Confessions of a Cat Breeder

Over my many years of breeding, I have met literally hundreds of people, including everyone from buyers trying to find their perfect match in a kitten, to those individuals that simply passed through my cattery.

It is sometimes a mystery why one kitten will be selected over another. At times, it is simply love at first sight for both kitten and buyer. Other times, it seems just a matter of chance and good timing.

I have seen buyers overwhelmed with trying to find their kitten soul mate in a room full of identically colored babies. Some buyers are so totally focused on a single color or sex that they forget to consider the kitten's personality.

I must confess, this is how I selected the cat love-of-my-life, my Sealpoint female Caterina. I was only focused on buying a Sealpoint female, and to be honest, it wasn't love at first sight for either of us. But within six hours of entering each others lives, I realized I had found my kitten soul mate in her.

It is always a delight to encounter former buyers years later in chance meetings. They usually recognize me, since I wasn't blessed with a good memory for faces or names. Strangely enough, though, I never forget any of my kittens, or the names given to them by their new owners.

Such an encounter occurred some months ago while I was making a deposit at the bank. I had just bought a large bag of cat food, and I placed it on the counter while I was talking to the young woman helping me. She mentioned that she loved cats too and we shared a few words of feline fancy.

"What kind of cat do you have"? I asked.

"A Blue Point Himalayan male", she replied.

Like any true breeder, I asked what cattery the cat came from. I was instantly on alert since I had once specialized in blue point Himalayans in my cattery.

She couldn't remember the name of the cattery she'd bought him from, but she said it was in my area of town.

"I just love him", she gushed. "Honestly, I've never owned such a loving cat before. Actually, he picked me".

She started to laugh, and continued, "The breeder had five blue point and four other Himalayans, and I just didn't know which one was right for me. The breeder told me to take my time and come back in a few days, which was considerate since she could have lost the sale. I decided that she was probably right, and I reached for my purse to go. And there, tucked inside, was this little blue kitten sound asleep. I thought it was fate, that he had to be the right one for me, and I have never regretted that decision."

I stared at her in disbelief. She had bought that baby from me over ten years ago. I told her the names of his mother and father, and the name she had given her kitten. We had forgotten each other over time, but had re-connected over a large bag of cat food.