Our banner cat for February is CFA's 13th Best Kitten NW TEDDY-CAT HUGO, a blue British Shorthair male. (Photo by Amy Works)
CFA Top 10 Breeds - 2015
Exotics Number 1 Breed Again
Registration statistics for 2015 show that the Exotic breed was the most-registered breed in CFA. It was followed by the Persian, Maine Coon and Ragdoll. The British Shorthair was the most registered shorthaired breed with the American Shorthair, Scottish Fold (both divisions), Abysinnian, Sphynx, and Oriental rounding out the top 10 most registered breeds.
On the other end of the list, the Chinese Li Hua (no longer recognized as a breed by CFA) was the least most registered breed, preceeded (in acending order) by the LaPerm, Turkish Van, American Wirehair, and Burmilla.
DEADLINES
Deadline to declare for Regional Director or one of CFA's Executive Board positions is March 15. Declarations must be RECEIVED by CO by that date. A list of declared candidates and links to the declaration form are available here
Proposed Amendments and Resolutions must be RECEIVED by April 15. Requirements for formatting delegate proposals are available here.
Happy Day-after-Valentine's Day to all of our readers. I am sure that you didn't forget your whiskered loved ones this weekend. So, go get a kitty for your lap and settle in as this Newsletter is just chocked full of information!
Best,
Teresa
Lots going on in CFA these days...
As you surely know by now, at the meeting of the CFA Board of Directors a week ago, the Bengals were accepted for CFA registration and the Miscellaneous Class. Our Central Office is working up the appropriate paperwork to enable Bengal registrations as soon as possible, surely within the next few weeks. The cats can be entered in the Miscellaneous Class as of the new show season which starts the weekend of April 30 - May 1, 2016. Marianne Byrne headed up the application process for this breed and she had assistance from both Kim Everett and Carla Bizzell along with a number of Bengal breeders anxious to have the world's largest feline registry accept their cats. There was an incredible presentation on behalf of the breed at the board meeting which set the bar high for future breeds applying to CFA for recognition. Here is the slide presentation created by Rich Nolte for the board. I appointed Dr. Marie Vodicka as the Bengal Breed Committee chair (similar to a Breed Council Secretary). Join me in welcoming this exciting breed to CFA.
CFA's registrations continue to increase. For calendar year 2015 we saw a 20% increase over 2014. For the second year in a row Exotics lead the pack with the largest number of registrations. See the list of the Top Ten breeds elsewhere in this newsletter. Currently, we are turning around Ecat registrations within one or two days. Registrations submitted by snail mail are being turned around in ten work days which has been CFA's goal for decades. We recently added one more employee to the registration area in order to keep current with our increasing registrations. Our very capable staff are working hard to provide great service to our customers. If you encounter a problem and the staff doesn't resolve it, please bring it to the attention of the Director of CFA Services,
Verna Dobbins .
Speaking of staff, we are sorry to see the departure of Jodell Raymond. Jodell found another job and is excited about this new opportunity. Jodell handled a number of unrelated tasks for CFA including heading up the Annual Meeting coordination, CFA's social media (Blog, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter), marketing, advertising/PR for the CFA International Shows, and so much more. It is not going to be possible to find one person to handle the variety of assignments Jodell had in CFA so we are going to break up the job into several part-time efforts. Thank you Jodell for all you did for CFA over the years.
The recent CFA / Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat International Cat Show held in suburban Philadelphia turned a preliminary profit of $28,000. That's a significant improvement over the previous show's loss in the same location. We were able to learn from the first show to turn things around. As you may have heard, although we have a signed contract for the same facility in 2016, the dog show normally held a week earlier than our show is interested in using our date. We are currently working with the facility to come up with a satisfactory solution. We will notify you once we know how this is resolved.
Our Central Office is hard at work on the upcoming CFA Annual meeting to be held June 29 - July 3 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas NV. Check the
Annual website for information on hotel reservations, delegate booklet ads, and how to be a vendor at this event. More information will be added in the near future.
Terri Barry CFA Executive Director
As many of you are aware I accepted Jodell Raymond's resignation earlier this month. I did so with regret and a heavy heart. We all know she was a special part of our C F A team. She leaves us to follow a dream from childhood, working with the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House in her hometown of Rochester, New York. We will certainly miss her many talents and contributions to the Association. We wish her only the best and success in all of her future endeavors.
