So....this season has been so busy it's been terribly difficult to keep up and post as much as I would like. I am also, hopelessly addicted to Facebook. I admit it. So....if any of you meowers out there are on Facebook, add me as a friend, Melissa Eichler, so long as you promise to sign up for Mob Wars, Mafia Wars, Dragon Wars and Pirates so I can get more crew members. :-)
Anyhow....on to the exciting cat news. First off, I'm a grandma. My beautiful Izzy, Cooncreole Iziza, had three beautiful kittens early this morning. I got the call this morning. When I answered the phone I heard, "Good morning, Grandma". She had two browns and a lynx point. I don't want to gush too much and jinx anything. The first few days are critical, but so far so good. Jon said at first she didn't want to stay put with the babies. We were afraid of hypothermia. But he put Izzy and her babies in with Basha and her babies and all is right with the world now. Just what the world needs, three more Siberians. I'll keep you all posted.
And now for Frosty's world tour update. Frosty and Polar traveled to the beautiful, cloudy and rainy NW last weekend to Tukwila, WA. The boys did well. Frosty finaled in 14 out of 18 rings and Polar finaled in 9 out of 12. Polar only attended for two of the three days. Frosty continues his retirement world tour this weekend in beautiful Lewiston, ME, where he and Jon will dine on crab and lobster rolls while I keep you all updated on how the show is going. Does that seem fair? Frosty's world tour will continue for the whole month concluding at the Inn Suites in beautiful Tucson, AZ. We hope many of you will be able to join us for the conclusion of the tour. If the tour does well and ends successfully, we will be hosting a party in Orlando, FL, over Labor Day weekend. :-) Keep your fingers, toes and paws crossed.
Not to be out done, Polar has been doing his own mini tour. He is Frosty's opening act at the more local shows. If all goes well for Polar's mini tour, he too will be co-hosting the party in Orlando with Frosty. Time will tell........
I can't believe how lucky and blessed we have been this season. We could have 2, maybe 3 International winners. We could possibly sweep the American Bobtail category internationally. Frosty and Polar should both receive International wins, their Lifetime Achievement awards and possibly Best Cat in the SW Region for Frosty and Best Alter for Polar. It's been an amazing season with only 29 more days to go.
Stay tuned......
meow for now,
melissa
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Belated birthday for my Sean and Kate
I'm such a horrible cat mom. I forgot to wish my Sean and Kate a happy birthday on March 17th. They're St Patricks babies. They came from a good Irish kitty family. Four red boys and a torbie girl.
They came to me at just three days old. I kept Sean and Kate to hand raise. Another family took the other three. Sean Thornton and Mary Kate Danaher if you please. They got their names from the John Wayne movie, The Quiet Man. A family favorite.
They turned 11 this year. Hard to believe where the time goes. 11 years ago, all five fit into two hands. Today, Sean's head is bigger than my two hands. :-) Sean....one of the loves of my life. Miss Kate, loves her Daddy. (My Dad). They adopted each other.
Belated birthday wishes to Sean and Kate.
meow for now,
melissa
They came to me at just three days old. I kept Sean and Kate to hand raise. Another family took the other three. Sean Thornton and Mary Kate Danaher if you please. They got their names from the John Wayne movie, The Quiet Man. A family favorite.
They turned 11 this year. Hard to believe where the time goes. 11 years ago, all five fit into two hands. Today, Sean's head is bigger than my two hands. :-) Sean....one of the loves of my life. Miss Kate, loves her Daddy. (My Dad). They adopted each other.
Belated birthday wishes to Sean and Kate.
meow for now,
melissa
Happy Birthday PJ
Today is my little PJ's first birthday. PJ has been such a joy to show. For those who don't know his name stands for Polar Junior. When he was a baby we thought he was the same color as Polar, a blue silver. After a couple of months, when his color started to darken, it became apparent that he wasn't. He was a chocolate silver. Thanks to Jeff Roberts for pointing it out to us!!
PJ very much takes after his Dad, Snow Fox. He has Snowy's laid back, mellow temperament. Which makes for a great show kitty. We're really glad that we decided to keep him. Sorry Claire!! We are working on making you your very own PJ. :-) I promise.
