Friday, March 28, 2008

The Animal

Get the Animal. I couldn't help it. There I was sitting home on a Saturday night, channel surfing. I ended up on the Home Shopping Network. You know what a dangerous combination that is. They had beautiful silver jewelry on. Oooooo.......I was good. I passed. So I check the cable guide to see what else they were going to have on. There it was, for only 1/2 hour, Dyson. You know what that could possibly mean. An incredibly expensive vacuum cleaner, on sale. Woohoo!! Okay, for anyone who is reading this that doesn't have pets, you just won't get it. You couldn't even begin to comprehend the excitement. Just stop reading and go away. :-)

So there it was, the Dyson Animal. The king of all vacuum cleaners. The $600 vacuum. On sale for $435, no shipping and on 5 easy payments. My hand started shaking. I was on the edge of my seat. Should I go get my credit card? Should I change the channel and ignore it? I changed channels. But when I came back, it was still there. Grrr.....I got up and went to get my credit card. My wallet sat next to me for a good 10 minutes. It's such a huge committment. So expensive. What to do.

It took me a full 20 minutes to get the nerve to dial the number. And there you have it. Within 2 minutes I had a Dyson Animal on it's way to me.

I've used the Animal twice since it's arrival. It's much quieter than my old vacuum. It weighs about the same or a bit less. It seems to work as good as they claim. The extension wand is a bit tedious to extend and put back, but boy does it extend! I can finally reach the ceiling fan on my vaulted ceiling in my living room.

Sooo.....for those of you out there debating about getting a Dyson. It's worth it. It also came with a 5 year warantee. How could you go wrong? That's my kitty tip of the day. Stay on top of the cat fur, get a Dyson Animal. (The Animal is the purple one)

I suspect that you'll be hearing all about Sean tomorrow......

meow for now
melissa

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Pierre

Well, I couldn't think of anything earth shattering so today, you get the story of Pierre. There are some of you who read this who are quite familiar with Pierre. I believe you all have scars to prove your acquaintance. :-)

Pierre is my first American Bobtail. Of course at the time, we didn't know about American Bobtails. We knew he wasn't a Manx. He did look just like a Japanese Bobtail that we knew, JB. So, we just kind of assumed that Pierre was some sort of JBT mix. Now that I know the Americans, I know better.

Pierre came to me at about 3 weeks old. There were three in the litter. Robespierre, Robere and Jean Tom. The French kitty litter. Pierre had almost no tail. Robere's tail was a bit longer. I now know his tail was perfect. And Jean Tom had everything they were missing plus his own. :-) Pierre is a brown classic tabby and white with the cutest little clown mark over his left eye. Robere is red and Jean Tom is red and white. I know, those of you who know me are wondering why didn't you keep Robere? Because at the time I was anti-red cat. I know, hard to believe. I never wanted a red cat until I got one. But at this point I was only fostering and adopting out. I wasn't keeping any of the kitties. All three got placed. The people who adopted Pierre, paid to have him declawed and then changed their minds. So I kept him. Because Mom's cat Lily hated Pierre, he had to live elsewhere for awhile. I would get him on weekends for shows.

Pierre's very first show as a HHPK he was Best of the Best out of 17 kittens. Pretty cool. It was all down hill from there. Pierre developed an attitude. Grrrr.........The problem with Pierre was that there was no warning sign before he would bite. You could be petting him and the next thing you know, chomp. That's why I used to warn people, do not look away while petting him. Right Mom?

Anyone who would pet sit for me got branded by Pierre. Mom, Dad, Kelly, Bonnie and Emily's Dolly all felt Pierre's wrath. Poor Dolly got beat up one time. :-( There were also a couple of judges who felt Pierre's dentistry. So....Pierre retired from the show circuit.

This of course is no means typical of the breed. It's how they're raised. If you raise the cats in cages or limit the social interaction, you get a Pierre. If you love them, cuddle them and don't cage them, you get a Polar or Pony. I found out years later, while Pierre was still in a snit about life, from an animal communicator, that Pierre was mistreated in the home he stayed in for awhile. This of course was all during his formative time. I was instructed to apologize to Pierre for leaving him there. I did. After that, he mellowed out. Not completely, but somewhat. He's getting there.

