Cat care
Our kittens
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To grow up
Our mother cats have so far been very relaxed, social and tolerant when they have kittens. The birth takes place in the bedroom, where the mother cat and her kittens stay for the first few weeks. The mother cat often goes downstairs several times a day for a short break and to catch up with the other ladies. From the time the kittens are 3-4 weeks old, they are allowed in the living room during the day. Still in the kitten enclosure, but there they come into more contact with the other cats and sounds. They stay in a kitten pen for up to 4-5 weeks. They can then walk freely in the house under supervision and stay in the kitten pen at night or if no one is home. From 6-7 weeks old, they have supervised access to the entire house during the day. Then they think they are big and tough enough to be able to run around anywhere, just like the big cats. They can receive visitors from the age of 8 weeks.
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Kitten food
Our kittens are offered solid food from the 4th week onwards. We give the kittens various types of wet food so that they get used to different types of food. They get raw meat and kvv from Tinlo and Kiezebrink, but also canned food from the brands Carny, Feringa, Royal Canin and Cosma. They also receive (kitten) kibble from Royal Canin. With this varied offering, the intestines can handle various types of food and it can easily be varied in the future without the kitten suffering from diarrhea. We order additional canned food and kibble at Zooplus.
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Toilet training
When it is time for toilet training, we do this on a container with wood pellets from PeeWee. The PeeWee box itself is still too high, so we start with a low entry box (without double bottom) containing the wood pellets. Done young is learned old. We find the PeeWee litter box ideal, but a cat that is used to something different (grit) may not like wood pellets. That is why we teach the kittens to toilet train with wood pellets. Kittens who are introduced to the litter box sometimes put something in their mouth. Grit or silicone is therefore dangerous to health. Wood pellets are safe and ideal in terms of hygiene, odor, economy and environmental friendliness. When the kittens are older, they can go into the large PeeWee litter box. They can also use various litter boxes with grit that represent our adult cats who absolutely boycott the PeeWee litter box.
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Pedigree, chip and vaccination
Our kittens are vaccinated twice, at 10 and 13 weeks. We only vaccinate for the first time at 10 weeks because earlier is often of no use due to the maternal protection that kittens receive through their mother's milk. They are also chipped and receive a European passport containing 2 health checks from our veterinarian. All kittens receive a pedigree from the NRKV breed association. Our kittens move between 14 and 16 weeks and take turns leaving the nest to allow the mother cat to slowly get used to the fledging of her offspring. All our mother cats are still at that age devoted mothers.
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Our cats
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Our cats have kibble from Leonardo and Porta21 kibble 24 hours a day, each cat receives a measured amount via their own Surefeed. They are also given canned food or raw meat 2-3 times a day. In terms of canned food, we alternate between the brands Mac, Carny, Cosma, Schesir, Feringa and Porta21. They also regularly get raw fresh meat, mainly Tinlo barf or Kiezebrink. Not all our cats like raw meat and that is why we have to combine. The sweets are also responsible. They get sweets from Cosma, Sanabelle and occasionally a slice of roast beef. Our princesses are certainly not short of anything and have trained their can openers well to their wishes.
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Our cats have a silky soft and easy coat, combing is hardly necessary, but we do it weekly as a precaution so that they remain used to this. Néroli, Chelly and Karishma can easily get a tangle in their armpits or pants during the molting period.
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Our cats can enjoy our secluded garden every day
50m2. Here they can hunt for insects, watch birds, stand with their paws in the earth and climb on the tree trunk. They cannot leave the garden.
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Our males
Our male cats do not live in our cattery, because we like to keep control over our kitten planning and do not want to keep our male cats separate in a small space. As a result, we try to be creative in finding solutions for housing our tomcats, where their well-being comes first. We prefer to place our male cats with a family without female cats, where the male cat has plenty of space and is part of the family life. For example, two of our male cats live with my sister as part of her family.