The Home of Happy, Healthy Highlanders

So you may be wondering, how on earth did we get started? Well, one day my husband told me he wanted a bobcat. Having worked with many exotics and even interned at a small zoo, I could confidently tell him that he did NOT want a bobcat. At least not one that lived in the house. Exotic cats are wonderful, but they come with a host of challenges. Challenges that a family with several small children and a busy lifestyle might find very difficult to meet. What you want, I told him, is something that LOOKS like a bobcat. With that goal in mind, I was originally interested in the Pixie bob breed, but going down that rabbit hole of research led to me discovering the Highlanders. 

I decided to take a chance. 

I'm incredibly happy that I did. 

The rest, as they say...is history!

While perusing Hollyvale's fine selection of fantastic felines, you may notice that some of the cats appear to have curly fur.

This is no mere illusion! Some of our lovely denizens do, in fact, sport a rexed coat, and I'd like to take a moment to tell you why.

Once upon a time, Joe Childers set out to create his vision for the perfect breed of cat. He combined many traits to do so, but ultimately decided that a bit of variety was in order. To this end, he created four distinct cats:

The dessert Lynx, which had straight ears and a short tail.

The Highland lynx, which sported curled ears and a short tail, and would later become the foundation for the Highlander standard.

The Alpine Lynx: The same cat, but in solid in White.

And lastly, what he dubbed "The Mojave Bob". which was again, the same cat, but with a rexed coat.

All together, these four cat varieties were from the same gene pool, and only divided based on those few arbitrary traits. So when it came time to develop those cats into the modern Highlander that we know and love today, it made no sense to leave those cats which did not exactly fit the new standard out of an already limited breeding pool. 

Genetic diversity makes the world go round, and with the prevalence of non-standard polydactyl, if we eliminated every out of standard cat from our gene pool, we would experience significant bottle-necking.

However, the modern standard  and breed overall did receive some much needed refinement. White markings were disallowed from the show hall, and things like polydactyl paws, which had never been made part of the standard to begin with (but had been added to most of the lines by fad breeders chasing kitten sales), were formally outlawed by the board, on top of already being a DQ in the ring. 

Many serious show breeders have since put countless hours of effort into eliminating polydactyl from the bulk of our lines, the result of which can be seen in many cattery pages. I only ever have a few poly kittens on offer these days, as I avoid the trait whenever possible. It is neat, but it can cause many health issues in the wrist joints later in life. 

Most everyone in the Highlander community were perfectly fine with keeping our rexed variety alive, however, as their coats pose no significant health risks, and they have been here since the beginning, well before the poly paw fads swept through.

There was just one little problem.

Remember when I said the gene came from the Selkirk rex? Well, they retain stewardship over that gene, according to TICA, so although our darling rexed Highlanders have existed for over fourty years independently of the initial Selkirk rex outcross which first spawned them, we cannot add that gene to our official standard without their board's express permission. 

As Highlanders have been actively working towards full recognition for a number of years now, the potential conflict that actively seeking said permission might spark has been something we have avoided to be on the safe side. No hard feelings towards the Selkirk Rex people! You have lovely cats, we're just a bit intimidated to ask with everything else going on!

In any case, until we get that matter settled, we are unable to seek out recognition for this historically legitimate variety at this time. But it is my sincere hope that once we have completed our three years of probation and become fully cemented in the grand annals of TICA championship history, we may be able to open talks with the Selkirk board and be able to get them recognized. Aside from sharing a common gene, the rexed HIghlanders are so incredibly different from the Selkirk rex in both type and temperament that they should not be competing for any of the same space in the limelight or in pet homes, so there shouldn't be any conflict of interest there. 

But that is a conundrum for the future.

Until then, I have decided to dedicate a portion of my cattery space to simply preserving this uncommon, beloved variety of Highlander, and doing my best to educate others on their origins. 

The cats in my lines sporting this gene have no recent Selkirk rex heritage for the last fourty some-odd years, and have an extremely different coat texture and overall expression of the gene. They are very much their own thing.

If you are a prospective pet owner looking to add this amazing variety to your household, you've come to the right place, but please note that I only breed rex to smooth, so I have no way of guaranteeing rexed kittens. They take up a very small portion of my cattery resources, so they are available on a first come, first serve basis.

They are priced the same as every one of our other kittens, as our prices are based on the cost it takes to raise them, not any "rare" or sensational colors or traits. 

Alright, let's get down to business. 

While I dearly wish that I could just give these guys away...I am unable to do so without jeopardizing the future of my cattery. Our adorable kitties eat an extremely high-quality diet and run through a good 15lbs of litter a day, and that's not cheap...so we gotta talk pricing.

Hollyvale Kittens are $1500 as Pets, and $2000 with Full rights.

There is a $400 non-refundable deposit to reserve any particular kitten. Reservations typically open up when kittens are 4-6 weeks old, and are first come-first serve.  However, I do open reservations to those on my mailing list a week in advance of the public, so if you'd like to be notified ahead of time, feel free to send me a message.

As of 2026, ALL kittens sold as pets will leave here with a neuter agreement contract, and their papers will be withheld until that contract is completed. This is a change from my previous policy of neutering before they leave, which I've unfortunately had to adopt due to difficulties in sourcing clinics willing to alter kittens before 6 months old. Kittens may be picked up at 12 weeks old minimum (some exceptions may be made for those traveling and needing specific travel dates, but no kitten may be picked up before 10 weeks), and I reserve the right to keep them longer if I feel they need extra time. 

Show standard kittens with good breed type are only available to show homes at this time. 

Every so often, I will discount older kittens or those with minor cosmetic flaws. If you'd like to be added to the discount notification mailing list, please let me know. 

-Currently, I use cat scan DNA or Optimal selection(wisdom panel) to genetically health test my breeding cats. Results of these tests are available to kitten buyers upon request. 

-All vaccines aside from rabies are currently done in-house. They are bulk-ordered from a veterinary supply and shipped overnight in proper conditions. We currently vaccinate for FVCRP at least once before kittens go home. With our vet's current recommended schedule, they are due for second shots right at twelve weeks, in which case, they should receive those after pickup.

-kittens may optionally come with a dose of Selepro or nexguard combo flea prevention.

-We currently feed Mazuri small exotic feline Dry Food, which while marketed towards zoo cats, is perfectly safe for domestics. Our wet foods of choice are Dave's brand, Weruva, and Nulo all life stages, which we feed in rotation. Weaning kittens are occassionally supplemented with Fox Valley day one kitten formula. 

Payment plans:

Payment plans are available, however they must be completed within a timely manner. 

I require a $400 deposit to hold a kitten. I am willing to be flexible on additional payment timelines, but there will be a firm pay-by date negotiated with each individual buyer. Barring extreme circumstances, any kittens not paid for by the negotiated date will be refunded and placed back on the market, sans deposit fee.

Kittens must be paid in full before pickup. No exceptions. 

Guardian Homes: I have a limited guardian home program for those who are interested in owning an intact show cat and are willing to actively show them. There is still an adoption fee for these kittens, but it is reduced. The kitten will be under co-ownership with TICA. Applicants for this program are to be considered on an individual basis. 

I am currently able to meet kitten buyers at Logan Internation airport in Boston for out of state kitten pickup.  I also have a small list of ground shippers.