Friday, June 27, 2008

Pierre-my first American Bobtail

How time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I brought home a box with three little kittens in it from work. They were the cutest little kittens. There was a red, a red and white and a brown classic tabby and white. Their tails also seemed to fascinate me. The little red guy had what looked like just short of half a tail. The brown and white guy had this short little tail and the red and white kitten had everything they were missing and then some!!

Welcome to the world of American Bobtails. Who knew?? Not even knowing at the time that the breed existed, we were of course thinking Japanese Bobtail, Manx, whatever. I immediately wanted to name the red guy, Bob. One of the vets I worked for said I should be more creative. Soooo.....Bob became Robere. The red and white guy became Jean-Tom, and the little brown and white guy became Robespierre, or Pierre. For those who might remember way back.....I was a fan of the cartoon, Gay Purree. That's where Jean-Tom and Pierre came from. :-)

They were such a fun litter. They learned how to escape from the tent I used to keep them in. They would each grab a hold of one end of a toy and run in different directions.

Most of you who know me would immediately start to wonder, why didn't I keep Robere? He's red!! At the time, I didn't want red cats. Who knew? I was completely unaware of how wonderful they are, especially the males.

There was something about Pierre. He had this little cap of brown on top of his white head and this little mark over one eye. I called it his clown mark.

When the family who originally wanted Pierre backed out, I decided to keep him. This proposed a bit of a challenge seeing that Mom's cat Lily hated Pierre. So Pierre stayed at the animal hospital and with a friend until I moved out and was able to reclaim my Pierre. I did get weekend visits with him. I tried to show him. His very first show his was Best of the Best HHPK out of 17 kittens!! Woohoo. It was all down hill from there. He finished kitten class, attempted adult class and retired. It's too bad. He would have been a kick ass show cat.

Little did I know that he wasn't being treated very well at my "friend's" house. I would find this out years later. Pierre became quite angry. After awhile we were able to work through the anger issues for the most part. He still has his moments. I still suggest to people not to look away while petting him. Pierre gives no warning before biting. Right Mom, Kelly, Bonnie, Dad, Dewane, Patti,.........

Little did I know that I was getting my first introduction to the American Bobtail. The breed that has wrapped itself around my heart. Pierre didn't/doesn't meow. He makes these little chirping noises. They're very curious, dog-like cats. They can be very demanding of your attention. They love their people.

About 4 years after showing Pierre, I was introduced to the American Bobtail by John and Bonnie Charvat. I loved their cats. Then I moved to California. Showed my Maine Coon. Loved my Maine Coon. And then I met Jon and Polar. I love my American Bobtails. I love showing them. Polar, Sorbet, Painted Pony, Thunder, Snow Fox. They've all been wonderful to show. And now at the end of July we'll be introducing Kokopellies Polar Frost, or PJ. Want to guess who he looks like? :-)

I'm also becoming quite fond of the Siberians. I guess I should be since I now own a breeding female. The personalities are so similar to the Bobtails. I just love them thanks to Jon and Frosty.

Sooooo.....anyways, what brought this whole thing up? Oh yeah. Yesterday was Pierre's 12th birthday. Where does the time go? Our little babies are growing up. Even Polar. He's going to be 3 in August. It seems like just yesterday that we met..........

meow for now,
melissa

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The official letters have arrived

Well.....it's official. Our official notification letters from Vicki have arrived.

Kokopellies Polar Express is officially the SW Region's 4th Best Alter.

Painted Pony is officially the SW Region's 3rd Best Household Pet Kitten.

Cooncreole Zhivago is officially the SW Region's 3rd Best Cat, 3rd Best LH Cat and Best of Breed Siberian.

Kokopellies Polar Mist is officially the SW Region's 13th Best LH Cat.

I'm sure Mom's Theo got something as well, but she hasn't shared the good news as of yet. Mom?? I think Theodore might be 17th Best Household Pet, but not sure.

Now all we have to do is sit and wait for the official letters from the Executive Office regarding our international wins.

