Today our beautiful balinese boy moved to his new home. The house is so quiet after he left and we miss him already! But his new home is the best home in the world, his new family is my sister Ann-kathrin, her daugther Sara (7 years) and Anubis the cat. Anubis is a 7 year old neutered boy and he was the very first cat Finn-Ove and I had together. Anubis moved to my sister several years ago and he`s a seriously spoiled cat. I am sure that Lion-O will be the same!

Puma gave birth to 6 OLH`s at 2012.11.10, 2 OLH b, 2 OLH n, 1 OLH f and 1 OLH h. The theme for this litter is Star Wars, and that was of course Finn-Ove`s desicion   Puma`s a great mum and both she and her kittens are doing fine. In a few weeks they are ready to leave us for their new homes, and we will surely feel that the gang are not here anylonger. We plan to keep Darth Talon, the OLH f girl but she will not live with us, she will move to our friend Mona and be a part of her family together with Mymy, Tante and the dog Ina. We have plans for a second litter for Mymy but we will wait for a while, maybe over the summer this year before we let her mate. 

Lina got her litter of 7 2012.12.03 but sadly 2 of the kittens died after a few days, possible due to E-coli. They had the typical signs of Fading kitten except none of them had a low birthweight. We tried to save them but it did not work out well. There was 3 girls and 4 boys in this litter, and they seem to develop nicely! The 5 kittens left are doing great and they are a lovely, active and funny bunch of kittens who now lives together with Lina, Puma, Babypus (Iris-T) and the Star Wars litter. We plan to keep one of the girls in this litter, the SIA c var girl called Bloody Mary. She will move to Frozt(Hellrazer) and his family of 2 twolegged and 3 giant girls, Shani, Keisha and Aminah, beautiful Boerboel dogs! 

18. January 2013 Freja got her second litter, this time a litter of 4, 1 boy and 3 girls. Finally we`re back at the girl-track again after some litters with more boys than girls    The boy died after a few days, also with the typical signs of Fading kitten. We tried to save him too, but we did not succed. Freja is a great mum like our other girls and the kittens looks more alike seals than kittens    They have large, round bodies with tiny legs and they gather more than 25 grams each day all 3! I wonder when they will be able to walk   

Several of our kittens have moved a while ago, Shrike moved to Finnsnes (further north), Amraam & Sidewinder moved to Hamarøy, Storm Shadow moved to Haugesund, Sparrow to Porsgrunn and Phoenix to Fauske, only 12 km from us    All of them has settled in long ago, there has been no problems for them at all. Nobody has hid under the sofas or any other place, they just walked in like they always have lived in their new homes. Tomorrow Metal Queen and Cool Vibes are picked up by their new slaves and they will also move further north! It is so fun to sell kittens up here, earlier most of our kittens and grown ups have moved to the south part of Norway. Hopefully we will be able to see some of our babies sometime in the future    Hellrazor will be neutered on Tuesday, and he will move to Leknes, in Lofoten. He will be a part of a family with 2 on two legs, and 3 Boerboel girls. And after a while we hope Hellrazor will have a siamese boy in his family too. We cross our fingers for Lina to give us a blue point boy!

Yes, Lina is pregnant again   A little bit too early, but what can we do now about this? We make plans and the cats decide how it will be. This is our first litter we haven`t planned, the father is Vinnie. He was in the large catroom downstairs, and one morning we woke up because of Vinnie shouting BÆÆÆÆÆÆÆ outside our bedroom door, he has managed to remove the hook that closed the door in the catroom. And Lina was in heat, so we suspected that they had mated. And yesterday we got the confirmation - the vet saw at least 3 kittens in Linas belly    After this litter Lina will have a longer break from breeding, she need it! If she deliver at the same day in her pregnancy this time as first time, she will give birth to her new kittens on December 1st   

Puma is very pregnant, her belly is huge! Today is her day 61and we are waiting a lot to see what she hides in her belly. I will not be home this week-end, so everything is in Finn-Ove`s hands. But he will manage just fine!

