December 2011 ISSUE 9 CATCLUBNEWSUK NEWSLETTER OF FELIS BRITANNICA THE FEDERATION OF CAT CLUBS REPRESENTING FIFE IN THE UK Cat Club News Show Topics Aristocats Christmas Show, December 3rd & 4th at Lutterworth Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year We were greeted by some Christmas decorations, a small decorated tree and the smiling (angelic?) faces of the show team to the show hall in Lutterworth. This is a really nice venue and access to the hall was direct from the rear car park which was useful and convenient. The show team worked well to make this a very friendly show which ran smoothly and had good early finishes on both days. Many thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets and advertised in the catalogue to make this event a finanicial success. Ca thy Ni ch oll s Ko ra t N ep tun e Firstly a Merry Christmas to all exhibitors and their wonderful cats, thank you all for you comments on this newsletter, we hope it has been well received. Have a great time over the festive period and make sure you all spoil your cats and kittens rotten. The atmosphere was great with many new exhibitors attending and as usual, the FB team were on hand to welcome them and to help them through their first show. All newcomers are given a Mentor to help them through the day and help them to understand the way Felis Britannica shows run. If you were one of the first time exhibitors and you have a comment on the show, please do let us know. We at are looking forward to 2012 and think that it will be a great year for us all. We now have some great show teams working together to make the shows bigger, better organised and most of all FUN for everyone involved. Arch ie And so to the main attraction the wonderful cats that won at Best in Show Space limits me to the category winners and the overall Best of the Best but Facebook has a fuller list and also many many more pictures taken by exhibitors over the weekend. To access these, visit the Facebook page, like it and you can view the photo s and add your own comments. Please remember, this is our hobby and it is meant to be enjoyable so come along to our shows in 2012 and have a great time amongst friends and fellow enthusiasts. Judges for the weekend were: Christmas spirit: Mandixx www.mandix.dk/photo Ulrika Whal from Denmark Albert Fittich from Switzerland Irenesh Pruchniak from Poland editor@felisbritannica.co.uk
Show Topics Continued... Continued from page one. Day 1 3rd December Best Category I: Bronjoy Giddy up (PER) Best Category II: Laska Onix Gloria (SIB) Best Category III: CH Wendele Miss Ellie (BUR) Best Category IV & Best of the Best: Willhavetodo Whatamixup(OSH) Best Unrecognised Breed: Amazolou Mr Brightside (Selkirk Rex) Willhavetodo Whatamixup (OSH) Day 2 4th December Best Category I: Bronjoy Cazdiva (EXO) Best Category II: Old Possums Zephyr (NFO) Best Category III: Nikelsilva Midas (KOR) Best Category IV: Willhavetodo Whatamixup (OSH) Best Unrecognised Breed: Cagaran CailinAnizz (Tiffanie) Also at the show a couple of cats gained their Supreme title which is a real achievement so congratulations to the following cats and of course owners. Josie Hughes of Lisieux Cattery, made up her beautiful Maine Coon SP Bhanacoyne Archimedes Aloysius to the title of Supreme Premier congratulations to Josie and Archie (Pictured on previous page). Old Possums Zephyr (NFO) Cathy Nicholls Korat Neptune became SC Nikelsilva Neptune. This is the very 1st Korat to gain the title of Supreme Champion very well done (Pictured on previous page). We intend to make this a regular section in the newsletter so if you have made up a Supreme Champion or have gained a DSM or other special award, please email a picture and a summary of your cats achievements to Bronjoy Cazdiva (PER) A Great Loss On November 8th 2011 The Cat Fancy lost a very memorable lady Patricia Ann Brownsell of Patriarca Cats. Pat started her life in the Cat world with Siamese and Persians, and quickly moved on to Burmese where she was one of the founder breeders of reds and creams who along with Wendy Chapman bred Britains first Red Burmese Grand Champion Patriarca Perdita. Other burmese that Pat bred which you may have heard of are Patriarca Pickapepper, Patriarca Percyfilv, Patriarca Potohoney to name but a few. Pat also bred Cornish Rex, Abbysinnians again with the Abbys being the founder member of the blues. However Pats real contribution to the Cat Fancy was along with Lulu Rowley of Petilu importing Ragdolls into the UK back in the early 80's, her Ragdolls can now be seen all over the World and claimimg Championship status as far afield as Australia and Hong Kong. RIP Pat 07/081940 08/09/2011 Pats passing is a great loss to the Cat Fancy, her knowledge of genetics was just fantastic, she will be sadly missed by all who knew her. editor@felisbritannica.co.uk