Any how.....today PJ becomes a big boy. And is he ever a big boy. I'm taking Polar to the vet for a health certificate tomorrow. I'm taking PJ along to weigh him. We've been trying to guess his weight for awhile now. My guess is 12-14 lbs. We'll see tomorrow. Whatever it is, the boy is a chunk. He is such a joy, such a momma's boy. I wouldn't mind a house full of PJs. Heck, a house full of Bobtails. Of course I am close to that now. There are four Bobtails running around my house. They range from 1 year to 13 years. They all stick together. Nothing better than a house full of Bobs!!
Happy Birthday baby boy. Tuna cake for all tonight!!
meow for now,
melissa
PJ very much takes after his Dad, Snow Fox. He has Snowy's laid back, mellow temperament. Which makes for a great show kitty. We're really glad that we decided to keep him. Sorry Claire!! We are working on making you your very own PJ. :-) I promise.
Any how.....today PJ becomes a big boy. And is he ever a big boy. I'm taking Polar to the vet for a health certificate tomorrow. I'm taking PJ along to weigh him. We've been trying to guess his weight for awhile now. My guess is 12-14 lbs. We'll see tomorrow. Whatever it is, the boy is a chunk. He is such a joy, such a momma's boy. I wouldn't mind a house full of PJs. Heck, a house full of Bobtails. Of course I am close to that now. There are four Bobtails running around my house. They range from 1 year to 13 years. They all stick together. Nothing better than a house full of Bobs!!
Happy Birthday baby boy. Tuna cake for all tonight!!
meow for now,
melissa
Highs and Lows
With every show season comes a series of highs and lows. You'll have a great show one weekend followed by several lousy shows. This season has been one season long high. The cats have risen to the occasion each and every time we asked them to. We've been pinching ourselves so much that Jon and I have black and blue marks all over our arms. :-)
It's not like we thought our cats never had a chance. Just the opposite. We know we have good cats. The obstacle is to get the judges to think that we have good cats. That is the opinion that matters when it comes down to it.
This season has been so incredible that I've been keeping track of how many finals we've gotten. To date we have had 608 finals. We have had 9 Best in Shows. Frosty has had 6 Best in Shows. It has been a dream season.
We have no idea how this magical season will end. There are still a lot of shows between now and the end of the season. We will have to wait until the end of the show in Tucson to finally breath and for the dust to settle at the Executive Office. Where will we end up? We're keeping our fingers, toes and paws crossed for the desired outcome. No matter what happens, it has been one hell of a ride, with no complaints.
Most people wait a lifetime for a season like this. I've waited 14 years. I'm enjoying each and every day that comes my way. One thing is for sure. When the dust finally settles, Kokopellies Polar Express will be the Best American Bobtail ever shown, kitten, cat or alter. He has proven to be the epitome of the breed. He is the standard to which all should strive to be. No, I'm not biased. :-)
Funny enough, we have some of our success owed to some Maine Coon breeders. About three years ago, Jon inquired to several Maine Coon breeders about getting a Maine Coon. He just really liked the breed and wanted one to show. He was turned down by all of them. Then he saw the Siberian and talked with Judy Chappetta of Cooncreole Siberians. Cooncreole Zhivago, aka Frosty, came to live with Jon. The rest is history. Three International Best of Breeds, two International wins, multiple Regional wins and now an International winning (hopefully) kitten from Frosty, later.........need we say any more? Without the Maine Coon breeders, we wouldn't be where we are now. Thanks guys. We appreciate it more than you know.
So.....time to prepare for more highs and lows, peaks and valleys. This season isn't over with yet. Can't wait to see how it ends. Hope you'll all stay with us for the ride.
meow for now,
melissa
It's not like we thought our cats never had a chance. Just the opposite. We know we have good cats. The obstacle is to get the judges to think that we have good cats. That is the opinion that matters when it comes down to it.
This season has been so incredible that I've been keeping track of how many finals we've gotten. To date we have had 608 finals. We have had 9 Best in Shows. Frosty has had 6 Best in Shows. It has been a dream season.
We have no idea how this magical season will end. There are still a lot of shows between now and the end of the season. We will have to wait until the end of the show in Tucson to finally breath and for the dust to settle at the Executive Office. Where will we end up? We're keeping our fingers, toes and paws crossed for the desired outcome. No matter what happens, it has been one hell of a ride, with no complaints.
