines employed by the other catteries within my area. Bill informed me that by shear luck I had created an excellent opportunity for myself. After confiding in him of Theresa’s assessment of my girls he appeared amused. Bill knew her well and advised that she never stayed with one breeding program long enough to make it successful. She was always trying to buy her way to success whereas a good cattery uses selective breeding and truly creates their own bloodline. Within my own cattery, he appeared confident that he would be able to arrange stud service from a cat show judge using compatible bloodlines. He knew by using his colleague’s exceptional male the results would prove to be outstanding.