Ankober Cattery is situated at Paparoa in Northland owned by Thelma Blythen.

NZCF Registered Breeder

All cats and kittens are registered with the New Zealand Cat Fancy

Abyssinians, which I have been breeding since 1985, are my first love, particularly ruddys and sorrels. In 1994 my husband thought he would like a Burmese, and since that time we have always had one or two Burmese queens and have recently bought our first Burmese stud.

I aim to breed healthy, sociable, quality cats and my kittens are all raised in our home where they can adjust to visitors and normal household noises, and learn acceptable etiquette before going to their new homes.

My cats have been successful on the show bench with the high-light being in 2004 when my beautiful tawny stud, Gold Double Grand Champion Merindalee My Name's Bond, was Best Shorthair Cat at the National Show and also won the Annual NZCF Award for that year. Bondie continues to show well as an older cat and is passing on both type and his wonderful temperament to his kittens.

As all my Abyssinians are dna tested for both Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency and Progressive Retinal Atrophy, and the Burmese for Burmese Hypokalemia, I can guarantee that none of my kittens will be affected by these conditions.

Erythrocyte Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency Erythrocyte Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PK Deficiency) causes an inherited hemolytic anemia. The anaemia is intermittent, the age of onset is variable and clinical signs are also variable. Symptoms of this anaemia can include: severe lethargy, weakness, weight loss, jaundice, and abdominal enlargement. This condition is inherited as an autosomal recessive, two copies of the mutation are present in affected cats. Carriers, cats that have one copy of the mutation, are not affected.

Progressive Retinal Atrophy Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) causes an inherited late-onset blindness. Cats affected by this condition have normal vision at birth, going blind between ages 3 and 5 years. There is no treatment available. The disease is inherited as an autosomal recessive; two copies of the mutation are present in affected cats. Carriers, cats that have one copy of the mutation, are not affected and have normal vision.

Burmese Hypokalemia  Burmese Hypokalemia is characterised by episodes of  low serum potassium levels  and high CPK (an enzyme that indicates muscle damage). Clinical signs include skeletal muscle weakness, which is episodic in nature and can affect the whole animal or may be localised to certain muscles.  It is an autosomal recessive disease caused by a mutated gene.