Illusion VS Reality

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I often see breeders advertise their catteries as being "herpes free" or "coronavirus free" and I must shake my head. One thing that really frustrates me as a breeder is seeing other breeders being dishonest just to make a quick sale.  
 

Feline Herpes Virus is said to affect more than 90% of the feline population (please see the many studies and articles by reliable sources, available online). PCR tests are great HOWEVER you will often hear vets say that just because a test is negative, doesn't mean it is truly negative and this is because your cat must be actively shedding the virus for it to show up positive on the test (healthy cats do not actively shed the virus). For example, many cats will come up negative for herpes virus, time and time again, only to suddenly come up positive when their immune system is "compromised" and the herpes virus is able to replicate and grow in numbers (numbers large enough for a test to show up positive).  

Therefore, any NEGATIVE test you have that states your cat is herpes virus negative isn't necessarily accurate!  

SO, even if a breeder is to show you a negative herpes virus test for their cats, this does not mean for certain that their cats are in fact negative. It means that their cats were negative (not shedding herpes virus) at the time of the test. Luckily, to date, I have NEVER had a positive result for feline herpes virus in any of my cats, but I am not naïve enough to believe that it won't ever happen.
 

The same goes for coronavirus. Approximately 80-90% of cats in multi-cat environments, and up to 50% of cats in single pet households, will be exposed to coronavirus in their lifetime. Do not let anyone (including veterinarians who should know better!) worry you by saying that just because your cat tests positive for coronavirus that they will develop FIP. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE.  

MOST CATS that are positive for coronavirus never go on to develop FIP (90-95% WILL NOT develop FIP). FIP is a terrible disease and on occasion when a cat is exposed to certain strains of coronavirus, the virus mutates and causes FIP. Even though the odds are in our favor, FIP is a disease that all breeders, rescuers and pet owners fear because there is absolutely no way for us to know if and when it may strike. Luckily, there is a cure for FIP called GS441. Veterinarians can finally recommend and prescribe this treatment, however there are other places where you can obtain this medication and information on the best way to go about treating your cat as well. Veterinarians were unable to recommend and treat FIP until just recently whereas these groups have been helping pet owners, breeders and rescues treat their cats successfully for a couple of years now. The treatment WORKS! I have been involved in cat rescue for several years and we have successfully treated dozens of cats!  
 

I have included this paragraph because it is of the utmost importance to me that anyone interested in my kittens fully understand that KITTENS ARE LIVING THINGS that can, and at some point, likely will, get sick. As an honest and reputable breeder, I do my BEST to ensure my cats and kittens are as healthy and as well cared for as possible. However, I will not go so far as to say that my cattery is free of all the ailments that affect felines because that would not be right. I am showing and breeding LIVING BEINGS that attend cat shows regularly with many other LIVING BEINGS whom I know nothing about (kind of like sending your child to a daycare with a hundred other children). I bring in cats from all over the world to improve the quality and health of my breeding program and cannot predict what cocktail of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites the new cat may be bringing in (or carrying). I can only do my best to use common sense, preventative care and to provide treatment and veterinary care if I feel it's required. This is the life of a breeder. We all face the same challenges. Some of us are just more honest and upfront about it than others.  
 

Bottom Line: If you would like to adopt a Heart'nsoul kitten (or a kitten anywhere for that matter) do not expect to get a real live kitten with the health of a stuffed toy. You are adopting a LIVING BEING and there are NO GUARANTEES in ANY LIFE (as we sadly all know).  

 *** We are against de-clawing and will not place a kitten into a home where the new owner may declaw.

We feel that many people are simply uneducated when it comes to declawing and why it is so inhumane. Therefore, if you are interested in adopting a kitten and do not fully understand what is involved in declawing, please take the time to watch "The Paw Project" on YouTube. If you still feel that it is okay to delcaw after watching this documentary, then you probably should rethink getting a cat altogether. Soon enough declawing will be banned all over the world as it is in so many countries already.  
 

*** No breeder can guarantee how far a cat will go in the show ring. Maturity, proper nutrition, grooming and health care (among other things) can affect the way a cat turns out. If when following the breed standard, a particular kitten looks as though he/she has the potential to show, then that kitten will be listed as "show quality". If we have a kitten who may not be quite show quality but has the potential to produce show quality kittens, then he/she will be listed as "breeder quality". All other kittens will be considered "pet quality".  

PLEASE NOTE: We will sell breeder/show quality kittens as pets, however, please keep in mind that their price will be higher than that of a "pet" quality kitten.  
 

All our babies are equally loved, and it is of the utmost importance to us that they all go to the very best homes, whether pet, breeder or show quality.  
 