Last Sunday our balinese girl Mymy gave birth to 2 boys, both 98 grams, but sadly one of them was stillborn. It was a bit hard for Mymy and her friend Tante to understand what`s happen and how to take care of the little one. But with a little help from my friend Mona and me, everything works great now! Mymy is a super mum and the little boy, who has got the name Oskar as a petname, knows his way around the food "table". I am sure he will be a very spoiled baby, and I am looking forward to pick him up and bring him home when he is old enough! We are very curious about his development, it`s so exciting to see of he will be like his father, Vinnie both in temper and in looks

On Wednesday our Missiles litter was at the vet`s  and got their last vaccine (FEL-O-VAX PCT), their micro chip and 5 of them was neutered. Not long now until they move in new homes, we will miss them   Iris-T will stay at home, and her brother will live with a friend and we might use him for a litter or two in the future.  The Vanilla Ninja litter will be here for some time   And if we are lucky, we might have two new litters in some weeks    We do not know for sure, but (N) Bekmørtnans Jagara (BAL f) is going to the vet`s for a check up and ultra sound. This is so exciting    We cross our fingers and hope for some small hearts beating in her belly    We have just checked Puma`s belly and I saw pink nipples    In her first litter there were 5 orientals and we are very curious if the kittens in her second litter will be the same. This is a longhair litter, father is our (N) Bekmørtnans Lion-O (BAL d). Puma`s due date is 12.11.13

Today I got a sms from my vet`s and I was sure it had to do with the tests from Løven and Puma. They have been tested for TF, after being treated for a third time. I didn`t dare to see what the message said, I wouldn`t read that they still was positive. I have thought about the test and feared the result for weeks now, and I have tried to find a solution for the cats if they still were TF positive. None of the alternatives I found was good, so I have hoped it would be a long time before we got the result. And today it came..... Finn-Ove was home, so I gave the phone to him, for him to read the results. He read them, and was very sad and serious in his expression and I realized that my worst thoughts was right. But suddenly he could not be serious anymore, and a large smile came as he told me that the tests was negative. BOTH LØVEN AND PUMA IS TF NEGATIVE             THE NIGHTMARE WE HAVE LIVED IN FOR MORE THAN A YEAR IS OVER   

This Thursday started calm and nice, except from the fact that we, the twolegged members of this family, had a bad day physically. We agreed on taking a lazy day and hoped for a better day tomorrow. 

We have had some problems with Fanta, the balinese girl that has been with us since 21st of June. She has attacked our dog Ellie several times. When she has done that, we have placed Fanta in the large catroom downstairs for a time-out. This was not a problem at first, but when we started giving her the pill she changed radically. We have not had any problems with the most of the cats regarding Ellie, but two of our females have tried to attack her. And now Fanta. The kittens in the Missiles litter has been at the mainfloor with us and the other cats for some weeks, and last week the kittens in our Vanilla Ninja litter joined them. Freja, the mother of the kittens in the Missiles litter has started to reject her kittens these last two weeks, and our OSH c var girl Bumpy has taken them i as her kittens. So for some day we have had kittens and cats all over the place, playing, climbing and running. Ellie likes the kittens, and she loves to play with them. But last night Bumpy attacked her without any warning when Ellie went to drink some water. There were no kittens around Ellie, but Bumpy both bit and scratched her. Luckily Ellie wasn`t much injured, she has a scratch in her left eye and some scratches on her head. Today Bumpy has walked around murmured and patrolled her environment and we have held Ellie close to us all day. Suddenly, without any signs or warnings, Bumpy attacked Ellie when Ellie was in my lap. I managed to push Bumpy down, but she tried to jump up again. Finn-Ove came and took Bumpy to put her in the catroom for a time-out, but Bumpy snapped and attacked Finn-Ove. He realised her at once, but Bumpy attacked time after time. Finally she run down to the hall and we put Ellie in our bedroom. Finn-Ove bled a lot, and in a short time there was a pile of blood on the floor. Bumpy has bitten him in his fingers on both hands, his palms, his arms and his left thigh and scratched him everywhere. 

We contacted the emergency, but as usual it took hours before they could admit Finn-Ove. He managed to put Bumpy in a cage, and we went to the vet`s with her. Both we and the vet agreed on letting Bumpy go, we can not have a cat here in our home that attacks both our dog and us humans. We have never seen any cat in that state of mind that Bumpy was in when she attacked. We are prepared of some people will think that we did the wrong thing with Bumpy, but actually we do not care. A cat acting like this do not have a place in our home. And we would not want to give some other cat lover the responsibility of a cat that might snap again. 