Most people wait a lifetime for a season like this. I've waited 14 years. I'm enjoying each and every day that comes my way. One thing is for sure. When the dust finally settles, Kokopellies Polar Express will be the Best American Bobtail ever shown, kitten, cat or alter. He has proven to be the epitome of the breed. He is the standard to which all should strive to be. No, I'm not biased. :-)
Funny enough, we have some of our success owed to some Maine Coon breeders. About three years ago, Jon inquired to several Maine Coon breeders about getting a Maine Coon. He just really liked the breed and wanted one to show. He was turned down by all of them. Then he saw the Siberian and talked with Judy Chappetta of Cooncreole Siberians. Cooncreole Zhivago, aka Frosty, came to live with Jon. The rest is history. Three International Best of Breeds, two International wins, multiple Regional wins and now an International winning (hopefully) kitten from Frosty, later.........need we say any more? Without the Maine Coon breeders, we wouldn't be where we are now. Thanks guys. We appreciate it more than you know.
So.....time to prepare for more highs and lows, peaks and valleys. This season isn't over with yet. Can't wait to see how it ends. Hope you'll all stay with us for the ride.
meow for now,
melissa
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Quest for Best
Okay, it's official. I'm officially bitten by the, "there's a possibility that Polar might be Best Alter in the region" bug. To make things even more exciting Frosty could actually get Best Cat in the region as well. It's a very tight race for both of them with fierce competition.
Frosty is in the middle of a three way race. It's going to be tight and down to the wire. We're keeping our fingers, toes and paws crossed.
Polar is still hanging on to that 14th position internationally. He's still hanging on to the #1 spot in the SW Region. I am not holding my breath. There are a couple of fantastic kitties close behind that have really come in to there own as of late. Again, it will go down to the wire. May the best kitty win.
However it ends we certainly can't complain. Jon and I have been extremely fortunate this season. We were blessed with an incredible crop of cats to show. Not a bad one in the lot. We actually had to leave some at home or pet them out.
The last two Arcadia shows have been fun. Frosty finaled in 9 out of 10 rings at the San Gabriel show and 8 out of 10, I believe, at the SoCal Exotica show. Polar finaled in 7 out of 10, I believe, at both shows. Both cats had very good showings. PJ came out to show again as well. His head is starting to catch up with the rest of his body and he looks more in proportion now. We'll run him for the last few shows of the season and see where he ends up.
He's getting so big, I may have to train him to get himself up and back from the rings. :-)
So our Quest for Best continues. Two shows in two weeks. We're off to Primm, NV this weekend, Phoenix in two weeks, Arcadia and Tucson in April. It's a full schedule but we're hoping the outcome will be most rewarding. If nothing else, we're going to have a great time at all the shows. Because after all, if the shows aren't fun, what's the purpose of going?
Traveling to the out of town shows with some wine, cheese, crackers and great cats is what it is all about. Oh.....and good friends as well.
meow for now,
melissa
Frosty is in the middle of a three way race. It's going to be tight and down to the wire. We're keeping our fingers, toes and paws crossed.
Polar is still hanging on to that 14th position internationally. He's still hanging on to the #1 spot in the SW Region. I am not holding my breath. There are a couple of fantastic kitties close behind that have really come in to there own as of late. Again, it will go down to the wire. May the best kitty win.
However it ends we certainly can't complain. Jon and I have been extremely fortunate this season. We were blessed with an incredible crop of cats to show. Not a bad one in the lot. We actually had to leave some at home or pet them out.
The last two Arcadia shows have been fun. Frosty finaled in 9 out of 10 rings at the San Gabriel show and 8 out of 10, I believe, at the SoCal Exotica show. Polar finaled in 7 out of 10, I believe, at both shows. Both cats had very good showings. PJ came out to show again as well. His head is starting to catch up with the rest of his body and he looks more in proportion now. We'll run him for the last few shows of the season and see where he ends up.
He's getting so big, I may have to train him to get himself up and back from the rings. :-)
So our Quest for Best continues. Two shows in two weeks. We're off to Primm, NV this weekend, Phoenix in two weeks, Arcadia and Tucson in April. It's a full schedule but we're hoping the outcome will be most rewarding. If nothing else, we're going to have a great time at all the shows. Because after all, if the shows aren't fun, what's the purpose of going?
Traveling to the out of town shows with some wine, cheese, crackers and great cats is what it is all about. Oh.....and good friends as well.
meow for now,
melissa
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Meow is Back......
