When choosing a British Shorthair kitten, it is easy to compare photographs and prices. What is harder to see is everything that happened before that photograph was taken.
A thoughtfully bred kitten is the result of work that begins long before birth.
Before the Kitten Is Born
Responsible breeding starts with the parents.
Pedigree, bloodlines, health, temperament and genetic information all matter when planning a litter. DNA and health testing help breeders identify known risks and make more informed breeding decisions.
Testing cannot guarantee perfect health for life — no breeder can promise that. Its purpose is to reduce avoidable risks and breed with knowledge rather than chance.
That distinction matters.
The First Months Matter
After birth, the focus shifts from breeding decisions to daily care.
Quality nutrition, a clean and safe environment, veterinary examinations, vaccination, deworming, microchipping, monitoring and socialization all contribute to a kitten’s development.
This work is rarely visible in an advertisement.
A photograph can show beautiful eyes, a plush coat and a sweet expression. It cannot show the health testing behind the parents, the veterinary records, the quality of daily care or the time invested in raising a confident, well-socialized kitten.
Yet these are some of the most important things a family is choosing.
Price and Value Are Not the Same Thing
A higher price alone is never proof of responsible breeding, and a lower price alone does not mean that a kitten will be unhealthy.
The meaningful difference is what stands behind the price.
Before choosing a kitten, ask:
Were the parents health and genetically tested?
Is the pedigree documented?
How were the kittens raised?
What veterinary care have they received?
What documentation will accompany the kitten?
Is there a written agreement?
Will the breeder remain available after the kitten goes home?
These questions tell you much more than a price tag ever can.
Think Beyond Today
The purchase of a kitten is one moment. Life with that kitten may last many years.
Once a kitten becomes part of your family, its health and well-being become deeply personal. Unexpected veterinary care can be costly, but the greater concern is often not the bill — it is seeing an animal you love unwell.
Responsible breeding cannot eliminate every future health problem.
What it can do is replace unnecessary uncertainty with testing, knowledge, careful decisions and responsible early care.
That is where its real value lies.
The Royal Markys Standard
At Royal Markys British Shorthair Cattery, our work begins before a litter is planned.
Our breeding decisions take into account pedigree, bloodlines, genetics, health and temperament. Our breeding cats undergo health and genetic testing, and our pedigrees and registrations are documented.
Our kittens are raised in our home with careful attention to nutrition, hygiene, development and socialization. Before joining their new families, they receive veterinary care, age-appropriate vaccinations and deworming, microchipping and individual documentation.
And our relationship with our families does not end when a kitten goes home.
For us, responsible breeding is not about producing more kittens.
It is about knowing why a breeding decision is made, how every kitten is raised and what we are prepared to stand behind.
Look Beyond the Kitten
When you see a kitten you love, look beyond the photograph.
Look at the parents.
Look at the health testing.
Look at the pedigree.
Look at the conditions in which the kitten was raised.
Look at the veterinary care and documentation.
Look at the breeder behind it all.
Because you are not simply choosing a kitten.
You are choosing the foundation on which its life began.
And when that kitten is going to become part of your family, that foundation is worth understanding.
Royal Markys British Shorthair Cattery
British Columbia, Canada
Serving families across Canada and the USA