Some cats are beautiful.

Some cats are beautiful and worth building a breeding program around.

Hailene is the latter.

This Chinchilla Silver girl is the kind of female that makes you stop and seriously consider what she could bring to the next generation.

She has a genetically valuable combination that isn’t easy to find—she carries silver, golden, and blue golden, giving the right program access to the full spectrum of colors within this division. And in a division prized for its distinctive blue-green eye color, that makes her genetics particularly exciting.

And genetically valuable is only part of the picture.

Hailene has the qualities I want to see in a breeding female:

• A smooth skull
• Large, expressive green eyes
• Minimal tearing
• A good-sized nose
• Beautiful mascara, softened slightly by her dilute genetics
• An exceptionally large, luxurious coat
• No breeder defects

Could her tail be shorter? Sure. Could her ears be smaller? Of course.

But when you’re evaluating a breeding cat, you don’t throw away an otherwise exceptional package because two minor features aren’t perfect. You look at the whole cat—and what she can contribute.

Hailene has the beauty, the coat, the eyes, the structure, the genetics, and most importantly, the potential to produce something truly special in the right program.

That makes her a girl I would be very selective about placing.

Hailene is being considered exclusively for an ethical, like-minded breeder who understands the responsibility that comes with adding a girl like this to their program.

The question isn’t whether she’s worth keeping.

The question is whether the right breeder is out there for her.

Will she stay with me, or will Hailene become the foundation of something exceptional somewhere else?