Well.....I guess it's been some time since I last meowed at everyone. Sorry for the gap. Call it a circumstance of life. Or....the down side of owning pets. We bring them into our lives knowing that they will only be with us for a short time. It never does seem to get any easier. Anyhow....back to the brighter side of things. The show cats!!
To update everyone on the last Arcadia show, the boys did well. Frosty was Best Cat in show again. Polar managed to do quite nicely as well and picked up some nice points to keep him in the thick of the hunt for an international win. Since the January Arcadia show the boys have enjoyed some down time. Which I'm sure was well needed. Now, as we head into the home stretch, there will be no real down time. There are 11 weeks left in the show season. In those 11 weeks Polar and PJ have 6 more shows and Frosty has 7. Three of the shows are in back to back to back weekends.
But, if all goes well and the boys get the kind of finals we're hoping for then the payoff will be well worth it. In addition to International wins, we could conceivably be getting Best Cat in the SW region and Best Alter in the SW region. It could be absolutely incredible if it happened. I'm not holding my breath, but being hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed.
Unfortunately the end of the season brings out the ugly side of people sometimes. There are some who believe in winning at all cost. They don't seem to care how much money they spend or about the welfare of the cat in some cases, sad to say. We don't believe in that. This season has been expensive enough as it is. But.....we were blessed with 8 cats that could and wanted to do their best in the show ring. We showed as many as possible, with the main focus on the Fab Four.
So here we go, into the home stretch of the season. Only time will tell if we will end up on top. Even if we don't, there are some great cats in competition this season. To finish 2nd or 3rd to any of them would be an honor.
So Daily Meow fans.....please keep your fingers and toes and paws crossed for Cooncreole Zhivago (Frosty) and Kokopellies Polar Express (Polar) in their race to be the Best. :-) We could use all your warm and fuzzy thoughts.
On the cattery side of things.....we've had a new litter of Bobtails born at the end of December. Looks like we could have some show potential out of the litter. Frosty was busy with his harem the last month or so. Hopefully in the next couple of months I'll be bringing you news from the nursery.
That's all for now.
meow for now,
melissa
To update everyone on the last Arcadia show, the boys did well. Frosty was Best Cat in show again. Polar managed to do quite nicely as well and picked up some nice points to keep him in the thick of the hunt for an international win. Since the January Arcadia show the boys have enjoyed some down time. Which I'm sure was well needed. Now, as we head into the home stretch, there will be no real down time. There are 11 weeks left in the show season. In those 11 weeks Polar and PJ have 6 more shows and Frosty has 7. Three of the shows are in back to back to back weekends.
But, if all goes well and the boys get the kind of finals we're hoping for then the payoff will be well worth it. In addition to International wins, we could conceivably be getting Best Cat in the SW region and Best Alter in the SW region. It could be absolutely incredible if it happened. I'm not holding my breath, but being hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed.
Unfortunately the end of the season brings out the ugly side of people sometimes. There are some who believe in winning at all cost. They don't seem to care how much money they spend or about the welfare of the cat in some cases, sad to say. We don't believe in that. This season has been expensive enough as it is. But.....we were blessed with 8 cats that could and wanted to do their best in the show ring. We showed as many as possible, with the main focus on the Fab Four.
So here we go, into the home stretch of the season. Only time will tell if we will end up on top. Even if we don't, there are some great cats in competition this season. To finish 2nd or 3rd to any of them would be an honor.
So Daily Meow fans.....please keep your fingers and toes and paws crossed for Cooncreole Zhivago (Frosty) and Kokopellies Polar Express (Polar) in their race to be the Best. :-) We could use all your warm and fuzzy thoughts.
On the cattery side of things.....we've had a new litter of Bobtails born at the end of December. Looks like we could have some show potential out of the litter. Frosty was busy with his harem the last month or so. Hopefully in the next couple of months I'll be bringing you news from the nursery.
That's all for now.
meow for now,
melissa
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to all my Daily Meowers. Sorry for the lack of posts. I decided to take a bit of time off from meowing. Plus with the holidays and shows and website work, etc, etc, etc.
Well......2008 proved to be quite successful for the Kokopellie cats. All three boys, Cooncreole Zhivago (Frosty), Kokopellies Czar Nicholas (Nicky) and Kokopellies Polar Express (Polar) are all still holding on to their respective international best of breed title. They all also continue to hold on to a top 25 international ranking. As we go into the final stretch, it's going to be a nail biter. With a little luck and some good finals we should have three very good reasons to go to the Annual in Orlando this year. Frosty and Polar also have a very good chance at being the Southwest Region's Best Cat and Best Alter. These titles will be hard to hold on to as we are up against some very, very good cats.
