About Us
Dark Moon is a Maine Coon hobby Cattery located in Muizenberg - seaside suburb of Cape Town, South Africa . We are registered with The Southern Africa Cat Council (SACC) since 2015.
Our cats play very important part in our family and share our home (and beds) with us. All of our cats are living in harmony with each other in loving and stress free environment. We alternate the time between our working boys and girls so each of them gets the run of the house, catio and garden. Our garden is safe and secure and provides extra space for our cats to run, climb trees, roll on the grass as well as catch butterflies and other creatures. This way we make sure our cats get enough exercise and mental stimulation so they are happy and healthy at all times. Kittens are born in one of our bedrooms and receive lots of love, cuddles and attention from early days. Once kittens get older and are ready to leave their "safe nest", they start exploring (under the watchful eye of their mom) the rest of the house, meet our other cats and dogs and enjoy the catio with its climbing cat trees, extra toys and place to run.
Our goal is to breed healthy and beautiful cats who comply with the Maine Coon breed standard - cats with excellent substance, strong legs, long bushy tail, shaggy hair, large ears with lynx tufts and most importantly - calm and loving temperament.
Breeding requires constant education and gaining new experiences on ongoing basis. We attend cat shows regularly, webinars and seminars whenever possible, and share breeding experiences with other breeders - locally and internationally via online forums.
Health of our cats and kittens is very important to us - all of our breeding cats receive regular examinations by our trusted veterinarian and are genetically tested for HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) and/or PKDef (Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency) at Inquaba Biotec laboratory.
Our cats play very important part in our family and share our home (and beds) with us. All of our cats are living in harmony with each other in loving and stress free environment. We alternate the time between our working boys and girls so each of them gets the run of the house, catio and garden. Our garden is safe and secure and provides extra space for our cats to run, climb trees, roll on the grass as well as catch butterflies and other creatures. This way we make sure our cats get enough exercise and mental stimulation so they are happy and healthy at all times. Kittens are born in one of our bedrooms and receive lots of love, cuddles and attention from early days. Once kittens get older and are ready to leave their "safe nest", they start exploring (under the watchful eye of their mom) the rest of the house, meet our other cats and dogs and enjoy the catio with its climbing cat trees, extra toys and place to run.
Our goal is to breed healthy and beautiful cats who comply with the Maine Coon breed standard - cats with excellent substance, strong legs, long bushy tail, shaggy hair, large ears with lynx tufts and most importantly - calm and loving temperament.
Breeding requires constant education and gaining new experiences on ongoing basis. We attend cat shows regularly, webinars and seminars whenever possible, and share breeding experiences with other breeders - locally and internationally via online forums.
Health of our cats and kittens is very important to us - all of our breeding cats receive regular examinations by our trusted veterinarian and are genetically tested for HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) and/or PKDef (Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency) at Inquaba Biotec laboratory.
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What we feed
DIY BALANCED RAW DIET
Correct nutrition is the key to a happy and healthy cat; and we believe a raw and natural balanced diet is the best one we can offer to our Maine Coons.
It all started after numerous ongoing health issues while feeding (well known brand) dry food. As three of our cats showed different health problems, we were told to feed each cat different "prescription" dry food, which we did for a while, with absolutely no difference. After many vet bills and no real improvement, we started to look into alternatives. Our dogs were fed with pre-made B.A.R.F. food for numerous years with great success, so it just made sense to feed our cats with "species appropriate diet" too.
Cats are obligate (true) carnivores who must eat meat in order to thrive.
We spent months researching and reaching out to other raw feeders, who were extremely helpful to share their knowledge and resources with us. Thanks to social media we joined various support groups and learned a lot in a relatively small space of time and decided the home made balanced raw diet was a way to go!
The results?
* healthy gums with shiny teeth
* glossy coat
* optimal weight with visible muscle tone
* no more food allergy
* no digestive issues
* sufficient water intake
* smaller, firmer and less smelly "number 2's"
We follow 80:10:10 ratio - which means 80% boneless meat, 10% bones, 10% organs (from which at least 5% is liver) plus egg yolks, fish oil, milk kefir and other supplements. Feeding your cat with chicken breasts or beef mince only doesn't qualify as a balanced diet, so please do your research properly or buy from reputable pre-made raw food suppliers. Feeding unbalanced food can seriously harm your cat.
Our research sources:
Cat Nutrition
Dr Lisa A Pierson
Dr Karen Becker
Cats Completely Raw And Proud
We Feed Raw S.A.
LittleAngels Pet Nutrition
DIY BALANCED RAW DIET
Correct nutrition is the key to a happy and healthy cat; and we believe a raw and natural balanced diet is the best one we can offer to our Maine Coons.
It all started after numerous ongoing health issues while feeding (well known brand) dry food. As three of our cats showed different health problems, we were told to feed each cat different "prescription" dry food, which we did for a while, with absolutely no difference. After many vet bills and no real improvement, we started to look into alternatives. Our dogs were fed with pre-made B.A.R.F. food for numerous years with great success, so it just made sense to feed our cats with "species appropriate diet" too.
Cats are obligate (true) carnivores who must eat meat in order to thrive.
We spent months researching and reaching out to other raw feeders, who were extremely helpful to share their knowledge and resources with us. Thanks to social media we joined various support groups and learned a lot in a relatively small space of time and decided the home made balanced raw diet was a way to go!
The results?
* healthy gums with shiny teeth
* glossy coat
* optimal weight with visible muscle tone
* no more food allergy
* no digestive issues
* sufficient water intake
* smaller, firmer and less smelly "number 2's"
We follow 80:10:10 ratio - which means 80% boneless meat, 10% bones, 10% organs (from which at least 5% is liver) plus egg yolks, fish oil, milk kefir and other supplements. Feeding your cat with chicken breasts or beef mince only doesn't qualify as a balanced diet, so please do your research properly or buy from reputable pre-made raw food suppliers. Feeding unbalanced food can seriously harm your cat.
Our research sources:
Cat Nutrition
Dr Lisa A Pierson
Dr Karen Becker
Cats Completely Raw And Proud
We Feed Raw S.A.
LittleAngels Pet Nutrition
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