AT THE CAT SHOW: INFECTIOUS DISEASE PREVENTION

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1 AT THE CAT SHOW: INFECTIOUS DISEASE PREVENTION Dr Emmanuel FONTAINE Our 2016 Breeders Guide

2 The idea behind this e-book came from a casual discussion I once had with one of our cat breeder. He was telling me how much he loved participating to cat shows, but that he couldn t help thinking of all those infectious diseases his cats could potentially pick up while participating to those events No doubt there might be a dilemma : cats shows are where breeders will show the world the results of their genetic selection efforts. This is where they will compete to be rewarded for those efforts. This is also where all cat lovers gather and where they will share good moments with friends who like them, speak and breath cats. Definitely THE place to be when one is so passionate about breeding cats. The other side of the coin : in all textbooks, you will read that cats have an inherent predisposition for developing infectious diseases. And a gathering of cats originating from different catteries can obviously be seen as an important risk factor. That is something that scares many cat lovers. We cannot deny it : there is and will always be a risk. But that is the same from any kind of gathering animal or human. The real question is : how big a risk is it? And more importantly, can we do something about it? While I was preparing this presentation, an came through. Its author was telling me that he already attended to lectures meant for cat breeders on infectious disease prevention. Those focused a lot on sanitation & hygiene, and while he did not have a single doubt the information shared was right,

3 he also truly believed those measures were simply irrelevant for 21 st century cat breeders. The sanitation recommendations are, I quote, irrealistic for hobbyist cat breeders, whose pets live among them in the house. I always like constructive discussion, and I could clearly see the potential for one here. Because I respectfully beg to differ. SIMPLE and I really insist on this term measures can be taken when it comes to infectious diseases prevention at the cat show. Those will have to be taken BEFORE, DURING & AFTER the event. And they can make a HUGE difference. We summarized them in 14 tips. You will find them all in the following pages. Enjoy the read!

4 While preparing this presentation, I thought it would be good to have an idea of what the perception of infectious diseases at a cat show was. So thanks to the power of social media, I asked around. The results were edifying: cat breeders who answered came up with a very long list of infectious diseases they were concerned about : - Ringworm - FelV - FIV - FIP - Panleuk - Tritrichomonas foetus - Herpesvirus - Calicivirus - Fleas - Earmites - Coccidia - Giardia -

5 I m pretty sure the list could go on and on. Those infectious diseases are indeed seen as a threat in catteries for different reasons. It is definitely beyond the scope of this e-book to discuss them all (but I ll definitely keep them in mind for, who knows, a future webinar/e-book ). Are all those pathogens a real concern at cat shows? I did not think so To make sure, again I asked around and this time I questioned feline veterinary specialists and veterinarians who, like me, work very closely with cat breeders in the field. I can tell you one thing : the list shrunk DRAMATICALLY. We moved from a 10+ list of identified threats to a short list only containing 3 : - Ringworm - Panleuk - Calicivirus More information on those specific diseases in our blogs : Ringworm Panleuk Calicivirus What is the reasoning behind this short-list? 1 st / Those pathogens are resistant in the environment :

6 - Feline Parvovirus (the agent causing Panleuk) is a nude virus that can survive for 1 year at room temperature. - Feline Caliciviruses (because there are many of them, check the link above to find out more) survive several days to weeks on dried surfaces. - Ringworm spores are among the toughest pathogen in the environment : they can survive up to 18 months! 2 nd / Clinical signs may show up when animals are subjected to stress : You know the say : Cats thrive on familiarity and routine. Cat shows are not exactly this. The travels involved, the noise, the manipulations, count among things that could potential stress cats out. Stress will lead to production of cortisol, that will decrease the efficiency of the immune system. Knowing the villains involved is definitely a first step on the road to prevention. When you know what they are up to, you are already one step ahead. That s our tip #1.