Like all of my cats, even Mila, I wouldn't trade Pierre for anything. Even with all of his moodiness, there is nothing more special than having Pierre lay on my pillow, purring and massaging my temple. Who needs Advil???

meow for now
melissa

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Escondido Humane Society dog walk and other stuff

Greetings one and all. I guess it would be wrong of me to rave about how perfect the weather here is in light of the fact that I have so many readers east of the Mississippi. You guys got how many inches of snow the other day?

The last week or so has been perfect. The reason for packing up the cats and moving across country. Everything is blooming, the temperature is perfect, a slight breeze is wafting in the smell of orange blossoms and the chicken ranch across the street into my office. I'm sure I don't have to tell you which one smells better.

Last weekend was a great show. Polar finished 4th overall. Not too shabby. We won't know about Frosty until the show report comes out. Could be awhile. I will keep you posted. This weekend is the annual dog walk for the Escondido Humane Society. Mom joined one of the walking teams. You can help her raise money by going to www.firstgiving.com/joanneeichler1 The cats on her little web page are Sophie and Theo, also Kokopellie cats. I'm telling you, Jon is a dangerous man to know. Next thing you know, everyone in my family will have a Kokopellie cat. So if you can, please donate towards Mom's goal. It would be great if we could exceed her goal. Please do me a favor if you do go in and donate. Please put meow for now in the note section. This way we can track where the donations are coming from. It would be greatly appreciated.

I've been racking my brain trying to come up with ideas to write about. I'm guessing that you're going to start hearing about the rest of the herd shortly. I was going to break them down into groups, but since each one has enough of an interesting story, they might get their own day instead of having to share. And if you all have brags to share and I like you, that being the key phrase, I will be more than happy to share your good news. Email me and share, megncats@cox.net Story ideas would also be greatly appreciated.

If I can't think of anything substantial for tomorrow, you will be getting the story of Pierre, my first American Bobtail. We'll go in chronological order of appearance in my house.

Sooo.......meow for now
melissa

Monday, March 24, 2008

Phoenix Show this past weekend

So, we're back from Phoenix. It was a long weekend, but fun. Jon wasn't able to go, even though he was really looking forward to it. He fell and cracked a rib on Thursday. Ouch!! Being the good kitty handler that I am, I drove up to Ventura on Friday morning, packed up Frosty and drove to Phoenix.



The drive to Phoenix was beautiful. The desert wildflowers are in bloom right now. The center divide on the 10 was a sea of yellow for most of the way. The weather was perfect all weekend. The days were warm, and the nights were perfect. Around the pool at the hotel was the scent of orange blossoms. Now tell me, doesn't this make everyone want to go to next year's show?



The competition as always was fierce. First, Polar. It used to be that the alter class was the throw away class, the purebreed rejects. Not so anymore. Now, just about any cat entered is the picture of breed perfection. Or at least that is how we, the mommies and daddies, feel. There were 23 alters in show and not a dog in the bunch. Okay, there were a few that were about the size of a dog...... And some I'm sure that would eat a dog if given the option.



We did have a new addition to the alter pack this weekend. There's a new Balinese in town. His name was Sehnsational Crescendo, or Jake. Or as his Mom, Carol Cox, kept saying, "MY SON" every time he finaled. It was very refreshing to see someone enjoy each and every final Jake got as much as she did. I can't wait to see what happens when she supremes. :-) Well done Carol and Jake. Can't wait for the Lodi show.



Jet, the most perfect Siamese, also did well. It truly amazes me how this cat doesn't take best in every ring. He is what I call a "Wow Cat". That's one of those cats that you look at and go, "WOW"!! An incredibly fine example of the breed.



Mr Wildfire owned by Charlotte also did wonderfully. He's a red exotic shorthair and just a clown. Can't wait to see how he'll do next season.



Several other alters did very well. There are just too many great cats to mention. And after all, this is my forum to brag about my cat, not yours!! :-) With competition like this, I am glad for each and every final that Polar got. His highest final this weekend was from Don Caruthers. Don gave Polar a 2nd. He was his best longhair alter and 2nd best over all. Jeff Roberts placed Polar as his best longhair alter and 3rd best in show. Over all, Polar did great. He finished the weekend with one 2nd, two 3rds, two 6ths, one 7th, one 8th. Not too shabby for a little cat with a bad head. Sorry folks, private joke. Those who know will understand.