Due to Jodell's departure, I plan to bring on a Coordinator of Special Events. This will be a contracted position that will report directly to the Executive Director. The primary responsibility will be execution of details for a successful CFA Annual Meeting and the International Show. The individual must have the ability to work with volunteers, multitask and focus on details. Based on the timing of the tasks, a yearly average of 20 hours per week is anticipated. If you are aware of anyone who may have an interest in the position please have them forward a resume to [email protected].
Our February on-site Board of Director's meeting is now history and Central Office is now focused on implementing and enacting the actions that transpired. I would like to extend congratulations and welcome the Bengal breed to CFA. Their presentation was interesting and informative. We quickly began receiving questions and registration inquires, as did our Regional Directors. The lead Central Office Associate assisting with inquires will be Judy Minich. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
Most, if not all who pre-ordered your YearBook should have received them by now. If you haven't placed an order, extras are available. You may now purchase one through CFA's catalog at the following link: http://catalog.cfa.org/yearbook.shtml#2016 .
The 2017 Yearbook is now accepting photos of cats that became a Grand, Grand of Distinction and/or a Distinguished Merit Cat during the current show season. If your cat has achieved this title, don't forget to send a photo to the publications department ([email protected]) to have it included in the 2017 Yearbook for a small fee. The fee may be paid online using the CFA catalog at the following link: http://catalog.cfa.org/photos.shtml
Should your Club be interested in seeking show sponsorship, you are to contact Verna Dobbins. Her email address is [email protected]. Please do not contact the sponsor directly. It has been brought to my attention by a sponsor that this has been happening. Our sponsors are important to us, please honor their wishes.
Plans continue for the 2016 Annual. A number of ideas, suggestions and directives for the Annual were made during the Board meeting. We are in the process of including them in the work plan for the Annual. Region 5 is arranging their Hospitality night and promises an entertaining time. The downtown Summerlin area is outstanding. It offers a variety of options and choices for shopping and dining all adjacent to the hotel. For more information on downtown Summerlin check out the following linkhttp://www.downtownsummerlin.com/. This link will shortly be posted on the CFA Annual website. A list of "what the locals suggest experiencing" has been promised and will be posted as soon as that is completed.
In closing, as we enter the last few months of our show season I wish you all the best.
IT Report
Tim Shreck
IT Committee Chair
Most of January's updates have been behind-the-screens changes to help eliminate possible entry errors. Programming has also been completed on a guest sign-in for eCats, eliminating the necessity of creating an account just to enter a single cat/kitten, for those that do not plan on having a cattery or need the additional features now available through eCats. This will eliminate the last remaining entry option from our old system, sending all registration entries either thru eCats or mail.
I want to again thank Kathy Durdick for the redesigning our web pages. I have personally received many positive feedbacks on the changes. Thank you Kathy!
We welcome the Bengal breed to our organization and hope to have all the updates needed to be ready to process these registrations by the end of the month.
Some additional enhancements to our yearend test files are to be completed this month and test files will be sent to all regional directors.
Work will continue on addition applications and enhancements to current processes. Please feel free to communicate any problems or errors directly to the Central Office staff so they can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.
CFA Judging Program
JUDGING PROGRAM ADVANCEMENTS
John Adelhoch - to Apprentice SH (2nd specialty)
Kit Fung - to Approval Pending SH (1st specialty)
Nicholas Pun - to Approval Pending SH (1st specialty)
Danny Tai - to Approval Pending LH (1st specialty)
JUDGING PROGRAM RETIREMENTS
Best wishes to the judges listed below who have or are soon retiring. Please join me in thanking these esteemed colleagues for their years of service and dedication to CFA (over 200 years combined), the CFA Judging Program and our beautiful cats.
Jody Garrison - eff. April 30, 2016
Willa Hawke - eff. April 30, 2016
Gloria Hoover - eff. April 30, 2016
Carolyn Osier - eff. January 1, 2016
Kenji Takano - eff. April 30, 2016
Donna Jean Thompson - eff. January 29, 2016
Barbara Sumner - eff. April 30, 2016
Chika Hiraki - resigned eff. December 31, 2015
JUDGING PROGRAM CHANGES:
** For the current show season, guest judges may be contracted for up to 7 shows (2 shows per club).
** Any applicant or judge dropped from the Judging Program may reapply after one (1) year. (Note: previously, it was two years)
CFA Annual
Some of you may have received emails and phone calls from the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union 165 requesting that you ask CFA to relocate the 2016 CFA Annual from the Red Rock Casino and Resort. Please note that this a scare tactic used by the unions to gain a bargaining advantage.