We are so sad this happen, and so sad it ended like this

I have been in several discussions about this matter, and a few of the persons I have discussed this with has claimed that there is not allowed to use our PRA positive cats in breeding. Instead of wonder about what`s right or what`s wrong, I contacted The Norwegian Food Safety Authority (www.mattilsynet.no) and asked if it is legal to use those cats in breeding in Norway. We have one § that can be used in this matter, but I did not think it would be right to use this § to prevent breeders to use PRA positive cats in breeding. I think the small heritage makes it necessary to use those cats in breeding, and today I got the answer on mail. I am sorry, but the answer is in Norwegian only. But if you are interested, you can use google translate http://translate.google.com/  You will not get a very good translation, but I think you will have the most essential information   

Min mail til Mattilsynet:

Fra: Lisbeth Jacobsen [mailto:lisbeth.jakobsen@sbnett.no]
Sendt: 28. august 2012 12:44
Til: Gunnlaug Ribe
Emne: Avel på katt vs Lov om Dyrevelferd

Hei!

Jeg viser til telefonsamtale i dag vedr dette temaet.

Vinteren 2011 ble det offentliggjort en undersøkelse av orientalske katter i Finland, som viste at også disse kan utvikle synstap på grunn av PRA (Progressiv Retinal Atrofi). Det er rdAc-genet som har mutert, mutasjonen heter CEP290. Tidligere har det kun vært kjent at Abyssiner og somalikatter har denne defekten. Jeg driver med oppdrett av balineser og orientalsk langhår, disse er to av søskenrasene blant de orientalske kattene. Disse rasene har en veldig begrenset avelsbase, og den viktigste jobben vi gjør som oppdrettere er å styrke avelsbasen og tilføre nye linjer. Avelsbasen er så liten at det er lite tilrådelig å selektere for hardt i avel. Om vi ser Norge og Sverige som ett område, kommer vi ikke opp i en effektiv populasjon pr år på 100 individer. Dette gjør at det er stor fare for at rasene skal forsvinne på grunn av innavel som så fører til innavel sdepresjon. Selv på verdensbasis er avelsbasen veldig liten, så selv om vi importerer katter til bruk i avel, er det fortsatt en stor utfordring å ta vare på disse rasene og føre dem videre framover mot en avelsbase som er stor nok og bred nok til at vi kan begynne å selektere for defekter og mindre alvorlige sykdommer. 

Vi har testet våre katter, og vi er veldig heldige som har bare en katt som er PRA +. Dette er en hannkatt som er importert fra Frankrike og som er av unike linjer for oss i nord-Europa. De andre kattene våre er PRA-. Vi anser det for å være helt nødvendig å bruke hannkatten i avel på tross av at han har PRA. Vi har da en avelsplan for han som ser slik ut:

Han parres med en av våre PRA- jenter, og i dette kullet beholder vi en kattunge for videre avel. Denne kattungen og søsknene hans vil være bærere av PRA, men ingen av dem vil utvikle PRA siden denne mutasjonen er ressesiv. Alle kattungene bortsett fra den vi beholder, vil bli kastrert og solgt som kosekatter

Videre kombinerer vi denne kattungen med en annen av våre PRA- hunnkatter. Vi DNA-tester alle kattungene i kullet, og velger en som er PRA-. Resten av kullet vil bli kastrert og solgt som kosekatter. 

På denne måten vil vi for det første få linjene til vår importhanne inn i avelsbasen, men samtidig har vi full kontroll over videreføringen av PRA siden det kun er vi som vil ha et avkom i avel etter denne hannkatten. Hvis det skulle vise seg at det i kullet som er barnebarn av vår importhanne, ikke er noen som er PRA-, vil vi kombinere vår PRA bærer med en hunnkatt som er PRA- og også der teste hele kullet, og beholde en PRA- kattunge. Resten vil bli kastrert før salg. 

I Lov om Dyrevelferd §25 står det:

§ 25. Avl

       Avl skal fremme egenskaper som gir robuste dyr med god funksjon og helse.

       Det skal ikke drives avl, herunder ved bruk av genteknologiske metoder, som:

       Dyr med arveanlegg som nevnt i andre ledd, skal ikke brukes i videre avl.

       Kongen kan gi nærmere forskrifter om avl av dyr i strid med prinsippene i denne bestemmelsen.