Now on to Mr Frosty, Cooncreole Zhivago. Mr Frosty Paws, as you will hear me call him, is an amazing cat to show. He is sweet and wonderful and usually falls asleep in the judging cage. One has to wonder occasionally if Frosty is narcoleptic. You can almost give him a five count from the time you put him in the cage until the time he is asleep. Too funny!! Frosty did his best to charm and wow the spectators at the show. We even had a couple of people inquire about getting little Polars and Frostys of their own. In Frosty's incredible class, he was able to bring home one 3rd, one 4th, one 5th, two 6ths, one 8th, one 9th and a best cat. Marylou Anderson was the judge who placed Frosty best. He was sound asleep in her ring for the final.

We're now getting ready for the Lodi show. That is coming up in a couple of weeks. In between these two shows we have the annual Paws in the Park event for the Escondido Humane Society. The week after that is the Arcadia show and then two weeks after that, the Tucson show. The last show of the season. And then we get to start all over again. Busy, busy, busy.

meow for now
melissa

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Two things....

I have two things today to talk about. First, when I got home yesterday and opened my mailbox there was the new issue of Cat Fancy, with a Scottish Fold on the cover. I opened it up and looked at the kitties in the centerfold. There they were, Rover and Annie. I can brag that I have held and kissed and tried to steal the centerfold kitties in the new Cat Fancy.

Big congrats to Sally Patch of Owhl Scottish Folds and Cornish Rex. They are her beautiful babies on that page. Sally's website is www.owhl.com You can go there and drool over how positively adorable all of those little Fold babies are.

The second thing. After years of talking about it, Mom and I finally have a website for Hugs N Purrs. www.hugsnpurrs.net It is still under construction, but there are links up and working and some pictures on the site. Just no pictures of our actual products for sale. That will eventually be up. I just wanted to get something down on paper and get it published and linked to Jon's site to help get us some traffic.

Sooooo......coming soon, a way for you to order Whole Life and toys and beds on line.

Tomorrow will be the last post until after the weekend. The Phoenix show is this weekend and I don't think I'm taking my computer with me. I think I might actually want to enjoy the weekend!! :-)

meow for now,
melissa

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Happy Birthday Sean and Kate

I really meant to send birthday wishes yesterday. I gave him a big kiss in the morning and sang to him, but I kind of got caught up in telling you about the Bobtail Olympics.

So.....belated birthday wishes to Sean Thornton and Mary Kate Danaher. I got Sean and Kate when they were 3 days old. There were 4 red boys and 1 very tortie girl in the litter. A true Irish family. I kept Sean and Kate to raise and someone else took the other three boys. My intention of course was to adopt them out. Well....10 years later, they're still here. Mom and Dad have Kate and I have Sean. They are of course named for the characters in the John Wayne movie, "The Quiet Man". I love "The Quiet Man". My Maine Coon is Celticpride Quiet Man of ClubRed. Yes, ClubRed. I have so many red cats I gave myself a cattery name. And what happens after I do that? I get three non-red cats. Oh well, what are you going to do?

Back to Sean. Many of you who know me and the herd know how special my Sean is. I almost lost him 10 years ago to toxoplasmosis. We got him over that and I swore that he wasn't going anywhere after that. Too special. Once we moved to California Sean did something very interesting. He chewed off most of his fur. Very neatly and cleanly. I couldn't have done a better job with a pair of clippers. At one point he kind of looked like a giant Sphynx with a fur cape. My sweet Sean. I firmly believe that he and Kate are twins. They don't live together anymore. They haven't seen each other in about 8 years. But they do the same thing at the same time occasionally. I'll call Mom, "has Kate been throwing up?" So has Sean. For awhile when they were younger, they liked to crawl under throw rugs. Well.....you guessed it. They would do that at the same time as well.

Sean is much bigger. He is over 20 pounds. He should only be about 16. Kate is longer and leaner and moves like a cheetah. But Sean is the sweet one. Kate is the tortie. Enough said.