CFA will not get involved in any labor disputes between the hotel and the union. We have visited the hotel during this long-running dispute and the facility is operating normally; the 2016 CFA Annual will be held at the Red Rock Hotel and Casino as scheduled.
We have hotel information up on our Annual site at www.cfaannual.org and additional information regarding airline travel, local attractions, vendor space and other items will be going up as they become available.
Teresa Keiger
Editor
The 6th year of Cat Talk Almanac begins with our February issue and is due out any day now! I know that I can't believe we've been in print that long!
This issue is our annual "Breeding" issue and we have an entire section focusing on such breeding issues as understanding pedigrees, the hows and whys of feline genetics, and designing a successful (small) breeding program. We're also beginning a short series written by Liz Bales, DVM, on how to enrich your cats' environment. (and that's only about half of the articles in this issue!)
Remember that we are always looking for ideas for new articles and that we do accept submissions. Have a suggestion or a story? Want to join the Cat Talk writing/editing staff? Please contact me at [email protected] I always want to hear from our readers.
WINN FELINE FOUNDATION
by Vicki Thayer DVM , Winn Executive Director
A list of our donors contributing $100 or more in January is available here.
Winn Emeritus Status Presentation - The Winn Board of Directors voted to establish an emeritus title for retired Winn board members who have had a major impact on the Foundation and have contributed significantly to the goals of Winn Feline Foundation. Joan Miller-Keys was selected the first to receive this distinguished title of Emeritus due to her many years as Winn Board President and her impact on cats and cat health issues. Dr. Brian Holub (board member) presented Joan with the title along with an engraved silver platter on January 15 at the Fix by Five Focus roundtable in Orlando, FL. Steve Dale (media and board member) and Dr. Glenn Olah also participated in the presentation on behalf of Winn. The platter engraving reads:
JOAN MILLER, EMERITUS MEMBER
IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AND MANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO WINN FELINE FOUNDATION
Planned giving (tax) tip for February - One often overlooked part of estate planning is making sure your heirs/family know who to contact after your death and where to find your documents, records and assets. It may be helpful to create a list which can be updated as needed. This would include the location of your original Will, Trust(s), life insurance policies or other estate planning papers. You should provide the names and contact information for your attorney, accountant, stockbroker or other financial advisors. You should list the places you keep important personal records like birth, marriage, death certificates, deeds, financial statements and records. Of course you should include information about your bank, brokerage or retirements accounts and your other assets or sources of income. As you gather your financial information and records to prepare your 2015 tax return, now would be a good time to prepare or update your list.For any questions, please contact [email protected].
Two new cat health articles can be downloaded from our educational library: "Cats and Toxoplasmosis" and "Intestinal Parasites in Cats".
by Karen Lawrence
The CFA Foundation hosted the CFA Board Meeting in the Feline Historical Museum on February 6-7. Our thanks to those visitors who explored our displays when the meeting was on break, and who told us how much they enjoyed seeing the collection.
Due to the heavy travel schedule of our staff during April, the Feline Historical Museum will be closed for the entire month of April. We'll take the opportunity to make some repairs to walls that were damaged during a roof flood and water leak, as well as clean carpets and do a general thorough cleaning of the facility.
OUR WISH LIST
Occasionally, items of importance to the cat fancy become available through various sources. One such item is the Siamese Pendant/Brooch shown here. The 9k gold, Victorian reverse intaglio, features a Siamese surrounded by a border of pearls. Hallmarks show the maker as Ward Bros of Birmingham, England and it is dated 1895. Although this piece should remain in the fancy itself, the cost of this item is $1,545.00, which is a bit rich for the coffers of the CFA Foundation.
HOW YOU CAN HELP!
As politicians have noted, small donations add up quickly into large funds. Donations specified for the "acquisition fund" of The CFA Foundation could be used to purchase this wonderful historical Siamese piece.
Just think, if 30 people or clubs each donated $50, or if 150 people each donated $10, this piece could soon be on display in the museum for cat fanciers to admire and enjoy.
Use our quick PAYPAL button below to send your donation. Note that donations in excess of the cost of this piece would be set aside for future acquisitions of items of historical significance as they become available.
