Our banner cat for the March 2015 Newsletter is CFA's Eleventh Best Cat in Premiership, GP, NW Fuzzy Foot's All Fired Up, a red tabby & white Manx - Shorthair Division.

(Photo by Chanan)

DEADLINES

April 15, 2015
Proposed Amendments & Resolutions must be RECEIVED in CO by this date.

Breed Council
Membership Reminder

RENEWAL DATES
HAVE CHANGED

Breed Council Membership now runs from May 1 to April 30. Membership for individuals whose applications were received on or before August 1, 2014 will be extended to April 30, 2015. Applications for membership for the membership year (2015) May 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016 will be accepted starting May 1, 2015. Reminder notices will be sent out in the weeks prior to May 1.

Eligible individuals in any breed/division may obtain membership by submitting to the Central Office a completed 2015 membership application form together with the appropriate fee(s). In order to be eligible to vote, you must submit your application for the current year (2015), by renewing from May 1, 2015 through August 1, 2015. Membership applications for any given year will not be accepted after August 1 of that year.

Social Cats for Social Media

Attention show cats

we need your photos!

Jodell Raymond would love to have photos of cats at shows so that she can feature them in CFA's social media outlets. Send those cute, funny and entertaining pictures to Jodell Raymond at Jraymond@cfa.org and we will make sure to give you photo credit.

Photo courtesy of Sherlane Dick

If your club receives press from its show, please forward to Jodell Raymond at Jraymond@cfa.org

Today

(March 16) is the final day to declare for the office of

CFA Director at Large

a list of currently declared candidates is available here and on the CFA Online Almanac.

Ring Reports are now available!

Central Office is happy to report Ring Reports for individual cats for a show season are now available through our eCat System for $15.

Order your Ring Report from our new eCat Online Services website

https://ecat.cfa.org

Join Our Mailing List

"March Madness" takes on a whole 'nother meaning in CFA, doesn't it? More show, more competition, and more stress as the season winds to a close in April. Be kind to one another as May draws ever nearer.

I'd like to express my thanks to all of the contributors to the CFA eNewsletter. It's been my pleasure to work with and get to virtually "know" those of you that I did not already know. Do thank these folks as they really provide the information that fills this publication.

Teresa

March Madness is upon CFA these days with folks searching for enough points to achieve their goal(s) for the show season that wraps up at the end of next month. This time of the year is stressful for some and for others they are looking forward to a break from their hectic show schedule. Good luck to each of you in your quest.

As you know, we lost the site that was hosting our Annual Meeting this year. We should be able to provide you with information any day now regarding where the event will be held. CFA staff member Jodell Raymond has visited several hotels in Canada and several in the USA and we all need to offer our thanks to her for her efforts to get us located in a suitable facility.

By now many of you will have finally received your Grand certificates for cats that granded earlier this show season. We are almost current. Hopefully, our new computer system will be able to produce these on a timely basis in the future. We continue to make progress with registrations and finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Director At Large Dennis Ganoe has taken charge as our interface with the contractor and we have seen great strides thanks to his efforts. Without Dennis' efforts, we would be in serious trouble today. Thanks are also due to our many staff members who have diligently worked through trying times, faced adversity, worked lots of overtime, and gotten the work out.

CFA Treasurer Barb Schreck sent out the third quarter financial statement to clubs last week. If your club did not receive their copy, please contact Kristi Wollam in the CFA Central Office. This is one more way of being transparent with our clubs so they know what's going on. If after reviewing this report your club has questions, please feel free to raise them.

The 2015 CFA International Cat Show is scheduled for November 21-22 in Oaks, PA. This is a suburb of Philadelphia and is the same location used for the World Show last November. This year the event will consist of two 8-ring shows. Clubs are currently voting on the judges to officiate and we plan to announce the results at the Annual.

Well we are out of the cold of February but moved way too quickly into March. As you may be aware we have experienced a few staff changes. Anna Bowe has moved to the Bookkeeper's position after we had to say farewell to Diane Cioci for family reasons. We all wished Diane luck but will continue to work with her since she offered her support a few times a month. Kay Chamberlain transferred to the Bookkeeper Assistant position that Anna vacated leaving Show Licensing and Clubs. Kristi Wollam stepped up to the plate and offered to handle Show Licensing and Clubs for the time being. Thank you Kristi!

I realize we are moving swiftly into a very busy time of year for C.O. As the show year draws to a close staff have short and swift turnaround time for yearend close. This is the same for all information and reports necessary for Regional Banquets, the upcoming Annual and Breed Council renewals which remember are now the first of May. I have discovered, this time of the year has always been a challenge as well as fast paced for staff. This year's close will be even more so due to the IT challenges we have been experiencing, some even as I write. The reports generated by the system are necessary to produce the support documentation needed for staff to successfully complete all their tasks for the Regions to receive what they need in a timely manner, the same goes for the Annual.

