March 2014
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Lois Jensen Retires 

Text by Donna J Thompson

Photo by Ron Dylewski

 

 

 

Make new Friends and keep the old -

one is Silver, the other GOLD.

 

The CFA Judging Program lost a Golden Star from behind the judging table at the Mid-Ohio C. F. Mansfield, Ohio show April 5, 2014 as Lois Jensen announced her retirement from the Judging Program with the grace, style and professionalism she has shown for over 35 years judging CFA's finest.

 

She shared her heartfelt desire to always be making the correct choices each and every time she entered the ring dedicated to do her BEST, and did! The sharing of knowledge and experience with Trainees, her fellow Judges and Newbies to the world of pedigreed cats knew no bounds and she has assured us she will attend shows to gather silver friends and polish the Golden ones. Her dedication to the Cat Fanciers' Association and Pedigreed Cats will never be forgotten. She also helps at a local rescue. How lucky those kitties are to have her as a Guardian Angel.

 

Having started in the Cat Fancy and exhibited with Lois before either of us had a thought of judging, there are days, weeks, months and years of tales to tell that cover it all. I promised Lois to keep this short and I will keep that promise. BUT if anyone out there enjoys a bit "of the vine" and has time with Lois at a show I know she would enjoy sharing the stories of the "good old days".

 

With Love and Friendship from all of your CFA Family,

 

Donna Jean

 

New Advertisers

 

We would like to welcome the following to the CFA family: Falls Vacuum, Pet Cooler Carrier and AntiIckyPoo.  Watch for their ads here in our newsletter and in Cat Talk.

Central Office Staff

Photo taken March, 2014         

 

Photo by Mark

 

Seated (from left): Shirley Dent (Scoring), Kristi Wollam (Clubs, Breed Councils, Protests), Diane Cioci (Bookkeeper), Donna Lewis (Receptionist,Mail), Catie Riddell (Registrations), Linda Scharver (Scoring)  

 

Standing (from left): Judy Minich (Registrations), Erica Minich (Registrations), James Simbro (IT Support, Systems Administrator), Donna Jean Thompson (Director of Operations), Brian Buetel (Facilities, Shipping), Kitty McClelland (Finance), Verna Dobbins (Business Development, Human Resources)

Central Office Report

Submitted by Donna Jean Thompson,

Director of Operations

 

 

Heartfelt appreciation goes out to National Norwegian Forest Cat Club as well as Mid-Ohio Cat Fanciers who welcomed CFA employees to work in my ring at their shows. Linda Bartley served as Ring Clerk extraordinaire to help Linda Scharver and Judy Minich learn "Cat Show" up close and personal and Erica Minich learn about the various breeds and colors. I am sure they are a bit on overload but all very much appreciated the opportunity offered by the clubs involved, Linda and the many exhibitors who showed their cats up close and personal to them and were willing to answer any and all questions. And I personally appreciated those exhibitors who thanked me for giving our C. O. staff this opportunity. You are welcome as we are the CFA Family.

 

The Race is on and here Comes CFA Down the backstretch! Two weekends to go and yet another season of phenomenal cats comes to an end. While there may be some spots still in contention, many of you are safely within your goal. We're ready, are you?

 

Whether it be NW, RW, DM, GC, GP now is the time to prepare to "Toot Your Horn" to the CFA World of your accomplishment(s). NW and RW Awards booklets as well as the Delegate Booklet, Cat Talk and the CFA Yearbook are all places to share your success. Gather your pictures now to be ready. Watch the CFA and Regional Web sites and newsletters for the deadlines for all opportunities. Don't be left out. You have earned your time to SHINE!!

 

Deadlines, did I mention deadlines? THURSDAY MAY 1, 2014 is the POSTMARK deadline for your club's Delegate Form. To be sure your club has submitted their Delegate form; here is a current listing of forms received.

 

And THURSDAY MAY 8, 2014 is the last day Club fees and Membership List must be received in Central Office for your club to be eligible to vote at the Annual.

 

REGISTRATION HINTS: Faxing is the safest and most secure way to submit credit card information for services requested. However, placing that information too close to the top or bottom of the faxed page makes it difficult if not impossible to read. This can be a time consuming problem if you have left off contact information (email address preferred). Be sure to place your credit card and email information within an approximate one inch border to be safe rather than sorry. And print, please print all letters.

 

PRINT, did I say print? The ladies in registration have asked that you please print your information. Several letters are difficult to distinguish if using cursive writing - especially N's, M's, R's and S's.