Donations in excess of the cost of this piece would be set aside for future acquisitions of items of historical significance as they become available.
The CFA Foundation was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of the State of New York on June 26, 1990. The foundation has been ruled to be a non-private foundation and accordingly is exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations and contributions made to The CFA Foundation are completely tax deductible for Federal income, gift and estate tax purposes.
By Kelly Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison
The State Legislatures are in Full Swing
The CFA Legislative Group is already tracking numerous new bill and carryover bills and it is only February. Hawaii's short session already has 20 pieces of legislation of interest. The CFA Legislative Group is tracking over 70 pieces of legislation in New Jersey. The brave of heart can go see all 12 pages of legislation we are tracking so far in 2016 or just look at the legislation in their state. For a full list of tracked bills see the
CFA Tracking List.
Here are just a few pieces of state legislation proposed that will raise concern among cat fanciers either because they directly affect cats or can easily become an "and cat" issue we should help the dog fanciers to fight.
Iowa: SF 502 changes commercial establishments for nonagricultural animal to include small breeders, competitive show breeders, specialized breeder, animal rescue and animal sanctuary to the licensing scheme. Carried over from 2015.
Kansas: HB 2554 amends the Kansas Pet Animal Act to expand animal breeder premises, remove the hobby breeder definition, includes rescue network regulations, and mandates inspections for all licensees. New.
New Jersey: S 63 (identical bill: A 2338)would require face-to-face sales of cats and dogs as long as either the buyer or seller or both are located within NJ. It would also repeal the Pet Purchase Protection Act. New.
Utah: HB 132authorizes municipalities to license commercial breeders. A commercial breeder includes, in addition to wholesalers, certain people who maintains 6 or more dogs or cats for breeding. New.
Tennessee: According to the American Kennel Club, SB 2175 and HB 2303 would require registration, inspection, and regulation of dog breeders. Currently only dogs are covered, however, this could easily become an "and cat" issue. Any cat fanciers interested in helping their canine counterparts in defeating this legislation should go to the
alert on the American Kennel Club.
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!
Please report legislation happening in your area to the Legislative Group - [email protected]
Please report legislation happening in your area to the Legislative Group - [email protected]
CFA Ambassador Cats
Karen Lane
CFA Ambassador Cats Chair
Each one of our members receive A-cat equipment for their A-Cat to be used at the shows they attend. Many of our members have taken a step forward and have done things to enhance the display area and draw attention to their Ambassador Cat. The more people that visit with our feline Ambassadors, the more effective our program becomes. Our aim is to market our pedigreed cats and CFA. Our members do a fantastic job educating people in cat ownership and feline care and feeding.
This past month I attended the cat show in Del Mar, California and visited with some of our A-Cat members and saw the kinds of things they are doing at the shows to enhance their A-cat display area. I visited with Tracy Dalton and her A-Cat, Dinky. Tracy has always been an innovator when it comes to our A-cat Program.
Couple of years ago she had her Smart Car wrapped with photos of cats and made the car available at the entrance of many cat shows. I have seen the car in person and it was truly an "attention getter".
Now she has taken her "one woman, one cat parade" into the show hall and has added custom banners and other unique treatment to her A-Cat display area. I was simply overwhelmed how inventive she has been. And how much work and effort she puts into her A-Cat dedication.
My core committee is excited to add Diane Coppola to our ranks! She, along with Alene Shafnisky, held down the fort and hosted the Ambassador's booth at the International Show. Both ladies were spectacular, and came up with some terrific ideas for the International Show for 2016. I'm so glad
to welcome fresh, new ideas!
Region 2: Mary Sietsema, Meghan Noecker
Rip City Cats and Seatlle Cat Club hosted a nice show in Chehalis, Washington on February 6th. This show hall is away from the larger cities, but garnered some spectators from afar. The show welcomed a family with 3 kids from Alaska who just happened to be in town and heard about the cat show. They really enjoyed petting several of the
Carmin Martino's cat gets a kiss from an admirer
Pet Me cats at the show. Also visiting was a couple who moved to the Seattle area from Hawaii. They came to check out the show, and were concerned that their one eyed HHP might not be welcome. Meghan was happy to show them a photo of a one eyed cat who was 4th place in the region a few years back. They are planning to enter 2 HHPs in the May show. Additionally, there were two brand new exhibitors at this show, and they were given special rosettes to welcome them to CFA.
