I can't say enough good things about Sleekats and the owner, Donna. I've gotten two Peterbald boys from her, one in 2012 who was my entire heart and soul, and another just recently, and both experiences have been awesome. Donna is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the breed and 100% committed to their health and well-being. She makes sure her clients are fully informed and prepared to welcome their new baby, as hairless cats have very particular needs and require a high level of maintenance. She put a lot of emphasis on preventative care and tells you exactly what kind of medications, food, and other products are best for them. Her home is also impressively clean. No odors, no mess. You wouldn't even know she has cats if you didn't see them yourself, which just goes to show how well she maintains everything. And the cats themselves are just extraordinary. So full of affection, intelligence, elegance, and just pure love. It's hard for me to imagine life without one of these wonderful creatures. If you're in MA or the New England area looking for a trusted ethical breeder of these marvelous animals, I couldn't recommend Sleekats more. read more

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Sells SICK CATS! Just had my cat put down after only 2 years because of her unethical breeding!! And thousands of $$ in medical care within that time trying to save her! I knew something was wrong when I first got her and she was extremely neglected! emaciated and completely covered in blackheads all over her tail! Heartbroken! read more

The best place ever. I adopted a retired healthy queen and she is a joy to have as part of our family. Donna clearly cared for her physically and emotionally. Had her first check up and spay and vet says she's very healthy. I'm sure I'll be back . read more

Sleekats Cattery - Pet Sitting Near Me - Peabody, Massachusetts

I do not recommend sleekats! The owner was so rude. She is sphynx breeder and I was looking into purchasing one. (First one I would ever own) so I obviously had some questions to ask. We had a day and time set up for my husband and I to meet the kitten and to leave a deposit. I simply asked her if the parents of the kitten has some hair because I read peterbald sphynx cats can have a few pieces of hair. I was just curious and getting really excited. We'll the owner flipped out at me for asking that question and to go somewhere else. Very very rude! I had my husband and friends read our messages to see if I said something wrong and they were all in shock at how rude she came off. Purchasing something and spending almost 2k and I just wanted some information. So unprofessional. read more

This updated review is in no way a representation of the cats, the breed or health of the baby I received from donna. Caspian is 4 years old, healthy, loving, smart and a mommas boy sphinx. As far as Caspian goes he's perfect and donna delivered exactly as advertised. I am only updating this review to warn people of the type of person Donna is. As a human being she's terrible. Our relationship was great but started to degrade during the 2016 Election. Yes, that's right, this woman verbally attacked me, threw low blows bc our daughter is adopted, called me names and cursed at me bc we have different political views. At the time of this incident I placed a review on her FB business page, which I am now blocked from and can no longer see if its still there. Here is the PM Donna sent me on FB messenger: Donna: I think you suck! I hope your purchased daughter doesn't resent the fact that you voted for a bigot for money! you make me sick! I am going to end with this, look at my original review, listen to how much respect, love and admiration I had for this woman. I purchased one of her babies, talked to her daily, followed her and her family on social media. We all shared one thing, love for this breed. Here's the information, I have no reason to lie or withhold facts. Before you purchase from her, ask yourself if you want to work with someone who has serious ethical and moral flaws. read more

Donna was amazing! a wealth of information, incredibly honest, and puts all of her blood, sweat, and tears in her cats!! I will definitely be getting another kitten from her! read more

My husband and I are medical professionals. For the lay people, logically there is nothing in Donna's instructions - for the first few hours of acquiring it, we could have done differently - that could not have landed us a cat with herpes simplex virus that supposedly it was vaccinated for. It's like implying that by eating a different type of food or bathing differently after viral exposure, one can cure HIV or Hepatitis C. The evidence speaks for itself and will be provided to the authorities -all the medical records from two renown NYC vets for this kitten and for my older cat verifying she was completely healthy prior to acquiring a kitten. The kitten is doing much better, he is now on Cidofovir ( Potent Antiviral medication for Herpes Virus ). It could have potentially gone blind if I followed Donna's advice and not taken him to a vet right away! The fact that I am getting attacked, confronted on yelp by what likely is an owner's family member or a friend, speaks volumes about the moral character of the owner of this cattery and proves my point further - these type of people are in no way shape, way or form, are fitted to care for live animals. I've already contacted an animal advocacy group and will be contacting authorities shortly. These animals deserve better !!! than to be neglected and live their lives sick denied proper medical care. read more