Om jeg skal tolke denne paragrafen bokstavelig, vil vår avelsplan for vår importhanne være i strid med den. Men siden det er uhyre viktig å utvikle avelsbasen, ønsker vi likevel å bruke vår importhanne. Jeg vet jo at det alltid er rom for tolkninger av lover og forskrifter, og jeg ønsker derfor en vurdering av vår avelsplan opp mot § 25. Jeg vet at det er veldig få norske oppdrettere av orientalske katter (siameser, balineser, orientalsk korthår, orientalsk langhår, seychellois korthår og langhår, bicolour og Peterbald) som i det hele tatt velger å teste kattene de bruker i avel. Det er også svært få oppdrettere i Europa som tester kattene sine for PRA. Jeg har hatt kontakt med NRR(Norske Rasekattklubbers Riksforbund) angående dette, men ikke fått noe svar. Jeg har også kommunisert med andre oppdrettere i Norge som synes at det er en veldig dårlig idè å ta opp dette temaet med NRR og Mattilsynet, men jeg vil at det vi gjør innen oppdrett av katt, skal følge lover og forskrifter. 

Om min tolkning av denne paragrafen i Lov om Dyrevelferd er korrekt, er det da mulig å søke om dispensasjon fra denne?

Vennlig hilsen
Lisbeth Jacobsen

Mailen med spørsmålet mitt oversendes Norges Veterinærhøyskole

Fra: Gunnlaug Ribe [mailto:gunnlaug.ribe@mattilsynet.no]
Sendt: 4. september 2012 11:06
Til: Ropstad Ernst-Otto
Emne: VS: Avel på katt vs Lov om Dyrevelferd

Hei,

Vidersender e-post fra katteoppdretter Lisbeth Jacobsen.

Fra Mattilsynet sitt ståsted, synes vi at det er bra oppdrettere tar dyrevelferdsloven på alvor og at de spør oss om en vurdering, og vi vil derfor gjerne gi et best mulig svar.

Så lenge kattene ikke blir syke av sitt PRA-gen er vel dyrevelferden for så vidt ivaretatt, men samtidig viktig at en ikke lager større sykdomsproblemer i neste omgang.

Den genetiske delen ser vi gjerne at noen som driver med genetikk svarer på. Er derfor takknemlig om noen hos dere som driver med genetikk og har kunnskap om PRA på katt kunne svare på.

Mvh

Gunnlaug Ribe

seniorinspektør/veterinær

Mattilsynet, DK Trondheim og Orkdal

Tlf. 73985359/98247904

Besøksadresse: Tungasletta 2, Trondheim

Felles postadresse: Mattilsynet, DK Trondheim og Orkdal, felles postmottak, postboks 383, 2381 Brumunddal

e-post: postmottak@mattilsynet.no

Svar fra Norges Veterinærhøyskole til Mattilsynet:

 Fra: Ropstad Ernst-Otto [mailto:ernst.ropstad@nvh.no]
Sendt: 4. september 2012 15:23
Til: Gunnlaug Ribe
Kopi: Bjerkås Ellen
Emne: SV: Avel på katt vs Lov om Dyrevelferd

Hei,

Så lenge man er seg bevisst hvordan man bruker resultatene fra en gentest kan man bruke affiserte individer i avl forutsatt at disse pares med dyr som er genetisk friske. Dette kan være et viktig hjelpemiddel i avlsarbeidet hos raser der avlsmaterialet er begrenset, så lenge det blir brukt på riktig måte.

Dette forutsetter imidlertid at arvegangen er kjent, det vil si at det dreier seg om autosomale recessive lidelser med enkel arvegang, noe som er tilfellet for CEP-290 mutasjonen.

Gentesten må også være kvalitetssikret og tilbys av godkjent laboratorium, samt at dyrets identitet har blitt sjekket og dokumentert av veterinær i forbindelse med prøvetakingen.

I tillegg bør man teste avkommet etter slike kombinasjoner for å kartlegge deres genetiske status med hensyn på videre avl. Dersom en oppdretter planlegger å kastrere avkom som er bærere og ikke skal brukes i bevisst videre avl og selge disse som kosekatter samt drive bevisst videre avl på noen få individer som er heterozygote (pare disse mot genetisk frie individer) vil dette på sikt kunne være gunstig for å redusere insidensen og derved prevalensen av CEP-290 mutasjonen i nevnte kattepopulasjon.

Det er pr i dag ingenting som tyder på at gentesten for CEP-290 mutasjonen ikke er godt nok kvalitetssikret.

