September 1, 2000

I cannot believe it is September already! The Summer goes by so fast.

I have been going back and forth in my decision on what to do about getting a male to replace Voodoo (not that Voodoo is replaceable). I had considered using a red tabby belonging to a friend of mine in New Jersey but decided against bringing an adult cat into a new environment. It's too stressful for them and I didn't want to have another problem like I did with Taka.

I spoke to a breeder in Oregon who works with lines similar to mine and was offered two black males, one about a year old and one about 14 weeks old. I almost agreed to take them, but they are brother/sister breedings (both of them) and I cannot agree with that practice. It's breeding too close for my taste.

This week, I called the California breeder who has a red tabby kitten who is a half brother to this year's best American Shorthair in the country. Amazingly enough, he's still available. He had been offered to me once before, but I declined because he was a red tabby. I don't particularly care for red tabbies. A long-time successful breeder of American Shorthairs once said, "Build your house, then paint it." — meaning set your type, then worry about color. That is good advice.

The kitten, who has been named Caellcats Firestorm, goes to his first show this weekend. I am going to take him. He'll be coming here in a few weeks. I'll have to wait for him to grow up enough to breed because there is no one in my immediate area who has a suitable cat to breed to Bella and Moon. Luckily, they are not cycling (coming in heat) frequently and seem to be accepting their kittenless state quite well.

September 10, 2000

I apologize for not updating sooner. With the change in weather I've been having a hard time getting up in the morning. Just not enough time in the day lately.

I am so glad for all of the people who have switched their cats to a raw diet with my help. More and more people are doing it these days and that's a wonderful thing.

If it were not for the convenience of meat-flavored cereal (a/k/a dry cat food) people wouldn't be able to "collect" cats like the woman in California did (last I heard she had 300 cats). She wouldn't have been able to have 300 cats if she had to make cat food for them. Outlaw dry cat food!

I give kitten buyers all the tools to keep their cats healthy and happy. I know it works, it has worked for me for seven years. My adults don't miss a beat — even when exposed to deadly viruses, which they all have been. It's easy to follow, you feed the cat a balanced raw meat diet (nothing else will do), you don't vaccinate them (beyond one set of kitten shots), you keep your numbers (of cats) down — voila — they stay healthy. I don't understand why they can't follow these simple instructions. Some are afraid of feeding raw meat. Some are afraid of them catching the diseases that they vaccinate against. Some don't want to take the time to make a homemade diet. Yet all of the people who have my kittens who have gone off the "plan" end up with sick cats. Then they worry because they get sick. They have to take them to the veterinarian (time, money). It wouldn't have happened if they kept the cat the way nature intended.

September 16, 2000

We're still here — shivering already! It's only September 16 and it's freezing! Well, not really, but it is "unseasonably cool" as the weather people say. The cooler weather makes the kitties much more active. Bella and Moon have a race track marked out throughout the house. Yukon and Wiley usually join in (after all, if the girls are doing it, it must be fun, right?)

Bella is frantically looking for a male, but not one is in sight.

A male cat is coming though! A red tabby kitten from California is due to arrive this Friday. His name is Caellcat's Firestorm. He's five months old and a half brother to this year's best American Shorthair, Caellcat's Dapper Dan. I know, he's not black, but I have to be color blind for a while until my breeding program is reestablished. Using a red tabby with my now colorful clan of females (one brown tabby, one blue tabby and one solid black) will result in even more color. A flash of red here or there isn't such a bad thing.

Charya redeemed herself this morning. I was getting closer and closer to pulling her from my program and placing her in a pet home. I don't want temperament problems in my kittens. She hates to be handled and frequently runs from me. Her show performance in Portland, Maine was not very good. She made like an armadillo (rolled up in a ball) every time a judge put her on the table. Several judges commented openly that if she showed herself, she would have been best of breed. She was much better on Sunday (maybe after all the one-on-one attention she received in the hotel room) and got two second best of breed wins (not too bad against the boys). This morning, at the assisted living center where we visit twice a month, she was very, very good. Running, jumping, playing and being very outgoing. She even came out of the carrier without use of a crow-bar. She gave me a hard time going back in to go home. Usually she's trying to get into the carrier throughout the entire stay. Okay. I'll give her more time.

Now, I'm used to hearing people say they are afraid of salmonella or e-coli when feeding raw meat. I've heard the mad cow disease fear when it comes to using bone meal and gelatin. Recently, I heard the best one yet. Apparently a particular author of a natural cat and dog book cautions in her book against feeding an all raw meat diet. Apparently, she believes it causes aggression in some animals. My cats are so aggressive I simply don't know how I am able to live with them. I tell you, I go to bed every night quite worried that they'll attack me in my sleep. Geez, taking them to the assisted living center without feeding them breakfast is endangering the residents! Better start feeding them meat-flavored cereal a few times a week to counter the aggression. What next?

As I type this, Wiley dragged a rather large lamb chop into the living room and settled down in front of the TV to eat it. Wiley loves eating TV dinners. Bella is yelling so loud her voice is echoing. Yukon is attempting to out-yell her. Bella is funny (well, it's funny now, not so funny in the middle of the night when I'm trying to sleep). She starts yelling in one tone, then switches it so she sounds like a completely different cat. Perhaps she's trying to convince the male cat(s) she knows are somewhere within hearing range that there's more than one available female living here. Gotta love living with intact (not spayed) females. All I need now is a stinky male cat.

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