Roseville, California, was the site for the High Sierra Cat Club's show on January 16th. Pet Me! Cat were among the most popular, and visiting kids enjoyed not only getting to pet show kitties, but to get kitty kisses as well!
another young girl admiring a Birman at the Chehalis show
Region 4: Mariane Toth
Despite the cold and a little snow on Sunday the gate was steady at the Cleveland Persian Sociiety Show on January 16th. A lot of the gate were return visitors from both near and far. Exhibitors and spectators seemed to enjoy the show. There were some spectators very interested in our minority breeds. Great fun was also had by the Midwest Persian Tabby Fanciers in Monroe, Michigan. Lots of questions, lots of visitors and lots of fun!
Region 5: Shari Millar
Del Mar, California, was the site for a terrific show, the Food and Water Bowl, hosted by the San Diego Cat Fancier's Club on January 23-24. Shari Millar reports that "this is always our busiest show of the season for our Pet Me! Cats and Ambassador cats when it comes to gate"
The Education ring was packed both days with many seminars as well as cat care and breed presentations, always a very popular part of this show. At times exhibitors had 4-5 children petting a cat, as well as 5 more people taking photos. The ambassadors wanted to make sure to make every newbie excited about cats. Many spectators visited the show to adopt new kitten or retired show cats, For many, this is their first cat show so there were lots of questions, and loads and loads of cat petting. The most popular question by far was "how is your cat so calm"...but many discussed their loss of past cats, questions about breeds they had never seen before, and potential good breed matches into their existing house cat packs.
Region 6: Candilee Jackson
The MWR's Saintly City Cat Club hosted a terrific show in St Paul, Minnesota, in late January. Normally timed to coincide with the area's huge Winter Carnival, the show went on without the extra hoopla brought on by the carnival. Evidently, this didn't affect their gate: this show is very popular, and the crowning on the Winter Carnival King and Queen in the household pet division was a highlight of the show.
Region 8: Takako Kojimi, Masanari Kojimi
The 2016 Regional Show was held on January 9-10, at the Kobe Port Terminal Hall in Kobe, Japan. The show hall is very nice with enough space for exhibitors and judging, and a good location to attract spectators. Region 8 was excited to have Royal Canin sponsor this show for the first time.
Raptor was on duty as head ambassador, but Saturday the show was swamped with spectators and it was hard to serve everyone who had questions! Masanari and Takako were very glad they were not exhibiting cats this weekend so they could take care of spectator needs. In addition to handling the gate's interest, Takako handled "internal" registration issues for the owner of a Russian Blue who needed a CFA registration number.
Kobe Animal College students came to show hall to study about cats. They eagerly listened Takako's explain about the American Shorthair Standard. He used Raptor as an example when he spoke about color and pattern, etc. Several students wanted to touch him and Raptor was so happy to be petted.
Ayumi Ueda, secretary of Region 8, and an all breed judge, took students to the benching area and explained about other breed standards. The students were required to write a report after the show. ("I hope all of them will pass examination!")
Every show Raptor attends, there is a certain lady who always comes to show hall to meet Raptor, and he knows she is his friend.
Royal Canin staffs sometimes came to the Ambassador Booth and touched Raptor. They were all surprised to meet Raptor as he is so friendly with everybody. They loved Raptor so much. Hopefully, they will continue to support more Region 9 shows in the future.
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Region 1
by Geri Fellerman, Regional Director
January is finally over, but February did bring some snow to our region (did I mention I hate winter). However, we are getting ready to warm up with some long-awaited shows in our region. February 20-21 takes us to Kimberton, PA. Then it's on down to Hammonton, NJ, the following weekend for a fun skating rink show (no, we are not going to skate) featuring home-cooked food supplied by club members.
The first Saturday in March means spring is that much closer (isn't that what our resident groundhog said?) and we look forward to a great show in Wilmington, DE. This will be the second show in this facility which is just lovely.
Looking forward to seeing all of you at at least one of these shows.
