Fun weekend at the SW Regional

Well.....we had a great weekend at the SW Regional. The show hall was nice. Very roomy with lots of light. The Sheraton Hotel was wonderful. The staff was helpful and the rooms were beautiful. Polar definitely likes Sheratons vs Motel 6. Momma raised him right.

The cats all had a great time. Polar finaled in 8 out of 12, Frosty 7 out of 12 and little PJ managed to pick up 4 finals, including an allbreed ring.

Kokopellies Polar Frost aka PJ, made his debut this weekend. The judges seemed to like him. The best part was that he had a great time. The whole thing was a game to him. Eat, sleep and play and go to the judging ring. They all loved his disposition and temperament. This is what not raising the kittens in cages will do for you. They purr and are happy and well balanced mentally.

Little Nicholas, Kokopellies Czar Nicholas, also made his debut this weekend. Although too young to show, Nicky was eligible to be in the show hall. He started his show career with a bang. The poor little thing hardly got any sleep. He was out constantly, getting evaluated and being introduced to his new cat show family. The consensus about little Nicky was that we have a potential winner on our hands. This really puffed Jon up. It was the type of news and attention that he needed this weekend.

Chanan was able to get some great pictures of Frosty, PJ and Nicky on Saturday as well.

We had a great time at the banquet. Given how regional awards show banquets usually go, this was darn right quick. Get in, get your awards, get out. It was really nice for those of us who needed a little extra shut eye. I was convinced that Jon was going to get Piggy of the Year again this year. But no such luck. Alex Chisholm was an even bigger piggy. Oink, oink.

With the regional out of the way, we now gear up for the Annual in Texas. We're really excited about the Annual this year. We actually have a reason to go this year. Jon and I have to pick up 3 international awards between the two of us. Cooncreole Zhivago (Frosty) is Best of Breed Siberian and 16th Best LH Cat. Painted Pony is 9th Best HHPK international. Polar was Best of Breed American Bobtail Alter, but they don't present those at the banquet. He already got his certificate in the mail.

All in all it was a really good weekend. Right now, I'm a little on the exhausted side.

meow for now,
melissa

Regional show this weekend

It's finally here. The weekend of the regional show. This is the weekend where we not only get to show our cats, but receive our awards for last year's wins. All in all, in the show ring, we've had a pretty good year. Outside of the show hall it could have been better, especially for Jon.

This years winners include:

IW SGC Cooncreole Zhivago
seal lynx point Siberian
SW Region 3rd Best Cat
SW Region 3rd Best LH Cat
SW Region Best of Breed Siberian
International 16th Best LH Cat
International Best of Breed Siberian

RW SGCA Kokopellies Polar Express
blue silver lynx point American Bobtail
SW Region 4th Best Alter
SW Region Best of Breed Alter
International Best of Breed Alter

IW Painted Pony
black and white HHPK
SW Region 3rd Best HHPK
International 9th Best HHPK

RW QGC Kokopellies Polar Mist
seal silver lynx point American Bobtail LH
SW Region 13th Best LH Cat
International 2nd Best of Breed American Bobtail longhair
International Best seal silver lynx point American Bobtail

This season looks quite promising as well. Polar will once again try to gain that International Alter title. Frosty will show part time this season. He needs to get a regional win for his Lifetime Achievement award. Our first crop of kittens this year have produced some phenomenal cats.
First up was Kokopellies Sorbet. She is one of Snow Fox's first litter. A real cutie. A chocolate torbie point. Second up will be PJ, or Polar Jr, Kokopellies Polar Frost. He's a little blue silver lynx point longhair. Hmmm....where have we heard that before. Following on PJ's heels will be Kokopellies Northern Light, or Bubba. Bubba is owned by the Bolen family and they're very graciously allowing us to show him. And bringing up the rear will be Nicholas and Alexandra. These are Frosty's grandchildren. There will be no doubt who Nicky is related to once you see the blazing white tail light that he has. Just like Grandpa.

There are a couple of shorthair Bobtails coming up that have great potential. Sabrina just had a litter of kittens sired by Frosty. At just a couple of hours old, we're kind of convinced that one of them has a tail light. Too funny. Our (my) newest girl Izzy is also expecting.

