November has been a busy month! The National Show in Indianapolis was fantastic! It was a great to be able to meet everyone, to listen and learn.

Renewal Time!

You should be seeing your Breed Council Renewals arrive any time now. Deadline is August 1, 2012 and the on line payment link will be available on January 3, 2012.  Inside your Breed Council envelopes look for Cat Talk subscription information. What a wonderful magazine, if you are not already signed up for subscriptions please do so!

CFA has been out in the community of Alliance. Donna Jean and I have done presentations at the Alliance Women's Club and the Coterie Club. Both welcomed us warmly and were very interested in CFA and its functions. We also have attended a couple Chamber of Commerce events which have been very exciting.

Registration is still working within the 10 day window. In the month of November the staff processed approximately 4,000 litter or individual registrations. We are hoping everyone is noticing an improvement and a dedication from Central office to keep improving.

Some time frames to remember,

Registrations, transfers, corrections - processing takes approximately 10 days.  Registration via pedigree is 3 - 5 weeks. Please make sure all information is filled out properly and completely, this helps us to help you.

Central Office will be closed on December 26, 2011 and January 2, 2011. May your Holiday Season be safe and happy!!

Verna M. Dobbins

The CFA Youth Feline Education Program (YFEP) was formally launched at the National Show in November. YFEP, sponsored by Royal Canin, provided handouts, bookmarks, applications, and sweet treat to all interested attendees. Jo Ann Cummings along with the help of Andy, an enthusiastic Abyssinian ambassador, spent the weekend promoting YFEP's benefits for our youth and CFA.   Read more ...

Jo Ann Cummings & Lisa Smith in the YFEP booth at the CFA National Cat Show

Show Treasurer, Carla Bizzell, reports on the finances for the show.  She stated there are several bills still being negotiated; however, "a ballpark number that would be safe to share is that the National Show appears to have cleared no less than $10,000." 

In many ways, the 2011 show was a big success.  We would, of course, like to make next year's show even better.  If you have suggestions to make, please submit them to Mark Hannon by the end of December so we can take them into consideration in the early stages of planning next year's show.  What worked well that you would like to see continue?  What needs to be tweaked a bit?  What needs significant improvement?
 

Agility was heavily encouraged at this show and there was a great turnout.  43 cats competed which is an all-time high.  Agility chair Jill Archibald commented that they were "Not all in a competitive time, but with great future promise."  In first place was an old pro, Twyla Mooner handled by her owner Lisa-Maria Padilla.  Congratulations to both Twyla and Lisa-Maria.

The Cat Writers' Association held their annual conference on November 19, 2011 in White Plains, NY.  CFA is a major sponsor of this annual event and sponsors the President's Award.  A lot was going on that weekend this year including the CFA National Cat Show in Indianapolis and Meet the Breeds in New York City.  Lynn Miller kindly represented CFA this year, provided comments at the dinner, and has submitted this report.

The CFA Yearbook is scheduled to be sent to the printer within the next week.  It takes about a month to print so should be mailed to those who advertised or ordered one by late January.   If you have not yet ordered a copy, you can do so via CFA's online Shopping Cart.

Whiskers in Wonderland

This weekend, Dec. 17-18, the Mayor's Alliance for New York City's Animals is holding a major adoption fair in NYC, "Whiskers in Wonderland."  The event is sponsored by CFA, Dr. Elsey's, and Royal Canin.  CFA staff member Shelly Borawski will be present with the CFA booth.  Twenty-six shelters and rescue groups are participating.  As stated in one of their press releases, "What better way to celebrate the spirit of the season than to grant a homeless pet's number-one wish - the gift of a forever home?"  This is the second year for this event.  Last year's event was only one day and this year it is two days.  Last year almost 2,000 people streamed thru Metropolitan Pavilion where 7 rabbits, one snake and 125 cats were adopted on the spot with about 50 applications for cat adoptions to take place later the following week.

CFA JUDGING PROGAM COMMITTEE   

Letters (Good and Bad) and Complaints

The CFA Judging Program Committee and the CFA Board of Directors wants to remind you that input on applicants and judges (both those advancing through the program and approved judges) is always appreciated.

New applicants come to the Board for acceptance at the February, June and October meetings. The names of these individuals are posted on the CFA Website. We will also be posting those names via CFA-News announcements. The information will include the individual's name, cattery name, city and state of residence and what specialty they are applying for.  Read More...

Winn Feline Foundation

Partnering with the George Sydney and Phyllis Redman Miller Trust, Winn Feline Foundation is pleased to announce the award of six feline medical research grants for 2011 in the total amount of $102,887.The studies will examine stem cell therapy for inflammatory bowel disease and asthma, cancer therapy, FIP, pain management, and a safe imaging and oxygen delivery chamber for cats.For a more detailed description of these studies, please check the Winn website at www.winnfelinehealth.org . Better yet, subscribe to the Winn eNewsletter to keep up with all Winn activities. Subscription information is on the website. 

Legislative

Spotlight on Websites 

We have two great sites for your viewing pleasure this month:

The Somali Breed Council has a very attractive site with lots of info for lovers of this breed including the current standings of cats being shown this season.  The site was designed by Kathy Durdick, a well-know name around CFA's web community. http://somalibc.org/

MarketPlace: A terrific listing of hundreds of vendors broken out by catagories such as  cages, cage curtains, cat food, cat furniture, general cat supplies, health supplies, jewelry, toys, and more.  Trying to find a vendor from a recent show?  There's a good chance you can find their contact info on this great site housed on the CFA Southern Region's web site.  With Christmas coming, this site can help you get the right gift for your cat-loving friends. 

http://www.cfasouthern.org/market-place.html  

Sturdi Products

CFA's corporate partner Sturdi Products, Inc., the leader in quality products for traveling pets, will be celebrating 20 years of success and excellence with special sales and offerings to their customers in 2012. Check out their Press Release.

Cat Hairballs - Inevitable - Or Are They?

By: Dr. Shelby Neely, DVM

My Experience with Cat Hairballs

Having been a cats-only veterinarian for over 20 years, I naturally have many memories of the cats and their humans that have graced my clinic doors. Fortunately, the happy memories by far outweigh the sad. In addition, there is a nice blend of humorous moments that help lighten our days. In a profession that deals with life and death, those lighter moments are much appreciated.  Read More ...

Region 1

A Regional Meeting will be held at the Straight and Curl show on Sunday, December 18th. Moderators for the meeting will be Claudia Hasay, John Adelhoch and Debbie Kusy. The discussion will be strictly on the 2012 annual They will discuss what is being planned, where to volunteer and current fund raising . The planned time is around noon on Sunday. Congratulations to Straight and Curl for filling their Saturday Show!

NAR Pins will be available for sale at Straight and Curl. They are also available through the NAR website.  Silver is $20 and gold is $50.

Region 2 

The Region held a raffle for an i-Pad and the winner was The Havana Brown Fanciers which is a Region 2 club.  Congratulations!

Region 7

 
The Southern Region held a raffle for a $500 Visa Gift Card to benefit our Region's Purebred Breed Rescue efforts. The drawing was held last weekend at the Dixieland Silver & Golden Fanciers' show in North Carolina.  The winner was Hal Harper (Jude Cattery) from Tennessee.  Hal kindly donated 70% of his winnings back to the rescue effort. Thus, including Hal's generous donation, we raised $1,885.  Thanks to Lynn Search who headed up this raffle and her assistants Deb Curtis and Jacqui Bennett as well as those who participated by purchasing raffle tickets.  Congratulations to Hal and thanks for his generous contribution to a very worthy cause.