Region 2
by Terri Zittel, Regional Secretary
Region 2 had two great one day shows: one in No Cal and the second in the Upper NW. The No Cal show was sponsored by the High Sierra Cat Club on January 16th. The show had a great entry and a fantastic gate. I have included a picture of Vicki Nye and her clerk, Cheryl Jorgenson (right) and one of Neil Quigley with Felicia Walker and her cat, Cinema's Cabaret, a tortoiseshell Persian in Premiership (below). The show was held in Roseville, CA at the Placer County Fairgrounds. Add this show to your must list for 2017
The Rip City Cats along with Seattle Cat Club and Valley Cat Fanciers held their show in Chehalis, WA on February 6th. This is a new show date for these clubs and it was very successful. The theme was Mardi Gras and there were lots of decorated cats and cages in the Mardi Gras theme. I have included a picture of Earlywinters Captain Lou, Veteran, in his Mardi Gras Mask (below). Again a well attended show with lots of our California exhibitors present. Great gate.
The Golden Cate Cat Club sent some additional information about their annual show on November 7, 2015 at the Robert Livermore Community Center in Livermore California. "Our show was very well attended by exhibitors and community members. We had our very popular stuffed toy kitty competition, a wonderful raffle, and a huge gate. We are pleased that after two very successful years we were able to up our charitable donations to $5000.00 this year! We made nice large donations to: Sock, FIP, The Winn Foundation, The UC Davis Center for Companion Animals, The Homeless Cat Network, and The Safe Cat Foundation. The Safe Cat Rescue organization provides our able stewards at the show, we are proud to be able to work with this local rescue. Thank you to all our exhibitors, our judges and our local community for making this venue so successful!"
The rest of February and March will be very busy with lots of shows:
Call of the Wild February 20-21, 2016 Santa Rosa, CA Tails and No Tales Cat Club March 5-6, 2016 San Jose, CA
McKenzie River Cat Club March 12-13, 2016 Portland, OR
Idaho Cat Fanciers March 19-20, 2016 Boise, ID Crow Canyon Cat Club April 2-3, 2016 Pleasanton,
CA Puget Sound Cat Club April 9, 2016 Longview, WA
On a note of sadness, I am sorry to report that Harvey Stobbe, Anona Cattery, has passed away. He and his wife Bev have been strong supporters of the CFA Northwest Region. Our condolences to Bev and her family.
Region 3
by Steve McCullough, Regional Director
Cheri Peck at the Loveland show
Region 3 had another great period of shows. Cowboy Country Cat Fanciers and Colorado Cat Fanciers held another outstanding show in Loveland CO. There were lots of smiles and tears as they touted it as their farewell show. I hate to see another club lost in Region 3 due to low entries. Thank you for doing such an outstanding job all of these years.
Raymond and Joyce in deep discussion at Wichita
Wichita Cat Fanciers held their show in Wichita, KS on the first weekend in February. It was a Championship show not to be missed this weekend. Lots of grands and cheering at the show. With the few people in the club, they always put on a first class show. It was the same weekend as the Board meeting in Alliance, OH. Region 3 was represented by Trudie Allen and Carissa Altschul representing their Breed Councils. Both gave compelling testimony.
The region is looking forward to active March through the end of the show season. Counts are up as well as hopeful spirits. Way to go Region 3!!!! Check the website often for updates on upcoming shows, there seems to be plenty now for points to get caught up on. The flurry of shows starts in Cleburne with Ozark and Wildcatters putting on a 6X6 on March the 19
th-20
th and then to Gonzales, LA being held by the Baton Rouge Show on March the 26
th. Please enter the shows, and if you can't make it to all of our shows, be sure to support them with a donation. After Baton Rouge, head on up to Oklahoma City Cat Clubs show April the 2
nd followed by Foot of the Rockies Cat Club in Denver at the National Western Complex April the 9
th-10
th.
You all asked for shows, well we have them now!!!!
Be sure to mark your calendar with our upcoming shows:
February 20 Kittyhawk Felines at Dayton, Ohio 5AB and 1 SP
Kittyhawk Felines will be holding their 6-ring one-day show on Feb.20, 2016. Our format will be SUPER SPECIALITY for Championship, AB Kittens and Premiership and one All Specialty ring.
March 5-6 Genesee Cat Fanciers at Brockport, New York, 7AB and 3 SP
Genesee Cat Fanciers is hosting its 64th Annual Cat Show on March 5 & 6, 2016 at the Sweden-Clarkson Community Center in Brockport, NY. This is our fifth year in the SAME LOCATION so our spectators know where to find us! This is a 10 ring, 7AB/3SP show, 225 limit with a great line up of judges, wonderful food and many vendors for your shopping desires! Our Canadian friends can get $5 off their first entry too! Contact Carmen Johnson-Lawrence ([email protected]) for more information.
