Located in northern Florida, HattKatts Cattery was founded in 1997, the product of much research and study by Donna Lawry and Pete Meisinger. After several years of assisting her friend with her cattery, helping with the shows and caring for her cats when she was away, Donna decided she wanted a breed of her own to raise and show. Not wanting to compete against her friend and neighbor the search began to find a suitable breed. Several months passed until Donna discovered an article about the LaPerm, a new breed of curly coated cats, and her search was over. Numerous calls to various breeders around the country (we had no computer at that time) led us to the breed founder, Linda Koehl, and our first Laperm, Kloshe BC Sunflower.
Through more research and study of other breeders and their lines we carefully selected a Sire to breed our Sunny with to begin a line of LaPerms all our own. From that point forward it has been a successful journey for HattKatts, which is now a "closed" cattery, meaning we do not use other breeders stock in our breeding program. We feel our cats are as close to fitting the recognized standard for the breed as possible, evidenced by the remarks and awards from the judges in the show rings. Since we show in CFA, TICA and ACFA we are probably more aware of what is out there than most other breeders of LaPerms who limit themselves to showing in only one or possibly two registries. Our breeding program is dedicated to following the established standards of the LaPerm Society of America, of which we are voting members. Our Cattery is FeLV negative and all our cats and kittens are Vet checked and current on all necessary and required vaccinations. Our cats/kittens are guaranteed healthy at the time of placement as evidenced by it's accompanying health certificate. Kittens are not placed prior to 12 weeks of age to ensure they have received all their shots, as well as their kitten training and nourishment from their mother.
We place a high value on proper nutrition which is why we feed only premium kitten and cat food. Ours is a special blend of Royal Canin, Nutro, Eukanuba, IAMS and Nature's Recipe. The difference between our cats and other breeders is obvious in their general health as well as in the texture and feel of their coats. Their consistant good health makes this a necessary expense, in our opinion. A side benefit is that they are accustomed to eating a blend of foods rather than just one so transition from our home to yours is less stressful as you can choose from a variety of premium foods to continue feeding them (we don't expect you to use a blend as we do). Kittens continue to receive the kitten blend until they are a year old to ensure they receive all they require during this most important growth period; pregnant and nursing queens are fed the kitten blend for the same reason.
Being dedicated LaPerm breeders, we have also created a LaPerm discussion group on Yahoo Groups, Pete is the President of The LaPerm Society International and the LaPerm Breed Chair for ACFA. Our cattery and cats are registered with ACFA, CFA and TICA as well. For further information please feel free to contact us.
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