 

TIP FOR ASIA: Some of the Asian customers put their address in English and Asian languages on their orders. I cut and paste the Asian address onto the envelope. This seems to help. Obviously CFA needs the English version. However I am certain in some areas if postal workers are not versed in English addresses this may well help them to make delivery to you rather than return to CFA. This tip from Donna Lewis who works with outgoing mail.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE GIVE A WORKABLE DAY TIME PHONE NUMBER AND/OR READABLE EMAIL ADDRESS ON ANY WORK SUBMITTED. And do not forget to LET US KNOW OF ANY NEW ADDRESS. We're working hard to solve returned mail issues but more often than not it is because of handwriting,

being incomplete, not legible or you moved and forgot to tell us.

 

NEW STAPLES ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE: We have a new Account Manager with Staples and she is Marie Alvarez. I have spoken with her on several occasions and she is wonderful to work with no matter the problem or issue. Don't forget out CFA Account number is: 2818011005. If you have a problem you may call her at 888-224-3684 X 1151 and I am sure you will find her most helpful.

 

Yes, several portions of the "New System" are up and running and as you have noticed not without glitches. Thankfully the majority of them have been quickly resolved. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we grow together. I'm hardly a "kissin' Cousin to the IT World but this system is an amazement with its possibilities.

 

Good luck these last two weekends. Travel safe and enjoy your friends from near and far, who but for the love of cats, you might not know.

 

Donna Jean

Donna Lewis receiving an award from Donna Thompson for her Employee Suggestion which saves CFA thousands of dollars!

MYTH: There is no need to change foods, whether my cat is pregnant or not, or during lactation. Find the Answer Here.

CFA Show Entry Analysis          

 

Submitted by Dick Kallmeyer

 

Here are some statistics pertaining to CFA Show entries from the 2012-2013 show season. We were interested in entries rather than cats present because of the direct impact to CFA clubs. This also allows us to identify opportunities to grow CFA.

 

Figure 1 shows the number of entries originating in each region for kittens, championship and premiership. Regions 1, 4 and 7 lead in entries (41.5% of total entries), followed by the International Division (ID) and Europe (22.1%). North America accounted for 71.6% of total entries.

 

"Unique" refers to a kitten or cat that was entered one or more times. The higher the unique percentage, the fewer times an individual kitten or cat is shown. In Regions 1 - 8, about 1/3 of the entries are unique. In Europe and the ID, unique entries are 56% and 62% respectively.

 

Figure 1: 2012-2013 show season entries by region

 

While North America and Japan have exhibited negative growth, Europe and the ID have shown significant compound growth rates of 16.8% (Europe) and 27.2% (ID) per year since the 2005-2006 season. (Figure 2)

 

Figure 2: Europe and the ID entries from the 2005/2006 to the 2012/2013 show seasons

 

 

 Continue reading ...

CLERKING TEST
Submitted by Cheryl Coleman, Clerking Committee Chair
 
This year's clerking test will be available the week of April 21st. If you have paid your biennial dues, you will automatically receive an email with the link to take the test, as well as a copy of the test in hard-copy attached. You will need to download the updated CFA Clerking Manual and a copy of the newest Show Rules to take the test prior to May 1.  An announcement will be made when the test is available.
Computer Upgrade
Submitted by Dennis Ganoe, IT Committee Chair
  

 

On April 1st, the successor system to the old HP System (Bertha) went live in Central Office. What that meant was the Central Office staff began doing their daily work (registrations and scoring) on the long awaited new computer system.

 

As we expected, not everything went smoothly. There were some errors encountered that our testing did not uncover. However, our support from the vendor (Computan) has been exceptional with almost every error being corrected within hours of discovery.

 

Through the month of April, we will continue registrations on both systems to ensure accurate scoring for the end of year results. Through April, we will score shows and cats through both systems and make comparisons to ensure accuracy of scoring going forward.

 

Along with the new system in Central Office, a new User Portal was made active on Friday April 4th with our first litter registrations being recorded that afternoon.

  

The new site is located at http://ecat.cfa.org. If you had log in credentials to the secure CFA site, you will have the same credentials to the new portal. There are instructions available on both sites for transferring your work from the secure.cfa.org site to ecat.cfa.org.

 

In addition to instructions how to transfer to the new portal, once you get to the portal you can download a Users Manual for operating the new litter registration features. This documentation will be updated and maintained as we add to the User Portal's functionality and operation.

 

Should you have difficulties with the portal, you can send an email to [email protected]. Central Office personnel will respond to your issue within a standard business day. Central Office staff will acknowledge your issue and solve it as quickly as possible.

No te From Our IT System Administrator

Submitted by James Simbro

 

Please be aware that the New System sends emails from a [email protected] address, and that you may want to add that address to your "safe list" in your email program. That way you will not miss an email that may otherwise get routed to a spam or junk folder.

From Our Webmistress

 

2014-2015 Show Rules and Show Standards are now online, both here and on the Exhibitors page.

Breed Awareness and Orientation School

Submitted by Pat Jaccoberger

 

THE CFA BAOS GOES TO BREMEN, GERMANY!

