Breeder: Bunny Trembler
Address: 10283 Klondike Rd
City, State, Zip: Niangua, MO 65713
USDA License: 43-A-3321
Date of CAPS Investigation: 08/17/18
Time of CAPS Investigation: 17:47
Weather at time of investigation: 84°F and partly cloudy
Approximate number of dogs observed at time of investigation: about 6 cats and 35 kittens
Breeds: Himalayans, Exotic Shorthairs, Russian Blues
Bunny Trembler (Caucasian female, about 55 years old, 5’6”, 180 lbs with curly brown hair) showed me her whelping barn. It was one of two barns behind her residence, and both barns had air conditioning units attached to them and were fully enclosed. This indicates one barn is for whelping while the other holds breeding cats.
Bunny said that she sells selling “mainly to pet stores,” and later added she sells to a pet store in New York. Bunny said she didn’t have to worry about stores checking in on her, but that she is state and USDA inspected, with inspectors visiting her once a year. She said she has bred cats for 20 years.
Whelping barn
The whelping barn had seven banks of stacked cages. Six of the banks were stacked three cages high, each cage about 3.5 feet long, 20 inches wide, and between 20 inches and three feet tall. Cages had untreated wire shelves in them, partially covered with plastic sheets. The cages had untreated wire walls and ceilings, and either untreated wire floors with sold plastic sheets or treated wire floorings. The other bank of cages had two cages of similar dimensions with the cages about two feet tall. Its cages were made of treated wire.
Either a single pregnant cat, a litter of kittens, or a whelping cat and kittens were in each cage. Cages had food and water dishes, litter boxes containing litter, and bare plastic litter boxes that were empty in which some cats were laying in and using as whelping boxes. No other enrichment of any kind was in the cages.