Mvh

Ernst-Otto Ropstad

Førsteamanuensis, DVM PhD Dipl ECVO

Norges veterinærhøgskole

Avdeling for sports- og familiedyr

Postboks 8146 Dep

Og til slutt, svar til meg fra Mattilsynet:

Hei igjen,

Fra Mattilsynet sitt ståsted, synes vi at det er bra oppdrettere tar dyrevelferdsloven på alvor og at du spør oss om en vurdering, og vi vil derfor gjerne gi et best mulig svar.

Som du ser har jeg derfor sendt ditt spørsmål videre til genetikere ved Norges Veterinærhøgskole.

Så lenge kattene ikke blir syke av sitt PRA-gen er vel dyrevelferden for så vidt ivaretatt, men samtidig viktig at en ikke lager sykdomsproblemer for kommende generasjoner og avkom.

Svar  fra NVH følger under.

Mvh

Gunnlaug Ribe

seniorinspektør/veterinær

Mattilsynet, DK Trondheim og Orkdal

Tlf. 73985359/98247904

Besøksadresse: Tungasletta 2, Trondheim

Felles postadresse: Mattilsynet, DK Trondheim og Orkdal, felles postmottak, postboks 383, 2381 Brumunddal

e-post: postmottak@mattilsynet.no

Det står i mailen ovenfor at svaret fra NVH følger under, men jeg har valgt å rokkere mailene sånn at det blir en naturlig gang fra meg til Mattilsynet, fra Mattilsynet til NVH, fra NVH til Mattilsynet og endelig fra Mattilsynet til meg. Derfor er ikke denne setningen aktuell her.

Dermed er saken klar, man kan bruke en PRA positiv katt i avel i Norge! Litt rart er det dog at ikke en organisasjon som NRR har tatt tak i denne aktuelle problematikken......... Men nå er jobben gjort, så værsågod NRR   

that have contacted me and giving us support in this strange situation we`re in    We really appreciate it!

Our decision is made, Fanta is moving down south again. And we think this is very sad for her, as she has attached deeply with me and follow every step I take. When I sit down, she`s on my lap almost before I have completed my movement. Now after several confrontations with Ellie, where Ellie was hurted because of Fanta`s teeths and claws, they have made some kind of agreement. Fantas ownes me the most of the time, but Ellie can stay near me and in my lap when Fanta`s eating, drinking, using the litter box or plays with the kittens and /or the other cats. Ellie sleeps with us at night and she gets a lot of attention when we go to bed. We are very happy they do not have any run-ins now, and hopefully this peace agreementbetween them will last until Friday, when we are bringing Fanta to Stavanger. I want to cry because of the situation this sweet girl is in, she can`t stay with us, she can`t stay with the woman who sold her to me, and her breeder does not want her back. So I guess that she might have some kind of fosterhome while waiting for her lifelong home   

During the years since 2007 when we got our first balinese, we have learned to know a lot of breeders, not only breeders of oriental cats, but also breeders with other kinds of breeds. And some of these breeders has helped and supported us in god times and in bad (just like a marriage  ) We can truly say that we would not been breeders today if it wasn`t for these great peoples!

The very first balinese came from Randi Rissmann Holen - av Ramithi(N) Thank you Randi for being there for us, and being one of the first to offer help if you think we need it!

Our first siamese variant came from Malin & Jan Almqvist - S*Vildbackens. Thank you so much Malin for answering all my questions no matter what I ask for! If I ask for an advice, you always have one.

In 2008 we got this very special girl from a breeder who have supported us and given us many funny times at cat shows - Aino Ludviksen at (N) Himmeltinden`s

Another breeder has also been there for us when we have needed someone, and she has even educated our vets when that was needed! Berit Chruickshank  - without you I know that we would not be as strong as we are! We will never forget the support Finn-Ove got from you the months I was at the hospital!

Last but not least - Lill-Kathrin Søtorp. A super woman who always tries to help me find the answers I need, not only reagrding cats and breeding, but also about life in general and the upbringing of my two super teen-agers! Finn-Ove use to say "when in doubt ask Lill-Kathrin". I am so lucky to have Lill-Kathrin so close that it is possible to visit her in an easy way, and that is very valueable!

I know to young people who has helped us more that anyone else - my son Ole Martin and my daughter Marie. I do not think that you know how much I have appreciated your help and support these years with cats! Without your efforts we could not have had this hobby!

And to all breeders we have/have had a cat from - thank you so much trusting us with your dear fourlegged beauties!

