RKB MENTOR/APPRENTICE CODE OF ETHICS

• A Mentor must try their best to give full disclosure about the pitfalls of breeding, the need for space, the expenses and investments that may occur, and the emotional toll all breeders must eventually deal with.  Don't let them go in with the idea that breeding is a breeze and they will make gobs of money with little investment.

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• An Apprentice must consider whether they have the time, energy, space, budget, and emotional readiness to deal with the realities of breeding.

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• An Apprentice must only breed RagaMuffins and may not be allowed to breed any other breeds while they are an Apprentice.  

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• A Mentor must be willing to make him/herself available to their Apprentice for questions or concerns regarding their breeding cats, kittens, necessary equipment, veterinary questions and concerns, RagaMuffin husbandry questions and concerns when the Apprentice's first birthing happens at 3 am.

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• An Apprentice must be willing to accept boundaries, your Mentor may not answer texts right away because they are busy.  If you're dealing with an emergency, call your Mentor on the way to the veterinarian's office if you're not getting a response in a timely fashion.

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• A Mentor must advocate for their Apprentice with RKB, with other breeders, and with families who adopt or are in the process of adopting the Apprentice's kittens.

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• An Apprentice must give serious thought to following advice and instructions given to them by their Mentor.  They've been through ALLLL of this before.... use their experience!  Learn from their mistakes, they don't have to become yours!  Once you have more experience, you can put your own "flavor" on how you do things.  For now, lean on your Mentor.

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• A Mentor must impart the importance of being ethical in dealing with their cats and kittens, in dealing with their veterinarians, in dealing with fellow breeders, in dealing with RKB, in dealing with their potential new families, and in dealing with the families who already own their kittens.  A Mentor must work hard to be ethical in dealing with their Apprentice in order to impart the importance of these ethics.

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• An Apprentice must realize the importance of being ethical in all aspects of breeding RagaMuffins.  RagaMuffins are a very rare breed that is not widely known yet, we don't want people to get a bad taste in their mouths about the breed because of how they're treated by the breeders.  An Apprentice Breeder must make sure their breeding cats are well-fed, has access to plenty of fresh water, has clean bowls for their food and water, in a clean environment with plenty of space and human interaction.  Without these basics, cats can be stressed and fall ill, and/or it can affect their temperament!

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• An Apprentice Breeder must realize that a purebred RagaMuffin is a MAJOR INVESTMENT for most families, and the breeder showing them good, ethical, customer service makes that investment a much easier choice to make.

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• A Mentor must coast their Apprentice through registration of their breeding cats, registration of their kittens, making sure they have HCM DNA testing and pedigrees.

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• A Mentor must coach their Apprentice Breeder through making good choices in the investment of their breeding cats, teaching them about the RagaMuffin Standard, what to look for, what to ask for before purchasing from another RagaMuffin breeder, how to make sure two cats aren't too closely related before breeding them, how to notice weaknesses in one cat and how to strengthen that weakness with another to "fix" the weakness in the kittens.

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• A Mentor must teach their Apprentice Breeder the basics of feline coat color genetics to make it easier to tell potential new families what they're getting in the kitten and to properly fill out registration paperwork.

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                            ___________________________________________                        _______________

                                                    Mentor's Signature                                                                    Date

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                            ___________________________________________                        _______________

                                             Apprentice Breeder Signature                                                          Date