Call or Text: 603-307-9249 or 971-610-2283
Our Philosophy
Health
Here at Lionheart Siberians, we take an overall holistic approach to our breeding program.
While Siberians are an overall healthy breed of cat, we take extra care to screen our breeding cats for health issues through DNA testing and OFA heart certification. We have added cats to our program that are clear of issues by parentage - that is to say from parents that are clear of issues and have overall healthy lineage.
We also feed our cats and kittens a high quality meat based diet including meat that was raised on our very own farm along with our homemade kefir full of pre and probiotics to help develop and support a healthy gut.
Temperament
There is a genetic component to temperament, but we have found when it comes to nature vs. nurture, nurturing is of utmost importance when it comes to solid temperaments in kittens. Our kittens are raised in our home and participate in the family activities. We take care to encourage our kittens' natural curiosity, as well as their natural hunting behaviors through play. It is our experience that this is vital to stimulating proper mental and physical development! We also believe that keeping kittens in a sterile removed area, whether it's a closed off cat room, building, ect., does not allow their immune systems to develop properly. While we have a closed cattery for the health and safety of our cats and other animals, we believe kittens need exposure to natural environments to develop a robust immune system and resilient nature.
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The holistic approach to our breeding program also includes intentionally raising the kittens around our other pets, including our older cats and our dogs. We think it is very important, as many folks have both dogs and cats in their homes and it is to everyone's benefit to have their kittens integrate smoothly and live harmoniously with every member of the family.
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Ultimately our focus is on raising the best healthy family companions able to adapt to a wide range of lifestyles!
Early Spay and Neuter
After careful study and weighing the risks and benefits, we do not condone the practice of early spay and neuter. Time and time again, study on mammals show that they absolutely need their hormones for healthy growth and maturation, including joint development. Hormones are integral to almost every function of the body and removing those hormones long before maturity is not in the best interest of the animal. In dogs, we know this can lead to severe mental/behavioral issues. I can't imagine this isn't true for cats as well. However, we understand that this practice is utilized by many breeders with the good intention of their kittens not falling into unscrupulous ignorant hands who may unethically and irresponsibly breed. We have attempted to balance the best interest of our kittens' health by requiring spay/neuter at the age of one year. In order to safeguard our kittens, we do not officially register them in an effort to discourage irresponsible and unscrupulous people. We are happy to provide watermarked copies of parents' pedigrees, as well as copies of their DNA tests.