Hopefully the joy of the upcoming litters and the promise of the new season will bring some happiness back into Jon's life.

Soooo......hopefully we'll have much to meow about in the coming months. Come to the Pasadena Convention Center this weekend and have some fun.

Have to go dust off the heels, fancy jewelry and the dress.....

meow for now,
melissa

Kokopellies Czar Nicholas

Kokopellies Czar Nicholas. The name sounds so large. It should fit a large cat. Well.....that's little Nicky's name. Little Nicky. Hmmmm.......little.

Little Nicky and his littermates don't exactly seem so little. Okay, they're freakin' huge. Sorry for the use of freakin'. I thought of another term but just in case we have some junior meowers.......

We just weighed them this weekend. Nicholas and Alexandra, the two biggest kittens are 3 1/2 pounds. The smallest in the litter, Napoleon, was one meal shy of 3 pounds. Did I mention that these little chubs aren't quite 3 months yet? They're 11 weeks old. Nicky doesn't debut in the show ring until the Annual in Arlington. He's about half the size of his mother. And he is a charmer. What a sweet face and personality to boot.

Jon is remodeling the cattery so I have all the Siberians except for Frosty with me right now. We are having the most fun. Nicky and Alexandra and their brother, who doesn't have a name and their Mom, Sasha arrived yesterday with Iziza, my girl. Welcome to Siberia. Right in the heart of North County San Diego. I have a good air conditioner. :-)

Jon may have to fight me to get little Nicky back. OH.......I almost forgot one of the best things about little Nicky. He sure takes after his grandfather, Frosty. Most people know about Frosty's trademark tail light. Well.........:-) It's a shiner.

We are so excited about little Nicky getting into the show ring. Also excited about PJ stepping into the show ring. Oh and little Bubba, excuse me, Kokopellies Northern Light. The nice couple who bought him are going to show him for a bit for us. Woohoo for Liz and Roger.

So.....I think that's it for today. I'm going to try to upload Frosty's newest photo on the side bar today. And perhaps in the days coming I'll start posting pictures on the blog as well.

meow for now,
melissa eichler

I'm going to be a Grandma

Sooooo.....you don't get any posts for awhile and now you're going to get multiple today. How lucky are you??

So, yes. I'm going to be a Grandmother. My beautiful Iziza, that I got from Judy Chappetta, is pregnant. She and Frosty are going to make beautiful babies. Of course grandma here is a little nervous. What's the line from "Gone With the Wind"? "I don't know nothing about birthin no babies". Well sports fans, it's true.

I know. I worked in an animal hospital forever. Well.....clients didn't bring their animals to us for live births. We were there for c-sections. I'm a whiz at prepping and running a c-section. Not live birth. We had two live births at DuPage Animal Hospital. Both were on my day off. One was a bassett hound who was brought in to be checked and started giving birth right there in the exam room. The other was a stray momma cat who had them on a day I wasn't there. Sooo.....no witnessing of live birth.

And not even this weekend. I got the call from Jon while I was en route to his house that Sabrina had gone into labor and had already had two kittens. I'm thinking great, I have about two hours, I should get to see some of the others born and learn a little something. Not. By the time I got there, Sabrina had all five kittens and had them cleaned up already. Five kittens in 2 1/2 hours. Is this some new kitty record??

Secretly, we all know the real reason why Jon sent Iziza home with me. So I could witness the miracle of birth. Gag!! I'll witness it once, not want to do this anymore and then sign Iziza over to him once and for all. Instead of co-owning her with him. :-) Thanks Jon. I figured out your plan. Just for that I'm holding little Nicholas hostage. Ah, yes. Little Nicky. More on him to follow.

Sooo....my first little Siberians are on their way. We're figuring sometime in the next 2-3 weeks. So even more to Meow about.......

meow for now,
melissa

the arrival of PJ

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I guess I should have called this the not so daily, Daily Meow. Things have been kind of tough here the last couple of weeks.

First, I lost Sundance and then we heard of the passing of Jon's son, Jeff. He was only 29. It was very sudden and unexpected. So......we've been kind of reeling from that.

