Cats are a purr-fect match

But it is apparent she has fallen in love with her growing collection of more than 30 feline friends.

Mrs Toovey is the only registered breeder of the Ragdoll cat variety in the Southern Highlands and she can’t speak highly enough of the breed.

She is quick to add that meeting the growing demand for Ragdolls as pets had become more of a labour of love than a business.

“I always said that if I ever had a cat it would have to be a Ragdoll,” she said.

“They are wonderful companion pets, great for young families and they are easy to care for with few, if any, complications.

“They are semi-long haired cats with fur that rarely matts and they are very much indoor cats because they lack the fight instinct to protect themselves.”

Mrs Toovey said Ragdolls were a “man-made” cat breed created by a woman named Anne Baker (now deceased) in the United States in the 1960s.

She said the breed was created from several types of mostly feral farm cats.

“No-one knows exactly what breeds were used to create the Ragdoll, but Anne Baker was a rather eccentric woman who spread many myths regarding their make-up,” she said.

“She wanted to draw attention to the Ragdoll and suggested they included skunk genes as well as human and alien DNA.

“They don’t, but she made many people aware of the great qualities of Ragdolls as a pet and they are now an extremely popular breed around the world.”

Mrs Toovey said the Ragdoll made its way to Australian shores about 15 years ago.

She said she acquired her first Ragdoll, Josephine, about four years ago.

Mrs Toovey said while she was a registered breeder, making money was never her key priority.

“My main aim is to make the Ragdoll available to more people because it is such a wonderful breed,” she said.

“Most of the money made from the sale of my kittens goes back into the continued care of my cats.

“My cats breed a maximum of only four times and they only have one litter a year - for eight months of the year they are simply recuperating from motherhood, relaxing and enjoying their lives in a loving environment.

“I don’t believe in breeding back to back - it’s not fair on the cat - we are not doing this for the money, we are doing it because we love the Ragdoll cat breed.

“The best payment we can get is when people send us a picture of their much loved cat enjoying life.

“Some cats don’t like motherhood and if that’s the case I don’t force them to have more litters, but instead desex them and often foster them to new homes where they can enjoy life.”

Mrs Toovey said most of her cats were fostered out to new families once they retired from breeding while new young breeders were brought into the family.

“It’s a hard thing to let go of them after they have been in the family for so long, but I can’t cope with any more cats - I don’t have the room - and I ultimately want all of them to enjoy the life of loved pets receiving undivided attention.

“The cats in my house are sharing the attention with about 30 other cats.”

Despite the huge number of moggies in the Toovey household, Mrs Toovey proudly admits she knows the name and nature of every one of her cats.

She also has a few cats that have secured a permanent place in the family, including some of the first cats she owned, Max and Josephine, as well as two show cats.

Mrs Toovey proudly boasts the achievements of her most successful cat, Rommel, who is a bronze double grand champion.

She has another cat, Anakin, coming through the competition ranks.

“Anakin is a blue solid, and they are not recognised as pedigree Ragdolls in Australia, so he competes in the companion section of shows.”

Both Rommel and Anakin will pit themselves against about 80 other cats in the first Waratah National Cat Alliance Cat Show to be conducted at Bowral Memorial Hall on June 28.

Doors will open for the show at 9.30am and all interested people are welcome to take a closer look at the many cats on show.