Our Guardian Home Program allows select female kittens who are being observed as potential future breeding queens to grow up as beloved family pets in permanent, loving homes.
Your guardian kitten is your family's kitty from the day she comes home. She grows up with you, bonds with your family, and enjoys normal everyday life in the home that is intended to remain hers for life.
Gypsy Siberians retains legal ownership and exclusive breeding rights during the program. Once she completes her breeding career, she is spayed at our expense, full legal ownership and her pedigree are transferred to you, and she simply continues living with the family she has always known and loved.
Being placed as a guardian kitten does not automatically mean she will be bred.
The first year of her life is focused on allowing her to grow, mature, and simply be a kitten. During this time, Gypsy Siberians will observe her overall development, temperament, structure, and suitability for our breeding program.
She will not begin her breeding career until she is fully mature, typically around 12–14 months of age or later, and has successfully completed and passed all required health testing.
If at any point we determine that breeding is not in her best interest, her health and wellbeing will always come first.
We believe breeding cats deserve to be cherished family pets first and breeding cats second.
Rather than keeping numerous intact females together in a traditional cattery environment, our guardian program gives each future queen:
This allows us to responsibly preserve the Siberian breed without sacrificing the quality of life of the cats who make our program possible.
Your queen lives with you throughout the program, including throughout the majority of her pregnancy. She continues enjoying her normal home life with her family while pregnant rather than spending her entire pregnancy away from home.
When she reaches the final portion of her pregnancy, she will temporarily return to Gypsy Siberians so she has time to settle comfortably into our maternity area before delivery. She will remain with us to safely deliver and raise her kittens under our care and supervision.
Once her kittens are fully weaned and she is ready to leave them, she returns home to her family and resumes her normal life with you until her next breeding cycle.
She may also occasionally need to return to Gypsy Siberians for breeding, health testing, veterinary care related to breeding, or other program related needs.
Most queens participate for approximately 4–6 years and may have up to 4–6 carefully spaced litters, depending entirely on their individual health, recovery, and wellbeing. Queens are not bred consecutively, and every breeding decision is made individually with her best interest first.
As a courtesy, the Guardian Family receives $50 for each live kitten.
A $950 guardianship deposit is required. Gypsy Siberians retains legal ownership and breeding rights during the program, while your guardian kitten lives with you as her permanent family companion.
Guardian families are responsible for everyday care, including food, litter, preventative care, routine veterinary care, and required pet insurance. Gypsy Siberians covers breeding-related veterinary care, breeding health testing, pregnancy related care, and her spay at retirement.
After she successfully completes the program, the $950 deposit becomes her total purchase price, and full ownership and her pedigree are permanently transferred to you.
If the guardianship is no longer a good fit during the program, she must be returned to Gypsy Siberians and may never be independently sold, transferred, or rehomed. If returned in good health according to the agreement, the guardianship deposit is refunded.
Guardian families must live within approximately 1–2 hours of the Treasure Coast, Florida and be comfortable with the communication and flexibility that come with caring for a potential breeding queen.
Most importantly, this is not temporary fostering.
Our goal is for each guardian kitten to enter her forever home as a kitten, grow up with one family, and remain with that same family throughout her breeding career and long after retirement.
Will she actually be our cat?
Yes! From a family and companionship standpoint, she is your kitty from the day she comes home. Gypsy Siberians simply retains legal ownership and exclusive breeding rights during the program. After retirement, legal ownership and her pedigree transfer to you.
Is she guaranteed to become a breeding queen?
No. She is placed as a potential future breeding queen and will be observed as she matures. She must develop appropriately and successfully complete all required health testing before being approved for breeding.
When would she have her first litter?
We do not breed our guardian kittens while they are still developing. She must be fully mature and pass her health testing before beginning her breeding career, typically around 12–14 months of age or later.
How often will my guardian queen have a litter?
We typically plan for our guardian queens to have approximately one litter per year, which is our preferred breeding schedule. Some females are naturally stronger or more frequent cyclers, and in those cases, we may plan 1–2 litters per year, depending on the individual queen.
Between planned litters, we may use hormone management when appropriate to help manage repeated heat cycles while allowing her body time to recover.
Every queen is different, so breeding schedules are based on her health, body condition, reproductive history, cycling patterns, and overall well-being. Our queens health always comes before a breeding schedule, and plans may be adjusted at any time if we feel it is in her best interest.
Does she live with us full-time?
Yes. She lives with you as her permanent family companion throughout the program and remains home with you throughout the majority of her pregnancy.
Toward the end of her pregnancy, she temporarily returns to Gypsy Siberians so she can become comfortable in her maternity space before delivering. She remains with us for delivery and while raising and nursing her kittens. Once her kittens are fully weaned, she returns home to her family.
She may also have shorter stays with us when necessary for breeding or other breeding-related needs.
What happens when she retires?
She is spayed at our expense, full legal ownership and her pedigree transfer to you, and she remains exactly where she belongs, with the family she has known since kittenhood.
What if the guardianship isnt the right fit for our family?
We understand that bringing a new cat into your home is a big commitment, which is why we offer an initial 60 day trial period before asking your family to fully commit to the Guardian Home Program.
This gives everyone time to settle in, bond, and make sure the guardian kitten is a good fit for your family and lifestyle. If during those first 60 days you feel guardianship isn't the right fit, she may be returned to Gypsy Siberians according to the terms of the guardian agreement.
After the trial period, the guardianship goal is intended to be a permanent, lifelong commitment. We want our guardian kittens to grow up with one family and remain with that family throughout their breeding career and retirement.
We also understand that unexpected life circumstances can happen. If guardianship can no longer continue at any point, she must be returned to Gypsy Siberians and may never be privately sold, transferred, or rehomed.
Considering Two Guardian Kitties?
Some of our guardian families choose to start with one guardian kitten and later welcome a second guardian kitty into their home. This can be a wonderful arrangement, especially since there will be periods during a queen's breeding career when she temporarily returns to Gypsy Siberians toward the end of her pregnancy for delivery and to raise her litter.
Having a second kitty at home means each girl has a familiar companion throughout everyday life, and the kitty remaining at home still has feline company while the other queen is temporarily with us caring for her kittens.
We have found that two guardian queens often do very well together, particularly when they grow up together or are introduced while young.
There is absolutely no requirement to have two guardian cats, but for families who eventually want two Siberians, becoming a guardian for a second queen can be a wonderful option.
Can I ask questions before applying?
Absolutely. We want every family to fully understand the commitment before becoming a guardian. The best guardian relationships are built on communication, trust, flexibility, and a shared commitment to putting the cat's wellbeing first.