Sleekats Cattery - Pet Sitting Near Me - Peabody, Massachusetts

Use your common sense. Her reviews are all 5 stars or 1 star, what does that tell you? Consider, does the house reek of cat urine? Does the house look dirty, or in need of repair? Do the cats seem well cared for or do you see tail stud and dirty toes and unclipped claws? If like me you fall in love the breed and rationalize a sea of red flags. Be prepared to spend $$$$. Like 2 week vacation in Europe $$$$ In addition to your regular Vet, keep these references handy. Dr. Willis, feline ophthalmology specialist at VCA City Cats for keeping feline herpes eye issues under control. Blue Pearl Animal Hospital in Waltham, for weekend emergency services. Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn, they have board certified Neurologists and can diagnosis congenital vestibular disorder. This woman is inbreeding sick animals for money, it's inhumane, don't support it. read more

Me and my husband have recently brought home a kitten and I must say it's been a wonderful experience. We love this kitten so much! Donna was amazing! She gave us so much information that we needed to know about this breed and she made sure we understood what was needed for the well being of our new kitten. She genuinely wants what's best for these cats and you can clearly tell she loves them with all her heart. We were nervous since we didn't know much about the breed but she was so informative and assured us that she would be there whenever we needed her. read more

I have made my employers aware of this situation as she has now posted reviews about me on their Yelp pages. They have agreed to keep me posted in case she attempts to contact them further. These reviews and her Yelp profile have all been reported to Yelp as they clearly violate their terms of use. Yelp is for reviewing business experiences. Thus far, my dealing with Donna have been extremely unsettling and traumatic. My only hope is that these reviews assist potential customers in making calculated decisions about working with her in the future. read more

The owner of Sleek Cats Cattery is a very reputable breeder who has devoted her entire life to this amazing breed. Although I do not have one of her cats, I was introduced to her by a mutual friend, who currently has 3 of her cats; all of whom are perfectly healthy. When I got into breeding a different breed of exotic cats, I quickly discovered the lack of pertinent information available to breeders, or those of whom are interested in entering the field. First and foremost, let it be known that any ethical breeder makes little to no money off of their cats. The operational costs are astronomical - far more than most people can even comprehend. Donna immediately stepped in and offered my best friend and I hours of her time, free of charge. Not only did she send us emails filled with pages of useful information, links and book recommendations, but she spent countless hours on the phone with us, educating us about breeding as well as sphynx cats and the hairless genes. When our second litter of kittens arrived, we had a baby experience toxicity since it was behind the still born kitten in the litter. Our vet could offer no immediate advice, yet Donna told us exactly what we should do to help save the baby - and it worked. The vet was amazed by not only her knowledge and expertise, but also her quick thinking, proactive suggestions. Throughout the last 2 years we have seen several different vets, and not one gave us 1/8 the advice and suggestions that Donna has. For all of the naysayers, I think it would be best to speak to this woman first hand. She is caring, loving and devotes every ounce of her life and soul to these cats. Breeding is one of the most emotionally draining, time consuming, heart-wrenching things that I have ever done. This is definitely not an occupation for the weak of heart! I can't begin to express the blood, sweat and tears that go in to breeding. Without Donna's knowledgable advice, I have no doubt in my mind that we would have lost our runt. She went above and beyond, making herself available to us around the clock. Breeding is not for the faint at heart. The months of sleepless nights, getting up every 90 minutes to put eye drops in the kittens eyes; bottle feeding, burping, bathing, nails, etc. Donna DiGiovanni is truly an amazing individual who loves each and every one of her animals. She doesn't skimp out on anything or try to cut corners. She's brutally honest and cares about all of her "babies" well beings, even long after they go to their forever homes. So for anyone reading these reviews, I highly recommend that you investigate the situation first hand, rather than judging someone bases upon 2 yelp reviews that absolutely anyone can write. These are the most well cared for, loved cats that you could ever encounter, and I think her track record of over 120 litters speaks volumes for Donna's credibility. I would highly recommend Donna DiGiovanni and Sleek Cats Cattery to anyone. read more

I give Donna a 5 star review! The process of arranging and preparing for our baby Eugene was a smooth and easy experience. Donna was quick to reply to every email (this was even during the holiday season!) and was a true professional. Her insight and knowledge has helped us raise a healthy and beautiful peter bald boy. Eugene is the perfect cat for us. There is no amount of money I wouldn't pay for this joy. He is a no fuss guy and when any medical issues had risen in the past Donna was there with answers and expert advice. When we are ready for another addition to our clan I am absolutely reaching out to Donna again! read more

Sleekats Cattery - 2 year old Eugene! - Pet Sitting Near Me - Peabody, Massachusetts

