Cat Breeders Pay with their Hearts
Not only does cat breeding take a toll on the cat breeder’s emotions, but also physically. Especially those who have remained “in the business” for 10+ years.
After years and years of losing sleep, waiting for the kittens to arrive throughout the nighttime hours, being hunched over kittening boxes assisting the mother cat in delivery. Then the enormous amount of work caring for baby kittens begins. Yes, it is fun, but it is also a lot of work, a lot of laundry, they are like babies, they just have two extra legs and a tail.
It all takes a toll on a cat breeder’s personal health as well, usually in the form of back issues.
Stress-induced ailments also plague cat breeders because of all the worrying that goes into our day-to-day lives when things don’t go as planned.
Working with animals can be heartbreaking at times.
Please keep in mind when contacting a cat breeder you are basically asking to buy a piece of their heart, at least if it is a caring cat breeder who loves what they are doing. You will know if it is a quality cat breeder once you speak to them.
We want our cats to have:
- Significant lounging room which equals costly heating and cooling bills.
- Outstanding vet care.
- Kitty towers are in abundance and replaced every six months due to daily activity.
- Top-quality diets are detailed with extreme cleanliness in which food and water dishes are dumped, bleached, and heat sanitized daily.
- We serve boiled chicken breasts up to all of our expecting and new mothers and their kitties.
- Litter pans are also dumped, bleached, and refilled every single day of the year.
- We do not even own a litter scooper.
- We supply fresh clean bedding daily to keep all the kitties comfortable, warm, & cozy.
- Caring and compassion are free; exceptional quality care is not.
Always remember when contacting a cat breeder. You come to them with a desire to own one of “their babies”. Offending them alow ball offer will mostly guarantee they will not sell to you.
Cat breeders are not garage sales or auction houses.
Even Humane societies and animal shelters charge $150- $250 for a cat or kitten to ensure they are entering a forever home that is suitable.
The amount of hours we breeders spend trying to get a newborn baby kitten to “latch on” for the first time is astronomical. It is simply incomprehensible to most. Our backs also pay a physical tole that no one ever speaks of but at the end of the day, their plump full bellies are our reward for a job well done, especially when mama is at purring peace and knows help is just a meow away.
Breeder’s Poem
I love my little kitty; she makes my house a home.
She is my very best friend; I never feel alone.
She makes me smile;
She makes me laugh;
She fills my heart with love . . .
Did some breeder breed her, or did she fall down from above?
I’ve never been a breeder, never seen life through their eyes;
I hold my little kitty and just sit and criticize.
I’ve never known their anguish; I’ve never felt their pain, the caring of their charges,
through snow or wind or rain.
I’ve never sat the whole night through, waiting for babies to be born,
the stress and trepidation when they’re still not there by dawn.
I’ve never felt the heartache of a little life in my hands,
this darling little baby, who weighs but 60 grams.
Should you do that instead of this . . . or this instead of that?
Alone you fight and hope one day, he’ll grow to be a cat.
You pray he’ll live to bring joy to another family, and make a house a home.
You know it’s all just up to you; you’ll fight this fight alone.
Formula, bottles, heating pads, you’ve got to get this right,
two-hour feedings for this tiny guy, throughout the day and night.
In your heart you know you’re almost sure to lose this epic fight, to save this little baby,
but God willing . . . you just MIGHT.
Day one he’s in there fighting; you say a silent prayer.
Day two & three, he’s doing well, with lots of love and care.
Day four & five . . . he’s still alive; your hopes soar to the heavens.
Day six he slips away again dies in your hands day seven.
You take this little angel and bury him alone.
With aching heart and burning tears, and an exhausted groan, you ask yourself,
“Why do this? . . . Why suffer all this pain?”
But see the joy your kittens bring . . . it really self-explains.
So, when you think of breeders and label them with “Greed,”
Think about what they endure to fill another needs.
When you buy a kitten and with your precious dollars part,
You only pay with money . . . we pay with a piece of our heart.
…. Author Unknown….