7 Infectious disease prevention at the cat show starts way before the event itself! #1 The immune system of your cats is an essential line of protection against those pathogens. Despite everything that is being said, vaccination remains the best protection. Current recommendations when it comes to vaccination in cats can be found here : rsion.pdf Vaccination against panleukopenia provides a strong and long lasting immunity. Vaccination for this disease should NEVER be overlooked in a cattery. The virus causing panleuk, which is a parvovirus, is known for its ability to mutate and there are indeed new strains to consider (especially knowing that cats are susceptible to the canine parvovirus as well). Good news is, current panleuk vaccines still offer good cross-protection against the different viral strains. There are multiple strains of Feline Calicivirus and unfortunately vaccination does not offer yet crossprotection for all of them. However, vaccines still provide good immunity for the most common ones, which are the ones that are more susceptible to be encountered at a cat show obviously.

8 There have been efforts to develop effective vaccines for prevention of ringworm, but the efficacy of those products remain undocumented and some that were marketed are no longer available. At this time, there is no prophylactic vaccine that can be used to this effect. We know that when we mention vaccination, it always raises a lot of questions. We do not intend here to review all the pros and cons. However, I attended to a talk on this topic recently and the speaker said something I though was worth sharing, since it offers a good and quick summary of the situation : If you want your pet to have immunity, you accept the risks related to vaccination. If you don t accept the risks of vaccination, you accept that your animal is not protected and sensitive to diseases. In our opinion, this is never a good idea to walk into an event like a cat show without your cats being vaccinated #2 Many of you also shared with us their concern about bringing kittens to cat shows. Rule of thumb : kittens should only be presented to cat shows when they have received their full set of vaccines, including boosters. Read this blog to better understand the challenges that can be encountered when vaccinating kittens : #3 The role of nutrition to help build a strong immune system should never be overlooked as well. Balanced nutrition will definitely help support the synthesis of antibodies, which are key actors when it comes to protection against infectious diseases. Nutrients which play an important role here are : - Proteins : antibodies (which are the components of the immune system that will inactivate the pathogens) are made of protein, so ensuring an appropriate intake of high quality highly digestible proteins (like LIP proteins LIP stands for Low Indigestible Proteins, it means that more than 90% of the proteins inside the diet are absorbed by the digestive tract and therefore used by the organism) is of the outmost importance ; - EPA-DHA : are omega-3 fatty acids that have been proven to have anti-inflammatory effects. And inflammation often comes with infection Those nutrients activate the production of antiinflammatory mediators and inhibit the synthesis of some inflammatory mediators. There is a growing body of data showing anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fatty acids;

9 - Antioxidants : Any reaction using oxygen (like energy production) will produce molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS). These molecules have an unpaired number of electrons, and once formed, these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction like dominoes to get those electrons they are missing. This can lead to cellular damage as well. To prevent these side effects, the organism usually produces anti-oxidants, compounds that will stabilize these free radicals and minimize their impact. Oxidative stress is defined as a disturbance in the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) and antioxidant defense by the organism. Oxidative stress and inflammation are closely related pathophysiological processes, one of which can be easily induced by another. Anti-oxidants can therefore help here as well. An organ to consider when it comes to boosting immunity is also the skin! Indeed, this is the largest mechanical barrier of the body, and its strength definitely limits the impact pathogens cam have especially ringworm. After reaching the haircoat indeed, spores must compete with natural host defense mechanisms to establish infection. I quote here the textbooks : Spores cannot penetrate healthy skin ; some kind of artificial trauma is needed to facilitate infection. Skin health is therefore of huge importance here. Like for the immune system, proteins are essential since 30% of the daily absorbed proteins are used for skin synthesis. Vitamins will also play a role here : the PINCH cocktail ( for Panthothenic Acid Inositol- Niacine Choline Histidine) which can be found in some of our diets, will promote the skin barrier s strength. That s our tip #2!

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11 Rule of thumb : only healthy cats should attend cat shows. Ok, that sounds like common sense. However, one can sometimes be misguided here, especially with a disease like ringworm. It is therefore important to have a clear idea of when those Big Three pathogens should be suspected. Panleuk for instance should be suspected ANYTIME diarrhea is observed, especially in kittens. We still hear that the disease can sometimes be diagnosed by the smell, when the diarrhea comes with a very strong & fetid odor. This odor only reflects necrosis of the digestive cells and, if it does tell you something on the severity of the disease, it does not tell anything on what causes it Anytime there is diarrhea in a cattery, panleuk should therefore be suspected. Same thing for upper respiratory problems. There are typical clinical descriptions for the diseases caused by the different pathogens (corneal ulcers in case of herpes, oral ulcers in case of calicivirus). However, truth is that any clinical sign affecting the oral-ocular-nasal spheres in a cat can be related to any of the pathogens involved in the upper respiratory tract diseases complex. For the two previous situations, clinical symptoms are most of the time obvious and somehow, easy to detect before going to the cat show. As we mentioned it, it can however be a little bit more problematic