Speaking of IT and the system. I need to extend a very special thank you to Dennis Ganoe. Dennis as a Board member and volunteer has gone above and beyond with his assistance's, support and the long hours he has dedicated to improve our IT situation. Dennis has been identifying issues, determining how best they can be addressed, verifying they have been correctly addressed, rectified and implemented. I can't thank him enough we are so in his debt. He has put in countless hours and I cannot thank him enough for the assistance he has provided to the greater good of CFA and C.O. He has also been a wealth of knowledge and expertise to me. Again, thank you Dennis.

Until next month.

Terri

Complete Central Office Directory listing available here

New Breed Articles Available

A new breed article is now available online - from the 1999 CFA Yearbook, "The Egyptian Mau", by Bonnie Wydro and Melanie Morgan

Due to popular request, we will be adding back in some of the historical content that has gotten lost over the course of several site migrations. The latest addition is the National Winning cats from the 2009-10 show season.

Grand Photos

The latest Yearbook is out and there are a disappointing number of Grand photos. Granding a cat is a significant accomplishment and we all want to share in your joy. As our Yearbook is read years from now, many will want to see photos of the cats that granded in the show season highlighted in that Yearbook. Breeders will be interested in seeing photos of cats in their pedigrees. As incentive to submit your grand photos to the Yearbook and to Cat Talk magazine, we have been offering to have your grand photo on the CFA website for free. During the 2+ months left this show season, take the time to have your new Grand's photo taken and submit it to both the Yearbook and Cat Talk.

Cat Talk

Advertising and Grand Photos

It's never too early to think about advertising your cattery and/or your cats' achievements for the show season. Cat Talk's August issue focuses on CFA's award winning cats and we have a special advertising opportunity for our readers. See: http://catalog.cfa.org/cattalk-ads.shtml Deadline for the August issue is June 1, so get your photos together now!

Speaking of photos - remember that you can ALWAYS spotlight your Grands in Cat Talk's Grandstand section. Information on that section is at http://catalog.cfa.org/photos.shtml

CFA Information Technology Update

Dennis Ganoe

IT Committee Chair

Your IT team has been hard at work the past weeks providing features you had enjoyed from us before the switch to the new system. You have seen the updated format for ePoints as well as the return of the CFA Scoreboard but there have been many less visible improvements in the system.

We are caught up on sending the CH/PR certificates for those cats who have claimed them. We will be sending out notices to owners of cats who have completed the requirements for such titles but have not yet claimed them. It is imperative that you claim your title. One of the ramifications of not claiming the title occurs with season end awards (up to and including Global Win). You must claim your title otherwise your certificate (and trophy) will list the title as NC CH or NC PR. The other result of not claiming the title is your pedigrees and registrations for offspring will also list NC CH. Claiming the title is a simple process and can be done on eCat under the Registration section.

We have added to eCats the ability to order and receive a Ring Report on your cat. The cost is $15 for each report you order and it can be access via the side menu on the right side of the home page. The Ring Report will be accurate for the date it was ordered. The improvement with the new system is that you will instantly be presented with your cats Ring Report without waiting for human intervention.

Many of you are using the eCat application to register cats and that is a good thing. By using eCat, we are eliminating many of the previous mistakes because the information you type is directly entered into the system without operator intervention (in most cases).

We have corrected and updated the "granding" process to enable the Grand Champion and Grand Premier certificates to be mailed to the correct address at the time of granding. We are catching up on this process and have mailed all certificates for cats earning their title through November 2014. The remaining months will be mailed shortly. If you are looking for the list of Grand Champions and Grand Premiers on the web, that will be published after we send out the certificates.

The process for awarding the Grand of Distinction title has been tested and works as expected. The Central Office will start awarding those titles as work load permits. Reverse Pedigrees are now available via the usual process. That process is currently on the CFA Catalog (catalog.cfa.org/pedigrees.shtml). Agility Titles will appear now on your pedigrees and other documents ordered from CFA.

Looking forward, we will have DM titles earned this year officially added to the cats' records later this month. DM certificates will be sent out immediately after the title is awarded and the list of DM cats will be published to the web as soon as possible after that.

We are running a 'dress rehearsal' for year end awards on March 13. This is a full run of the current status of competing cats as of March 13. It will be checked for accuracy and completeness. This is being done so that we can quickly and accurately produce the reports for National, Global, Divisional and Regional awards at the end of the season, every season. Previously many hours of manipulation was required to produce the award lists. This process will virtually eliminate the extra hours previously required.

