the final preparations have begun.....

I'm sorry for the delay in meowings. Things have been so busy as of late. And then throw in the Olympics to boot. I can't remember the last time I've existed on so little sleep. We can blame it all on Michael Phelps. But....I have to admit.....it was worth staying up to see. Such incredible moments in sports history.

Anyhow.....Nicky and PJ are growing like weeds. We are all in our final preparations to leave for the Annual on Friday. Little PJ may not be able to make the big trip like we had planned. Time will tell. One of my darling angels popped him in the eye the other day. It's red and swollen and he has to wear one of those collars to keep him from rubbing. We're hoping it will be better by Friday. If not....PJ will have to stay home. :-(

Nicky's preparations have included going to the vet for his rabies shot. You can't go to Texas without a rabies shot. He's also been making the social rounds. Jon has been taking him everywhere to get him used to sights and sounds and people. Frosty has been busy sleeping, eating and blowing his coat in final preparation. Polar has been eating his chicken and ground sirloin in hopes of packing on a few more ounces. I also have him hitting the weight room once a day for some circuit training. By Sunday at 5:00 we will know for sure if all of our hard work has paid off.

The realistic side of things.......we are bringing 4 great cats with us to the Annual. So is everyone else!! There are 144 kittens, 124 cats and 89 alters. That's a lot of competition. The poor judges have to whittle that down to 10 in each category. So everyone keep their fingers and toes and paws crossed for some finals this weekend. Quite honestly, knowing the caliber of cats that will be in attendance, we would be happy with 10ths all weekend. Something higher would be really nice, but.........

I'll try and get something posted before the weekend. We leave for the airport on Friday around 7:00am and I'll be really busy on Thursday night. I'll try for during my lunch on Thursday. The hotel does have a business center. Time allowing...maybe I can sneak in there on Sunday after the show and type something up.

However....don't hold your breath on that one meowers. Any of you who know me and how I am after a show, especially a big show, know that I will be asleep by 7:00 or in the hot tub thinking about going to sleep. Or.....I'll be out drinking and celebrating with all my buddies who are staying over until Monday. Honestly, I'm hoping for this scenario. Rumor has it there will be some GL friends at the show. I already know of a few old friends that are going to be there. Can't wait.

I'll try to meow before I leave for Dallas. If not, just in case, everyone have a great Labor Day weekend. Have fun. Wear your sunblock, drive careful.

meow for now,
melissa

Here they are!!!!

Well........we'll see how easy this is to post a picture in the bod of the message. We just got the pictures of Nicky and PJ from the photographer, Chanan. Way too cute not to share.

So........look out TICA, here come Kokopellies Czar Nicholas and Kokopellies Polar Frost.



Kokopellies Czar Nicholas



Kokopellies Polar Frost

We just can't wait to get these two little guys into the show ring. PJ got four finals in his first show. Nicky debuts at the Annual in Arlington, Texas next week. It will be a tough show for both of them. 144 kittens entered!!!!!

We'll see what happens........

meow for now,

melissa

No babies

Well.....sadly, no babies. Iziza had her kitten on Saturday morning, before I woke up. It was a lynx point male. No doubt like his Daddy, Frosty. He didn't make it. :-( After 6 more hours of labor, I took Izzy to the vet. The x-ray showed that there were no more kittens in there. Just a huge amount of stool.

Momma Izzy is handling it well. I gave her a spare Siberian kitten we had. Her name is Pink. Pink is her new baby and is happily nursing away. I guess someone should tell Pink that she is 12 weeks old. But....they're keeping each other happy. Momma Melissa is much better now. Saturday and Sunday were full of self doubt. Did I do something wrong, etc. I'm still concerned about Izzy. Just want to be sure that no permanent damage was done.

You can bet I'm going to be extra cautious with the next litter.

So......no chance of babies now for awhile. Not at least until late fall, early winter, if not later.

I'll meow later about the one day show that we had in Arcadia this weekend. Polar didn't have a great show, but PJ did!! And so did little Bubba.

meow for now,
melissa

first time Mom

Not!!! So, the day we were waiting for came and past. The first day that Izzy could have her kittens. Frosty and Izzy were first introduced on May 29th. The first day that they could possibly have kittens, assuming that Frosty hit his mark the first try, would have been on Friday, Aug 1st. Friday and Saturday came and passed. Days 63 and 64. For those who don't know, cats usually have their kittens in about 63-65 days. Lucky cats.

Sooo....Day 65, Sunday. Izzy had a large breakfast and was stretched out in her Costco box all comfy and cozy. Around 11:30 or so, she jumped up and started crawling under the towels in the crate and tearing up the newspaper. I opened the crate and she threw herself in my arms and just wanted to be held and have her belly rubbed.

I finally got her relaxed and calmed down and she started with contractions. There were a couple of pretty big ones where it seems like her whole body seized up. And she was panting. I called Jon to give him the news. He was excited. It sounded like kittens would be on their way shortly. I also called Barb Roth, my closest midwife for advice.

Within about an hour or two, things stopped. No more big contractions. She was still "nesting". She had to rearrange the whole crate. So much for that nice neat room I gave her. Then she took a nap. For the first 4 hours or so she seemed to panic whenever I left the room. I was stuck sitting next to her crate. Then she settled down and all was fine. But still no kittens.

Jon called in the evening to check up on us. Still no kittens. Soooo....he said Izzy would probably have them during the night. I checked on her at 2:30 and when I woke up at 6:00. No kittens. She enjoyed a large breakfast before I went to work. I told her to wait until I got home from work and I would help her.

Sooooo.....sports fans. No kittens from Iziza yet. Keep your fingers, toes and paws crossed.

meow for now,
melissa

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