 

On July 31 and August 1, 2014 a CFA Breed Awareness and Orientation School is scheduled in conjunction with the German Catwalk show being held on August 2-3, 2014 in Bremen, Germany (where also the Region 9 Awards Banquet will be held on the same weekend). On Sunday, August 3, 2014, a handling session - "In the Ring" - is scheduled for participants in the showhall.

Many topics will be covered, which makes this BAOS not only interesting for people that are considering going into the CFA Judging Program but also for guest judges and interested exhibitors and breeders:
- Applying to the CFA Judging Program
- Judging Etiquette
- Judging Ethics
- Condition, Standards and Structure
- Managing your judging ring and Handling the show cat
- The Psychology of judging
- Genetic for CFA Judges and Colors and Patterns
- The LH and SH Breeds

You can find the flyer with all the information you need at:
http://www.cfa.org/Portals/0/documents/judges/BAOS-July2014.pdf

You can Register online at: http://catalog.cfa.org/fees.shtml#baos

 

We're on FaceBook - visit and "LIKE" us!

 

Registration is through the CFA Central Office only and ends July 13, 2014!

 

Legislative
Submitted by Joan Miller,
CFA Legislative Information Liaison
  

"Florida Fanciers Fight":

 

Things have been heating up this year in Florida. Fanciers have worked hard to modify a serious mandatory spay/neuter ordinance in Lee County.   We need help to take on a bad anti-breeding proposal that would revise and expand breeder requirements in the Miami--Dade County Animal Code.

 

Lee County Mandatory Spay Neuter -

Domestic Animal Services Director, Donna Ward, in 2013 proposed a completely revised ordinance for Lee County with the expectation that this would also be adopted by all Cities in the County (Ft.Myers, Cape Coral. Etc.) The ordinance was clearly a mandatory spay/neuter (MSN) law with sterilization required for all dogs and cats over 6 months of age. Pedigreed cats and purebred dogs whose owners obtained a "Breeder Certificate" were the only animals exempted.

 

The Breeder Certificate provision meant complicated requirements, including proof that the cat/dog was registered with a recognized registry, agreement to unannounced inspections, record keeping and quarterly reports to Animal Services. Probably the worst provision was Violation for Non-possession of a Breeder Certificate. Any unsterilized animals over 6 months could be impounded by Animal Services. The owner would have to pay all fees, including sterilization for redemption if a Breeder Certificate was not obtained or approved within 5 consecutive days of impoundment.

 

With little notice and only a few dog fanciers at the final hearing on February 4th,as well as one cat fancier there to testify in opposition, the Lee County Board of Commissioners passed the complete rewrite of the County Animal Ordinance #14-04. This ordinance would affect all Cities in the County and could spread to other parts of Florida and beyond.

 

The fanciers were able to achieve two concessions. The Commissioners agreed to a one year sunset review and they agreed that the breeders could work with Donna Ward to suggest improvements to the language before the ordinance would go into effect on May 1, 2014. A meeting with Ms. Ward was set up for March 6th.

 

Continue reading ...

 

2015 Yearbook Cover Contest

  


This year the Yearbook Department will be holding a contest for the design of the cover. The requirements are simple - anything related to cats. If you think you have the perfect design for the cover, please submit it to Shelly BorawskiThe dimensions are 8.75" x 11.25". The design should be submitted as a CMYK TIFF at 300 DPI.  Please allow 3 inches at the top of the design for our masthead. The designs will be judged by our specially selected judges. If your design is chosen, you will receive $500.00. Submissions will be accepted from July 1 until July 15, 2014. Please do not send any submission before July 1. Start thinking now of what you would like to submit. Good luck!

Cat Talk

Submitted by Teresa Keiger

 

As the show season draws to a close, Cat Talk would like to remind its readers that our August issue is a recap of the 2013-14 season. Breed council secretaries are encouraged to send any breed accomplishments and milestones to me at [email protected] for the "Year in Review" article. (this is different than the yearbook article) Exhibitors: any noteworthy events, coincidences, or tidbits that may make this article that much more interesting? Send those in for consideration as well.

This is also a good time to think about announcing your cat/cattery's
accomplishment in Cat Talk. Our August issue features half price cattery
ads.  see: http://catalog.cfa.org/cattalk-ads.shtml for details.
Deadline: July 1. (and if you'd like to advertise in June, we can still
accept ads until April 21)

CFA-News Notices

 

One more reminder, CFA-News notices have been automatically sent to all subscribers to this Newsletter.  We are now setting up a separate distribution list for CFA-News notices.  If you wish to receive BOTH the monthly newsletter as well as CFA-News announcements, you need to sign up for the CFA-News notices here. We have automatically signed up club secretaries but everyone else needs to join the distribution list or we will soon no longer include you in the CFA-News notice dissemination.