In 2014 the delegation voted to begin awarding Household Pets titles and year-end awards starting with the 2015-16 season. The Board adopted the delegates vote and we have been working to make that a reality. It is now possible to record HHP in the new system and we will be automatically transferring previously recorded HHP from our old system into the new and issuing NEW recording numbers. Owners of these cats will not have to do anything other than use the new number starting with the 2015-2016 show season. Also in the works is adding HHP recording to eCat, adding HHP scoring and titling to the show scoring process and adding HHP to ePoints. All this will be in place before the beginning of the new season and HHP exhibitors will be treated identically to pedigree cats when it comes to information processing. Additional work was done with show package forms (adding HHP to the Judge's final sheet) and producing a HHP Recording form for inclusion in your show catalogs.

Although we continue to correct issues with the Central Office Administration system as they arise, the number and severity of such issues has greatly decreased within the past few weeks. Our programming contractor is providing quick turn-around for our issues, often less than 24 hours from report to resolution.

These are exciting times for IT. We are finally able to realize the features the new system allows. We can produce management data much more quickly and directly from our improved database structure which will allow us to better manage our business. Thank you for your patience during this transition. We are not completely there yet, but we are making progress.

CFA Business Development

by Ginger Meeker
Chair, Business Management Committee
Director at Large
Committee Members: Jodell Raymond, Pam Delabar, Dick Kallmeyer, Dennis Ganoe, Jean Dugger

Having spent 3-4 days a week in Central Office for the last 2 weeks I can happily report that staff is busily working and we are getting caught up. As chair of the Business Management Committee I was assigned to do a work-flow study and that report will be ready for the Board soon. What I can tell you is that with our present system it "takes a village" to do the work! During my visit, I was taught to "code". Coding is an initial part of the input process needed to extract the money and get the work into the appropriate computer file for completion. The training for these tasks are not such that if we get behind we can call the temp agency and get folks to help us get caught up. Our staff is important and they are to be valued and respected. I'm pleased to report that the computer system was "up" for the majority of the time and that enabled us, with some overtime on the weekend, to make strides. As of this writing we are coded through March 10, scanned into the system as of March 4 and the registration staff is working on February 10. To explain the difference in dates, the coding takes place as the work comes in the door to determine the services required. The the work is scanned into a system called FileBound and held there to be input into the Computan system. Once the work is input from the FileBound system into Computan the people doing the various tasks - registration, transfers, pedigrees, etc can access the work and begin processing the work. Scanning work eliminates the needs for filing and searching in files for data. All documents are stored in a cloud system so they are readily accessible and safe.

We have people in the Central Office that are currently training their replacements while they are learning their new jobs. Since change is the only constant, we can expect that as we grow and develop with this new computer system there are still many changes ahead for the Fancy. People are working as fast as possible and when one part of the system gets caught up then the focus is shifted to the part that needs attention. Not all people are trained in all aspects of this system and there is often no one to pull in for extra help. eCats remains the fastest turn-around system.

Since we are rapidly approaching year end work process in the totally new system Central Office (and many others) are collectively holding their breaths as preliminary reports start to be run. I can tell you there are MANY talented and capable people in place to make certain this process goes as smoothly as possible.

Lets all take a deep breath and prepare to welcome Spring!!

CFA Ambassador Cats

by Karen Lane, CFA ACats Chair

Meet Nancy Bueno and her A-Cat, Danny. Nancy and Danny are regularly in attendance at the region 2 and 5 shows. Nancy has been part of CFA since 1976 when she received a blue point Siamese kitten as a Christmas present. She has moved around during her 37 years, but now lives in a Retirement Veterans Home in California. Danny is her therapy cat and he uses all of therapy skills in the show hall entertaining everyone.

Nancy has worked in other areas of CFA helping produce our CFA Annual Delegate Books, Regional Awards Booklets and numerous show catalogues for clubs. Danny's out-going personality and Nancy's dedication to CFA makes them the perfect fit for our A-Cat Program.

WINN FELINE FOUNDATION

by Vicki Thayer DVM , Winn Executive Director

February Monthly Donor List, $100 or more

The results are in! Winn's 2015 online survey asking about the cat health concerns of our constituents has been completed. The information gleaned from the survey will help Winn better serve our donors, researchers and other clientele. Thanks to all who submitted a completed survey and helped make this project a success!

We will share the results of the first two questions in this CFA newsletter block. For example, the first question, "Have you previously donated to the Winn Feline Foundation?" revealed that almost exactly half (339 of 680 total responses) said "yes" while 340 replied "no". One submitted survey did not provide a response. While we are gratified and thankful so many of our survey respondents have donated to Winn in the past, it is clear we need to better understand how we can effectively communicate our mission and gain the trust and support of many more potential contributors.

Question two asked the respondents to indicate, when donating to cat health research, their preference for the type of studies they would like to see completed. Three hundred thirty (48.5%) stated they would like to see studies that benefit "All Cats", 254 (37.3%) selected "Specific diseases or health concerns" and 44 (6.4%) chose "Specific cat breed issues". The remaining 52 respondents chose "Other" or did not respond to this question.