I bought a kitten a few years back and he's now a full grown healthy cat I love my Rex and I couldn't imagine life without him, as far as Donna goes she is awesome and she loves her babies and she shows it, I can't believe the negativity on here it's so far from truthful, from my first call to Donna she invited me into her home to pick out my kitten and she explained everything about the breed from history to health, and that day I left my deposit she called me a few times before pick up date just to check in and tell me how my baby was doing, and even after I received my kitten she was always available for any questions or concerns after that, if your looking for a peterbald/donski I highly recommend sleek cats she by far is a wonderful woman and by far loves all her babies. I can't wait to get another read more

Sleekats Cattery - Pet Sitting Near Me - Peabody, Massachusetts

Let me just start by saying that Donna (owner of sleekats) has absolutely been the most professional, straight forward, *informative* person i have ever had the pleasure of meeting in regards to the Sphynx cat breed. She is extremely knowledgeable and has guided me through the whole process of not only buying my little sphynx but in caring for him as well, everything from cleaning to diet to medical needs she has let me know any and everything i might need in preperation of taking home my sphynx. i pick him up in two weeks and i couldent be more excited! i am highly confident i have made the best decision in going through donna and the sleekats cattery and i will and have allready recomended her to others. She is so knowledgeable fo the sphynx breed she should write a book on the topic. It takes a special person to care for a sphynx the right way and Donna is a great judge of character, it took me quite some time to end up choosing sleekat as the breeder i went to and i am glad to say i have made the right choice. There are breeders out there who dont care as much as Donna does and i would never spend a dollar on a sphynx anywhere else. She was and is still great at what she does. P.S. i will post a review upon the arrival of baby Igor (the sphynx) read more

I purchased a gorgeous cat from a very kind lady, Donna DiGiovanni. The first time I spoke with her, it was obvious she is VERY protective of her cats. As soon as I walked into her home, it was apparent that her ENTIRE life revolves around her animals. The house was immaculate and she showed me every one of her cats, as we walked through her house. She was very welcoming and extremely knowledgeable about the breed. The cats were healthy and very well taken care of. I have had my cat for over two years and he has not had one single health problem whatsoever. I would definitely recommend this breeder for anyone looking at one of these rare breeds. read more

Sleekats Cattery - My perfect little boy... - Pet Sitting Near Me - Peabody, Massachusetts

Healthy Happy Beautiful cats! Donna is an amazing breeder. My family has had two of Donna's cats for almost 12 years. The oldest will be 12 in November. She has been there every time we needed her. One time, due to our fault, we left the door open to the back porch. Some how our Nester got locked in there. It was about 45 degrees. We contacted Donna. Immediately she dropped what she was doing and came to our home. Let me tell you something, this woman will stop at nothing to care for and protect her babies. Donna does not sell her babies to just anyone. She carefully picks their forever. These are very special animals. I really don't know how she does it! read more

Update.... Third baby came home three weeks ago. Again gorgeous loving and healthy. Thanks again donna we will always be a sleekats family!! read more

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There is something disturbing about a person who harasses someone for writing an unfavorable review on Yelp. The owner felt it was important to put my full name, home town and email on her personal website since my review was not to her liking. Proceed with caution when contacting her since she may throw up all your personal information on a public site. read more

I would like to write a follow-up review on my cats that I have purchased from Donna at SleeKats Cattery. My first female I got from her is 4 years old, the second kitten I bought from her is 3 years old, the third kitten I got is 3 years old and the 4th kitten I got is now 2 years old. I got these kittens at 4 different times so if she sold sick kittens.. the odds of my getting one that was sick would have been pretty high. Donna helps deliver these babies into this world... she devotes her life to these animals and she loves them like they are her own. She provides DETAILED information on how these cats are to be taken care of as they are NOT your average cat with hair. They have to be kept warm, they need heating pads and blankets to cover them, they have a special diet and require the rooms they will be spending time in to be kept warm (75 - 80 degrees). I have NO doubt that these people that write complaints about the kittens being sick are because they did NOT follow the detailed instructions on how to care for these cats. They are HAIRLESS!!! They are high maintenance and must be taken care of as Donna states in ALL of the literature she sends home with you, all the info posted on her web site and the hours of talking she does with each client to ensure the cats will get the necessary care that is required to take care of them. I followed Donna's instructions to the letter with each of my 4 cats and I have NEVER had one of my cats get sick. These people that purchase them for "trophy" cats will get a kitten... ignore what Donna tells them to do because they "know it all" and do what they want... then the kitten gets sick because THEY did not follow Donna's instructions and then they blame Donna for the cat being sick... OR they bring the new kitten with barely an immune system around their other cats or friends of other cats and the kitten with no immune system picks up things from the adult cats that their little bodies can't fight off but yet again... Donna gets blamed for the cat being sick. This really infuriates me when people do this. For Inara N. You say a vet tech picked up the kitten and delivered it to you... if the kitten was as sick as the vet tech "claimed" then why did she agree to take the cat from the cattery? I would have thought she would have called you with the concerns of the cat looking so sickly before she left the cattery!! She obviously knew you had another cat at home and if this cat was so deathly sick... it could infect your cat. Why would she take the chance of infecting your older cat?? Why did you not call Donna the minute you received the cat and complain the cat was sick and you wanted to send it back? I call total BS on your story. Either your adult cat made the kitten sick OR you did not follow Donna's instructions and keep the cat warm and the cat got sick. I HIGHLY recommend Donna and her kittens to ANYONE that wants to buy a kitten from her. You are welcome to get in contact with me and I will happily talk with you...share my experience... show you my 4 wonderful HEALTHY cats. Please do not hesitate to contact me (brendacushing@cox.net). I will tell you the TRUTH about Donna and not make up these BS stories that others have posted. I can also put you in contact with other customer's of Donnas that have bought multiple kitties from her. Believe me.. if her cats were unhealthy and sickly, she would not have clientele coming back again and again to purchase her kittens read more