 

What are the CFA-News notices?  They are CFA's official means of communicating with the Fancy.  If you rely on the CFA-List for information, that is unofficial and incomplete.

CFA Foundation

Submitted by David Mare, President CFAF

 

null Attendance at the museum is finally beginning to increase after one of the worst Ohio winters on record.  Recent visitors have come from as far away as Florida, Hawaii and Germany. Along with enjoying the spring sunshine, we're working hard on developing our next breed exhibit - the Persian - with the helpful assistance of members of the CFA Persian Breed Council.  We will have much more to say about this, with photos, in next month's issue but for now you'll just have to wait in anticipation.  Meanwhile, make plans now for a visit to YOUR museum soon.  

 

The Feline Historical Museum exists solely on the generosity of its donors.  Recently several clubs have made donations in the names of judges at their shows, in lieu of judges' gifts, for which we are very grateful. Contributing to the preservation of historical archives about the cat and the cat fancy is important.  Please consider this option at your next club meeting -- together with our thanks.

 

Check out our Facebook page for lots of interesting historical photos, of both cats and people - and be sure to LIKE us!

 

Winn Feline Foundation
Submitted by Betty White
 
Winn Logo
  
Winnie, dressed for the occasion by artist Jamie Perry, invites one and all to:

 

                   The 36th Annual Winn Feline Foundation Symposium on Feline Health
                       Sheraton New Orleans, Thursday, June 26, 2014 -- 4:00 to 6:30 PM

 

There will be two presentations, both on significant feline diseases that plague the world of cats.

 

1.   The Whitaker team at Cornell University, represented by Beth Licitra, DVM, will present "Updates on Recent Studies on FIP."
   
2.   Philip R. Fox, DVM, MSc, Dipl. ACVIM, ECVIM (Cardiology), ACVECC of The Animal Medical Center will present "Updates      on Groundbreaking 5-Year Study on HCM in 1,000 Cats."

 

Snacks will be provided, as well as a no-host bar.   The cost is $30.    Reservations can be made at the CFA Annual website or at the Winn website.
  
2014 Annual Meeting
Submitted by Jan Rogers, Chair
  

 

 

 

  • The hotel is now 96% booked. If you don't have your reservation you may get left out. Visit the annual website www.2014cfaannual.com to book your hotel now.
  • The iPad Air raffle will be drawn this weekend at the Mesquite show on Sunday afternoon. Don't get left out.... if you need tickets visit the annual website, you still have time.
  • Delegate book advertising information is also on the website. The deadline is May 30th - no exceptions.
  • Check out the great article in CAT TALK this month.  
  • Reservations for the banquet are also on line now through the CFA website.
  • Tour information is now available on the annual website at a special discount for our attendees but you must book on-line! We have provided you an extensive array on the microsite included in the website for the annual.
  • Next up is information on the Mask-Purr-Ade Ball for Friday night. In addition to the Grand Prize, there will be numerous other categories for costumes, and this will be outlined shortly. Site info on costume rental is next on the agenda.

 

Looking forward to seeing you all at the annual.

Jan and Patti and the Annual Krewe

 

 

Ambassador Program
Submitted by Willa Hawke, Chair
 

 

Dear All,

 

Yasushi Fukuda with Ambassador Cat Raptor
Last month as I sat at my computer looking out at the barren late winter landscape, I predicted an April with spring color in full riot:  spring has sprung, and though the color is coming in slowly this year, the spring looks to be an incredibly busy time for all of our Ambassadors as we wind down to the final shows of this show year.

 

As I reflect on this show year, I see so many wonderful things accomplished by all of us.  Hearts have been healed, lives have been touched, kitties have been oohed and aahed over, and more importantly, our beautiful cats have been petted by strangers whose lives will never be the same.  This has not only been a year of "welcome" and "hello," but also a year of goodbyes .... Some wonderful as we wish judges Bob Molino and Lois Jensen a happy retirement, but sad also as we watched cherished friends and pets cross over Rainbow Bridge.  Life without wonderful giving people such as Gail Rothman and Mary Ann Sweeters will not be as bright or gracious.

 

On a bright note, we have all the year-end awards shows and banquets to attend so that we can cheer on our CFA family members as they accept well-earned accolades for their year of sacrifice and hard work.  The highlight of our show year will be this year's annual meeting in "The Big Easy" ... New Orleans!  So many exciting things have been planned and I know this annual will be one for the record books! 

 

And so, in closing, "Laissez les bon temps rouler!"

 

Until Next Month!!

 

Best wishes,
Willa K. Hawke, Chair
 
Check out the Regional reports ...

 

 

 

 
Region 1
Submitted by Sharon Roy, Regional Director
  

Mark your calendar, the Region 1 awards banquet will be June 21st at the Sheraton Stamford CT.  We will be having a one day show with the awards banquet following. This year we are delighted to have Larry Johnson as our show photographer.  Stay tuned for more information.