Watch this space next month for additional survey results. If you have questions or comments about the survey please don't hesitate to email info@winnfelinefoundation.org.

The 2015 Winn Grant Review will be held on March 15 followed by a Winn board meeting the next day. There are 47 grant proposals to review for funding. We will announce the projects selected when all the Principal Investigators have been notified about the status of their project.

Planned giving tip for March - Thank you to everyone who donated to the Winn Feline Foundation in 2014. Your contributions are greatly appreciated and help benefit cats everywhere. As you prepare your 2014 tax returns, don't forget that you may be able to deduct your donation as a charitable contribution. For most individuals you should file Form 1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A. For any questions, please contact info@winnfelinefoundation.org.

Please make note of our new contact information:

Mailing address: 637 Wyckoff Ave., Suite 336, Wyckoff, NJ 07481

Email address: info@winnfelinefoundation.org

Website address: www.winnfelinefoundation.org

By Kelly Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison

The Legislative Race Continues

Here it is mid-March and bills continue to be filed. Some bills have already fallen by the wayside but more have been introduced to replace the few that have run out of steam. The state legislation races are definitely underway. If only it were true sporting event rather than always a possible effort to save our hobby as we know it.

So why aren't there as many alerts as there are bills? Several factors come into play when determining when to create an alert. Among those factors are the subject matter of the legislation, the potential impact upon fanciers, and the process itself. There are only certain times in the legislative process that action holds value. Acting in just any old place in the process is hit or miss in terms of effectiveness.

Another factor is whether there are any fanciers that can help with a particular bill. Your feet on the ground and participation in defeating bad bills help set the priority of which bills we focus upon. Contact us at legislation@cfa.org so we know how, or where, to help you best.

Rhode Island has legislation that is a case in an alert would have resulted in unnecessary fancier action. On February 11, SB 204 was introduced in the General Assembly. It required that all cats be licensed annually in April of each year. The rabies vaccination would have to be valid for the entire time of the license making April a very busy time for vets. It also required that every cat must wear a collar that was distinctly marked with the owner's or keeper's name and the cat's registration number. And allowed that any person could cause a cat not so collared to be impounded. On March 5^th, the bill was withdrawn by the sponsor. Such is the way of legislation sometimes.

Too bad all detrimental legislation can't follow the same path. Some bills follow a fast track and have already passed the house(s) of the legislature. Others are still on the track. Some bills have yet to get to the gate.

So what are some of the other changes this month?

Connecticut: revisions to animal importer records requirements for adoptions. Passed both houses and has been referred to the Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis.

Iowa: changes commercial establishments for nonagricultural animal to include small breeders, competitive show breeders, specialized breeder, animal rescue and animal sanctuary to the licensing scheme. Now SF 347 substituted for SF 168.

Kansas: amends the Kansas Pet Animal Act to expand animal breeder premises, includes rescue network regulations, and other changes. Stricken from Calendar on 3/4. Died.

New Hampshire: record keeping requirements for transferred animals. Retained in Committee for action in 2016.

New York: A 1439which the breeder exemption more restrictive has been referred to the committee for codes as has A 1679 prohibiting devocalization of cats and dogs.

Oklahoma: SB 152 prohibiting commercial pet breeders from being located near schools and day care facilities has passed the Senate and been introduced in the House. It has been referred to the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.

Virginia: SB 1001 restricts locations for sale of certain pets and has passed both houses.

Legislative Quick Look

States are not the only place for legislation. Long Beach, CA; Clark County, Nevada; Galveston, TX are just some of the local jurisdictions that have raised legislation this year.

Legislation continues to be filed so please check back frequently for updates in your area. Let us know if you can help fight detrimental legislation!

For a complete listing of state and federal bills being tracked see the recently updated CFA Tracking List.

Please report legislation happening in your area to the Legislative Group - legislation@cfa.org

Please report legislation happening in your area to
the Legislative Group - legislation@cfa.org

CFA Ambassador Program

by Candilee Jackson, Chair

Good news! The data collection tool is out to Ambassador Coordinators and to ambassadors at large. Hopefully this tool will give us a good picture of what is going on in show halls in all 9 regions. Additionally, the new handbook only has 3 sections left to create! Hallelujah! The training webinar has taken a back seat to the handbook, and chair Candilee Jackson, hopes to hit it hard as soon as the new handbook goes through final editing.

