Hello, my name is Kiki. I am the owner and operator of StraytCats cattery. I have been working with exotic cats since 2003 at the age of 15yrs old. I began breeding bengals in 2011 and have very much enjoyed building my cattery and working with this amazing breed of cat! In 2012 I moved onto the five acre piece of property where my cattery is now established. I have had a passion for working with exotic animals all of my life and have worked with many different types of exotics over the years. I have also worked as a wildlife rehabilitator for short periods of time here in the pacific north west with established wildlife centers.
Before I began working strictly with exotic felines I did rescue and rehabilitation with captive bred exotic wildlife out of my home. Many different creatures have shared their lives with me over the years from flying squirrels to sugar gliders, raccoons to ringtail cats and coatimundis, wallabies, bushbabies, snakes, lizards, parrots. You name it I have probably encountered it at some point in time and hold some experience in caring for it.
When I began working strictly with exotic felines in 2011 I had to close the doors of my small home based rescue to focus on my cattery and put my time and attention towards that. It has been a great adventure for me in my life being able to share it with god's beautiful creatures and I take great pride and joy in this passion.
When I was 14yrs old I met my very first Bengal cat at our county fair and fell in love with the beautiful exotic appearance of this breed. A year later I welcomed my first Bengal into my home. Her name was Angel. Angel spent many good years with me. This spurred my adventures in working with exotic felines. Since that time I began to search out people who kept and maintained exotic felines as pets so that I could gain first hand experience and knowledge about these amazing cats. The first pure-species exotic feline I ever encountered was a Siberian lynx named Lynxer. In 2008 I purchased my first pure-species exotic feline, a south American geoffroys cat named Delight. Delight still lives here with me, along with her father Shamire and her aunt Evil Ethel. Shamire and Ethel came to me in 2013 when their owner fell on difficult times and needed a place for them to go. I was contacted and took them both in under my wing, they were the last two recues I welcomed into my life. Shamire is 16yrs old now and Ethel is 18yrs old now - both will live out the rest of their lives here with me, however much time that may be.
in 2010 shortly before starting my cattery I welcomed a family member of a different type into my life, my son Connor. I am a stay at home mother with my son and focus my time towards maintaining my 5 acre piece of property, my cattery, my home business and raising my child. Along with my cattery and all of my kittens that I lovingly raise inside my home I am also caretaker of a large flock of free range chickens and five ducks that enjoy life on the farm with me.
My son is a wonderful helper in raising all of my kittens, he's a very gentle boy and loves to love the babies and help me feed all of my adult cats every day, as well as feeding all the birds and generally helping mommy with the daily chores around the house. All of my kittens are very heavily socialized with children, cats and dogs. When I began my cattery I took my experience with working with captive bred exotic wildlife and applied that to my breeding practices. Because I am mainly working with early generation hybrids it is very important for me to spend a huge amount of my time properly socializing all of my kittens so that they can and will fit into most homes. My goal in breeding is to offer people a companion for life, a cherished and loved furry family member. All of my early generation hybrids are hand raised by me from 3wks old - I spend weeks on end bottle raising my babies so that they are imprinted on their human family members and are used to all types of handling.
While not everyone that raises early generation hybrids does hand feed them for optimum socialization from a young age I find this works best for me in being able to offer an extremely well adjusted kitten. The early generation hybrids can be a handful, very high energy cats - even when they're hand raised they are very high strung and interactive. Early generation hybrids, especially the 1st and 2nd generation can have a tendency to be fearful of people if they don't receive a lot of socialization in early development. I want people that get these cats from me to be able to do anything with them that you would be able to do with a domestic cat, I don't want them to shy away from human touch, veterinary trips, children, dogs or other cats. For me, hand raising them from a young age make it possible for me to offer and early generation hybrid that can easily be handled and enjoys the companionship of the other family members in the household.
Over everything else I care very deeply about each and every kitten I produce here. I strive to be interactive with the people who purchase from me and am always available for support. Even for people who do not purchase from me I try and make myself available to give information about the breed and answer any questions that someone may have. I have been working with exotic cats for over a decade now and have gleaned a lot of useful information that I wish to share with those who take an interest.