Heart'nsoul kittens SOLD AS PETS stay in our care until they are a minimum of 12 weeks of age and have been neutered/spayed. They will receive a full veterinary examination prior to their surgery. Our kittens leave fully dewormed with a veterinary grade dewormer and will receive age-appropriate vaccines (a minimum of two FVRCP vaccines).  
 

Heart'nsoul is a PKD and PRA DNA negative cattery and all our cats are FIV/FeLV tested negative via Elisa Snap Test and PCR. Therefore, kittens are guaranteed to be PKD and PRA negative and FIV/FeLV negative.  
 

ALL KITTENS AND CATS WILL LEAVE HEART'NSOUL MICROCHIPPED. NO EXCEPTIONS.  
 

 Please be sure to do your research on the Persian breed. They are wonderful, loving, gentle and beautiful cats but like any other breed, they do have their faults. The standard calls for the Persian to have an extreme face (brachycephalic). Due to this, Persians are prone to eye running, corneal ulcers, sequestrums, often have misaligned teeth, could potentially suffer from snorting and they may be at increased risk for upper respiratory infections. I am NOT saying that these things WILL happen, I am just saying that they COULD. The breed also has a magnificent long, thick coat which requires daily grooming to ensure they do not become matted.  
 

Here at Heart'nsoul we are working with top blood lines and rarer colors. Prices depend on the quality and color of the individual kitten.  
 

We, as breeders, spend a lot of time and money first buying our cats, then caring for them and having any necessary testing done on them to ensure they are healthy. Then showing them, feeding them top quality diets, giving them proper veterinary care, advertising, etc. The list goes on and on and on! So, please keep this in mind when inquiring about our kittens.  
 

Our prices are what they are for a reason! 

I truly understand how exciting adopting a new kitten is and I would like your experience adopting from Heart'nsoul to be amazing. But, I am a very busy woman and do not have time to take extra photos for people upon request. I take photos when I have time to do so and I will send those photos when I take them. Please do not ask me for photos of your kitten. Thank you for your understanding. 

We do not allow anyone to visit our home - PERIOD. 

When we decided to start this hobby, we had a long discussion about having people we did not know come into our home and cattery. We have five children, and their safety comes first. We agreed that we would not allow potential kitten buyers into our home, and we have stuck by that rule since starting Heart'nsoul in 2008.  

Naturally, we have had some people comment on this and of course, they have the right to be cautious and to look elsewhere for a kitten if they do not feel comfortable, understand or respect our decision. But in 2010 we felt even better about the decision we had made when there were many reported cases of kittens and puppies being stolen from breeders' homes in our area. Apparently, people were coming down from the bigger cities to "view puppies and kittens", only to leave without one. They would then return later when the homeowners were away to STEAL them and sell them for big bucks back home. Some heard that many of them were used as bait. Needless to say, we felt even stronger about not only protecting our human kids but also our fur-kids. 

We do not expect buyers to just believe that we take good care of our cats and kittens. After all, it works both ways! We are lucky to be able to offer kitten buyers VETERINARY references, as well as past kitten buyer references and family/friend references. My vet clinic knows us very well and we feel blessed that they are willing to be references for us. At Heart'nsoul we DO put our cats and kittens' health and wellbeing FIRST.  

When we started Heart'nsoul we felt that even breeding cats should be pets first and foremost and our thoughts on this have not changed at all! However, our thoughts on where our cats should reside have changed. As much as we love having our cats in our home, after much consideration, we decided that building a "home away from home" for the cats was our best option. 

We don't consider ourselves the luckiest breeders out there. For a while we had considered giving up this hobby that we love so much. It was back in 2008 when we brought in a cat from Nevada who arrived with many health issues, including ringworm. We can understand now why they say that it is a breeder's worst nightmare. Having the cats in our home made trying to eradicate it much more difficult. Since then, we, like all breeders, have dealt with different viruses, bacterium and parasites. And each time I couldn't help but wonder if effectively treating these issues would have been less difficult if the cats were not allowed access to areas that could not be easily cleaned and disinfected.  

Unfortunately, any breeder that shows, any breeder that brings new cats in and any breeder that even goes into the vet's office takes a chance each time that they will bring something back into their cattery. The truth of the matter is "reputable" catteries are supposed to show. They need to bring new blood into their program to stay away from inbreeding and to better the overall health of their breed. And they SHOULD be taking their cats and kittens into the vets! So, any reputable cattery will deal with viruses, bacteria, fungus, parasites, etc. It's just the way it is.  

To help prevent and to more easily treat and rid our cats and kittens of any issues they may develop, we have transformed our attached double garage into a "home away from home" for our cats. We feel that by having an area just for the cats, cleaning and disinfecting will be easier and more effective overall.