12 when it comes to ringworm. The reason for that? ANY skin lesion could potentially be caused by ringworm. In catteries, when you see a skin lesion, you MUST consult your veterinarian in order to rule out ringworm. In the past the gold standard to diagnose this infection was to perform a fungal culture : it could take up to 3 weeks to get a result because fungi grow pretty slowly. PCRs (=tests looking for the DNA of the pathogens) were recently introduced and recent results in shelter environments show that they are a valuable tool to consider when it comes to screening for the disease. Their turnaround time is way faster (typically 2-3 days). Don t hesitate to discuss those alternatives with your veterinarian. My point is, at the end of the day, you carry a huge responsibility when going to the cat show. If you think there is something wrong with a cat you wanted to enter, it is definitely important to seek your veterinarian s opinion. If there is any risk the cat might suffer from an infectious disease, it is better for the animal NOT to enter the show. That s our tip #3.

13 Let s imagine a bad scenario : one of your cat unfortunately get sick and your veterinarian diagnosed one of the Big Three. This cat was supposed to participate to a cat show at the end of the week, and you know you cannot enter it. However, what about the other cats you also enter that are not sick? A key element that will weight in your decision : what we refer to as exposure. If the other cats were exposed (which mean they were in direct contact or sharing a common space with the one that got sick), the answer might be no as well based on the disease s incubation period. Incubation = the period between exposure to an infection and the appearance of the first clinical symptoms. You will find data on the incubation period of ringworm panleuk calicivirus infection in this blog : All cats that have been exposed should not enter a cat show during the potential incubation period. That is our tip #4.

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15 When it comes to infectious diseases, knowing how cats can pick them up definitely helps prevent them. Let s think of all the routes of contamination that could potentially exist at a cat show. - Airborne infection : good news here. Respiratory infections in cats are NOT airborne. The reason why is because cats don t have the lung power to generate an aerosol containing those infectious particles. The pathogen that could mainly be spread by this route is ringworm. Hairs can indeed carry spores of those nasty fungi and can eventually fly around the place and get in contact with your animals. - Contact between cats : obviously, all pathogens can be transmitted when a contaminated cat is in contact with a healthy one. Remember that all catteries are different. Each have their specific challenges and some diseases that don t make one cat sick could potentially infect others (this could be true with certain strains of calicivirus). Moreover, when you have contact between cats of different catteries, the list of pathogens that can be transmitted automatically goes above the 3 we just limited ourselves to at the beginning of this e-book. Avoiding contact between cats from a different environment at the cat show seems like a good idea in my opinion. - The litter box is very often a source of contamination for all digestive pathogens (panleuk, but also all protozoa like Giardia and Coccidia and even Tritrichomonas foetus). The risk is however

16 limited here at the cat show since your cats will theoretically not share their litter box with others Those routes of transmission exist, but are considered minor at cat shows. What you should really be concerned about is what we call FOMITES. A fomite is any subject of substance capable of carrying infectious organisms. Those are a concern when it comes to our Big Three (remember, they are resistant in the environment!). That s why you need to know them well. - First fomites to have in mind are related to human-to-cat contact : obviously, we have to consider human hands but that s not all! Don t forget the clothes as well! - Floors could potentially be at risk, especially with people walking around and eventually transporting nasty germs with their shoes. Fortunately cats are not so often in contact with the ground so the risk is usually limited at the cat show. However, grooming material & toys are frequently used : those can also turn into fomites, so precautions will need to be taken here as well. Knowing those different elements may seem trivial but is essential. Now that you have identified the main routes of transmission, you know those areas you need to pay extra-attention to when you will get at the cat show. That s our tip #5.