I would like to introduce Region 1 and one of CFA's newest exhibitors, Sophia St. John-Lockridge.  Sophia is 13 years old and has now atttended 3 shows with her HHP's Mough, Meshi, and Smulu.  She was introduced to Cat Shows and showing at the Bulington VT show and has now been to three show. Sophia said that Mough and Smulu have competed just once.  She is going to show Meshi more often because he is very social and likes agility.. I understand from Jill Archibald that Meshi had a very competitive run. Sophia is being mentored by Carol Babel. Sophia is 13 years old and attends Edmunds Middle School in Burlington VT. Welcome to CFA Sophia.  (Thank you Chanan for the picture.)

  
Region 2
Submitted by Ginger Meeker, Regional Director 
 

As the season winds down, I wish you all great success with your show season goals. Year-end can be tense ... waiting for those final placements for those last needed points. Please stop for a moment and look around ... enjoy the people and the "family" that we speak of on a regular basis. There has to be more to this process than a "point grab" for our hobby to survive.

 

Exhibitor of the Year (EOY) nominations are winding down so please get them in. There are many deserving people in the region and Erin needs to prepare the ballot for distribution to the clubs ... so get those nominations in quickly.

 

Congratulations to Crow Canyon for the exciting and innovative ways of getting the spectators involved in the process. The Breed Awareness ring was very well done and folks seemed to really enjoy the "Judges Tours" led by Judge John Webster on Sunday (photos below). Screams of joy could be heard coming from the Agility area and everyone seemed to be in a really fine mood! Lots of cake and cupcakes probably also helped the mood!

 

  

The annual Boise show held around St Patrick's Day was showered in green.  Rain and snow also showered the show cage trailer and the club found themselves scrambling early Friday morning to find and replace all the plywood platforms for the trestles.  Set up, while a bit delayed then went smoothly. The club felt a great deal of gratitude when a Fairgrounds manager sent in a work team of young men and women to carry in the plywood and put the sheets into place.  Great support from the venue staff!  Good gate, lots of green, multiple grand cakes and all those people doing extra drive-duty to support this show were all in evidence and greatly appreciated.

 

Chet Walborn, Chartreux breeder / exhibitor - the big smile may be in part due his granding his PR neuter!

Master Clerk Erin
Master Clerk Erin Cutchen

 

With end of season comes all those things that are needed to truly celebrate your achievements - that ad in the regional banquet book and perhaps the Annual delegates' book, the Yearbook spread that really touts your fine cats ... and don't forget the Regional sponsorships so you can recognize and acknowledge those competitors and friends that worked hard for their achievements with you this year. We've had full sponsorship for the last 5 years and I'm hoping that this year will be no different.

 

There are still some clubs that are delinquent with dues and membership lists. While these clubs can't vote for regional offices, if the items are received by May 1 you will be able to send a delegate to the Annual and vote at the annual. If the dues and membership lists aren't received by June 1 the club is GONE!

 

This is my last year as RD and I want to thank all of you who have supported me. PLEASE attend the Regional Awards Banquet ... I will be presenting some surprise awards and I want all of you there cheering and appreciating the wonderful people in Region 2 who make all the events in the region possible. At this Regional Awards Banquet, in addition to our regular list of awards, we will be presenting the FIRST Grand of Distinction awards as well as the FIRST Cattery of Distinction Awards. We will have a lot of awards to present and I hope to accomplish a few "surprises". I have truly enjoyed my 6 years as your RD and am now looking forward to using my time to accomplish other things. We will be in Portland this year at the Double Tree and I hope MANY of our Northern California, Idaho and Utah people will be attending the show and banquet. All details of the banquet are on the website.

Region 3
Submitted by Tracy Bayarena, Regional Secretary
 

Springtime is a fleeting but beautiful thing in just about all areas of Region 3, except for those states on our furthest borders, who still may get to see the traditional 4 seasons. Texas freeways and fields are filled with blue bonnets- the state wildflower, which makes driving a real pleasure! I've lived here my entire life and it's a time of the year I always look forward to, so if you're lucky enough to be at cat show in Region 3 during the Spring, take a moment to look at the bluebonnets.