New Breed Section After many people said how much they enjoyed reading about the Khaoe Manee or White Thai Cat, I thought it would be nice to feature other new breeds. Here is a short Article about a breed at it s very beginnings from Ash Mollay. My Tibetan Journey, Ash Molloy After seeing pictures of Vanessa Gasser s Tibetans on Facebook I was captivated and had to do some research into the breed. Tibetans are essentially Longhaired Tonkinese: They have the unique mink colouring with aquamarine eyes but have a swishy, silky coat and a squirrel tail like a Balinese to me simply gorgeous! Agnes Driessen is the founder of the breed. She began breeding Tibetans in 1992 by crossing Balinese to Burmese then back to Balinese. In 1997 the breed was granted championship status by the Dutch Independent Cat Association. Like Tonkinese, Tibetans come in 30 colours spread across the 3 patterns; Mink, Sepia and Point. I knew I had to have some of my own so talked at length with Agnes about importing a Tibetan girl. I already had a seal point Balinese male so with the right girl could produce Tibetan kittens. Agnes was Tibtan Kittens keen to export her breed to the UK but the cost and logistics of importing a cat were quite offputting for me (this was before the DEFRA rule changes). I decided to put an import on the backburner and instead look for a suitable match for my Balinese, here in the UK. I didn t want to use Burmese, as Agnes has done, it seemed too longwinded a process. I knew I could produce first generation Tibetans from a Tiffany, if I could find one of Burmese colouring (BCR). This proved to be something of a challenge as almost all Tiffany breeders work with silver shaded cats. Then in January 2011 I found a litter of Tiffany kittens, which appeared to have one solid brown kitten in the picture. I contacted their breeder, Andrea Reavill, to ask if that kitten should happen to be a BCR girl. She was but she was not perfect as she was a smoke but as everything else was right I thought the silver element was a compromise worth making. I collected my brown smoke Tiffany girl in February this year and named her Lhasa after the capital of Tibet. Lhasa matured beautifully. She won best new variety as an Asian Longhair at an Aristocats show and then in August mated with Phoenix, my Balinese, on her first call. And so on the 21st October 2011 the UK s first Tibetan kittens were born. Four perfect, Natural MinkSmoke babies, two of each sex. Tibetan mum with babies. Thanks to Agnes exports and other breeders initiative Tibetan kittens are now being produced in 14 catteries across 8 countries around the world and are recognised by many national independent cat associatons. Message from the General Secretary and the Executive Committee Following what has been a pretty tough year, John Cunningham has resigned from his role as Acting President of. The Executive Committee regret his decision, but understand and wish him well. We appreciate all of the work John has put in to making FB a successful organisation, first as Chairman of the Show Commission and more recently as our President. We have had some very energetic discussions with some tears but more laughter and will miss his contributions to future debates. Frank Mandix, the acting Vice President will assume the role of Acting President until elections take place at the next AGA proposed for late February / early March 2012. We hope you all will join us in welcoming Frank, who only joined us in the last year but brings to us experience of FIFe in Europe which we have found very inspirational. Frank Mandix
Fife Updates The Following proposals were passed at the last FIFe AGA When Breeding Burmese: Burmese Cats used in Breeding must have a DNA test for GM2 gangliosidosis unless both parents are proven to be free from GM2 gangliosidosis These Breeding principles are to be followed: GM2free X GM2 Free GM2free X GM2 carrier The cats that need to be tested according to this rule must be identifiable by microchip or tattoo. The breeder must inform buyers of Burmese cats about the GM2 gangliosidosis disease and the registration policy. A certified veterinary certificate regarding the GM2 gangliosidosis status must be attached to the pedigree. Cats not allowed for Breeding. The following cats are not allowed for breeding Deaf cats (white cats must be tested before they are used for breeding. Cats with an umbilical hernia In accordance with this, there should also be a change in the table for Disqualifying and general faults in the General part of the standards. Test Programmes Each FIFe member must develop appropriate programmes. Information on genetic diseases and advice on testing and health examinations will be researched and provided by the Health & Welfare Commission (appendix 1 and appendix II) Appendix I Buccal swabs All breeds for each cat, the swabs are put in an envelope marked with the cat s name and microchip number. These can easily be stored in a dry place. If needed the swabs can be used for future genetic testing. Appendix II Obligatory (X) abd recommended health examinations before breeding BAER (brainstem, auditory evoked response) Testing for deafness. It is not allowed to breed with deaf cats (Refer to art 3). Testicles normal and descended into the scrotal sac Vet certificate obligatory for males before breeding (refer to art 2). Vacancy Show Photographer wanted is looking for a photographer with an eye for taking that great picture of the cats during each show. It may be that we will need a couple of people to make