Region 1: Meghan Noeker, Jane Ramey- no report

Region 2: Mary Siestma no report

Region 3: Harold Bourgeois, Janis Walkingstick- no report

Region 4: Mariane Toth- no report

Region 5: Ken Cribbs (Hawai'i)

Shari Millar

The Malibu Cat Club show held in Glendale, California, was all the usual glitz and glamour, but had a much larger gate this year with many families with small children and a huge cat rescue adoption area up front. With a near sell out show, the show hall was packed to full capacity and hummed like a busy beehive all day. In Hawaii, Aloha Cat Fanciers and Hawaii Hula Cat Fanciers clubs held their show in stunning Honolulu on Valentine's Day. The Zendas were also at the show celebrating their 57th wedding anniversary. Joan Miller did her wonderful breed presentation and was celebrating her 80th Birthday!

Region 6: Candilee Jackson

The Midwest TGIF show on March 7-8 in Indianapolis, IN, saw the passing of one of CFA's finest: Beth Cassely passed away in the early morning hours of March 7^th at the show hotel. Regardless of her loss and our heavy hearts, the show went on to honor her gifts to all of us: a well-coordinated show, complete with a soup and sandwich meal. She loved nothing more than having her cats and friends around her, and celebrating with a meal.

The HUGE gate lightened our feelings, and a great deal of quality Ambassador work was accomplished. There were

Many who were first time cat show visitors, and there were tons of questions dealing with what's going on? How are the cats judged? Why did the judge give all the cats the same ribbons? And on and on! Also were questions about

Where certain breeds were located,, and for this ambassador, it was the first show in a long, long time, that I didn't have to answer questions about why CFA doesn't recognize certain breeds. Several very exciting things happened

that warmed our sad hearts: the show had two brand-new exhibitors showing household pets. Unfortunately one kitty was DQ'd as it was obvious it did not want to be handled. This was an excellent opportunity to mentor and explain the purpose of the household pet class. The story had a wonderful ending: the young couple was assigned a mentor right then and there, and feel better about their experience.

Region 7: Lyn Knight, Jane Wood- no report

Region 8: Takako Koijima, Masanari Koijima

Region 9: Natalya Gnatyuk, Ulrike Kneupple- no report

Asia/International: Phebe Low -

2^nd Royal Canin International Cat Show 2015, March 7-8, 2015

BCC Hall Central Plaza Ladprao, Bangkok, Thailand

This wonderful show was held in a big shopping mall, and everything was so professional. Phebe gives thanks to the club and the show manager, Rachaphol Pongpairoj (AuN), who arranged for an end-of-row spot just next to her benching spot so she could show her cat and take care the 'Ambassador table' easily.

Stickers, leaflets and cage topers were passed to Cat fans of Malaysia, Thailand, and China to promote the Ambassador program. Spectators were located outside judging rings. Phebe distributed the leaflets to the spectators while they were enjoying the judging process. The show hall was full of young people and they were all cat lovers.

Phebe had an in-depth conversation with a new breeder of Thailand who wanted to learn more about grand points, and showing in the International Division/ CFA. Sources of information from CFA website were introduced, and Phebe encouraged him to join the breed council for more involvement in the breed. She wondered how he found her to ask his questions: the new breeder pointed to the Ambassador logo and said it was the logo, "Ask Me," that leaded him to the Ambassador table, looking for me. Thanks Ambassador Program? Our logo guides the new blood to us, and it's all worth it!

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Region 1

by Geri Fellerman, Regional Director

Ring decorations at the Kimberton show

The three shows held in Region 1 since my last report were a true winter to spring (almost) transition. First we had the Kimberton, PA, show where we were met with the cutest decorations ever for the Chinese New Year BUT also lots of fluffy white stuff going on outside as well. Moving on from February into March brought the NFC show in Iselin, NJ - always a fun show with an awesome raffle, but this year March really DID come in like a lion and brought more snow and ice than many of our exhibitors found difficult to deal with. I think the Colillas took the prize with a 22 hour trip home on Sunday. Gotta admit I felt a bit guilty arriving home 15 minutes after the close of the show (and that included stopping for gas on the way).

Finally, Feline Forum and Maine Coon CC teamed up to put on a show in a brand new venue in Wilmington, DE. Lots of leftover snow and ice when we first arrived, but the lovely spring decorations promised something better and by Sunday afternoon, things were warming up nicely. I think everyone had a good time and we hope to be back to this facility next year.

Coming up in March and early April, we look forward to the Matamoras, PA, show March 21 and 22 - nothing like a nice hotel show and this one never disappoints. On April 11-12, Delaware River has graciously allowed the Region to hold a fund raising show on the Sunday following their Saturday show in Hammonton, NJ. We look forward to a fun show AND making some money for the region - so be sure to enter and bring $$$$ for our raffle!

Region 2

by Terri Zittel, Regional Secretary

Region 2 had just one show in February and it was a fabulous one. Call of the Wild Cat Fanciers

presented a "Valentine Cat Show" on February 14th and 15th at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, California.

