Endangered Scottish Wildcats

Having finished my show reports (48 cats to write up, how do you describe a Burmese 48 different ways???) I was catching up with reading today and was very concerned to read in the FAB Journal (Cat Care) that there are only around 400 Scottish Wildcats left and that they could be extinct in 10 years' time. I had no idea the situation was so dire and I'll certainly be joining the Scottish Wildcat Association when they open for membership next year (they're still very new so still getting charitable status sorted out etc)

Anyway I spent this afternoon on the SWA website and will be buying the DVD in January when it goes on release. More people need to know about this - the Wildcat can be saved, but it needs action - and money.

I hate Christmas

It took me several attempts to spell the stupid word!

It always seems to creep up too quickly. Today I finally made the effort to order various items that have been requested, with the predictable result that amazon.co.uk was out of stock. I know I've left it far later than this in previous years, just goes to show that 99% of the British public order Christmas online nowadays. With a bit of searching I did manage to find alternative sources and desired items (with one exception) have been ordered. I really don't see the point, it's all such a vast waste of money.

We went to the Lincoln Christmas Market last Sunday. It is supposedly the largest in Europe, had never been before (despite it being the 14th year). It was freezing cold (hovering around zero C) and the stalls were mainly selling tat - not nearly enough quality stuff. Far too many stalls spread over too wide an area, all around the cathedral and in the castle courtyard. Also far too many people, making it virtually impossible to look at anything properly. The best bit was the orange sunset, making the cathedral glow beautifully, and the moon in a perfectly clear blue sky. IF we go again it will be after 4pm on the Sunday, when there are less visitors and of course everything looks better after dark with the street decorations etc.

On Saturday it was the BCS Show, where I was gobsmacked to have 8 Brown and 6 Lilac kittens to judge, plus a fair few adults and neuters. Can't remember seeing 8 Brown kittens at a show for years! Lilacs I'd expect, but never Browns. I have no idea if I got it right, it was virtually impossible to choose between most of the kittens. Went to see some of Theo's kittens after the show - very nice indeed. Also heard of a possible litter which might produce a potential stud - watch this space!

Anyway, I must get on with writing the critiques - have only done one kitten so far, need to do 8 or so cats per day to get it finished by this time next week!

Mewsings

Glitter Graphics

Asian & Ocicat Kittens

I took some photos of the kittens at the weekend. They are all together now, it seemed by far the easiest option and fortunately Rio & Evie get on well, although Rio is leaving most of the work to Evie now! Rio can't bear to miss out on what might be happening upstairs......... (not a lot, apart from piles of sleeping cats on my bed)

Well I was right about the All Blacks - but that referee!! He is ALWAYS biased against England, it's blatantly obvious. What can you expect from an Irishman with a French name?? Wales had a great game against Australia, there were even a few tries!

I am back - finally

aargh! I must keep this up to date more often.

Anyway, as you'll have seen from my website, I have now joined the ranks of successful Burmese breeders - it only took 18 years! Still, I think that having bred through 8 straight generations before achieving something on the scale of BOV Burmese kitten at the Supreme Show, is far more satisfying than simply buying 2 highly inbred kittens, putting them together and creating an instant Grand Champion. At least I can hold my head up and say my lines are reasonably outcrossed - and that I never breed a litter without serious consideration of the parents' pedigrees and degree of relatedness.

After the success of Saturday, I had a disappointment on Monday when I heard that the potential Burmese stud I was hoping to import had been identified by his vet as having a very small hernia - no-one else had noticed it even by the age of 12 weeks! So of course he is not suitable for breeding and I have to go back to the drawing board re. finding a suitable boy with a decent pedigree. I will get there in the end - the breed desperately needs new lines in the UK and no-one else seems even slightly concerned :((

Saturday's excitement made up in a small way for the sadness of the previosu weekend - we had to say goodbye on Sunday November 16th to Rosa (Vervain Coraldawn), 14 year old red Burmese girl and the 3rd generation of my line. She had a suspected intestinal tumour and despite a bit of a rally after antibiotics and steroids, went downhill and developed renal failure. She went to sleep very peacefully at the vet's and I'll be collecting her ashes later this week - another casket to add to the 4 already on the top of the kitchen cupboards. Cherry is Rosa's great-great-great granddaughter.

This coming weekend I don't have to go anywhere! Yippeee - can stay in bed till after 8am both days, and watch England being crushed by the All Blacks (well, only the highlights as the live stuff is only on Sky - ridiculous!!) It hardly seems a year since they achieved the impossible, they've already lost to Australia and South Africa on the last 2 weekends........

More very soon - that's a promise!