sure all shows are covered. Ideally someone experienced in or with some interest in photography and the owner of a good camera. Anyone interested should be prepared to attend the majority of shows during the year and please contact Frank Mandix, the acting President for more details at president@felisbritannica.org Information Request British Shorthair Breeders Paulo Savi would like to invite all the UK British Shorthair cat breeders to join the PawPeds BSH Database with their cats and kittens pedigrees. The UK BSH database is now maintained by paolo and the website detailed below has all the details of how to send BSH pedigrees the PawPeds database website. Web: http://pawpeds.com/db/?a=i&g=5&p=bri&date=iso Contact Email: bshpawpeds@msn.com Your Cat Pictures and Stories... Are you proud of your cat? Got some cat pictures you would like to share with us? Cat stories or facts... then tell the rest of us! Send your cat pictures and /or stories in to we look forward to receiving them! Umbilical Hernia. All Breeds. ECG examination for heart disease PER, EXO, MCO, NFO, ABY, BEN, DRX, SOM Opthalmix examination (PRA, Cataract, etc) ABY, BEN, OCI, RUS, SOM, BAL, OLH, SIA, SYS, SYL, PEB
Our First Show We received some great feedback from many of the new exhibitors at the recent Aristocats show and some of them are printed here. I really enjoyed the show & thought the organisation was excellent What I think FB do better than GCCF or TICA is the welcome to newbies. From the communication prior to the show, the pack I was given upon arrival & the penning with a 'mentor' I thought this was brilliant! A Really Well organised show, we will be back The friendly atmosphere was amazing and not at all like some other types of show we have been to It was a much more competitive environment than I had been led to believe which was great Best in Show was great to watch and especially the anticipation of the Overall winner (Best of the Best) Thank you very much for a very enjoyable show, I have joined the Aristocats cat club already & you'll see me at shows in the New Year! These were very welcome comments from new exhibitors to FB shows as the show teams are working hard to make the day interesting, friendly and competitive. If you have any comments you would like make regarding shows, please send them to Josie Hughes at the show commission. We can t promise to use all the ideas but it is important that we know what people want at shows in the future. Join the Today! Denmark Show There is a show in Denmark on the 10th March which is essentially a 3 certificate one day show with vetting in starting at 7 AM to 9:30 AM. The show starts at 10 AM and may continue until 10 PM (10AM to 6PM for visitors). Prices Single pen: 1 show: 250 kr. 2 shows: 450 kr and 3 shows 600 kr. Double pen: 1 show: 400 kr. 2 shows: 600 kr and 3 shows 800 kr. Payment is online and so is the entry. I don't expect it to be in English (Frank Mandix can help you with this). We may have to send some documentation from our clubs, so that they can see we are members of a FIFe club and in good standing. The Venue is Rødovrehallen, Rødovre Parkvej 245, 2610 Rødovre To view on google maps click here and type in address: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl It is 6 miles from the centre of Copenhagen. Anyone interested, please contact Frank on president@felisbritannica.org for more information or visit the Fife web site with details of all Fife Shows http://fifeweb.org/wp/shows/shows.asp Contact US General Enquiries: General Secretary: Cecilia MacLeod President (acting): Frank Mandix Treasurer: Tracey Spooner Show Commission Chairman: Josie Hughes Breeding Health & Welfare Commission: Louise Mitchell Publicity Officer: John Tipper Contact Secretary: generalsecretary@felisbriannica.org Publicity Officer:
Forthcoming UK Shows Garden Of England Show Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th January 2012 Ware, Hertfordshire Enteries close Monday 16th January. For schedule please visit: http:///files/shows/ware2012_2.pdf Aristocats Cat Club Saturday 31st March and Sunday 1st April Swindon Venue to be advised. Garden Of England Show Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May Swanley, Kent Aristocats Cat Club Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June Venue to be advised. Garden Of England Show Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th July Northampton Area Venue to be advised. Viking Cat Club Saturday 15th September Alcester, Warwickshire 1 day 1 certificate international show. Forthcoming European Shows Date: Location: Show Type: Club: Member: 01/01/2012 Lohja One 1 day, 1 cert. RUROK SRK 0708/01/2012 Padova ANFI 0708/01/2012 Uppsala FRÄS SVERAK 0708/01/2012 Wohlen KAS FFH 1415/01/2012 Brædstrup JYRAK FD 1415/01/2012 Helsinki SUROK SRK 1415/01/2012 Lyon CCLDS FFF 15/01/2012 Haarlem One 1 day, 1 cert. Felikat 2122/01/2012 Isselburg 1. DEKZV e.v. 2122/01/2012 San Bonifacio (VR) ANFI 2829/01/2012 Ebreichsdorf ÖVEK 2829/01/2012 Køge One 2 day, 1 cert. KATTEKLUBBEN FD 2829/01/2012 Bordeaux CCSA FFF 2829/01/2012 Fellbach RKS e. V. 1. DEKZV e.v. editor@felisbritannica.co.uk Produced and distributed by statusdesign.co.uk 01406 380620