This two day show sported some really unique and fun events. First of all one of the show sponsors, Almost Invisible Cat Litter, provided litter and a litter pan for each of the contestants. There was a dress up event for the cats and one for the children in the area. The children each brought a stuffed kitty dressed in costumes. This brought in the families to the cat show. By the way, the gate was one of the best that I have seen in years.

As a side note, if you have a chance to fly into the Santa Rosa Airport, you are in for a real treat. Santa Rosa was the home to Charles Schultz, the Peanuts cartoon creator. There are wonderful full size statues of the Peanuts family including Lucy's famous 5 cent booth.

March brings a full sleight of shows. Pacific Rim Cat Fanciers on March 1st, Tails and No Tales Cat Club on March 7th & 8th, McKenzie River Cat Club on March 14th & 15th, Idaho Cat Fanciers on March 21st and 22nd.

Region 3

by Steve McCullough, Regional Director

Region 3 sends out our heartfelt condolences to Beth Cassely's family on her untimely passing. Our CFA family has lost another gem with a golden heart.

What a wacky month February turned out to be. After our successful Wichita, KS show, we ended the month on a wet note in Beaumont, TX. As usual, Harold and the crew put on a magnificent show with all of the great hospitality and food that this show is known for. Thank you Wildcatters Cat Club for a great entry and fun.

March is coming in like a lamb and we will be roaring out like a lion with the Ozark Cat Fanciers Spring Bling Fling with

5AB/1SP 6HHP show on March 22, 2015 in Cleburne TX. Marsha Ammons always makes everyone feel welcomed with a warm environment. Following the next weekend we will all be pulling into Gonzales, LA for Greater Baton Rouge's Cat in the Hat 5AB/1SP 6HHP March 28^th

show. Looking forward to all the great Cajun cooking down there. And then back to the other end of the region for Oklahoma City Cat

Clubs show at the Biltmore Hotel on Meridian for their 6AB/HHP show. Following Oklahoma City will be Foot of the Rockies Cat Club and

Abyssinian Midwest Breeders presenting a two day show, Spring in the Rockies

10AB/HHP rings at the National Western Complex with the Embassy Suites accommodations.

Finally finishing off the show season is the

ever popular North Texas Cat Club with Fort Worth Cat Club's Mesquite, TX Saturday 6AB/HHP and Sunday 5AB/1SP 6HHP show. This show usually fills so don't hesitate in getting your entries in early!!! Early Bird ends Sunday March 15^th. This year's theme is Texas in Bloom with art work and unbelievably gorgeous rosettes done by our own Shelia Haskins.

Looking forward to seeing ya'll in the show hall!!

(Above: "Throwback Thursday")
with Carolyn Owen, Fran Eise,
and Jeff Janzen)

Region 4

by John Colilla, Regional Director

As of today we are still searching for a venue for the 2015 Annual. Hopefully we will have a new place very soon and an announcement will be forwarded as soon as possible.

We have a Facebook page and are a member of Pinterest, both which provide information about our region. The links are https://www.facebook.com/cfagreatlakes and https://www.pinterest.com/carmencitamarie/great-lakes-region-cfa/

With the 2015-2016 show season, our region will be starting a contest to see who can being in the most new or from the past exhibitors. The winner will be getting a $50 gift certificate of their choice.

Be sure to mark your calendar with our upcoming shows:

March 21, Western Pennsylvania Cat Fanciers a 5 Allbreed and 1 Specialty at Youngwood, PA
March 22 Western Pennsylvania Cat Fanciers a 5 Allbreed and 1 Specialty at Youngwood, PA
April 4-5 Mid-Ohio Cat Fanciers 7AB and 3AB/SP at Mansfield, OH
April 11 Just Cat-In Around 5AB and 1SP at Melvindale, MI
April 18 Cincinnati Cat Club 4AB and 2 SP at Cleve, OH
April 25-25 Cat Nation Fanciers 7AB and 1 SP at Erie, PA

Region 5

by Lisa Marie Kuta, Regional Director

The Malibu Cat Club produced a fun, festive show on February 28 at the
historic Glendale Civic Auditorium. We had several first-time and newer
exhibitors participate. I want to thank all the experienced exhibitors
that helped the newer ones feel welcomed.

The hand-embellished rosettes, made by Maggy Lombardi, were gorgeous. As
a crafter whose ambitions are greater than my skill, I really appreciate
all the talent and work that went into them. Cynthia Byrd's creative
decorations were top-notch, especially the three-dimensional paper
flowers.

The show was covered by the sports and culture site Grantland,
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/cat-show/, and by YouTube
channel IdeateTV, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31XpOXPHesQ. The show
had sizable gate, many already knowledgeable about pedigreed cats.
Several animators from Disney and Dreamworks live in the neighborhood, I
saw more than one person sketching our beautiful felines.