 

In show news, The Ozark Cat Fancier's held their "Luck O' the Irish" one day cat show on March 15th at the Cleburne Conference Center. It's a wonderful show hall and lots of smiling faces could be seen. Hostess' Extraordinaire, Cheryl McKay-Dorrell and Carol Booth held a huge Grand Party for GC Maikai Moose of Twitter and for Maikai Touchdown of Twitter. A few of the treats that were served included strawberry shortcake and cupcakes with black and white fondant icing- so elegant! On March 29th, The Greater Baton Rouge Cat Club put on their "Cat in the Hat" cat show in the spacious Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales. There were some great vendors, a large raffle table and other extras of note- including a special trophy for the Best HHP and some lovely Jean Bassett Award Rosettes were presented to the highest scoring cats in Championship, Premiership and the kitten division. Very nice memories of Jean Bassett were shared and photographs of the winners were taken by Larry Johnson during the presentation made by Jodie Garrison. Best Kitten- Whitesox Kicking Bear owned by Karen Lane, Best Champion-Grisaille's Skyfall owned by Karen and Dave Boyce, Best Premier- Javier's Baguette owned by Warren Joubert /Mary Ann Sweeters (posthumous). Best HHP winner was Awesome Amber of Carycats owned by Al and Tanya Walbrun and Sherry Green.

 

New Grands for March include:  GP Walkingstick's Dreamcatcher, breeders- Janis Walkingstick/S. Dachman; owner- Janis Walkingstick; GC Coonopory's Shenandoah, breeder/owner- Shelia Haskins; GC Trutails Ziggy, breeder/owners- Trudie/Dennis Allen; GC Oak Village Casanova, breeder/owner- Carol Eicksteadt who all achieved their titles on March 15th at the Ozark Cat Fancier's show. GC JANVIER'S ISABELLE OF JEWLLZ, granded at the Tennessee Valley Cat show in Knoxville, TN on March 22nd. Breeders- D/MA Sweeters/Douglas Welsh; owners Karen Godwin/MA Sweeters/Douglas Welsh. GP PaJean's Woody, breeder/owner- Pamela Bassett, GP Kernel's Dream it Anyway, breeder/owner Sherry Kern, GP Kittiary's Party Crasher, breeders- Liza Callaghan-Jimmy Hill, owner Kaki York-Ward; GP Cajundoll Sy, breeder/owners- Ann/Eric Paul; GP Elegant's Fair To Middlin' and GC Elegant's Gonna Be Epic both owned and bred by Winter Trussell all qualified for their titles on March 29th at the Greater Baton Rouge Cat Club show. Many shouts of "New Grand" could be heard!

 

For the month of April, Oklahoma City Cat Club held their "Catch a Dream" cat show at the Bricktown Hotel and Convention Center in Oklahoma City. This was a great local one day show from a longtime club and you can't beat the convenience of waking up in the hotel and walking downstairs to the convention center which is basically inside the hotel. Lunch was catered by the hotel and there was even dessert, by way of a yummy cake celebrating Kathy Black's Birthday. On April 12-13th The Foot of the Rockies Cat Club put on their 10 All Breed Ring Cat show in Denver as a fundraiser for the 2014 Annual being held in New Orleans. This show turned out to a blockbuster with terrific count! Thanks so much for supporting this great club and the Annual! I still have a few Orpheus Krewe pins for those who would like to join us at the fabulous member's only reception being held after Friday's meetings.  In addition to the reception, you'll receive some extra perks. Check out the Annual website for complete details and email me directly to get your pin! Email Tracy Bayarena- [email protected].

 

The season winds down here with The North Texas Cat Club/National Birman Fancier's cat show held in Mesquite, TX on April 19-20 at the Hampton Inn Convention Center and it looks like it will be a sell out again this year, so don't wait to enter your cats! This will be our Region's first "experimental" format with 10 AB rings, plus 4 additional SP rings! We'll do it again for the first show of the next season in Memphis, TN with the Mid-South Cat Fanciers on May 10th, so make sure you put both of these shows on your list of things new to try!

 

On a somber note, I would like to announce the passing of longtime Region 3 exhibitor, breeder and club member Sylvia Schreiner, who resided in New Orleans, LA. Her sister -in-law Lynne wrote the following:

 

Sylvia Schreiner gracefully walked through the gates of heaven on April 2, 2014. Sylvia was a true southern lady and made many friends in the Cat Fanciers Association raising and showing several breeds of cats including Siamese, Ocicats, and Abyssinians. At the end of her life, she enjoyed showing Persian cats. She earned many prestigious awards with the cats including Regional and National Winners, Distinguished Merit, Grand Champions and many others. She introduced CFA to Louisiana by co-founding Bougalie Rebels Cat Club and mentoring many new exhibitors in the cat fancy. She earned the prestigious title of Exhibitor of the Year in 2011 of the Gulf Shore Region. The cat fancy has sadly lost another gem. She was so much more than just my mother-in-law, she was my friend and I will miss her terribly.

Her online obituary and guestbook can be seen here: http://obits.nola.com/obituaries/nola/obituary.aspx?pid=170505587

  

Region 4

Submitted by Loretta Baugh, Regional Director

  

 

The members of the Great Lakes Region ask you to join us in congratulating Teresa Sweeney, Grove City, Ohio and John Hiemstra, Northville, Michigan on their advancement to Approved Longhair Specialty judge. Both Teresa and John have already been accepted as Shorthair Trainees. You will see them at upcoming shows color classing to refine their skills to begin judging Shorthair Specialty. Good job and deepest congratulations!

