Wanting the Best While Juggling Personal Values for Your Cattery.

Cognac is like the God of alcohols... he really is top shelf, but when I began my journey into breeding... I told myself I would never keep a breeding cat who was not happy doing his job. It's been a hard pill to swallow because he's everything I want, BUT after months and months of saying he'll adapt to catio life... he's going to like popping all these female spirits... he has stayed very consistent in letting us know that he wanted to be inside mingling with the bartenders and really finds the females to be a chore. I don't understand the last part, but the male just wants to eat and love on humans and denying him of it was breaking my heart.

The struggle comes from 1) it's hard as HECK to find an incredible male for your cattery. You have no idea how many hours, weeks, and months are spent diving into pedigrees and 1000000 cat breeders. It's draining. If it were simple, I promise every breeder would have their Ron Perlman twins with the fiercest RBF look. 2) After you find your diamond, you then have to hope and pray they pass all their health tests. You have no idea how hard this is.... which is why there are more breeders who don't even do the testing because it's that hard to find a healthy cat, but easy to breed the one that looks good and pray their kittens don't get their bad genes. 3) After everything is said and done...and you're ready to breed them... swallowing the fact that they don't want to bang anyone and you had to physically hold the female just right after many many many many attempts... ugh. y'all have no idea how stressful breeding really is.

So if you were wondering why we got ANOTHER red smoke male, ...this is why.

Cognac has been very happy in his new home, and we will continue to be making changes as we strive to have the best WELL ROUNDED pints around. Mental health is just as important to me as physical appearance.

** Happy Hour Approaching **

Ready to head into the door of your favorite bar to get your chance at swiping right and finding a match that only Happy Hour can quench? Well, find out what these exclusive pints will be looking for and if you've got the right stuff #nkotb

I thought I'd officially tell our patrons where my head is at as far as when those doors will open. Normally this happens at 8 weeks, but this time the Top Shelf title goes to the whole litter. I hate regrets, so from this brew forward... you can expect Happy Hour to occur between 10-12 weeks.

I will ALWAYS post at the beginning of the week that Happy Hour will open on "X" day. So as long as you are checking in every 2-5 days, you will catch it.

Who will get picked? This is where my heart and stomach are so sick thinking about having the very hard job of picking Designated Drivers AND trying to be somewhat fair to those who have waited a year. So know this.

1. I have loyalty to those who have waited the longest. You may want a pint quick or think a long wait is unreasonable. Let me give you facts... EVERY reputable cattery has an equal wait. Those who don't usually also don't have that top shelf reputation you initially sought out OR are quick buys because their cats have not gone through the extensive testing. I LOVE that my regular rotation of vets like to brag about our cats, and when they get a purebred maine coon that came from a different breeder... they then tell me the LIST of horrible things wrong with it. Patience pays off.

2. Just because you've waited the longest, DOES NOT mean I find you to be the perfect pick. Example: This litter is feisty. They are more affectionate than some litters but are more kitten playful (bite-y). So, the type of home matters to me because I don't want to hear you're giving up on your pint because it scratched your young child. Oh no... a kitten was being a kitten? Say it ain't so...

3. Do I like you? This is simple. When you occasionally email me just to say "I'm still here" or "Guess what, my daughter just got accepted to Texas A&M (you'd be surprised the random things patrons love to share)... do I reply? If I reply ...even with a thumbs up or a yay.... it means I like you. I stop replying to those who are not a great fit for our bar or pints.

4. If you do get a reply from me when you email, then know I have FULL intentions on serving you but can only serve what I have on tap ...and sometimes that may only be 6 pints or less. I am sorry, and know this isn't something I take joy in. I really like MANY of our regular patrons, and when I send out emails saying "Sorry, please try again..." there is lots of guilt, but the person chosen was equally worthy... equally great ...and maybe just had the right home environment for this exceptional pint.

Did you just realize you may not be a fit at our bar??

Our reason for "stopping communication/replies" back to you does not always have to be complicated. Just as you have a choice on where you'd like to pick your next family member, WE have the same choice. Take offense... a mean hateful email back only proves to me that you weren't right for our bar. I feel bad sometimes that I find someone too much or not right... but when I get hateful emails, I just thank the heavens above that I saved myself from DRAMA of an AWFUL extended family member.

Thanks for reading this long boring Bar Note. ♥

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