We are a very small cattery and only have 1-2 litters per year. I work from home so our cats receive lots of care and attention throughout the day. Our Maine Coons are raised as an integral part of our family. We use the space of our house to separate our breeding male and females from one other so that we do not have unplanned, "accidental" litters but our cats roam freely in their designated areas so that they all have ample opportunities for play, exercise, socialization, and lots of love/cuddles from us. We also rotate cats, from one area to another, depending on their needs. For example, pregnant females are moved to their own quiet room with us the last few weeks of their pregnancy to ensure their safety and the safety of their kittens. We have an area to temporarily isolate cats/kittens who are new to our cattery to ensure the health and safety of all of the cats and to gradually and appropriately introduce newcomers. We ensure that our stud has a significant amount of time with us in various areas of our home. There are many ways people choose to set up their cattery. We have set up ours thoughtfully and deliberately to ensure that our cats are content, their needs are met, they have as much natural interaction with us as possible, and so that our house is clean, reducing the opportunity for the spread of disease. Our cats are loved members of our family.
I consider myself a tried and true "ailurophile" from a young age. I have always had an affinity for cats and started collecting books such as, "The Cat Encyclopedia" and "The World of Cats" as a young child. It took years for me to decide if I could embark on this adventure in a way that made me feel like I could be an ethical, responsible breeder and have very happy, healthy cats. The welfare of our cats is so important to me and I base all my decisions about their care, health, breeding and overall wellness on what I believe is in the best interest of our cats, always. This is a passion and hobby for me and our family and it absolutely does NOT pay our bills because anything we earn, goes right back into our cattery. We do this for the love of cats, particularly our love for Maine Coons.
I do not support "backyard breeding" practices and strive to be a responsible, ethical breeder. I am a member of The International Cat Association (TICA) and the Cat Fancier's Assocation
(CFA) in good standing. I have been a supporter of ASPCA, make a yearly contribution to the Every Cat Foundation (formerly the Winn Foundation) to support ongoing research that benefits the health of all cats everywhere, have been involved in foster care for rescue cats and believe that ALL cats are beautiful and have value whether they are purebred cats or not. I take full responsibility for the cats I own and breed. They are all microchipped and it is in our contract that any kittens/cats from LionSpirit must be returned to our cattery if an owner must surrender their kitten/cat for any reason. I will personally rehome any cats from our cattery as I do not wish to contribute to the number of cats and kittens in shelters. Though I understand that choosing purebred cats vs. adopting shelter cats is a hot button issue with many people who are very passionate about their beliefs, I truly believe that responsible breeders and owners are not the ones contributing to overcrowded shelters. There will always be people who choose purebred cats for a variety of valid reasons and they should not be vilified for doing so. There is value in preserving and improving the health of beloved cat breeds. Additionally, I attempt to place kittens/cats with those who view their pets as forever family members. I encourage potential pet owners to do their research prior to purchasing a purebred cat to avoid scammers and potentially heartbreaking scenarios. It is rarely a good idea to impulsively purchase a purebred cat.
Our queen, Unicum First Love of LionSpirit, in pre-labor. She wouldn't let me leave her side.
We are hobby breeders whose primary goal is to focus on the health, temperament and type of our Maine Coons.
Though no breeder can guarantee, with 100% certainty, that no future health issues will arise, it is our sincere desire and mission to do all we can at LionSpirit to prevent and/or minimize the occurrence of health issues by rigorously testing the cats in our breeding program and using test results to inform our decisions. We have committed to engaging in the following practices:
*Use Optimal Selection DNA testing on all of the cats in our breeding program to test for genetic diseases such as HCM, SMA, and PKDef.
All cats in our breeding program have been, and will continue to be, screened yearly for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist. All of our cats have received clear heart scans thus far.
* Provide regular, high quality veterinary care.
*Attend to the day-to-day physical/emotional wellbeing of our cats by raising them underfoot in a clean and well-maintained environment and providing varied opportunities for enrichment and socialization throughout the day.
*Provide a high-quality diet for our cats.
*Participate in ongoing education (breed seminars, research, reading, breeder classes such as those offered by PawPeds, etc.) related to feline husbandry/breeding to increase our knowledge, inform our practices and continually strive to improve our program.
*Register and show our cats in The International Cat Association (TICA) and the Cat Fancier's Association (CFA).
*Provide lifetime education and support to future kitten/cat owners who become part of the LionSpirit family.
*Adhere to TICA's/CFA's Breeder Code of Ethics.
Our cats are fiercely loved, family-raised and given our very best. They are loved, spoiled, and treasured family members and we look forward to placing future cats/kittens with those whom we determine will provide the very best environment and companionship for our cats.
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