This past season was one to remember. We had great triumphs in the ring as well as personal ups and downs for Jon. Now we're in a new season. We've got a great crop of kittens already. Many are already in their new homes or soon to be. We've selected a few potential heartbreakers to show for the season. Nicholas, Alexandra, Bubba, Sorbet and PJ show all sorts of promise for us. We can't wait to get their little feet into the show ring. As we've got people lined up looking for Kokopellie show cats we're hoping that Thunder and Sassy will produce some little winners as well.

When cats are involved, there is never a dull moment. One of these days I'll actually think of something fairly clever to post instead of all these updates. Maybe I'll even take a try at posting pictures. Oooooo........how novel. :-)

meow for now,
melissa

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Arcadia show-America's Finest Felines

Well.....we had yet another great weekend in Arcadia at the America's Finest Felines show this past weekend. We had Thunder, Sorbet, Polar and Clive with us.

Mr Clive, the beautiful Ragdoll that is on loan to us picked up three more finals on Saturday, taking him to a Grand Champion level I believe. He is so cute. I'm sorry that we have to send him back home. But he does have a girlfriend waiting. :-)

Shy, sweet Thunder also picked up a few more finals towards his titles. I think he brought home 4 finals. I'll have to check the catalog.

Miss Sorbet did her best to charm everyone as well. Showing off the personality that she got from her father, Snow Fox. She also managed 5-7 finals. Again, I'll have to check the catalog. We had so many finals this weekend it's hard to keep things straight. :-)

And Polar........Kokopellies Polar Express brought home 10 out of 10 finals this weekend. Woohoo!! He ended Saturday with a best Alter, from Candy Jacobsen, thanks Candy and started the day on Sunday with a Best Alter from Rene Knapp. Thanks Rene. After that it was all seconds for Polar. Not too shabby especially given the company he was in. There weren't many alters being shown but there wasn't a dog in the bunch. The two Ragdolls were beautiful. Mr Jake the Balinese was out of sorts but still managed to pick up some great finals. See Carol....never give up!! And Miss Picalow, the little Munchkin, enjoying herself as always.

What I loved the most was the reaction from some of the judges to our Bobs. There were judges in attendance who had never see a Kokopellie American Bobtail. They seemed quite impressed with what we're producing and rewarded us accordingly. As we don't get a chance to get out East much, it's nice when clubs bring in these judges so they can see what's being produced and shown on the left coast.

Two more weeks until the next Arcadia show. PJ will be coming home that weekend to meet and greet his new brothers and sisters and get used to Polar. His debut will be the SW Regional. We can't wait.

For those I may have told this weekend. Polar is fine and will be able to go the the July Arcadia show. No worries, no major surgery. All is well.

More later. It's getting pretty hot and I have much to do. Like work. LOL!! :-) At 8:00am it was 75 degrees. It's supposed to be close to 100 again today and for the rest of the week. Ick.

meow for now,
melissa

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Did you blink part 2

I was re-reading some of what I wrote. So I want to clarify some stuff and make a correction. The Burmese didn't belong to Kathryn, but to a CFA breeder whose name Kathryn gave me, but I can't seem to find at the moment.

Perhaps my wording about Nina Adkins and her cats were a bit strong. But....that's how I feel. Sorry, can't help it. Perhaps she's not a horrible person, I don't know, I don't really know her personally.

I am sorry if some of you working with newer breeds took offense. I don't like the munchkinized breeds. Just my opinion. My blog, I can say what I want. I hope my replies to your emails helped to clear up some of the misunderstandings.

My thoughts about the section at the end were apparently dead on. I've had several non-breeder people tell me what they thought. It wasn't good.

Usually topics of new breeds brings out the passion in some people. We will all just have to agree to disagree on this topic. I probably shouldn't have used the word horrible in describing her. I won't apologize for the rat cat comment. I'm sorry, that's what they look like and I won't use the breed name as I don't want to help it in the search engines. Using her name already helped.