Looking forward, we have two more shows to go in the season--Los Colores
in Palm Springs on March 28 and Sushi Cats/Cornish Rex Breed Club in
Ontario, CA on April 18-19. Our awards show and banquet will be in Palm
Springs on June 13.

Region 6

by Candilee Jackson, Midwest Region Secretary

MWR Planning Committee Updates:

Thanks to Cathy Dunham, your planning committee achieved a 3-day miracle with regards to our regional awards show and banquet. After getting the "bait and switch" from our Kansas City venue, the committee lost all trust in working with this hotel. Another search found that the first weekend in June had all possible venues booked for weddings and graduation events, and second choice Indianapolis was in the same situation, so it was time to fall back and punt. Since we had two years' worth of contacts in Springfield, Illinois, Cathy Dunham got on the phone and within 48 hours had us booked into the Illinois Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, set up a banquet contract with the Crowne Plaza Hotel, and locked in block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Express, all in Springfield, Illinois, for June 20-21, 2015. Only one judge, Darrell Newkirk, was not able to change weekends due to family plans, so Mary Auth was invited to take his place. Our Saturday slate of judges has Larry Adkison, Rachel Anger, Mary Auth, and Patti Jacobberger on board. The Sunday lineup includes Kathy Calhoun and Doug Myers judging allbreed, with Paul Patton and Brian Pearson judging super specialty.

Bobbie Weihrauch, sponsorships chair, is working with our webmistress, Lucy Drury, to set up the sponsorships for bests, color and breed on the website. This should be ready to go by the end of March. Mary Auth is designing the show flyer and it should be up shortly.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Mary Auth, a public relations specialist, is designing the OTRA this year, and we are in for a treat! The committee viewed a sample of her work, and were completely blown away! Please send pictures to: mary@maryauth.com

Show Reports

MIDWEST TGIF at Indy, March 7-8

To say that this was a terrible, no-good, very bad weekend is a complete understatement: CFA, TGIF and TBA lost one of its very finest. Beth Cassely passed away in the early morning hours of March 7 at the show hotel in Indy. If there was anything at all "good" about the weekend it was that we were all together, something Beth loved above all, and that we broke bread together in her planned soup and sandwich dinner that evening, something else Beth also adored. Following Mark's announcement, Robin Bryan whispered, "Party at Rainbow Bridge tonight!" but it was Ronna Colilla who said it best: "TGIF was grace under fire this weekend, and it was amazing!"

"TGIF had to deal with losing the club President the morning of the show. They also had to deal with just a few members to help, but with all the help from CFA exhibitors jumping in to help with clerking and cleaning cages, the show was a go. With all that happened, the club did a great job from the smooth run show, good raffle table, and the wonderful soups and sandwiches for everyone on Saturday. Beth would have been proud God bless the TGIF members!"

~ Pam Degloyer

"I want to thank everyone involved in this weekend's show (exhibitors, judges, vendors, show personnel, and club members) for making it work so smoothly under some pretty dire circumstances. Just illustrates the kind of people that are CFA. Everyone were simply fantastic. We lost one of our very best this weekend. President and driving force of Midwest TGIF Fanciers, Beth Cassely, passed away in her motel room early Sat am after seeing to it that show set-up got started right on Friday. Dedicated all the way to the end. That illustrates the essence of this dear person. There is so much to say and to relate about a cat fancier like Beth. Perhaps it's because we were good friends that I don't know where to start and would have a hard time stopping. That, and I'm still reeling emotionally. So I'll leave you all this evening with an observational anecdote related to me by one of our entry clerks on Sat morning. Paraphrasing: there is a palpable silence in the show hall this morning. This thought rang so true to me. To have a TGIF show start without hearing Beth's distinctive voice over the P/A made the knowledge of her passing hit home strong and fast. This silence starkly amplified the finality of the situation to me. I think those of you who knew Beth and have attended TGIF shows in the past know what I mean. I miss her and what she stood for so much already. We'll all feel the impact on our pastime as time progresses, especially in the Midwest Region. Rest in peace, Beth . Sincerely, Mark McKenzie"

MO-KAN at Overland Park, Kansas, March 14

A re-organized and excited Mo-Kan presented "Mardi Claws" on a beautiful pre-spring day in Overland Park, Kansas. Thanks to last year's New Orleans annual, we were all familiar with King Cake. MO-Kan Past President wowed the crowd with a wonderful King Cake and lots of Mardi Claw beads, and everyone had a great time. One of the brightest moments was Roger and Nancy Brown had Oxbow in championship: this precious fur kid was poisoned and has lived to tell the tale. He looks better than ever and was highest scoring cat in championship! Huzzah Oxbow!!!! Now, that's a come-back!

