First of all, new guardians make contact with us via email or phone, we then get in touch with them and explain "how we do things", ensure they have looked at our Kitten Waiting lists, future matings and we also send out a copy of our Kitten Agreement to ensure there are no "misunderstandings". We then add their name to our waiting list as a possible guardian. As our queens are mated, and throughout their pregnancies, we contact the guardians on our lists so that they can keep updated throughout the mating/pregnancy/birth, via the pregnancy and kitten diaries on our web site. It's very important to us that we get to know our new guardians and this is why communication through email and via the phone is both welcome and essential!

We request that all new guardians visit us so they can meet ourselves and our cats and their future babies. We will not adopt any of our kittens out to a new guardian that we have not met! Whilst new guardians are here, we have a chat and we see how they interact with our cats and any kittens we may have in the home. It also gives new guardians a chance to ask us questions and to make sure that we are the right breeder for them. All prospective kitten families are required to provide a reference from the veterinary surgeon that they currently use, or from a vet that has cared for their previous pets. If, after all of this, we are happy and the new guardians are happy, we then will accept the new guardians as definite kitten families for our babies. We do not require a deposit for our kittens until they have reached 8 weeks of age.

There are occasions when we will be keeping a kitten ourselves from the litter that you may be waiting for. When this is the situation, new guardians must wait until we have chosen our own kitten before choosing their baby. Sometimes, we can pick the show/breed quality from birth, other times it can take longer. Once a deposit has been paid, and once our babies have reached approximately 9 weeks of age, we end out a welcome letter to each of our waiting families. This letter explains what the babies have been eating, what litter they use, a copy of their diet sheet, and covers everything the new family will need to purchase prior to collecting their new family member.

Here at Schimmel, we would rather keep our babies here with us for as long as it takes to find the right guardian, as opposed to homing them to the first person that comes along just to get them out of our way. We ask all possible new guardians to please remember a kitten is not something you can just go out and buy like an item off a shelf. Just because one of our girls is pregnant, that does not mean that the litter will have any kittens for sale as there are times when kittens in an upcoming litter have already been pre-booked and it is for this reason that we have waiting lists. All our cats and our kittens are our babies and their welfare is our main concern.

Please note:
Our babies are only available to indoor homes. No Schimmel kitten is allowed outdoors, unless the guardian has a fully enclosed cat run, or a cat proof garden. We will not adopt kittens out to people who are adopting them for Christmas presents, birthday presents or as gifts. ALL Schimmel kittens will be registered on the TICA Not For Breeding register which means they can not be bred from. We do not home any kitten for breeding and we will not make any exceptions.