 

As always, the folks in Region 4 invite everyone to join us at our GREAT shows:

 

April 19 - Cincinnati Cat Club in Cleves, Ohio - One day 6 ring - 5AB, 1Sp.

April 26-27 - Cat Nation Fanciers in Erie, Pa - 8 AB

May 10 - Anthony Wayne Cat Fanciers, Ann Arbor, Mi - CH - 6 AB; K & P 4 AB, 2 Sp

May 24 - Golden Triangle Cat Fanciers, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada - 6 AB

 

Don't forget the Great Lakes Regional Show and Awards Banquet in a NEW location. A 10 ring show (7 AB, 3 Sp) on Saturday and Sunday, including a GREAT raffle and our MEGA Potluck lunch. Then join us Saturday night at our banquet with GREAT food and fun as we honor our National and Regional winning cats, their breeders and owners.

 

We are now 14 � months away from hosting the 2015 CFA Annual meeting in Toronto. Watch for special offers and details as we strive to make 2015 an Annual to remember!

 

Region 5

Submitted by Michael Shelton, Regional Director

  

Sometimes it takes a village...


Whe n a heavily matted, hissing and growling cream point Himalayan is turned into an animal shelter by its owner, unfortunately the story usually has a very sad ending. And it is not common for a public city animal shelter to notice that a cat is straining in the litter pan and give him a second chance by bringing him for a medical assessment to a hospital like the Animal and Bird Hospital in Norco, California. Little did they know that the veterinarian on call that day, Dr. Donna Stewart, was a CFA breeder/exhibitor (Brenwood Burmese) who was not willing to give up on a beautiful cat with engaging blue eyes that had lost his home. After attending to the cat's immediate medical needs, Donna reached out to Lorraine Shelton for assistance in finding the cat a path to a new life. Lorraine is the co-founder of Helping Persian Cats, a 501(c)3 rescue group sponsored by New Millennium Cat Club, a CFA club. Lorraine went to the hospital to meet the cat, now named Buzz Lightyear, and postulated that the cat's unpleasant attitude could be the result of a uncomfortable bladder stone. After Dr. Stewart confirmed the presence of the bladder stone and provided a complete overview of the cat's current medical status, Helping Persian Cats sponsored the cat's surgery costs and Venita McMorris, President of the rescue group, personally volunteered to foster the cat until he could be restored to health. With the painful medical condition cured by the loving care of Dr. Stewart, Buzz Lightyear has regained his loving personality characteristic of the Himalayan breed and made his public debut for adoption at the PetCo store in Santa Monica on April 13th. Wish him luck as he works on choosing his forever home!

Region 6
Submitted by Candilee Jackson
  
Shows In Review:
 
Topeka Cat Fanciers, Topeka KS March 29, 2014
Instead of writing an article for this month, your editor has included the comments of fellow exhibitors whose words are spoken/written from the heart! Allow them to speak for all of us this month!

"Thanks to all of you for a truly wonderful and fun show! Your decorations were just the cutest ever. I loved the 'Okay Corral' with the straw bales, jail and the herd of stick horses. Talk about a throwback to our childhoods! I just wanted to lasso one of those broncos and take it for a trot around the show hall. Imagine how happy I was to see Donna Hetherington doing just that on the one she got! Kudos to the photo-shopper who put the judges faces onto the Gunsmoke characters. Those were great. It was hard to decide which was the best. And the vittles were wonderful. Even my picky felines gobbled up the pork roast. I shared a few little bits with them...they wanted more but I was enjoying it too much to indulge them.

There were so many little details that went into making this show so wonderful,l but it's hard to list them all. Just please know that all of your efforts were greatly appreciated. Thank you all, for another great MWR show."
 
 Cheers!   Robin Bryan
 
"Thanks to all involved in producing this great show!!  Everyone had a great time and if you were not there, you missed one of the best shows in the Midwest.  The club insured each exhibitor was as comfortable as possible.  The judging line up was spectacular, the food was great, and the facility was perfect.  Again, thanks for a great show!!"
Jack Nichols
__._,_.___
 
"The Topeka Cat Fanciers cat show was a lot of fun to put on . It was fun because we saw the Exhibitors having a GREAT time !
We hope you will remember the good time you had and will come again and encourage other cat exhibitors to come to a "one of a kind" show in Topeka KS!
We had good gate with spectators taking part in the Cat-A-Tude game that encouraged them to talk to the spectators.
Also Exhibitors took part in the many different activities and chances to win prizes. Congratulations to the winners of the Hobby Horse Door Prizes, and all the excellent gift cards. Cheryl McConnell won the Guess Who This Is picture and donated her winnings back to the club. Thank You, Cheryl. 