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18 Ok, now we know what to focus on before going to the cat show. However, what happens when you get there? How do you face the risk of infectious diseases when you are already at the event. Well, remember : disease transmission / development is first about contact. Contact between other cats, contact with humans walking all around the place Your first line of protection when you are attending an event? Your cats cage You want to prevent contact between cats? You therefore definitely need your cage to have plain separations, which will not allow cats housed in adjacent cages to share their germs. This is true for the lateral panels This should also be true for the front panel. I often see cats extending their legs through the front bars to play with their neighbour cats as well as with the public that is passing by. More difficult to prevent is human-to-cat contact, especially when the show is opened to public. Kids for instance want to pet all the cats presented at the show. While this is a totally normal human behavior, you do understand what the risks are in such an event. I ve seen some breeders camping like vigilantes in front of their cats cage, starring at people that would dare to approach too close in an attempt to pet the animal inside the cage. While this is understandable, it brings a lot of pressure on your shoulders and can be in time mentally exhausting A simple solution? A transparent front panel like on the cage below :

19 I ve seen many different solutions at cat shows but the concept remain the same : you want to put a screen (transparent so that the cats do not spend the entire show in the dark ) that will offer this protection you require. Ok, but remember, we did mention that stress plays a huge role as well when it comes to infectious diseases transmission. The cage needs to protect your cats, sure, but it also needs to be a place where they feel a minimum amount of stress. Remember what we always say : Cats thrive on familiarity and routine. They need to feel at home, even at the cat show One key element here : their sense of smell. They live in a world of odors and scents and the more familiar those are, the better they feel. That s why the perfect cage should always incorporate elements that remind them of home : a towel, a bedding, a cushion If you are allowed to bring your own cage at the cat show, you can even let the cat spend some time in before leaving for the event, so the cage will be impregnated by its familiar scents. Remember that cat shows can be stressful for cats because of all the noise and agitation that occurred at those events. Many cat breeders cover their cage with towels. This has more than an ornamental function : it will also limit the stimuli the cat is subjected to and will participate in lowering the stress.

20 Last but not least : I m sure you guys heard about environmental enrichment. This is a very trendy topic these days in feline medicine, and for a right reason. A hide-away, a cat tree, a hamac, toys and/or food puzzles are, among other things, elements that will help lower the stress of the cat. Do not overlook them! Appeasing pheromones are available as well and can be an interesting option to consider. Many breeders use them. Don t hesitate to speak about their use with your veterinarian. That s Tip #6.

21 Sometimes you are allowed to bring your own personal cage to the show. Sometimes however you will rent or be allocated a cage at the event And some breeders told me they feel like they are losing control over their cats direct environment your cat. I ve seen breeders arriving very early at the cat show to clean the cages they will use during the event. That is a great attitude to have, I have no doubt about that. However, when doing so, it is of the utmost importance to do things properly. Your sanitation efforts can be ruined if you don t respect a certain protocol. #1 : Keep in mind that a sanitation protocol ALWAYS have 2 mandatory steps. First you clean, then you disinfect. More about the difference here You cannot skip one of those steps! #2 : The role of the cleaning phase is to remove most of the organic matter that could potentially harbor germs. The disinfection phase will help dramatically decrease the amount of pathogens. Remember that there are currently NO products that are efficient against all feline pathogens. At a cat show, the product you use MUST target the three most resistant pathogens we mentioned earlier : ringworm / panleuk / calicivirus.

22 The following table will give you an idea of what products are more appropriate for this specific challenge : #3 : Even if you have the right product, you need to make good use of it! Things like contact time and rinsing must not be overlooked or neglected. More about it here : #4 : And remember. Despite all your sanitation efforts, you should not overlook the potential impact of stress. After deep-cleaning/disinfecting a show cage, you should still add elements that will make the cats feel at home and that will lower their stress. It is a whole and the stress management part should not be overlooked as well! When we think of disinfectants, we always think that they come in bottles or in liquid form and that we need to come with our bucket and sponge etc. But did you know many of them come in wipes as well? Bleach & AHP wipes exist and can represent a valuable alternative when attending at a cat show. They are easier to carry, easier to use and will do the job as well if you use them properly.

23 Again, when you use wipes, make sure the active compound they contain is efficient on the pathogens. Remember that quaternary ammoniums and hydrogen peroxides ( different from accelerated hydrogen peroxide, see here ) are not! That s our tip #7.

