Health Standards at Solette

Health testing separates responsible breeding programs from purely commercial ones, and it's a subject we take seriously enough to document thoroughly and share openly with every family who considers a Solette kitten. Here's exactly what our health protocol involves, for both breeding cats and kittens.

HCM Screening: Protecting Against the Breed's Main Cardiac Concern

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common heart condition in cats generally, and British Shorthairs and Longhairs are among the breeds where genetic predisposition has been documented. Every breeding cat in our program undergoes echocardiogram screening by a veterinary cardiologist before being paired, and we repeat this screening periodically throughout a breeding cat's active years, since HCM can develop later in life.

PKD Testing: A Straightforward DNA Screen

Polycystic kidney disease is the other significant genetic health concern relevant to the breed, and unlike HCM, it can be definitively screened through a straightforward DNA test rather than imaging. We test every breeding cat and only pair PKD-negative cats, which effectively eliminates the risk of passing this particular condition to kittens.

Recommended image: veterinary cardiologist performing an echocardiogram. Alt text: "Echocardiogram heart screening for a Solette breeding cat"

FeLV and FIV Testing

Feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus testing is standard practice for every breeding cat entering our program, protecting both our existing cats and any future litters from these serious, transmissible viral diseases.

Kitten Deworming Protocol

Because kittens are commonly born with roundworms passed from their mother, we follow a structured deworming schedule beginning at a few weeks of age and continuing through several rounds before kittens go to new homes at twelve weeks. This complete history is documented and shared with every family.

Vaccination Before Going Home

Every kitten receives its initial FVRCP vaccination series before leaving our care, with full documentation so a new family's veterinarian can seamlessly continue the schedule. We cover the complete vaccine timeline in our dedicated Vaccinations guide.

Microchipping

Every kitten is microchipped before going to its new home, providing a permanent form of identification that stays with the cat for life, registered appropriately for international travel where relevant, since many of our kittens go on to live abroad.

Health Passport Documentation

Each kitten leaves with a complete health passport documenting vaccinations, deworming treatments, microchip details, and any veterinary examinations performed, giving new owners and their veterinarians a clear, complete starting point.

Sterilization for Pet-Quality Kittens

Kittens placed as pets rather than for future breeding are sterilized as part of our health program, timed appropriately for the individual kitten's health and development, protecting against unplanned breeding and certain long-term health risks associated with remaining intact.

Why We Test Before Breeding, Not Just at Sale

Testing breeding cats before they're ever paired, rather than only testing kittens after birth, is what actually prevents passing on avoidable genetic conditions in the first place. A kitten with clean parents starts from a fundamentally stronger position than one whose parents were never screened, regardless of how healthy that individual kitten might appear at eight weeks old.

Ongoing Health Monitoring Throughout a Breeding Cat's Life

Health testing doesn't stop after a cat's first clearance — we continue periodic monitoring throughout each breeding cat's active years, since some conditions, HCM in particular, can develop or progress over time. This ongoing vigilance is part of what distinguishes a genuinely health-focused breeding program from one that tests once and considers the job done.

Transparency With Every Family

We share health testing documentation for a kitten's parents openly with interested families, and we're upfront about the limitations of genetic testing — no protocol eliminates all possible health risk, but a thorough one significantly reduces it. This transparency is central to the trust we aim to build with every family from the very first conversation.

Working With Trusted Veterinary Partners

Our health protocol depends on a strong working relationship with veterinarians experienced in feline cardiology and genetics, not simply following a checklist on our own. This partnership means our testing reflects current best practice and gives us a trusted second opinion whenever a result needs closer interpretation before a breeding decision is made.

How Our Standards Compare to Minimum Requirements

WCF registration itself doesn't mandate the specific health testing protocol we follow — our HCM screening, PKD testing, and FeLV/FIV testing go beyond the baseline requirements for registration. We've chosen this higher standard because we believe genuine responsibility in breeding means doing more than the minimum required to register a litter.

What Happens When a Test Result Isn't Clear

Occasionally a screening result falls into a genuinely ambiguous range rather than a clean pass or fail, and in these cases we always err on the side of caution, seeking a specialist's follow-up opinion or repeating testing rather than proceeding with an uncertain result. We would rather delay or forgo a planned pairing than take a chance with a result we're not fully confident in.

Health Standards Extending to Our Adult, Non-Breeding Cats

Cats in our home that aren't part of the active breeding program still receive the same standard of veterinary care, nutrition, and attention as our breeding cats, reflecting a genuine commitment to animal welfare rather than a standard that only applies to cats with direct breeding value. Every cat under our roof is a family member first.

Retirement for Breeding Cats

Breeding cats that reach the end of their active breeding years don't leave our home — they retire into the same family life they've always known, continuing to receive full veterinary care and attention for the rest of their lives. We consider this an essential, non-negotiable part of responsible breeding, not an optional kindness.

How Health Standards Influence Long-Term Reputation

A cattery's reputation is ultimately built kitten by kitten, over years, based on the actual health and temperament outcomes families experience at home. Our health standards exist because we're accountable for those outcomes long after any individual sale, and thirteen-plus years of consistent testing and documentation is what has allowed us to build the track record families rely on when choosing us.

Questions We Encourage Families to Ask

We welcome, and genuinely encourage, families to ask pointed questions about specific test results, veterinary providers we work with, and how we handle an unclear result, since these questions are exactly what separates cautious due diligence from simply taking a breeder's word for it. A breeder unwilling to answer these questions in detail is itself a meaningful red flag worth noticing.

Standing Behind Our Health Standards Publicly

We've published this level of health testing detail publicly, rather than only sharing it when directly asked, because we believe accountability works best when it's visible by default. Any family comparing breeders is welcome to use this same level of specificity as a benchmark for evaluating other catteries, not just ours, since informed comparison ultimately benefits kittens and families everywhere, not only those who choose Solette.