 The Topeka Cat Fanciers dedicated the show to our recently passed friend, Gail Rothman. The Gail Rothman Memorial 50/50 brought in $65. Thank you, Candilee Jackson for donating your winnings to the Memorial fund. This will be mailed to Larry Adkison to help care for Gail's cats until they are adopted.
A huge thank you to the MoKan Cat Club for lending their cages to our show. Without the cages there would have been no show. Thank you, Brian Pearson for being there to help load and unload the cages at the storage unit.
Thank you to Hawkeye Cat Club for the ring cards and reminding me of all the items we needed that we all just take for granted.
A special Thank You, to Kirk Jackson for bringing his guitar and singing during our lunch while exhibitors sat at the picnic tables and ate together and others singing along!
Thank you to the Topeka Cat Club members and their family members for all the hard work they put in to make this show a success! You are all the greatest people to work with ! A Huge thank you to Alexis Mitchell, her Mother and Husband Eric for the delicious Chicken and the after show clean up. Couldn't do this show without your help!
The Rosettes were sought after! Thank you Ed and Joyce Kempf for the great job of putting the Gunsmoke theme Judges faces on them.
Until our next show ( with a different date for 2015 ) , we wish you well ! "
Sincerely,
Allene Keating
Topeka Cat Fanciers Show Manager
 
  
  
Cats Of Wisconsin, Waukesha WI, April 5, 2015
 
Sue DeLadi & Jon Brubacker with Pat J
"The members of Cats of Wisconsin want to thank all the exhibitors who came and joined us for a fun Saturday of competition and friendship. We also enjoyed hosting the show. A show in a round building can be a challenge, but it always seems to work.

There have been many great comments about the hybrid rings, and it did go quite well at our show. I clerked for Gary Powell, who had already done a hybrid ring at an earlier show and we looked to him for some suggestions as to how to make things work.

I took Gary and Patty Jacobberger back to the airport and Gary did have some words of caution about doing Hybrid rings. Here's some of the things that worked for us and worked in our favor:

1) We only had 2 hybrid rings out of the 6 rings. We did do the hybrid finals for all three classes.

2) The hybrid rings had 20 cages. Yes, we found space to add 4 more cages in those 2 rings.

3) We had a small show. This along with the extra cages allowed us to bring all the shorthair kittens up in one group and then the longhair kittens in one group. We were also able to do that with Premiership. It also allowed us to do the Championship and Premiership finals in only 3 parts.
In Gary's ring we did this by judging one group (example: shorthairs) and doing the specialty final. Then Gary judged the other group (ex: longhairs) and did the specialty final. Gary then keep up the longhairs that he wanted to use for his all breed final and gave me the numbers of the shorthairs that he wanted to add to his all breed final.

For kittens, Gary had me call up the 10 longhairs and 10 shorthairs up together, then he placed his specialty finals and then chose his 10 all breed. This may not be the best situation as Gary admitted he was feeling the pressure with a crowd of people standing around the ring while he figured his allbreed final. If the judge doesn't mind a little pressure, it's doable.

4) Our entry clerked helped the clerks doing the hybrid rings, by having 3 columns listed for the hybrid rings on the finals pages in the catalog. This allowed me to make sure Gary did not have a mechanical error when he was placing his all breed final as I had the two Specialty finals right there in front of me. Of course as a clerk you could just take up 3 columns from any of the finals pages in the catalog.

Just some thoughts from the clerk in a hybrid ring."
 
--Gena M Garton, Catastery Japanese Bobtails

Region 7

Submitted by Tracy Petty, Regional Director

  
 

The Mad Catters will host the final show in the Southern Region for the 2013-2014 show season on April 19 in Frederick, Maryland. This is a great hotel show with good fun, terrific vendors, and LOTS of Easter candy! The show is closed and actually filled two and a half weeks before the closing date -- perhaps a record for the show season!

 

Plans are underway for the Southern Regional show and Awards Presentation in St. Augustine, Florida on June 14th-15th. Cat Club of the Palm Beaches and Gasparilla Feline Friends are planning a spectacular event in an area that hasn't had a CFA show in recent memory. More information about rooms and dinner reservations will be available soon.

 

Photos are needed asap for any cat expecting to achieve a regional award this year, so send the photos as soon as possible to [email protected]. Include the cat's full name and expected award category (i.e. grand champion, Burmese kitten breed award, or top 25 premiership). Top 25 championship, kitten and premiership cats will also need a high resolution photograph for the awards booklet. If sending a hi-res photo, you do not need to submit a separate photo for the slide presentation.

 

On The Road Again photos can be submitted to Mary K. at [email protected]. Contact Mary if you have several photos or files too large to send via email. The more pictures she has, the better she'll make the OTRA presentation, so send those photos now!

 

 

 

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