I think it is important to connect with people on a personal level and for those who purchase from me to know a little bit about me, who I am and how I got started in working with these amazing cats! Thank you for visiting my website, please have a look around at some of the information and photos provided here and feel free to send me an email if you have any further questions about my breeding program or bengals in general.
Before I began working strictly with exotic felines I did rescue and rehabilitation with captive bred exotic wildlife out of my home. Many different creatures have shared their lives with me over the years from flying squirrels to sugar gliders, raccoons to ringtail cats and coatimundis, wallabies, bushbabies, snakes, lizards, parrots. You name it I have probably encountered it at some point in time and hold some experience in caring for it.
When I began working strictly with exotic felines in 2011 I had to close the doors of my small home based rescue to focus on my cattery and put my time and attention towards that. It has been a great adventure for me in my life being able to share it with god's beautiful creatures and I take great pride and joy in this passion.
When I was 14yrs old I met my very first Bengal cat at our county fair and fell in love with the beautiful exotic appearance of this breed. A year later I welcomed my first Bengal into my home. Her name was Angel. Angel spent many good years with me. This spurred my adventures in working with exotic felines. Since that time I began to search out people who kept and maintained exotic felines as pets so that I could gain first hand experience and knowledge about these amazing cats. The first pure-species exotic feline I ever encountered was a Siberian lynx named Lynxer. In 2008 I purchased my first pure-species exotic feline, a south American geoffroys cat named Delight. Delight still lives here with me, along with her father Shamire and her aunt Evil Ethel. Shamire and Ethel came to me in 2013 when their owner fell on difficult times and needed a place for them to go. I was contacted and took them both in under my wing, they were the last two recues I welcomed into my life. Shamire is 16yrs old now and Ethel is 18yrs old now - both will live out the rest of their lives here with me, however much time that may be.
in 2010 shortly before starting my cattery I welcomed a family member of a different type into my life, my son Connor. I am a stay at home mother with my son and focus my time towards maintaining my 5 acre piece of property, my cattery, my home business and raising my child. Along with my cattery and all of my kittens that I lovingly raise inside my home I am also caretaker of a large flock of free range chickens and five ducks that enjoy life on the farm with me.
My son is a wonderful helper in raising all of my kittens, he's a very gentle boy and loves to love the babies and help me feed all of my adult cats every day, as well as feeding all the birds and generally helping mommy with the daily chores around the house. All of my kittens are very heavily socialized with children, cats and dogs. When I began my cattery I took my experience with working with captive bred exotic wildlife and applied that to my breeding practices. Because I am mainly working with early generation hybrids it is very important for me to spend a huge amount of my time properly socializing all of my kittens so that they can and will fit into most homes. My goal in breeding is to offer people a companion for life, a cherished and loved furry family member. All of my early generation hybrids are hand raised by me from 3wks old - I spend weeks on end bottle raising my babies so that they are imprinted on their human family members and are used to all types of handling.
While not everyone that raises early generation hybrids does hand feed them for optimum socialization from a young age I find this works best for me in being able to offer an extremely well adjusted kitten. The early generation hybrids can be a handful, very high energy cats - even when they're hand raised they are very high strung and interactive. Early generation hybrids, especially the 1st and 2nd generation can have a tendency to be fearful of people if they don't receive a lot of socialization in early development. I want people that get these cats from me to be able to do anything with them that you would be able to do with a domestic cat, I don't want them to shy away from human touch, veterinary trips, children, dogs or other cats. For me, hand raising them from a young age make it possible for me to offer and early generation hybrid that can easily be handled and enjoys the companionship of the other family members in the household.
Over everything else I care very deeply about each and every kitten I produce here. I strive to be interactive with the people who purchase from me and am always available for support. Even for people who do not purchase from me I try and make myself available to give information about the breed and answer any questions that someone may have. I have been working with exotic cats for over a decade now and have gleaned a lot of useful information that I wish to share with those who take an interest.
I think it is important to connect with people on a personal level and for those who purchase from me to know a little bit about me, who I am and how I got started in working with these amazing cats! Thank you for visiting my website, please have a look around at some of the information and photos provided here and feel free to send me an email if you have any further questions about my breeding program or bengals in general.