24 At the show, you obviously will have to take the cats out of the cage at certain times. Especially in order to groom them. Remember that grooming material (especially brushes and combs) can turn into fomites. DO NOT SHARE THEM! That sounds trivial I agree, but I ve seen it happen very often at cat shows. Sure you want to help and it comes from a good intention, but there might be some consequences. Do not forget your grooming material and keep it for your own cats. Again, don t share! Not only should you not share your material, you should also not share your grooming spot! Do not allow other cats from different catteries to use your grooming table or space. If there is no other solution, well, remember what we said in the previous slides about surface disinfection and apply those concepts there. That s our tip #8.

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26 As we mentioned earlier, fomite transmission is one thing you must pay attention to at the cat show. The first vector to focus on : human s hands. Pathogens like ringworm, panleuk & calici viruses can indeed stick to your hands and be transmitted when a cat is petted. We will never say this enough : washing your hands is critical here! And there is definitely more to it than one might think! In fact there are several posts in human medicine emphasizing when & how this should be done. Obviously in humans those precautions are taken to decrease the risk of infectious diseases transmission (like the human norovirus which causes diarrhea) between us but the same logic can apply at the cat show in order to prevent the risk of fomite transmission to your cats as well. If you look at it in a strict sanitation way, one will say that your hands would need to be cleaned first AND then disinfected. Again, it should be a two steps process. However, reality is this seems totally unfeasible in everyday s life. There is however an important sentence to remember here : a good cleaning is always better than a poor disinfection. That is an important concept to remember. #1 When do you need to wash your hands at the cat show? - Right after touching an animal (especially if you touch a cat that does not belong to your cattery) ;

27 - when your hands are visibly soiled - after handling animal waste (aka litter). #2 What to use for hand washing? As we just mentioned, a good cleaning is always better than a poor disinfection. Soap and water should always be the first option at the cat show. The soap will create a slippery surface that will make the pathogens slide off your hands #3 How to wash your hands? I m pretty sure people believe I m crazy when I mentioned the importance of the how in hand washing. But you know what, I found out that human doctors and human health services also spend a lot of time and resources educating people on how to properly hand wash! Full procedures can be read here : The key factor : mechanical action (nothing better than elbow grease when it comes to sanitation). You need to wash your hands for seconds. Does not seem a lot? Give it a try and count next time you wash your hands, you ll see it is more than what you believe To make it more fun, you can also sing happy birthday twice (that s what they teach our kids in kindergarten ).

28 What about the use of hand sanitizers? Those products are usually made of ethyl alcohol mixed with emollients (skin softeners) and other agents. However, these agents are not effective when the hands are heavily contaminated with organic materials. They will not inactivate those 3 pathogens we identify as the main threats during cat shows. That being said, I believe it is worth packing one when going at the cat show. Why? Because of the results of a study that was done in a shelter environment. This was performed on the hands of veterinary students and studied the amount of bacteria they carry after they spend time takin care of animals. They compare the number of bacteria before and after hand-washing, and also compared the use of soap and water and hand sanitizer. The best results were obtained with the use of hand sanitizers! They turned out to be more effective to reduce bacterial count on the veterinary students hands! If your hands are not heavily soiled therefore, they do represent a valuable alternative to consider. If your hands are heavily soiled however, remember they will be totally inefficient! That s our tip #9.

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30 The other fomite you need to keep an eye on? Your clothes! They can collect cat hairs that are flying around in the cat exhibition hall, and some of those hairs may wear ringworm spores When you hold your cat, then those spores can get in contact with its skin. You might bring those spores back into your own cattery. Where all your cats might be exposed. Ok, that seems like a doomsday scenario on which you seem to have little or no control. However, truth is, there are things that can be done here as well. One of the key steps when dealing with ringworm is mechanical removal of the potentially contaminated hair. That is when tools like sticky brushes come in handy! Pack one when going to the cat show and use it regularly during the event and before leaving it. That s our tip #10.

