ForestWind   

Lots of people are eager to own a Siberian kitten or cat as a pet, and want to call and start learning about Siberians on the phone. We'd love to chat with you But first, we request that you complete and return the informational email forms we send you. We do this because we receive dozens of emails each week, and many requests for phone calls. If we didn't take the step of ensuring someone is truly interested in working with ForestWind - and not just "window shopping" or conducting "lazy research" (i.e. making a phone call instead of reading the reams of information online about Siberian cats), we'd do nothing but be on the phone all day. We breed Siberian cats because we love the breed and deeply believe in their benefit as therapy pets.

Once you've demonstrated your serious intent by completing and returning your KittenPreferences form - and an Allergy Questionnaire if necessary - we are happy to chat by phone. There is no cost for these inital consultations and no obligation to buy a kitten from us by returning these inquiry/ exploration forms. It's all free!

In the meantime, we invite you to become more involved with ForestWind by joining us on Facebook. You can start that by "friend requesting" us at Kate Stryker  

To get you started, here is the link to our ForestWind FAQs , please read in entirety! Almost all the questions people ask us *after* reading this post have already been answered on our FAQs page (such as kitten cost). Thank you for taking the time to carefully read this information

After reading the linked FAQs page, your next step is to complete and return your Kitten Needs & Preferences Form. This form is free to return, and bears no obligation to purchase a Siberian kitten with us.  We ask that you will share about the type of home and life your kitten would join, and what your own needs and expectations for your Siberian kitten are.

We ask questions about kitten exploration and allergy / asthma (if relevant) because we take our kitten placement seriously and responsibly. We hope that you will be comfortable asking questions of us in return, because preparing for and bringing home your new Siberian kitten is a two way street between buyer and breeder.

ForestWind Siberians is not the right breeder for every family, so we happily share contact information for many other reputable Siberians breeders (along with a lot of other helpful information!) on our LINKS page

If you are going to buy your kitten(s) from us, please be aware that we are not a large cat breeder who has kittens available immediately year 'round. Instead, we are a family who loves and raises Siberian cats in our home and does our best to match our kitten and its temperament and needs to the needs and preferences that you express to us.

This means that you will need to be patient while waiting for your kitten. While we do our best to ensure every family gets a kitten when they expect it by limiting our reservations to slightly less than the number of kittens we anticipate having in a given season, nature is still "the boss" and there are times that our queens (mama cats) have very small litters, which of course limits the number of kittens we will be able to place at that time.

Our Siberians are not a business - in ten years of breeding we have never once "broken even" - that means we lose money each and every year. Our Siberians are our beloved pets, and we adore the breed and do everything we humanly can to protect it and to provide our own Siberians and each kitten a happy and healthy life.

In other words, we spend more on raising your kitten healthily and properly than we make back in the purchase price for that kitten. If we wanted to earn money we'd have to 1) Decrease the quality and amount of foods we feed our kittens and adult parent Siberians 2) Provide less health care for them, and 3) we'd definitely need to stop our health testing program. In addition, 4) we would not be able to continually research and slowly import the rare foundation Siberian cats we are proud to include in our small breeding program. And finally, 5) we'd need to raise our prices. A LOT.

Since we focus more on health, temperament, and genetic diversity, there is more of a range in the appearance and size of our Siberians than there is in a cattery who is breeding with genetically limited lines for the show hall. If you are looking for a show kitten you will want to look for breeders who are spending a lot of time and money in the show halls - this is not us or our focus.

We are dedicated to answering all of your questions, including researching topics extensively when needed. However, please remember to be realistic about response time and repetitive questions. We are not a business - we are not "open" 24 hours a day, and we do need to sleep, spend time with each other, and engage in activities other than those related to placing kittens. Many of the issues and information people want is already published on our website/ blog/ and Facebook fan pages. Please be sure to carefully read all information we share with you as it will assist you in staying on track. You might wish to print this information out and save it in a binder to refer to as you progress in your kitten exploration.