Randi Rissmann Holen - av Ramithi (N)

Malin & Jan Almqvist - S*Vildbackens

Monica Molinder - S*Jijumas

Bente Nyborg - av Ziamizzimo (N)

Aino Ludviksen - (N) Himmeltinden`s 

Angelica Andersson - S*Coral Reef`s

Elina Ferm - FIN*Fercatin

Angelica Kneifel - of Noah`s Ark

Annicka Bäckmann - S*Peptalk`s

Pia Kjellson - S*Feng`s

Maria Kronqvist - S*Qrownqwist

Kristiina Rautio - FI*Ballawhane

Laura & Fabrice Dekeyser Beugny - of Beugnycats

Janne & Henning Stensrud - NO*Milamen`s for taking good care of our Doc & Joker

A large thank you to all our "customers" for taking good care of the offspring from (N) Bekmørtnans, and our retired cats from our breeding    Without you and your love and affection for our cats, we could not have continued with our dream!

To all our "colleagues" - thank you for the good times we have spent together in cat shows and in chats! We hope for many more in the years to come! We are always looking forward meeting you!

The last 4 weeks has gone way too fast for me, and I have not prioritized my blog. My husband is seriously ill, and the has been at the hospital for several weeks. This weeks I have got the full responsibility of our cats and our dog. Due to my spinal cord injuries I have not been able to do much, but these weeks I just had to do what`s necessary, like cleaning litterboxes (quite difficult since I can not bend to reach what`s on the floor), giving the animals food and clean water, and clean places to sleep. It has been a struggle and if my daughter could not come to help me some times I would not been able to take care of our fourlegged children.

We got a new litter on 22nd of July, Lina is the mother and Lion-O is the father. Lina struggled very hard to give birth to her first kitten, and he was more dead than live when she finally managed to deliver him. It was a large balinese boy, and he has 3 siblings, 2 boys and 1 girl - all of the kittens are balinese, even though Lina is a SIA variant! Sadly the first born boy did not make it and died after a few days    Lina is like Freja, a super mam! And her kittens looks like Polar bears, their coat is super! I hope they will have a super coat as grown ups as well! Today I introduced them to solid food, I gave them Bozita Patè and Hellrazor started to eat at once, like he had not done anything else all his life! Metal Queen and Cool Vibes did not want to taste, but I "helped" them a bit and put some patè on their mouth. They tasted a little bit of it, but did not like it   

Sadly there are some problems in our Missiles litter, two of the kittens has umbilical hernia and two has hooked sternum. I told about these defects to the breeders that have been interested in a kitten. And as I thought, one of them did not want to have the kitten as planned, even "their" kitten does not have any signs of hooked sternum or umbilical hernia. But this is their choice, and it is better they told me they did not want to have this kitten, than if they bring him home and regrets it later. These defects are not a nuisance for the kittens, it`s just a little beauty flaw. And I think if all breeders were honest, and tell about their lines, there will not be any breeder who has not had defects in their litters. One breeder has shown interest of our little Metal Queen, but when I told him about the defects in the Missiles litter, he did not want to have her after all. But that`s ok, pet homes are the best homes anyway    And the longer it takes before we sell a kitten to another breeder, our kittens pedigree grows more and more unique    

I often got questions about why I choose to tell all that`s happening in our cattery. And of course it would have been very comfortably for us if I kept my fingers away from the keyboard and play the same game as the most of the breeders do - either lie or not telling. But I do not have conscience to lie, and another thing - if you start to lie, will you be able to remember who you have told which lie? Another and more important for me, is that if I share our experiences, other cat owners/breeders may learn something about them. And when they some day end up in the same situation, they will know that this has happen with others as well. They are not unique, they are not alone. I have had a lot of e-mails from breeders and cat owners asking about my help and advice. And for every person I have helped, I got "paid" for sharing. I choose to tell about every little kitten that is born in our cattery. Most of them got a name, even if they lives for only a few hours. I do not believe in keeping a litter as a secret for several weeks before it is annouced when the breeder is quite sure the kittens will live. And hoe many tell about the kittens that did not make it? We are few.......

I believe in honesty, if I start to lie I could not look at my face in the mirror. I want to be able to look into my teenagers eyes and show them the best way through life.  My vision is that breeders around the world would start to share their experiences and then we can do what`s best for our fourlegged friends   

In the short term we loose because of me telling, but in the long term I think we will gain from it