Soooo.......to take my mind off of Sundance, Jon sent PJ home to me now instead of making me wait until the Regional on Saturday. PJ, stands for Polar Jr, or officially, Kokopellies Polar Frost. Yep, you guessed it, I got another little Polar. He's a blue silver lynx point. Way to go JJ (Kokopellies Snow Princess)!! She makes the cutest kittens.

So I brought PJ home July 12th. He walked out of the carrier and announced himself. Mr No Fear. Mr I'm going to purr even louder when I think you're mad at me. Or.....Tarzan. He recently found out that the sheers in my dining room, the same ones Sean has been chewing on, make great jungle vines. I don't know what possessed him to think that he could swing on them, but he did. He walks right up to them, jumps and grabs on. The jumping motion gives him a little swing action. Yahoo!!!!!

PJ might look like Polar, but he sure doesn't act like Polar. Polar is Mr Calm, Mr Laid Back, Mr Perfect. Sorry, but he is perfect. He's definitely a B personality. I would have to say that PJ is a AAA personality. From his cute little face to his giant feet......He's taking after his Dad, Snow Fox. I can't wait to show him. That cute little face of his.......

Soooo......Daily Meowers, I'm sure you'll be hearing about the antics of PJ for awhile. Which is good. I needed more things to write about, so I got another cat. :-)

meow for now,
melissa

Tazmanners

I learned today that while I too was mourning the loss of a very special feline, that my friend Carol was doing the same thing. Carol was owned by a very special kitty named Taz. Taz was a great show kitty. He had this great presence on the judging table and in the benching area. He was a big fan of our catnip toys that we made and sold.

His eyes would light up when he say a new toy. He had to have a new one every show. Taz would hug and slurp the toy. He would roll all over his grooming cart. He was a great salesman.

I lost count of how old he was but I would guess close to 14 years old.

Taz was always a gentleman, always a crowd favorite. I'm glad that I got to see him last year when I went to Toledo for a show.

I like to think that Taz and Sunny met up at the Rainbow Bridge and crossed over together. Knowing Sunny he probably greeted Taz with a kiss on the head and said "this way".

meow for now,
melissa

Sundance...one of those special cats

Today I lost a piece of my heart. I had to make the decision for my beloved Sundance to cross over the Rainbow Bridge.

It all started with a tail that wouldn't work. Nothing else was wrong. And then progressively, day by day, something just wasn't right.

On Sunday, upon returning from a weekend away, I discovered that my Sunny was in severe discomfort and was having trouble walking.

X-rays showed spondylosis on his spine at T 13, L 1 and L 2. Our best guess is that it either encroached on his spinal chord or a piece of it broke off and was in the process of severing his spinal chord. Day by day, Sunny was becoming paralyzed. On Tuesday, Dr Gallerstein said that there was nothing more that could be done medically.

We spent the day together on Tuesday. It was a wonderful day.

Sundance was one of those special cats that leaves their footprints on your heart permanently. Today I lost a piece of my heart, but it was replaced by wondeful memories. Sunny wasn't in my life long enough. I do feel cheated, but blessed that this wonderful creature was in my life for any amount of time.

Sunny was my greeter cat. He greeted any human or cat who came in the door. All new kitties in the house were greeted with a kiss on the top of the head and a grand tour. They were shown where the litterboxes, scratching posts and dishes were. They were told which toys they weren't allowed to play with and where their spot on the bed would be. He was a big mellow mush that purred all the time.

He had the most wonderful purr. He purred all the way until the end. The last sound he made was a purr. It makes me feel that he understood why I had to make the decision that I did. He was suffering. His mind and heart worked perfectly. It was the back half that quit working on him. Because of the wonderful option that veterinary medicine offers us, I didn't have to see him lose his dignity. I could have kept him around, carrying him around, feeding him, putting him in the litterbox. I could have, but it would have been selfish. Sunny was one of the best cats. He was a wonderful friend. It was the greatest gift I could have given him. So.....his suffering is over and my darling Sunny crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. In a couple of weeks I'll have his ashes, a pawprint and a locket of fur to remember him by. But best of all I have a heart full of memories and a camera full of pictures to hold on to.

I will miss him terribly

meow for now,
melissa