We know you are eager to bring home your Siberian kitten and are spending a lot of your time thinking about this, researching it, and getting ready. We are delighted to help you with this. At the same time please remember that there are limited hours in the day and we spend an enormous amount of them with our cats, answering emails, sharing on Facebook and working on our website. We still need to have time to be with our family and to do "crazy things" like go to market and cook dinner - and even (GASP!) sleep! So if you are a buyer who is looking for instant replies and round the clock kitten placement, we suggest you look for a cattery focused on sales. You can find them by searching classified advertisements in places like craigs list for a low priced kitten, or looking for breeders who send their kittens home between 9 and 10 weeks of age, or finding a cattery with a lot of cats, or one who perhaps has a "buy now" button or page on their website. In that way you might be able to locate, purchase, and bring your Siberian home in two or three weeks.
       

A few "Yesses" for you:

* Yes, you can visit us to pick out your Siberian:)

* Yes, you can visit us for an in-person allergy challenge with one of our Siberians in your car.

* Yes, we now ae able to offer "off site" in person allergy challenges in some of the major cities in the USA and Canada.

* Yes, in most cases, if you are allergic you can get a fur sample instead of making the in-person visit.

* Yes, all of our our pet kittens are placed desexed, microchipped, and vaccinated. No exceptions, period.

                         > See comment above about working with a different breeder.

* Yes, our kittens go home between 12 and 16 weeks of age to allow for proper emotional and physical development. Each litter is different and the going home dates are set with the kittens' needs and best interest as our standard.

* Yes, occasionally we have retired Siberians available for a low cost (850 USD). These adult or teenaged Siberians have been raised for our breeding program. Sometimes they have been bred, other times we are retiring Siberians without having been bred. Retired Siberians vary in age from four months to two years old. We only place our Siberian Retirees in non smoking, non allergy, non asthma, single pet homes with either no children or those over the age of ten.

* And finally, Yes, we take breeding and raising our Siberians very seriously.

We encourage you to "Like" us on our Facebook Fan page ForestWind Siberian Cats , and to Facebook friend us at Kate Stryker. If you choose to work with us, you are also invited to request membership in our Siberian cat groups Siberian Cat Chat or If Cats Could Shop and also our newest group FAQs ForestWind Siberian Kittens and Cats.

At some point after you have made a Kitten Reservation, you will be added to the appropriate private Kitten Group on Facebook.  This is typically about 2 to 3 weeks after the Kittens are born. This group is only for those people with reservations for that exact litter. Your membership in this private Facebook Kitten Reservations Group allows us to fairly announce kitten availability, and to share kitten photos quickly. You are not required to join it. You can wait and receive updates via email instead if you prefer not to be on Facebook. In the meantime, ask for membership in our ForestWind Siberians FAQs group to learn all about how to prepare for you kitten's arrival and how to take care of him or her purrfectly once at home.

Getting a Siberian kitten from ForestWind is a collaborative process. We are learning about you and your needs, and you are learning about us and our Siberians. Please feel comfortable asking as many questions - and for as many clarifications - as you need. There are no "stupid" or "silly" questions - they are all good! Sometimes we will refer you to information on our website, in other instances the situation might be particular to you and your home and we will answer that with individually specific information

Take time to enjoy your kitten exploration! Well bred, healthy Siberians are a long lived breed, typically thriving for 13 to 18 years. Let's work together to make those 13 to 18 terrific years for you and for your Siberian!

Remember - to start this process we ask that interested folks take some time to read through the information we share - including the links to relevant pages on our web site - and share some basic information about themselves and the type of Siberian they would like to bring home.

If you or a family member is cat allergic or asthmatic, we have a bit more information gathering to do with you, so that we are able to supply the proper information for you to consider as you research buying a Siberian kitten.

Again, we welcome you to join us immediately on Facebook We have several fun and informative Siberian chat groups that our Kitten Families are welcome to join.  Anyone is welcomed to "Like" our ForestWind Siberians Facebook Fan, and we hope you will take advantage of these communities and resources

We also share information and advice via our ForestWind Siberian Cats Blog.

We look forward to our coming contact with you, and to answering any questions that our Facebook presence, ForestWind Siberian Cats web site and emails did not answer