This article is a continuation of the Birman cat premium kennel article, including a more detailed explanation of the first point: Birman cat Health care, preservation, prevention, development!
The first priority for every pet owner is to buy a healthy pet from a breeder. How can this be achieved ? What is a breeding guarantee? What are the aspects e.g.: veterinary screening tests for cats that help to minimise the development of certain diseases. The good news is that the Burmese Holy Temple cat has no known genetic breed disease!
Before describing the considerations to take into account when adopting a breed-bred pet from a breeder, it is important to make one thing clear.
Let’s have realistic ideas! No breeder can give a life guarantee for guards! No one can guarantee that your pet won’t get sick, get an infection or develop some organ problem! No breeder, veterinarian or researcher can be expected to do this. Just think, have we received this from our parents, the obstetrician or the paediatrician? No.
With genetic screening, regular parasitological tests and other screening tests, we can significantly reduce the likelihood of developing diseases. It says we can eliminate certain risk factors. This is where this article can help.
- How can a Premium quality breeder be identified and selected?
- What to look for when choosing a breeder?
This is a basic thing to expect in any case for a farmed pet:
1, Small animals should be registered according to their origin. So they should have a pedigree. Ancestors highlighted in red have a competition result.
2, Be equipped with a microchip that is registered in the EU system.
3, Be of an appropriate age at the time of transfer for cats 12 weeks of age.
4, Have a vaccination book or passport.
5, Veterinary certification of age-appropriate vaccinations and treatments.
6. I only give all kittens to buyers after a clinical veterinary examination and certificate, but this is not compulsory.
Here I would like to draw your attention to an important aspect that distinguishes Premium kennels from the average.
- Does a breeder do what is obligatory and expected, or much, much more?!
- Fulfilling external obligations or having an intrinsic motivation towards your vocation!!!!
Genetic screening: there are recommended or mandatory genetic screenings for many pedigree dogs and cats. These are the un. breed diseases, which are diseases more common to the breed.
Attention: the Burmese Holy Templar cat does not have any known breed disease!!!
There is no compulsory or recommended genetic screening!
Despite this, all Birman cats in the Saba kennel are screened for all known genetic diseases and all results are negative.
Here, for example, is the genetic test result of our youngest breeding male cat imported from France.
Breeding animals born in our kennels are not re-homed as their ancestors have already passed these screenings. The results of genetic screening are public information, available on the personal page of each animal.
So, for a Premium kennel: have genetic screening and a transparent website where this information can be viewed by those interested.
Besides genetic screening, what other screening tests are performed in the kennel?
- I’m thinking here of ultrasound organ screening, blood tests, faecal ( faecal matter) tests.
In the case of the Saba Birman kennel, ultrasound scans were performed at the beginning. After all, years and generations of health are the best diagnostics. The presence and genetic inheritance of certain diseases can be completely excluded in our kennel after 10-12 years of breeding, i.e. 100%.
In contrast, faecal fecal tests, parasitology and microbiological cultures are carried out regularly. These are mainly Corona virus, Giardia, and complete parasitology screenings.
These screenings go a long way to keeping our animals healthy. They reduce the chance of any infection or parasites getting into our animals.
They make it safer for buyers to bring a healthy Birman cat into their home.
In the case of the Saba Birman kennel, the website also contains public information about the many test results, which can be viewed going back many years. Unfortunately, many old test results were lost when we switched to this new website in 2024. Nevertheless, we have an outstanding number of veterinary screening testsworldwide, which can be found on our website.
A breeding guarantee means that the breeder guarantees that, for a certain period of time (many diseases develop with age without genetic load), he will compensate the buyer in case the offspring develop a genetic disease.
Of course, veterinary tests alone are not enough!
Tests alone will not breed healthy, happy, well-adjusted kittens used to humans!
Without quality nutrition and supplements, we cannot talk about healthy animals. As well as a stress-free hygienic environment, living conditions and quality of life, and of course caring love are essential for the development of a healthy puppy or kitten for breeding.
I still feel that to be a premium kennel or a premium breeder, you have to be able to offer a premium service at all points.