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What an AMAZING Experience!! My husband and I were looking for a pet for our family. Since both of my daughters and I have severe allergies, this was a very difficult thing to do. We looked around our area in all the kennels and pet rescues but it seemed that all animals with fur or hair would give us trouble. We had heard about hairless cats and the reduced chance of an allergy to them, but thought that getting one of these amazing animals would be out of the realm of possibility for us due to either distance or cost. Luckily, we were so wrong! Sleekats Cattery was right there online with pictures of all their lovely little kitties available to take home and an email address to contact the breeder and owner, Donna DiGiovanni. Right away we sent an email to her and we were amazed to see that she had called us back within 30 minutes of us sending that email. She was very nice on the phone and invited us over that next Saturday to come meet the kitty we had seen online. We were unsure of what to expect, seeing that we had never done anything like this before, but we were pleasantly surprised to see she was walking us through the entire process step by step. She had tons of print outs and instructions on the specific care of these beautiful cats, as they need some special attention. She explained the important things we'd need to know upon taking the baby home and walked us through everything we would need at home all while we visited. She had told us of her history with this breed of cat and she spoke of all her years of experience with them. She was really a wealth of knowledge. Even though she was very knowledgeable with this breed of cats, what made us feel even better was that we could see how much she loved these animals. No one could be that passionate about something without so much love. We were very impressed. Most importantly, my family fell in love with this kitten and we named her Diva. We signed the contract and paid our down payment that very day. Diva was still too little to come home with us that day. It was hard for my daughters (and myself I might add!) to wait for pick up day. We did not know our little Diva that long but already we loved her so very much! I placed a call to Donna DiGiovanni a few weeks later. She knew we wanted to see her again and she invited all of us up to visit with our baby and when we got there, she had chocolate milk and doughnut holes for my girls to eat while visiting! Talk about going above and beyond!! I was so shocked to see such a kindness done for my girls! Donna was so nice, she had us back quite a few times so we could keep visiting with our Diva. She even let my girls bottle feed Diva. It was the sweetest thing. Donna gave my girls a beautiful memory that they still talk about today! They tell all who will listen that they got to give Diva her bottle just like a real baby! When it was pickup day we headed on over and Donna went over everything we needed to know about this breed of cat again, just to be sure we had it all down. She told us that she was there day or night and was only an email or call away if we had any questions or concerns. As we were packing Diva up in her carrier for the trip home, Donna was upset. She genuinely loves and cares for all her cats so much so it pains her to see them leave. After having this precious baby for only a week we did have a question about some of the ear yeast that these cats are prone too. We emailed Donna and she got back to us that night. She talked us through the steps and she even went as far as to come by my house to do a double check on Diva and make sure that everything had been resolved. She didn't charge me a dime, she didn't hassle me about having to come by, she just wanted Diva to be alright and help us through. She was just so understanding and kind about the whole thing. These cats are certainly a special breed. Diva has made our life complete. She is our little girl and we are so happy we decided to go with Sleekats Cattery. Thank you Donna DiGiovanni for breeding and raising such loving babies and giving us such a joy to live with! She makes our home complete! read more