Every one of us have topics that bring out the passion in us. I guess we found mine. :-)

To those working on new breeds, best of luck in your breeding programs. I applaud those who are breeding for health and temperament. To those of you who are doing it because you can charge an astronomical amount of money for your "hybrids", shame on you. For those of you who know me, you know which breeder/breed that I'm referring to.

Please do not take offense. This blog is simply to voice my opinions and to talk about whatever is on my mind for that particular day. If you want to discuss, email me.

meow for now,
melissa

Did you blink? Polar's 2 1/2 seconds......

So, here's the post game wrap up. First of all, if you blinked, you missed Polar's 2 1/2 seconds of fame. Oh well. At least I knew it was him. :-) A friend did tell me she saw him in the fast montage at the end. I didn't. Will have to do a slow-mo replay.

Over all we thought it was a good documentary. It was very interesting and it provided scientific data to confirm what everyone thought. That cats were domesticated in Egypt. The only disappoints that I have, other than the lack of Polar, were that they kind of mocked breeders and the use of that horrible Nina Adkins and her rat cats at the end. She did not represent the cat fancy in a good light.

On the positive side, Laurie Simes' Bengal got some beautiful air time as did the Burmese, which I believe belongs to Kathryin Amman. Jerrie Wolfe's little La Perm got some decent air time at the end as well.

As I said, I guess if you look at it that they kind of mocked breeders and purebreds, I'm kind of glad that they didn't use Polar as much. Of course, the main focus was on Dr Leslie Lyons and her research, not the purebred cats.

So, there are mixed reviews. Yes, I thought it was well done. Yes, I did get kind of teary seeing Polar on the television. I didn't like how breeders were mocked. I didn't like them using that horrible Adkins woman and her rat cats. And, her statement about those cats being good for someone with allergies, b*******. They still have the enzyme in their saliva that creates the dander that people are allergic to. Her main goal in life is to create deformed cats. It was disheartening to see that they gave her so much focus. Even if it wasn't in such a positive light. She still got undeserved attention.

I guess if I look at it this way I can say that I have one more thing to add to Polar's resume. :-)

Big show this weekend. Lots of cats that we're showing as well as delivering some babies to their new parents. Happy day. I know of two couples that are going to have a great weekend!!

meow for now,
melissa

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Tonight is the night

Woohoo!! I can hardly wait. Tonight is the night for the National Geographic Explorer documentary, "Science of Cats". The promo is finally on the front page of the National Geographic Channel's webpage. www.channel.nationalgeographic.com Click on the kitty. :-)

I have a couple of people recording for me. I'm waiting to see if I can buy a copy of the DVD from National Geographic and as soon as I'm done here, I'm going to call my cable company and see if I can upgrade by tonight. I would love nothing more than to watch this documentary surrounded by the herd, with Polar on my lap. I told him I would have a bowl of popcorn and he could have a bowl of chicken treats.

I truly hope that he has more than just those two seconds in the promo video, but if not, I am still so proud that he was chosen to represent the breed by the National Geographic Society. Quite an honor. Heck, even if he was a rescue, it would be quite an honor to be included in something as prestigious as this.

Soooo.....set your TiVos or DVRs and watch this amazing documentary tonight. And for those who are dog lovers, "Science of Dogs" appears on June 24th. Something for everyone. :-)

Hugs to all, I have to go call the cable company.

meow for now,
melissa

Thursday, June 5, 2008

National Geographic Explorer: Science of Cats

Well.......the day we've been waiting for has arrived. Tune in to the National Geographic Channel on Tuesday, June 10th, 7pm and 10pm EDT, check your local listings. National Geographic Explorer: Science of Cats will debut that night.

You can click on the link below to see an almost 5 minute clip of the show. It looks very interesting. If you click on the link below and watch, check out the kitty at the 4:35 mark. It's Polar, Kokopellies Polar Express. I can't believe it.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3103/Overview#tab-Videos/05409_00

There were 43 breeds who came out to UC Davis that Saturday in December. Over 30 were used in the documentary. I am so blessed and unbelieveably grateful that the producers, thanks Dana, felt compelled to use him in such beautiful company. In just the few minutes that I saw, I believe I saw one of Laurie Simes' incredible Bengals and an incredible Burmese was dominating the clip. Katherine is that your kitty? It was amazing company to be in.