So hug your babies, give them extra kisses and......
meow for now
melissa and Sean

Monday, March 17, 2008

Bobtail Olympics

I have 3 American Bobtails. There are Pierre, who I got as a stray and hand raised 12 years ago, Polar, who I got two years ago from Jon and Painted Pony who is just shy of one year that Jon and I co own together. Pony is a Bob that didn't bob. In other words, she comes with a full tail. Anyhow...every morning I'm treated to the Bobtail Olympics.



The Bobtail Olympics are just like any other Olympics except no medals. There is the Olympic Village, where the athletes eat and sleep, which would be my house. We do have a daily opening ceremony, which I like to call my alarm clock, or the sun rising, whichever comes first.



Pierre, being the elder statesman doesn't always participate in the games. For many reasons I'm sure. Either he's too comfortable on my pillow to get up, he just doesn't feel like it or because Polar and Pony have asked him to stay away because he has a tendency to bite when he doesn't win. Pierre can be a bit of a poor sport sometimes. When he does join in it's usually the track and field events.



There are the equestrian events. Where Polar or Pony, usually Pony will ride one of the other cats. I guess that could almost be considered a rodeo event as there is no skill required like the jumping or dressage events.



There are the gymnastic style events which require great finesse while scaling and jumping from cat trees. They've also added an additional element which is tandem tumbling. Where two Bobtails hold on to each other and roll across the floor. This could also be mistaken for wrestling. The main difference is that all wrestling events take place on my bed. While I'm still in it.



There are the wrestling events. Polar ususally wins these unless Pierre is involved and then Pierre usually wins by a bite. Well, more of a nip really. There are no counts of three in Bobtail wrestling. The loser is the one who crys the loudest and runs to me for protection.



And then we have track and field. The Bobtail favorite. There is the full marathon which goes from room to room. There are the hurdles which requires the Bobtails to run across the bed jumping over all the other cats and me. Polar is the best at the hurdles. Pony usually just crashes into everyone. And then we have the Bobtail decathalon type event. This includes the hurdles, jumping over the cat tree and a smaller type marathon that is only run in the bedroom, more of an obstacle course really.



There are no closing ceremonies in Bobtail Olympics are they are a daily event. They will sometimes get cats from other breeds to participate. Mila will sometimes become involved only because she is in the cat tree when one of the cat tree events starts. Poor Danny will also get dragged into the games as well. Usually the gymnastic style events. The Maine Coons aren't really interested and come to think of it....none of the other cats ever seem interested in joining the Bobtail Olympics. It's just for the Bobs.



meow for now

melissa

Friday, March 14, 2008

what do I write about?

So many of you have emailed and said how do you come up with different things to write. Well.....it is extremely difficult. I try to comb the ticamembers list looking for ideas. I try finding something in the news, cat related to talk about. Not having a show the last few weeks is hard on the creative juices. I can at least take experiences from the shows to write about. But no such luck. I even thought about writing about my experiences with the Humane Society.

Mom and I are on the planning committee for the Escondido Humane Society's black tie gala again. But right now, it's just really frustrating so I don't think I want to share my views on that right now, just in case there are kids reading this. :-) Actually, the theme of this year's gala is kind of cool. The theme is A Tail to Remember, Making a Difference. The theme is based on "The Starfish Story". It meshes so well with rescue and shelters. I even found a cat rescuer's version of the story out there.

But anyway, please feel free to email me, megncats@cox.net with suggestions for The Daily Meow. At this point I really do need some fresh ideas. I could bore you with how I fell asleep to purring in stereo. Elsa on one side, Sundance on the other trying to see who could purr the loudest. Or, how Bobtails.......oops, never mind, that actually is going to be a separate topic. :-) You would think that with a whole herd of cats that I would have daily material to write about. I guess theoretically that would be correct, but I have a pretty boring group of cats at times. Other times.........don't ask! Ooooooo.....I think I just gave myself some ideas to write about.

But still, if you have some great ideas or topics or know where I can find some great ideas and topics email me.

meow for now,
melissa

Thursday, March 13, 2008

something I won't do very often......

So this is something that you won't see very often here on The Daily Meow. An apology for something that I wrote. I won't do this very often as things I write here are of my own thoughts and opinions. But......a very dear friend took something I wrote the wrong way and it hurt her feelings.

So Gloria, I am sorry that you took what I said the wrong way. I was only teasing. You have been very kind in your praise of my writings on The Daily Meow.

meow for now
melissa

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

why do breeders......