I am a veterinary technician who purchased a 'peterbald' kitten from a clean? Breeder ! I had to euthanize him 8 days later due to he had FIP in his line. Please stay away from this cattery if you know anything about FIP. It is a horrible disease which this breeder Donna is in denial about. Trust me the home was clean and the kitten had a normal physical exam except he developed a 104 fever within 24 hours and continued to decline. After days of blood work, IV fluids and a titter plus radiographs I had to euthanize him. I am in this profession due to the fact I love animals however purchasing an FIP positive cat whom I had to take to work every day and do Huge work ups on should not have been. Very misleading breeder, whom is in denial! I provided lab reports and DVM notes. She denied it and continues to breed....beware! read more

Love Donna. Never an issue. Very helpful if I have a question. Beautiful babies... Adopted a female, then a year later I adopted a 2nd female. read more

AVOID THIS SPHYNX CAT BREEDER I am sharing my experience and Zeke's story in hopes that it may save someone else the heartache and pain I went through with the loss of Zeke. Zeke was such a sweet little kitten. He was so lively and playful, and always wanted to be around us, he was so loving. Around the end of June 2013, we started noticing Zeke wasn't quite as lively as usual, he had lost some weight, and he felt like he was running a fever. I took him to the vet and they put him on antibiotics, in hopes that it would clear everything up. After about a week being on the antibiotics, Zeke hadn't shown much improvement, and in addition, his belly started to swell up. When I called the vet with these updates, they suggested I bring him in. I dropped him off at the vet and they did some blood work. After two days, the vet called and delivered the bad news. Zeke had FIP, Feline Infectious peritonitis, which is a mutation of the coronavirus. Cats could have the dormant coronavirus and never get sick, or it could mutate to FIP. Usually mutates to FIP in kittens and older cats because their immune system is weaker. She informed me that it is fatal and that there are no treatments. The vet kept him on antibiotics to help his immune system fight off any opportunistic infections, since his body was fighting this horrible virus. He had the wet version of the disease, which means that all of his organs were going to fill with fluid and shut down. This news was so devastating. I was beyond heartbroken. The vet informed us that it is usually genetic or a result of bad breeding practices, and is most common in catteries. She advised that we inform the breeder immediately as other cats or kittens may be infected, and if this was the case the breeder should cease breeding these cats to avoid another situation like Zeke's. Zeke came from Sleekats Cattery in Peabody MA, owned by Donna DiGiovanni. I did not buy Zeke directly from her, but I had previously been in contact with Donna, and my experience with her then was just as frustrating. I wrote Donna an email, informing her what the vet had told me and how broken and upset we all were over this terrible news. Donna's response to my email was very upsetting on many different levels. Her first response to the original email was "I want you to take Zeke here and care for him, for I may be able to save his life" (keep in mind, no treatment, no cure, no progress in 20 years of research with this virus. Also highly contagious, and she wants me to bring him to her cattery) I responded with the information the vet provided about the virus, and asked her what she thought she could do for him that the vets wouldn't be able to. I also expressed that I wanted to spend every moment I could with him if he only had a short time left. We continued to email back and fourth, a total of 9 emails. She asked various questions about his condition and what I was feeding him. She used these correspondents as an opportunity to boast about what a great breeder she was, how knowledgeable she was and how vets and breeders all over the country call her for advice. She also insinuated that I poisoned him. In all 9 emails, she did not ONCE say she was sorry or offer ONE comforting word. After this series of emails, I did not hear from her ever again, to check in, to see how he was doing, to see if any of her suggestions worked. NOTHING, not ONE word. In the weeks to follow, we watched Zeke deteriorate rapidly right before our eyes. It was the most heartbreaking experience I have ever had to go through. His belly swelled up even more and he lost so much weight you could see every bone in his body. He didn't have much of an appetite and didn't really want to move around much. He was just a baby. Zeke was born on August 14, 2012. He was diagnosed with FIP July 5th 2013. The day after his first birthday, August 15th 2013, I had to have him put down, it broke my heart. Donna told me that this was the SECOND cat out of 113 litters to get FIP (The other one wasn't her fault either...) The general statistic for FIP is 1 in every 5,000 cats, Donna's statistic however... if you average 4-6 kitten per litter, lets say 5. So 5 X 113 = 565 kittens average, in her career as a breeder. Out of 565 TWO have had full blown FIP. 1 in every 282 of Donna's cats has FIP, in comparison to 1 in 5,000. WOW. I am writing this in hopes that no one else would every have to go through this horrible and painful experience. If this woman is breeding and selling FIP or coronavirus positive cats, she should be shut down. No one should have to experience what we went through with Zeke. Her cats could have the dormant version of the coronavirus, and when she breeds them, she's passing it down to the kittens, and Zeke's sad story could be a reality for someone else. I would strongly suggest if you are buying a sphynx kitten, DO NOT BUY FROM THIS BREEDER, DONNA DIGIOVANNI SKEEKATS CATTERY! read more