The show up in Lodi last weekend was a good show for us. Frosty was Best in Show in his category and Polar was 6th in his category out of almost 40 cats. Polar was also in the news spot that aired and Jon and Frosty were pictured in one of the local Lodi newspapers. I will post links on the website that will take you to both. I did post the picture of Jon and Frosty. You can find it on the Show Calendar page and the At the Shows page.
We have a show in Arcadia this weekend. Then a few weeks off and the craziness starts all over again until April 30th. All we can do is hope, pray and present nicely groomed cats. The rest is in the hands of the judges. Keep your fingers crossed.
Miss Sorbet sure did surprise us. She took 8 finals at the Tucson show and 5 finals at the December Arcadia show. Currently she is the Best American Bobtail Cat in TICA. Woohoo!! For those wondering....."where's PJ?" PJ is doing great. He's in a bit of an awkward phase right now.....little head, big body. We need to let his head catch up with the rest of his body so he is more balanced. Then look out. :-) He is the sweetest cat ever. I can't wait to show him in the big boy class.
Our newest Siberian boy, Mufasa, from Sweden, is beautiful. I finally got to meet him. What a love. He showed at the Lodi show and made 3 finals, two 5ths and a 4th. Not too shabby considering there were over 60 kittens showing.
Other than that it's been pretty normal. Miss Skitz gave us some beautiful kittens. There is a chocolate silver torbie girl that could break some hearts in the show ring. We're still waiting for those Siberians to decide that they want to give us kittens.
Mom and I will be vending at the big CFA show in Del Mar next weekend. It's the Food & Water Bowl. Too funny.
I'm still playing around with the website on a weekly if not daily basis. There is always something changing. Have to keep it fresh.
That's it for now.
meow for now,
melissa
Well......2008 proved to be quite successful for the Kokopellie cats. All three boys, Cooncreole Zhivago (Frosty), Kokopellies Czar Nicholas (Nicky) and Kokopellies Polar Express (Polar) are all still holding on to their respective international best of breed title. They all also continue to hold on to a top 25 international ranking. As we go into the final stretch, it's going to be a nail biter. With a little luck and some good finals we should have three very good reasons to go to the Annual in Orlando this year. Frosty and Polar also have a very good chance at being the Southwest Region's Best Cat and Best Alter. These titles will be hard to hold on to as we are up against some very, very good cats.
The show up in Lodi last weekend was a good show for us. Frosty was Best in Show in his category and Polar was 6th in his category out of almost 40 cats. Polar was also in the news spot that aired and Jon and Frosty were pictured in one of the local Lodi newspapers. I will post links on the website that will take you to both. I did post the picture of Jon and Frosty. You can find it on the Show Calendar page and the At the Shows page.
We have a show in Arcadia this weekend. Then a few weeks off and the craziness starts all over again until April 30th. All we can do is hope, pray and present nicely groomed cats. The rest is in the hands of the judges. Keep your fingers crossed.
Miss Sorbet sure did surprise us. She took 8 finals at the Tucson show and 5 finals at the December Arcadia show. Currently she is the Best American Bobtail Cat in TICA. Woohoo!! For those wondering....."where's PJ?" PJ is doing great. He's in a bit of an awkward phase right now.....little head, big body. We need to let his head catch up with the rest of his body so he is more balanced. Then look out. :-) He is the sweetest cat ever. I can't wait to show him in the big boy class.
Our newest Siberian boy, Mufasa, from Sweden, is beautiful. I finally got to meet him. What a love. He showed at the Lodi show and made 3 finals, two 5ths and a 4th. Not too shabby considering there were over 60 kittens showing.
Other than that it's been pretty normal. Miss Skitz gave us some beautiful kittens. There is a chocolate silver torbie girl that could break some hearts in the show ring. We're still waiting for those Siberians to decide that they want to give us kittens.
Mom and I will be vending at the big CFA show in Del Mar next weekend. It's the Food & Water Bowl. Too funny.
I'm still playing around with the website on a weekly if not daily basis. There is always something changing. Have to keep it fresh.
That's it for now.
meow for now,
melissa
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