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32 Let s our imagination run wild and focus again on the worst that could happen (agree, not fun, but when you know the worst there is nothing you cannot undertake). You were at the cat show and unfortunately one of your cat picked one of the Big Three pathogens we mentioned there. However, no way to tell yet, since your animal is still in the incubation phase while you re leaving the event. You come back home and put the cat back with the rest of your feline population that stayed behind while you were at the cat show. Your cat develops clinical symptoms and starts spreading those germs around : you end up with another doomsday scenario where the disease get into your cattery and affect several of your cats. Nobody wants this to happen, right? Still, very few breeders will do a quarantine when coming back home after an event. A quarantine is an observation period during which you make sure your cats do no develop clinical signs (especially the ones that we mention for the Big Three). Cats in quarantine should NOT be housed with the rest of your cat population. It very often remains a concept: if several of your cats go to shows every week-end, well, some of them will spend all their life in quarantine then That is indeed the reality but that does not mean its importance should be overlooked.

33 It is all about sectorization : cats returning from shows should not be allowed to be in close proximity with the at-risk individuals inside your cattery (especially kittens AND pregnant mothers). Even if you do not have a full quarantine, this is always a first step. An important concept to have in mind is that the time animals spend in quarantine depends obviously on the incubation period of the pathogen you consider (because remember, those cats are healthy so you want to make sure they are not incubating the pathogen when you bring them back inside your cattery). We already discuss incubation time for the Big Three earlier in this e-book, so please refer to this section to define what the best quarantine period is when returning from a cat show. That s our tip #11.

34 When coming back from the cat show, bathing the cats is never a bad idea. While this is often done before going to the cat show for grooming purpose, it is not always done after. In terms of sanitary protection, this is however when it is the most important. Many pathogens can be passively carried by the coat of your animals, and that is especially true for those that are resistant in the environment that we need to consider here. Bathing them will help in mechanically removing them. Doing that right after the cat show is therefore a simple step that can be of great help. That s our tip #12.

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36 The risk of fomite transmission is what you need to focus on at cat shows. That is why when coming back home, you need to make sure your potential fomites will not bring back nasty germs that could affect your cattery. In order to do that, you have two best friends : the washing machine and the dish washer. Why? Because those two machines will allow proper cleaning/disinfection of your clothes/toys/bowls you brought along with you while participating to the event. General consideration for the post-cat show laundry : - Hot water cycle will provide the best pathogen killing - Follow the label directions for measuring amount of detergent and bleach per load (that s why you have a bleach compartment on your washing machine! For all those items that can be safely bleached, this is worth considering and will allow great disinfection) ; - A wash cycle that introduces detergent for cleaning, rinse cycle, introduces bleach for disinfection, rinse cycle will provide the best sanitizing. Alternately, laundry can be run through twice when heavily soiled (once with detergent and once with bleach).

37 - Hot air in the drier or allowing to dry in the sunlight is recommended Tip : when you pick something for your cattery or cat show (a cushion, a toy, ) make sure it can be properly washed. That will definitely make your life easier. For bowls, the dish washer could also be a good option : the detergent coupled with the high temperature inside the machine during the procedure will also allow germ removal and inactivation. Also, don t forget : when you come back home, also deep clean/disinfect your show cage as we mentioned above! Don t let it sit somewhere in your garage until the next show! That s tip #13.

38 I love math, and was glad the day I found out that risks could be calculated. Typically this is the mathematical equation that will be used : R (Risk) = F x G x P Where F is the frequency of the disease in the cat population G the gravity of the disease P the probability it goes undetected One of my collegue had to do a similar risk analysis for cat shows in her country, this was something that cat show organizers asked her. Her results showed that the risk is LOW! And the risk gets even LOWER if you focus on those simple tips we share with you in this e-book. Which leads me to my final tip

39 Don t be afraid. Don t live with fear. Everything we do has consequences. There are risks everywhere. When we take our car, when we fly somewhere Even when we drink our morning coffee! At cat shows, the risk exists, we can t deny it. And we did not say it was easy, there are few things you will need to do for sure. But with all those simple tips, you can focus on what is important. Enjoying the cat shows. And fully living your passion. That s what life should be all about don t you think? This e-book ends here, but the discussion goes on! Feel free to let me know if you have any comments, questions. My contact info can be found on the slide below! Thanks for reading me!

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