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 My name is
Suzette van den Berg. My husband Phillip and I live on a
small farm about 10km outside Kimberley (the city of diamonds),
in the centre of South Africa. When I stopped working, I started
breeding with the Cornish Rex in 1998. I bought my first pet
Sphynx, Fibel (the kitten on my logo), in 1999 and got my first
breeding Sphynx, Franny in 2000. |
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I tend to keep the number of breeding cats low, as I want to
give our cats the best of all …care, love and attention. Our
cats are kept in the house and the kittens are raised underfoot.
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Suzette van den Berg |
I have a strict
policy in not keeping my
males for too long at stud, as they need to have a loving pet
life as well. I also feel that it is important to change studs
often, to eliminate possible genetic illnesses / problems that
they might have and also to improve my breeding program. Studs
that spray/fight are kept with a companion in stud quarters with
outside runs.
HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomayopathy) is a genetic
illness found in the Sphynx. We scan all our cats
annually and should one scan positive, he/she is
sterilized immediately. We do
the best humanly possible, but unfortunately scanning is not a
100% sure method of detecting HCM. Hopefully there will be a DNA
test available soon, to help eliminate positive cats from the
breed. |
My cats are all
registered with the South African Cat Council (SACC), where I also show my cats regularly. I am
involved with our local cat club, The Northern Cape Free State
Cat Club and I am also one of the organizers of our annual show.
My kittens go to their new home with a
contract, fully vaccinated and dewormed,
vet
checked, litter trained, kitten starter pack and an information
sheet on how to care for your kitten. All my
kittens also go to their new homes neutered/spayed…no
exceptions !!!
Sites to view on early spaying and
neutering:
I do not sell cats with breeding rights to people
that I do not know
very well, are inexperienced breeders and do not have the same
breeding values as I have.
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