Two years ago I was showing Finney, Celticpride Quiet Man of ClubRed, my big red Maine Coon. Then, at the Cabazon show, my life changed. I met Jon VanDuinwyk of Kokopellies American Bobtails & Siberians. He gave me Polar. GAVE him to me. It was on the condition that I promise to show him in at least 10 shows a season. I believe the first season I showed him he showed in 28 shows, was International Best of Breed and finished 28th International. This season he was in 24 shows, is International Best of Breed and finished 31st International. We have great hopes for this season.

These last two years would never have been the same without Jon VanDuinwyk and his incredible American Bobtails. Even in the show halls. Polar and I have received so much support from all of the other exhibitors. It's rather overwhelming at times. Now, in addition to having such an incredible cat I've been lucky enough to play agent for Jon's Siberian, Cooncreole Zhivago, aka Frosty. Frosty is truly a love. He's been International Best of Breed two years running. And this year, he's finishing in the top 20 Longhair Cats Internationally. The last time I checked he was sitting at 15th or 16th. We won't know for sure until the letter arrives.

And things just keep changing for the better. I'm now in charge of Jon's website. I've made numerous changes and improvements. More are coming!! I'm also working on another breeder's website. I just got my first breeding Siberian, Izzy. Jon and I are now partners in his cattery. I can't believe the generosity of this man. His belief in me and his support has been incredible.

We have some great cats coming up. PJ should be debuting at the SW Regional. Nick should be debuting at the Annual. Bubba should be debuting at the August Arcadia show. And of course, we'll try for that elusive IW for Polar. He's looking good and gaining weight. We'll keep our fingers and toes crossed.

Every day in the show ring is a blessing. We've been blessed with wonderful cats that are able to compete with the world's most amazing cats, TICA cats. Every final is a gift that is much appreciated.

To be included in the National Geographic documentary is one of the greatest gifts of all.

I hope everyone tunes in and watches. It looks like the producers did a great job. Well done Dana!!

Well....I'm on cloud nine.

meow for now,
melissa

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Izzy is beautiful and other updates

Well, I traveled up to Jon's on Saturday to meet Izzy and play with kittens, I mean get some work done. I had a blast. Cooncreole Iziza, aka Izzy, is beautiful. She is a warm golden brown with giant owl eyes. And is Frosty ever in love!! He was so cute with her. He was nuzzling her and giving her little kisses on her cheek. It was love at first sight.

I'm really hoping that I'll be able to announce in about two months a new litter from Cooncreole Zhivago and Cooncreole Iziza. Keep your fingers crossed.

The kittens were adorable. Sasha's litter is finally just over 4 weeks and showing their little personalities. Dasha's litter is beyond amazing. They are all drop dead gorgeous. They look like little Frosty clones. Hopefully I'll be able to get some of the pictures that I took up on the website. Jon put a hold on the remainder of Dasha's litter. It seems that I kept selling his show quality kittens. Oops!! My bad. He was a real cutie coming from Sasha's litter. His name this week is Czar Nicholas. The couple who are getting Dasha's boy named him Kokopellies Northern Lights. I love that name!!!! I can't wait to show him for them.

An update on Polar. He is doing fine. His little butt blowout that he had healed nicely and only needed a couple of days on antibiotics. He's been taking his protein powder and doing his strength training to help bulk up. If this doesn't work, we may have to visit some of those websites that target bodybuilders. I think one of the ones I found was cheapanabolics.com. No, I'm not kidding. There really is a website like that. I found it while researching an ingredient for work.

I saw my little PJ while I was at Jon's. Way to cute. All I have to do now is think of a registered name for him. He looks so much like Polar.

Hopefully we'll see some major updates and changes to the website by the end of the weekend. I also have toys to make for the show next weekend and another website to create and get up and running.

So much to do.....so little time. Grrrrrr.....

meow for now,
melissa