Here Kitty Kitty

Since last year, I have been researching Siberian Cats. They are the closest thing to a "Hyperallergenic" cat that exists. My boyfriend is allergic to cats, so after deciding that a pet would tide me over for a while (no babies for a few years) we decided a cat would make it easier to find new apartments than a dog.

 All cats produce a protein called the FEL d1, and this is found in their saliva. When they groom themselves, the protein gets on the cats fur. So what people are really allergic to, is the saliva.

http://www.keittasiberians.com/hypoallergenic.html

Siberians are shown to produce the lowest amounts of this protein, that allows many allergy sufferers to be able to live with a cat.

Some breeders test the amounts of protein their cats produce, but I have read that this is an uncomfortable process, so they breeder we are using does not put their cats through this process. They are allergy sufferers and can live with the Siberians they breed, and have had success placing their cats in homes with other allergy sufferers.

We also had to do an "allergy test" where they sent us a shirt covered in cat hair (though the Siberian only sheds twice a year, winter coat and summer coat) so that my b/f could wear the shirt for 24 hours and see if he had a reaction. The cat hair was not only from the cat we were adopting, but from many of the cats they have in their home that they breed.

He had no reaction to the hairy shirt (kind of gross I know) so we proceeded with our deposit holding Enya (our future kitty) to be ours.

A pregnant Enya

I first began checking out breeders all over the United States last year.  After reading some horror stories about people who send a downpayment for a cat or kitten, went to the airport only to have their future kitty never arrive, my b/f and I decided we did not want to have to ship an animal. Not only is it risky to do so, but it is stressful to the animal as well.

So, I began looking as locally as possible. And if you do your research, you learn that Siberian kittens are very expensive. Show and breeder quality kittens are the most expensive.

Though I was originally set on getting a kitten, I decided it would be in our best interest financially to adopt a retired breeder. (a mama or daddy cat) After so many litters, or so many years, or if there are any complications in breeding, breeders retire their adult cats.

Not only did we want to find a breeder within driving distance, but one that had a retired cat available, and one that we liked. We read bios of breeders, and looked through their pictures to see if we liked the breeder and the look of their cats. It was quite a process believe it or not.

I finally found a cat on this site that I absolutely fell in love with!

Her name is Enya and she is beautiful! 

We contacted to breeders this past summer while we were in West Virginia, and they told us she would be having a litter and would not be ready to go until September after she was spayed.

The process had it's ups and downs. I'm not the best at being patient, and this taught me that I really had to learn how to be. There was no way to have her available any sooner. So wait I did, for months, and once her owners felt it was a good time, they scheduled her spay.

This was the reason her spay was delayed.
She was "mothering" other cats at the cattery.
Umm kitties, I think you are too old for that.

The communication was quite a process. The breeders were very busy and could not always get back to us right away, but we worked well together in the end, and I would go to them again. We are finally on the countdown to getting Enya. We will pick her up in Pittsburg this coming saturday! I am so excited that I feel like we are adopting a child! 

You are probably thinking, wow I would just not have a pet, or date a guy without pet allergies. Ha. We weighed our options, and the fact is, I have made a lot of sacrifices for our relationship, and this is my reward. 

We spent our first year in a long distance relationship, only see each other on most weekends. Then I changed colleges, which was a huge pain in the @#$! Left all of my friends and family to move out here in the middle of nowhere and have to deal with transferring credits and petitioning classes, and missing my friends and not really having any friends here.

I left behind a best friend who I hung out with practically every day. In relationship you make sacrifices, and we decided I deserved to have a little furry friend to keep me company out here. 

When I lived at home I had a 21 year old cat, Smokie. I have had a cat my entire life. It's not that I'm not a dog person. I have had many dogs growing up too. I just actually think cats are more affectionate, despite the cliche of cats being all independent. My cat slept with me every night, and was my best friend like a dog is to most people. She died a few weeks ago at the ripe old age of 21. 

The last time I got to see her.
Not the best pic of me, but oh well, fresh out of bed.

So needless to say, I was pretty sad after loosing my kitty that I had for 21 years, and I was ready to get Enya.

We made arrangements last weekend to pick up Enya, and I couldn't be more excited! I have some more pictures of her from when she was a kitten. She was so adorable! 

All pictures of Enya are from the breeders website.

http://www.keittasiberians.com/main_page.html

We are stocking up on kitty supplies and preparing for her arrival next sunday. So far we have a litter box, food dish and water bowl, cat toys, scratching post, kitty bed, cat brush, dental toy, cat wipes, pooper scooper and food for her first week with us. Now all we need is some kitty litter and the cat! :)