Our Policies

Adoption Age

Kittens will be ready to go to their new homes at 3.5-4 months old or later. The first several months are integral for a kitten’s socialization, immune system, physical development, emotional well-being, and health. It is during this time that kittens learn social cat behaviors such as litter box training and play. Kittens that spend quality time with their mother and litter-mates are better prepared to thrive and bond in their new home.

To Prospective Applicants

Cats and kittens are not a gift. All prospective families will only be considered if and only if all members have carefully decided on welcoming a cat in their lives as a long term family member. All applications mentioning gifting any kitten will be immediately denied.

Ideally I am hoping to home my kittens to families that have existing cats, would like to adopt as a pair, or have plans the future of having more pets. There are a few exception to adult cats who may have certain temperaments that would conflict with this. I believe that cats are social creatures and would have a more enriched life with a good companion. However, this is not a detriment to applicants if you primarily work from home or have family members around involved in their care and socialization.

Visiting

Because kittens are raised in our homes, only prospective owners who have passed interviews are welcome to visit our kittens in person. Due to COVID precautions, all visitors must test negative. Masks and anti-bacterial hand-washing are enforced when visiting in person to interact with the kittens. Because the kittens are raised in our household, this is a necessary precaution to protect the safety of our family members.

Genetic Testing Adults

All of our parent cats are genetically tested for blood type, coat color, PK, PKD, FeLV, and HCM (echocardiogram) and clear of any disease prior to pairing. Test results and up to date documentation from certified laboratories are available by request. While these tests are costly, we believe that testing is the only responsible way to ensure that kittens are born healthy.

Health Guarantee

All of our kittens will be vaccinated and seen by a licensed veterinarian prior to leaving for the new homes. This is why we provide a 72 hour limited health warranty so that kittens are delivered to your home in good health and free from any diseases. We also offer a 1 year health warranty for certain congenital diseases. The reason why we can only offer a limited warranty is because some diseases are environmental. We cannot control the environment your kitten is exposed to in your home after he or she leaves the cattery. However please rest assured we take all necessary precautions by testing our cats regularly.

Spay and Neuter

Since kittens are homed around the 4 month mark, the responsibility of spaying is required by the new owners when they become mature enough for the procedure. We recommend our owners to spay or neuter their British shorthair kittens around the 8 month mark by a licensed veterinarian. Spay and neuter by our own licensed veterinarian can be arranged by request but may delay homing as the kittens will need time to recover under our care. Some adults may already be spayed and neutered.

There are no negative effects from early spay or neuter. Research shows that kittens castrated at an earlier age not only recover faster but also maintain a better body weight than older cats that are castrated after maturity. Castration prevents irresponsible reproduction, uterine or testicular cancer, and unwanted behavioral problems related to intact cats such as urine marking or calling. Below are some resources we highly recommend reading about spay or neuter:

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/spayneuter-your-pet

https://cfa.org/early-spay-neuter/

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/why-you-should-spayneuter-your-pet

Deposits

If you have been selected as the prospective parent of one of our kittens, a deposit will reserve your kitten until he or she is ready to go home. Deposits are typically 20% of the price or any agreed upon amount that will be clearly stated in our contract. Our goal is to place kittens in the best and loving homes. Should your circumstances change, a partial deposit may be refundable depending on the kittens age and time of cancellation.

Reservation

Our kittens will be available for reservation at 6-8 weeks of age or at our discretion. Cheeky Cattery is not first come first serve or to anyone who can pay. Instead, we will be accepting and reviewing applications from prospective parents. If selected, we will then proceed to interview to ensure our kittens go to the best fit. Please subscribe to our cattery newsletter to receive information about when applications will be open. Updates to each kitten’s status will be made clearly on their page with these three categories:

Available- kitten is ready for application submissions

Under Observation- kitten is being observed to stay within the cattery due to showing exemplary traits or characteristics.

In Option- potential owners have been selected and in the process of being screened

Reserved- the deposit for the kitten has been submitted and the kitten is no longer available

Pricing

Prices for our Golden British Shaded and Chinchilla kittens range from $5,000-$6,500 and depend on their type and color. Certain attributes may influence and increase the price such as exemplary temperament, coat vibrancy, or type.

The standards used to determine the quality of our kittens are set by organizations such as TICA or CFA and determined by the breeder. Our price includes all age appropriate vaccinations, certified veterinary exams, deworming, photography, food samples, and our life time one-on-one support. TICA registration and proof of lineage can be requested and mailed to your residence with an additional fee for processing post castration.

Pet Quality- Pet quality cats are those that fulfill most breed standards, but may have minor cosmetic traits. For example, eye color, ear size, ear placement, coat quality, or tail length may not adhere to breed standards for breed or show. These traits have no impact on health or temperament. Our pet quality kittens may also be breed or show quality, but breeding rights are not granted and the kitten must be spayed or neutered.

Breed Quality- Breed quality cats are those that fulfill most breed standards and possibly have desirable traits suitable for breeding. We only accept experienced and registered breeders that align with our ethics and values if a kitten is suitable for breeding.

Show Quality- Show quality cats are those that fulfill or exceed breed standards. A show cat not only possesses wonderful traits but also a suitable temperament for show.

Color- The vibrancy of golden coat color and pattern is based on how the cat’s genes are expressed. Some colors and patterns are much more difficult to achieve because they are recessive or dependent on the expression of multiple alleles.

Our prices are mindfully set with awareness of what average golden British Shorthairs cost in the US and globally. We are a small in-home cattery with only 1-2 litter per year from our females. This ensures that our kittens get quality time and are raised in a loving environment filled with plenty of stimulation and care. You also become our close family as we mentor all of our new owners even after our kittens are homed- any questions you have about care, nutrition, vet, and health are answered personally. All of our graduates live exceptional lives and have wonderful temperaments due to the amount of care we take while raising them.

Declawing

We believe that declawing is an inhumane, unnecessary, and painful procedure. Under no circumstances should our kittens be declawed. Scratching is instinctive and natural behavior in cats. Cats can be trained and taught to use specific scratching surfaces with positive reinforcement. Declawing will void any warranties we offer in our contracts.

Transportation

All transportation arrangements and costs are the responsibility of the adopting party and prospective owners are expected to pick up their kitten in person. We do not ship kittens. The shipping process of pets as cargo is extremely taxing. We accept applications worldwide but potential parents are still expected to meet in person. Personal delivery to your home, an agreed upon location, or a local airport is available at a reasonable cost depending on driving distance.

Forever Home

We hope that all prospective and future owners will provide our kittens with forever homes to the best of their abilities. Welcoming a kitten to the family is a long-term decision that requires commitment in both time, education, and care. The kittens from our cattery are raised with our hearts in hopes that they will be wonderful companions to their future families.

However, we recognize that situations can change. Owners have 7 days from the day of acquisition to return the kitten for a refund of the adoption fee. There will be a $300 deduction from the refund, which will go towards ensuring the kitten is free from any parasites or illnesses may have occurred from outside of our cattery. The kitten will be quarantined and tested to protect the health of our cats before being reintroduced to our cattery.

Our cats are not allowed to be surrendered to shelters, research laboratories, or resold for monetary gain. Any violations to our policies may result in legal action. Should rehoming be necessary in the future, we ask to be notified in order to aid the process of finding a new home.