Sorry folks, I just didn't feel like meowing yesterday. Actually, that's not true. I just couldn't think of anything to meow about. Coming up with something daily is hard. I really don't want this to just be about how damn cute Polar and the rest of my cats are. :-) But I could......

Anyhow, a friend and I were chatting about shows and show people in general. You know, it's the same thing we all do when we go out on Saturday during a show. We sit and talk about the show. God forbid we all actually talk about something non cat related.

Well, the conversation turned to why do people breed and not show? If you're producing fine examples of the breed, why not show them off? Why not get someone set up to show an alter? I know, showing is expensive. But so is breeding. If you're going to breed, show the cats. If you're not going to show, give someone an alter and get them started showing. It's a win win situation for a breeder. One, their cat has a good home. Two, their name is now all over the cat fancy as that cat that is being shown is now winning and drawing attention to the breeder. There are breeders that will sell someone an alter for $2000. An alter!! That is ridiculous. Sorry folks, but that's my opinion.

I guess maybe I'm too wrapped up in this. I had a friend give me an absolutely fabulous cat. A cat that he could have easily sold for $2000. But he gave him to me. Because I promised to show him and to give him a good home. Again, a win win situation. Polar now has a good home. Polar is now the highest scoring American Bobtail alter in the history of the breed. And, Jon gets calls all the time asking for a Polar. Think about it.........

On the topic of American Bobtails.....there is a bit of a rescue situation going on somewhere out east. No particular details, but there is a high vet bill involved. If anyone would like to paypal some money to help off set the costs so the cats can be released to the rescue, that would be great. It needs to be done by Friday. Email me and I can get you the information to help. megncats@cox.net Let's see what we can do to help out.

meow for now,
melissa

Monday, March 10, 2008

brag from Cabazon

This is to make up for no posts over the weekend. Double post today. I knew I was missing a show brag from the Cabazon show. Well duh!! Canie Brooks emailed me all of her wonderful accomplishments for that show. Canie and I had a great time that weekend. Here is Canie's brag in her own words. Love that Nanuk. He's almost as soft as Polar. :-)


Canie's words:
OK - I'll give you a little brag - now that I can't be showing quite to the degree I'm used to due to the judge's training and such.. The Cabazon show was fantastic for me and all 3 cats! Of course Nanuk was Best Alter of the day (not something he'll see very often...) - My Wildgold Artemis was Best Female Bengal of the day and became a Double Grand Champion (from Champion - with enough finals for Quad.. now need those points!) - And, My Wildgold Malu Lani finished out points needed for her Supreme! - remember I was struggling with those points? well, in only 5 rings she blew out with 565 points (she needed 60) - Another wonderful thing that happened was she was given an award by Jean Mill - for the Most Valuable Bengal 2008 - the one which best represented the future of the breed - !

meow for now
melissa

do you know how hard this is??? Gloria!!!

Several of you have been very kind in emailing and telling me how much you enjoy The Daily Meow. Heart felt thanks on that. For those who complained that there wasn't anything this weekend, Gloria, get a life. :-) Do you know how hard it is to come up with something clever on a daily basis? Gloria!!!!!!

I suppose I could just go on and on about how perfect Polar is. Because after all, he is. :-) The damn cat even throws up cute. You know that horrible sound they all make just prior to? Well...not Polar. Even that sound is small and dainty, just like his not in the car meow. Yes, Polar has an in the car meow that can drive one absolutely nuts. That's about the only place he strays in the perfect department.

Since I wasn't at a show this weekend or next weekend, I have nothing to brag about. I saw two show reports so far. Big woohoos to Jeane Camarena and Scottie. They did particularly well in Surrey this past weekend. Also big woohoos to Bonnie Charvat and the Autumnsun gang. I saw that cattery name quite frequently in the Indianapolis show report. Yay for the Bobtails and non bobtails!! Also to Judy McNally and "Flip", whose supreme I reported on previously. "Flip" did pretty well in Indianapolis, second in show. Way to go "Flip".

Remember, if you and your cats do particularly well at a show, and I know you and like you let me know and I'll brag for you here at The Daily Meow.

Don't forget to enter all those end of the season shows. Phoenix, Lodi, Arcadia and Tucson could all use your support. Go to www.ticamembers.org for the show calendar and entry info for each show.

