Queen Daphne

*more photos incoming eventually, we have not taken Daphne’s “professional” photos yet as an adult!*

From the moment she arrived, Daphne made it very apparent that she was born to be a Queen. Daphne came to us as a kitten, and her quarantine (we quarantine all new arrivals for 2-3 weeks minimum) ended right as baby Artemis was born. Artemis was born a singleton, and while Artemis’s mother, Persephone, is one of our most exceptional mom cats, the birth of a singleton can sometimes reset a Queen’s cycles. While Persephone was busy going right back into heat and didn’t spend too much time with Artemis, sweet baby Daphne quickly glued herself to Artemis’s side and helped us raise her. The two remain inseparable.

Videos and photos of the two can be found on our social media, especially our “Elysian Litter” instagram highlight reels. Daphne is an incredibly gentle girl who loves all other cats and especially kittens, related to her or not.

Despite her two-faced appearance, Daphne is not actually a Chimera cat (a cat with two distinct sets of DNA), she is simply a split faced tortie which is not entirely uncommon in tortoiseshell cats. Even so, she certainly has quite a striking appearance!

Daphne is one of our best-hipped girls, boasting Normal/Normal hip grades (typically correlates to OFA good or excellent), Normal/Normal patellas, and has two clear heart scans so far – one when she was a kitten, and one at age 1. 

Daphne is clear on all currently identifiable genetic disease markers through Orivet, including but certainly not limited to HCM, PKD, PkDef, and SMA. It is important to note that just like in humans, there are many things that a simple DNA swab cannot test for, which is why physical scans such as hip and patella screenings, heart echocardiograms, and regular bloodwork, are vital in any breeding program.