MWR Brags

Mark and Sharon Mckenzie are pleased to announce that their Cornish Rex girl, Cozmecats Trip the Life Fantastic, became a grand champion at the Hawkeye State Show in Des Moines Iowa. Breeder: Phillip Pearson; owners: Mark and Sharon McKenzie.

Newbee Sharon Cowell Miller is SO EXCITED to have her very FIRST Grand! Jamis Nickoloi (Nicki) a lovely lilac European Burmese neuter granded at the Mo-Kan "Mardi Claws" Show in Overland Park, Kansas, this past weekend. Breeders: JA Bemis/M Auspitz/N Moses; owner: Sharon Cowell Miller.

Breeder/Owner Lynn Staker is proud to announce that Countrygal Mystique, a 3.5 year old tortie point Himalayan, became a grand champion, granding in Jeff Janzen's ring at the MO-Kan Show this past weekend.

Upcoming Shows:

March 28 Cat'n on the Fox/Northshore Cat Club DuPage County Fairgrounds, Wheaton, IL

April 4 Cats of Wisconsin Cat Club Waukesha Expo Center, Waukesha WI

April 25-26 America's Heartland Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield IL

Region 7

by Jean Dugger, Regional Director

Although we spent a quiet February in the Southern Region, March is looking up with Atlanta Phoenix, Crab and Mallet, Coastal Paws, and then its SPRINGTIME in Tennessee for the Knoxville Cat Club! What a great way to welcome Spring! I know our northern friends are even happier to anticipate warmer weather, but it will be welcome all around. Before we know it, awards season will be upon us and it will be time to celebrate all our hard work. To all of our Southern Region members - your help is always greatly appreciated - please contact me to be a part of our awards season team!

Cover girl "Hope" poses with the latest Yearbook at last weekend's
Crab and Mallet show.

Region 8

by Edward Maeda, Regional Director

Kyoto Sky Lark Cat Club held their the first show at Osaka Act Three hall on February 22, 2015. It was a one day, six ring show. This club was accepted in CFA three years ago and they have prepared to hold their first show for long time. They started to hold their show activities on this date.

It was a big successful show for their first experience!! An outstanding good show in Japan. Congratulations to

all club members, especially to club president Yoko Tokiwa, club secretary Kumiko Taniguchi, show manager Kazunori Ikoma and his wife Naoko Ikoma. Thank you very much to all, for your big efforts. Again congratulations to all of you.

Region 9

submitted by Michael Schleissner

March 28th & 29th 2015

SPRINGTIME CAT SHOW in Niedernhausen / Germany

Days become longer, sun is showing her face more often and it starts blooming everywhere - what does this mean? Spring has arrived and the show of the Cat Friends of Germany will open the doors.

After a long time absence the Cat Friends of Germany is back with "The Spring Show".

The location is very well known for its excellent connection with the German "Autobahn" and, of course, for being as close to Frankfurt airport as possible. Watch our great team of judges and celebrate with us.

On Saturday night there is as always on CFG shows a banquet; an opportunity for having a wonderful dinner, funny games and live music together with the CFG family. Actually the show is still open to enter, but CFG shows are known for getting full very quick. For any questions please contact Frank Duecker by mail - duekercfg@aol.de or by phone +49 6127 969 450.

April 18th & 19th 2015

"ALL SIGNS ON EUROPE"; German Catwalk e.V. presents the very first CFA show in Luxemburg.

The show season is close to its end and we celebrate kin the heart of Europe. Yes, also the judges are all European!

For Saturday night is a come together dinner at the " Da Vinci " restaurant planed. Fun and happiness for the whole weekend; not only points for your feline friends available. German Catwalk e.V. also offers a ruffle for there human slaves.

All locations are very close! The show hotel is only 250 meters ( 0,150 miles ) away from the show hall. Lots of tiny restaurants all around the place, they will make your Friday and Sunday evenings very comfortable.

Closing date is April 10th 2015.

See you in Luxemburg.

International Division

Dick Kallemyer, International Division Rep

The largest show in the CFA International Division was held in Wan Chai, Hong Kong on February 14-15 by the Hong Kong Black Cat Club. Over 218 competitive cats from all over the world attended and over 45 HHPs. Another great show from this Hong Kong team.

K-Cats held their largest show ever with a 10-ring show in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Exhibitors came from Gulf Consortium Countries (Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia), from Africa (Morocco), Thailand, Europe and the US. The event venue was an air-conditioned tent with chandeliers. The exhibitors from Qatar were very excited about the show and plan to form a CFA club in Qatar

In concert with Royal Canin in China, CFA Judge Chloe Chung has been conducting seminars (with up to 200 people) introducing CFA pedigreed cats to Chinese citizens. Overall attendees so far exceed 1,200 people.

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Teresa Keiger

CFA Newsletter Editor