See everyone in Phoenix.

meow for now
Melissa

Friday, March 7, 2008

those who have money.....

We were having a discussion today at work based on a story that I read on AOL yesterday. The story was about how Bill Gates wasn't the richest man anymore. He was done to #3!! Gasp. How will he survive. Anyways, my attention was drawn to the #2 guy. Sorry, can't remember his name. What I do remember is that he's from India and is currently having a 27 story house built. Okay, I think it was the #2 guy. I'm sure he was in the top 5. But yikes, 27 floors? Which brought us to our discussion.

Everyone of us has those if I won the lottery dreams. I'm sure every single one of us involved in animals has picked a shelter to help. You can bet that if I ever win, there will be a cat building at the Humane Society. We talk about taking care of our friends and family, furry and not so furry. But here are people with billions of dollars and they build things like 27 story houses. Or they give money to help the hungry of Africa or to put kids in Africa through school. Drew Barrymore, on the Oprah show, pledged $1 million dollars of her own money to feed poor kids in Africa.

I'm sorry, but all I can think of is why not take care of our own first? Yes, there are people all over the world in need of help. But.....there are people all over this country that could benefit greatly from a warm meal and an education. And, there is no reason on the face of the earth that our veterans should be sleeping on the streets.

I know, this isn't cat related. This is kind of soap boxy. But who cares. This is my space to talk about what I want. You hear stories about Tom Cruise buying Katie a $10,000 purse. What I could do with $10,000. The cats would all have check ups and dentals, the shelter might get a few extra pet beds or blankets.

Okay off of my soap box. Here is a favorite website: www.theanimalrescuesite.com Please go to it every day and click on the button to feed hungry dogs and cats. Also, while you're there, go to all the other sites and click on them as well. Another thing to do is try to remember this site when you're shopping for a present for someone. If you purchase off of the animal site, all of your purchases fund bowls of food. It's a win, win situation. It's a way that those of us who can't afford 27 story homes can help.

meow for now
melissa

Thursday, March 6, 2008

how did this happen?

So.....how do we get where we are in life? I wasn't much of a cat person early on. Hard to believe. I actually owned those cartoon books 101 Uses for a Dead Cat and 101 More Uses for a Dead Cat. I couldn't help it. I was allergic. Why would anyone love something that they were allergic to? Then one weekend, Mom decided she wanted a cat. A gray and white with a spot on it's nose. Well....we found one at the Anti Cruelty Society in downtown Chicago. Mom picked her out, we adopted her, we brought her home.

A word of advice. If you're transporting a brand new cat, that hasn't had its nails clipped, in one of those cardboard cat carriers, don't tease it. Mom can't do anything about your bleeding finger while she's driving on the expressway. So we got Mom's cat home. Sometime during the night, Mom's new cat decided that she loved me and promptly rubbed her furry self all over my face. Swollen eyes and not being able to breath were a great reason for not going to school the next day. :-)

The rest, as they say, is history. I eventually developed a resistance to Cali's fur. Still being allergic to dogs and cats I decided that being a vet tech and working in an animal hospital seemed like a logical thing to do. Then slowly but surely, the number of cats living with me started to go up, one by one. And if the rescues weren't enough, I decided that I really did need that red Maine Coon. Well.........I did. And so Finney came to live with me and then Polar and then Painted Pony.

It's amazing what can happen to someone who didn't much care for cats.

meow for now.....
melissa

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

I'm not so sure about this daily posting stuff. This will require me to be witty everyday. That's not such an easy task. There's kind of a lull right now, show wise. Can't get to any of the shows this weekend or next weekend in TICAland. The next show where Polar and Frosty will be is the show in Phoenix over Easter weekend.

The show last weekend in Cabazon was a blast. It was very relaxed and fun. Polar finaled in 10 out of 12 rings, including 6 bests. Frosty finaled in 11 out of 12 rings. Not too shabby. I love showing those two cats. For a whole male, Frosty is so easy going and laid back. Too laid back sometimes. He's practically narcoleptic in the show ring. :-)

It's been quite awhile since Polar and Frosty supremed. So......I can brag about friend's cats instead. This will happen from time to time. If you have a show brag or announcement and I actually like you, I will post about it hear at the Daily Meow.

