Úse to be a IRCA registered Honey
Bear Cattery
We don't breed them anymore, but
on this website you can still read all about
Honey Bear Cats!!!
Honey Heaven
Honey Bear Cattery came to earth in 1994 with the arrival of the first
foundation breeding pair: Ashley and Huggy Bear. Their first litter was
born June 19th 1995. Honey Heaven's Honey Bears are located in the Netherlands,
but as of spring 2000 we no longer breed them. Other IRCA cattery's are
located in the USA and Canada.
If you
want to know about kitten availability or contact other Honey Bear breeders,
please contact Jeannie Jones. Jeannie is the recorder for IRCA since Ann passed
away.
Let op, er zijn geen fokkers of beschikbare
kittens buiten de Verenigde Staten!!
What does a
Honey Bear look like?
Shaded silver kittens, 5 weeks old
|
Ashley and Huggy Bear in their 'wintercoat' |
The Honey
Bear is a large clown like cat. They are full of curiosity, spirit, have a
child-like personality, and are eager for love and praise. Occasionally their
self-preservation instinct will make them hide from a person until they feel
safe and comfortable. Each cat is different and will react differently to
each person. Some people say their Honey Bear is more like a dog than a cat.
Others say theirs likes to take showers with them. Some love to follow you around,
assuring they don't miss out on a thing. They thrive on love and attention.
The more you massage their back and neck the more relaxed they get Honey Bears are rather clumsy. They are so busy
playing and running that sometimes they fall or run into things. Honey Bears
are usually large and gentle, possessing the intelligence and alertness of
wild animals and the skunk's reluctance to fight. |
What does a Honey
Bear look like?
|
Ashley, shaded silver queen |
Honey Bear
heads are ideally broad like the Persian, but some are shaped more like a
little skunk with the thinner nose. They have a
medium or short nose, eyes are round to slightly almond shaped at the outer
edge. Eye colors vary. I have seen gold, green-gold, golden-brown, or
occasionally orange-copper. Ears are
medium or short in size, tilted forward, have rounded tips, frequently with
long tufts of hair at the tips, and are set slightly to the side of the
head. |
|
The neck is
characteristically short. Paws are big
and rounded and have large tufts of fur between the toes. The back legs are
usually longer than the front due to the depth of the flank. Tails are
ideally short and should touch the neck when pulled forward. It can be full,
raccoon styled, or skunk like and is normally carried high over the back or
in a low dragging style behind the animal. Some cats wear them straight up. |
Their bodies
are stocky and set low on the legs, which are medium to short in
length.
Huggy Bear, grey male-stud |
|
Shaded silver female 9 1/2 months old in her
cool 'summercoat' |
Coats are seasonal
and adept to the local weather even though the Honey Bear cat is a strictly
indoor animal. Sometimes the fur gets so long that it parts down in the
center of the back and tail. You will find only an occasional mat that is
easy to remove if caught early. Most kittens are born covered with many
perfect stripes. Usually the stripes will lighten as the kittens get older,
but it's not uncommon for the fur to darken again later. These cats do change
color as they age, and stripes will normally act one of three ways. They will
break up into spots, get blotchy, or shade out to the cats' predominant
color. If the stripes do remain, it will normally be around the legs, the
tails and the head and face area. A dark stripe along the cats back and tail
is normal, but will fade with age. |
The Honey Bear
is slow to mature and takes about 2 years to reach their full growth. The
average Honey Bear male, when fully mature will tip the scale at 12-17 pounds while
females will run from 8-12 pounds. There have been cats that weigh as much as
25 pounds. Males are naturally heavier and larger, especially the ones that
have been neutered.
Black tiger and blue kitten, 9 weeks old
|
It is rare
for them to be fighting and hissing at other cats or dogs in the new
household. It's as if they wait for the other animals to calm down and make
friends. Honey Bears are not territorial and spraying males are extremely
rare. They are very easygoing and very lovable. They will more often
hide before they will fight. If they feel trapped, they will most likely
bite, instead of scratching like most cats.
Not all Honey
Bear will purr or meow. They all can, but for some reason there are those
that choose not to make a sound on most occasions. Nothing surprises me with
the Honey Bear.
|
Peach tiger and black kitten, 9 weeks old |
.
A Honey Bear
is a breed of cats that was first bred by Mrs. Ann Baker (California USA) She
said that selected genes from a skunk were deposited in a female cat, which was
then mated with a male cat. The pregnant cat was then given to Ann Baker
as a gift. The kittens resembled young skunks, being born silver and later turning
black with stripes along the head, back or underside. Ann Baker recognized the
great purr-sonallity of the kittens born and (line) bred the males with Persian
females until pure Honey Bears were created.
The Honey Bear
was so named because, in 'sticky' weather, the cats flatten their bodies
against the cool floor, thrusting their legs out to the side, With their long
fur, they resembled bear rugs.
|
|
Silver Cedrik, shaded silver (neutered) male.
Owned by Marijke & Edwin |
|
The Honey Bear is a controlled breed of cat. No one can change the breed
to suit his or her desires. All rules and regulations are made by the
International Ragdoll Cat Association Inc., (IRCA) and all breeders abide by
its decisions as agreed to in their contract agreement with IRCA.
IRCA was founded by Ann Baker to register and
protect the Cherubim breeds: Ragdoll, Miracle Ragdoll and Honey Bears. All
breed names are registered at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Trademarks were transferred to the IRCA breeders in 1990, Ann Baker stayed
president until she died January 1997. Jeannie Jones, Honey Bear
breeder for 15 years, who has great knowledge of the lines and breeding
programs, is now the recorder for IRCA and takes care of our registries so we
can still ensure the purity of the breed.
Honey Angels Cattery (Dutch) Henny and Jan have a homepage for their 4
Honey Heavens Honey Bear!
HoneyBear Kittens home page of a Honey Bear cattery in the USA
Livonia Marijke has a Maine Coon cattery, but also
owns 2 Honey Heaven Honey Bears!
home back to Petra's WebPages en CarismaCats
Munchkin Cattery
Thanks for visiting Honey Heaven!
Last updated on 25-05-2003
