I have bred/shown Folds since 1984 and Cornish since 2003 and still love what I do.  I strive to produce not only beautiful, sound, winning examples of my breed but also healthy, social ones.  I have a CFA cattery of excellence, show regularly (mostly TICA as I have colors CFA has chosen not to recognize even though every other organization in the world does) and breed on a small scale.  My cats aren't bred until they are at least a year old and have been tested for things that can affect the breed.  I would never over breed my girls.. they have a litter a year, if that - unless it's necessary to do so more frequently, for medical reasons (like in a case of Pyo). Babies are raised Lovingly underfoot.. playing with my other cats, dogs and learning all those "important" cat things.. like snuggling and how to mooch.

I still try & keep only a limited number of cats. My cats are first & foremost my babies, part of my family & you just can't do that with large #'s. I don't believe in caging except for breeding or young babies, even my boys aren't caged, instead having their own room with a window to watch the bird/squirrels at play.  I breed only fold to straight (or to british) & I usually only have a couple of litters at any given time. This gives me more time to socialize the kittens & allows me to really get to know their personalities so that I can help match them to their ideal families, but it may mean a bit longer wait for a quality, healthy, social kitten.

All my kittens leave with a contract, which covers things like what they're being sold for, health guarantees, declawing, yearly updates, rehoming if it should become necessary, etc.  My babies are free of parasites, worms & fungus & regardless of what some "breeders" say, NO these are not "normal" occurances. Although we, as breeders, try & do our best to ensure a happy healthy kitty, thing don't always work out and having a breeder who will stand behind their kitties on those rare occassions is important so you need a breeder your trust.

My contract states that my kittens will not be allowed to roam outside without supervision.  This keeps them safe from the dangers of the road, ferals, wild animals, parasites, etc.  It is also one of the best ways to ensure your beloved baby does not contract Felv, assuming any other cats you may own, have already been tested prior to baby coming home.

We are dealing with living beings & things can sometimes go wrong. Because of this, I offer a 3 year health guarantee against congenital problems in my contract & I highly encourage new families to take their kittens in for a health inspection when they get them.  New owners have a week to see a vet & kittens may be returned for a refund or replacement baby if any issues are found as long as they are accompanied by a written report stating the vet's findings. Seeing the vet from the start, gives him/her a chance to get a baseline health on the kitten, get its medical records & contact me if there are any questions or concerns.

All kittens leave fully vaccinated, dewormed & altered & have been seen, by a vet, within a few weeks of leaving home.  My adults are FeLv, FIV ,  PKD negative.  Kittens are also guaranteed against these diseases. Due to studies done at Cornell University where it was concluded that the FeLv & FIP vaccination can potentiate actual FIP, I do not vaccinate for these & DO NOT guarantee health of kittens if they are vaccinated for these after going to their new homes. 

Recently, we have begun to see an uprise in things like Hip Dysplasia in several breeds of cats.  It's hard to diagnose it as cats are less likely to show signs of issues with it (lighter body.. hide pain better) so usually it's not found unless something else is going on.  This is how I found my first case I'm aware of.  Someone with a cat of mine was having it x-rayed for the OCD (the structual problem the breed can have)  research. Good news was he was clear of OCD.. bad news was had dysplasia in one hip.  With this in mind.. I have started scanning my lines for this issue. My boys Have all been done and have tested Neg.  I'm working on getting girls done as well (doing them as I go along in the season.. before being bred)
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I also do cardio scanning & adults are scanned regularly & only negative cats are then bred. (This doesn't guarantee against HCM as this isn't possible to do, but hopefully it does cut back on the occurrence of any problems).

Recently there's been good news on the Cardio front. The Gene that causes it has been isolated in both the Maine Coon & Ragdolls, meaning you can now do a DNA test & know if your cat will have it & if so start treatment (seemingly pretty effective in stopping the progression of this disease).

  My Cardiologist & I have been working with UC Davis to see if we can come up with a similar test for the fold. Sadly, progression is slow as you need MANY samples from different catteries & we're not seeing many other breeders participate.  Still I regularly load up all the furkids & go in for scanning, blood draw & cheek swabs. 

This disease appears to be a recessive one... so a cat with a single gene may never actually develope issues or if they do, more than likely it will be at a much older age than a cat which is homozygous (having double gene) for this.  I will continue to do what I can to help find a reliable test & I hope to some day to be able to say that Owhl is a DNA Neg Cardio Cattery!

I firmly believe that if you are going to breed, you should also be involved not only in the promotion & preservation of the breed, but in educating the public on the breed, showing, rescuing & Governement regulations that will affect THEIR rights to own a well bred pet. I have been showing for over 30 years, having started in CFA & now showing in TICA as well. Both organizations have some wonderful attributes & I suggest if you're interested in showing that you read my "Cat Shows" page. 

Along with breeding & showing, I am a member of multiple cat clubs & have been an officer in several of them. I work to promote shows by managing & working on local shows. I am on the Breed Committee of my breeds &  the Chair for the Cornish Rex. I was Regional Director for the International Scottish Fold Association (ISFA is a CFA breed club) for 5 1/2 years & VP as well. I am also involved with the Scottish Fold Rescue program.  Yes, as hard as it is to believe, occassionally there are folds whose families can't keep them & they are taken to shelters or rescues.  If getting a kitten isn't important to you, I suggest you may want to try & contact the Scottish Fold Rescue.