Big congrats to:
SGCA Ymir Rak My Soul, a Norwegian Forest Cat, owned and bred by Judy McNally of the Great Lakes Region. "Flip" achieved supreme status on February 23rd. Kay DeVilbiss was the lucky judge who supremed "Flip".

SGC Arohanui BC Tiponi, a LaPerm, owned by Jerrie Wolfe of the Mid Pacific Region. "Tipi" is the 1st whole LaPerm to supreme. "Tipi" achieved supreme status on March 1st at the Cabazon show. I personally was there to witness this one. Vickie Shields was the lucky judge to go down in LaPerm history.

Congratulations to Judy and Jerrie. Both cats were well deserving of their newly acquired status.

Also, another type of congratulations are in order. Two very dear friends were approved to start training to become judges in TICA. Big hugs and congratulations to Canie Brooks and Sharon Kalani for embarking down that long road to becoming a judge.

As we go into the final two months of the season, lets remember that it's just a cat show. Do points, titles and position mean more to you than friends? Do you really have to be number one? Is it worth the health, mental and physical, of the cat? Just something to consider. It is so easy to get caught up in the moment and excitement. And it's so easy to forget about what is truly important.

More tomorrow.....I have to prepare for a meeting at the Escondido Humane Society tonight. That's something else that you'll hear about fairly regularly. I am on the planning committee for the Humane Society's annual black tie dinner.

So......meow for now
Melissa

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Introduction to the Daily Meow-the Crazy Cat Lady

For quite awhile I've been referred to as the crazy cat lady. By those who don't know any better I guess I am. I have no where near the number of cats necessary to be classified as crazy but my life does seem to revolve around the little furballs, so I guess in the grand scheme of things I am crazy.

I've been fascinated and in love with cats for quite awhile. I used to work as a veterinary technician. I've shown cats for over 12 years. I work as a product manager for a company that makes natural nutritional supplements for dogs and cats. My mother and I also have a vendor booth that we have at local cat shows. We make our own cat beds and cat toys and sell jewelry and Whole Life and Halo cat treats. I've also worked with various rescue groups and humane societies and shelters both here in California and in Illinois where I'm originally from. So, yes, I'm crazy about cats. Dogs too!

I'm originally from the Chicago area; suburbs actually. First Franklin Park, then Addison, Winfield, Bloomingdale. Once I got tired of scraping snow and ice off of my car I decided to pack up the cats and drive across country and settle in Escondido, CA. San Diego County.

I started my cat show career by showing Household Pets. We show in TICA. That's The International Cat Association. Yes, you can show an ordinary house cat. I did this for nine years. It was so much fun. The HHP community in the Great Lakes Region was the best. One big happy family. Before moving to California, I got my dream cat. I got a red classic tabby Maine Coon. Celticpride Quiet Man of ClubRed. Finnegan. I adore Finney. I adore red cats. Finney was my first show alter. It took some time, but I supremed him. And then I met Polar....

Kokopellies Polar Express. A blue silver lynx point American Bobtail longhair. Polar is the absolute dream of dreams. He exemplifies the breed standard and he is a dream to show. I've waited a long time to show a cat that loved to show and that did well. I have Jon VanDuinwyk of Kokopellies American Bobtails & Siberians to thank for this. I saw Polar, I fell in love and Jon offered to give him to me to show. The only stipulation was that I agreed to show Polar in at least 10 shows. Well......Polar is now working on his second International best of breed alter. Last season he finished 27th internationally and 3rd in the region. We should finish somewhere close to that this season as well.

You will be hearing a lot about Polar in the Daily Meow. You will be hearing a lot about Cooncreole Zhivago aka Frosty as well. Frosty is the cat I handle at cat shows for my friend Jon. You will be hearing about TICA cat shows. I will share favorite websites and cat products that I come across. If any of my friends have a brag about their cat, I will share that as well. You will also be hearing about my work with the Escondido Humane Society from time to time. I'm on the planning committee for the annual black tie fundraiser.

Oh.....I do travel quite a bit for cat shows and I work. Sooooo......do not expect a daily, Daily Meow. There will be some days that you won't see an update. That will usually mean that I'm at a cat show. You will get updates when I get home.

meow for now......