the Meow is back!!

Wow....April 20th was my last post. I guess I am stretching the Daily part of the Daily Meow a bit much. But I did say in the very beginning that this wouldn't be a daily Daily Meow. I can't just come up with that much stuff.

So lets see, where to begin since April 20th? Well the show season ended and things didn't exactly end up where we were hoping. We did do exceptionally well, but there is still that tiny black cloud hanging over this season's great accomplishments. I'll get the bad out of the way first. Yes, Polar lost out on Best Alter in the Southwest Region. And he did so by less than 20 points. Very disappointing. I would have absolutely no problem with coming in second if it had been done honestly. Jon and I play fair. We don't cheat or do thing deceptively. It just really hurts when it comes from someone whom I considered a friend. So even though the standings may say that Polar is 2nd Best Alter in the region, we all know that he was really the best.

Now for the rest of the stuff worth cheering for!!!

Kokopellies Czar Nicholar (Nicky)
brown mackerel tabby Siberian
2nd Best Kitten in the SW Region
Best Siberian Kitten in the SW Region
23rd Best Kitten Internationally
2nd Best Siberian Kitten Internationally

Kokopellies Polar Frost (PJ)
chocolate silver lynx point American Bobtail
6th Best Kitten in the SW Region (I think, somewhere right around there)
Best American Bobtail kitten SW Region
Best American Bobtail Cat SW Region
somewhere in the top 20 LH Cats in the SW Region (still waiting on those results)
Best American Bobtail Kitten Internationally
Best American Bobtail Cat Internationally

Kokopellies Polar Express
blue silver lynx point American Bobtail
2nd BEST Alter SW Region
Best American Bobtail Alter SW Region
18th Best Alter Internationally
Best American Bobtail Alter
and yes, if you just read that Polar was best Bobtail Alter and read PJ's accomplishments, then you read correctly. WE SWEPT THE BREED internationally!!!!!!! Woohoo!!
Lifetime Achievement award winner

Cooncreole Zhivago (Frosty)
seal lynx point Siberian
Best Siberian Cat SW Region
BEST CAT SW Region
Best LH Cat SW Region
Best Siberian Internationally
14th Best Cat Internationally
He also gets a LH Cat award Internationally as well!!
Lifetime Achievement award winner

We also have in the Regional winner placings, Kokopellies Alexandra, top 20 kitten award, 2nd Best Siberian kitten SW Region and Kokopellies Sorbet, 2nd Best American Bobtail Kitten, 2nd Best American Bobtail Cat and quite possibly in the top 20 LH Cats in the Region as well.

It's been one hell of a ride. At the awards banquet in Orlando, Jon will have his name called no less than 5 times. My name will be called 4 times (I don't co-own Frosty). We have been so blessed it's unbelieveable.

At the beginning of the season we were just really hoping to get Polar his International win, for his Lifetime Achievement award, and to get a regional win on Frosty so he could get his Lifetime Achievement award and maybe get a regional win for Nicky and PJ. Well.......we did meet our goals. We may have gone a little above and beyond but we did reach our goals. :-)

The only things that marred the season were things that were out of our control and things that I guess only happen when you start to do well and people consider you a threat. I've been showing for 14 years. I know there are things that go on. The politics of campaigning you could call it. I never in a million years thought that someone would start to play those games with us. First the questions, "where are you going next?", start to come. Then accusations, behind our backs of course, "we bought all of our judges", "we drug Frosty". And then the ringers get brought out to stop us when competing the honest way doesn't work. It's been eye opening and hurtful. Would I ever want to work so hard for an International win again? I'm not so sure.

This season has really opened my eyes to whom I can and can't trust. I know I can count on Jon and trust him with my life and with my best interests. The rest........not so sure. When it all comes down to it, this is a competition. Everyone is in it for what they can achieve for themselves. And of course we are in the thick of that competition. But would I sacrifice friendships and my integrity for a higher placing? I would like to think not. I guess what I learned is that just because you call someone your friend doesn't mean that you are their friend. I consider most people in the show hall my friends. I consider some of them my family. Not everyone shares in those feelings. To some, going to shows is just another hobby or another way to make some money.

To me and to Jon, showing should be about fun. If you can't have fun at the show, why go? We love going to the shows, competing against the incredible cats that people bring out, having some laughs and sometimes sharing a great post show meal. To us, it's all about fun and friendships. And, okay, after this season, maybe a few wins to boot!! :-)

Please take a look at the website and check out the 2008-2009 Champions page. I do have some things planned for some of the other pages. The first batch of Siberians are on the ground and growing like weeds. The second batch is due in the next month or so. This should take care of the waiting list and maybe give us something to show as well.

We're going to take it easy this season. We ran hard all last season. PJ will be out at the shows. we'll see how high we can take this incredible little Bobtail. He supremed before the end of the season. So that goal has already been accomplished. It was accomplished in 5 shows. Frosty and Polar are retired. They will be at the Regional for one last hurrah. We might be able to coax Frosty into wearing a tuxedo. I'm going to try. :-) Nicky will also be out starting with either the regional or the annual. There may also be a Siberian kitten thrown in. Time will tell.

That's all for now.

meow for now,
melissa