Region 5
by Lisa Marie Kuta, Regional Director
The Southwest has been busy since the last newsletter! The San Diego Cat Fanciers really outdid themselves. This year's show went above and beyond--the cats, the spectators, the vendors and the Education Ring. This past weekend the Victor Valley Cat Club hosted a fun, festive Valentine's show in Palm Springs.
The Southwest Region welcomes all from the more chillier climates to come visit Glendale, California on February 27 for the Malibu Cat Club Show. Glendale is adjacent to Los Angeles and makes a nice place for a weekend getaway. March and April bring shows in Palm Springs (Los Colores Cat Club), Ontario (Tonks West) and Las Vegas (Las Vegas Cat Club).
Region 6
by Candilee Jackson, Midwest Region Secretary
"Most of you know Gary has Stage 4 lung cancer. We would like thank everyone for their support and donations to Gary's Medical Fund. But more importantly are two people who know how much we love showing our American Curls, and that Gary wants his life to be as normal as possible. So many thanks go to my Region 5 friend paid for our entry to the Saintly City Cat show, and the anonymous person from Region 6 who paid for our entries into the Hawkeye State Cat Show. Your generosity has truly touched our hearts. CFA cat people are the
best!"
Show Report: Saintly City Cat Show, January 23-24, 2016
The 40th Annual Saintly City Cat Championship Cat Show was held at the St Paul River Center in St Paul, Minnesota, and featured hundreds cats from the United States and Canada. The highest scoring male and female HHP were crowned Winter Carnival King and Queen: Queen Agatha is parented by Karla Schmidtkes, and King Bailey is parented by Mary Clemens. Many thanks to photographer David Perez for sharing his pictures with us!
MWR Brags:
GCD, BW, RW Slava Better Believe It, aka "BB", has been confirmed as a Grand Champion of Distinction by CFA. BB is a 3 year-old male brown mackerel tabby Siberian, and the first Siberian to earn a "Grand of Distinction" title. According to the CFA Almanac, he is also the second MWR cat to earn a GCD when he qualified on September 5th, 2015, at the Topeka Cat Fancier's show, by earning his 20 AB final and 30th judge's final in his third season. BB is pictured here at the TCF show with Allbreed Judge Mary Auth, receiving 3rd Best Cat from Mary. BB was selected for all 6 finals at this show, finishing third overall. BB achieved over 100 judge's finals in both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. BB was Best of Breed in the MWR for both the 13-14 and 14-15 seasons, and was the CFA Breed Winner for the 14-15 Season. BB just turned 3 years old on February 7th, and his sire is GC,BW,RW Kotchera Carmel Corn and his dam is GC Bold Beauty Elisaveta Dosifeevna. BB was bred by Sherrie Phelps and is owned by Sherrie Phelps and Lucy Drury
Somali breeder, Jan Patelka is totally JAZZED to have an ENTIRE litter earn the title of Grand Champion!
The sire of this magical litter is GC Jagmac MerlinsMagic of Thecatgarden. (Owner: Janice Pitelka.) and the dam is GC Thecatgarden's H. Sparkle Plenty (Owners: Janice Pitelka, Lorna Friemoth, and Seth Baugh)
Many congratulations on this wonderful accomplishment!
1. GP Thecatgarden's Hijinx of Andredie, ruddy neuter, owned by Andrea Cobb of Georgia
2. GC Thecatgarden's Dream On of Nudawnz, ruddy male, owned by Lorna Friemoth and Seth Baugh of
Columbus, Ohio
3. GC Thecatgarden's Star Kissed, ruddy female, owned by Janice Pitelka of New Lenox, Illinois
4. GC Thecatgarden's Wizard of Tamarakatz, ruddy male, owned by Tammy and Rob Roark of Yacolt,
Washington
Upcoming MWR Shows:
February 13 Hawkeye State Cat Club Altoona IA
February 27-28 Lincoln State Cat Club Northlake IL
March 5-6 Illini Cat Club Urbana IL
March 12 Mo-Kan Cat Club Overland Park KS
March 26-27 Cat 'n on the Fox Wheaton IL (farewell show! Cash prizes!)
April 2 Cats of Wisconsin Waukeshaw WI
April 23-24 America's Heartland Springfield IL (end of show season)
Region 7
by Jean Dugger, Regional Director
The Southern Region was off to a great start with our annual Wine & Cheese Party at Absolutely Abyssinians the first weekend in January. This club goes above and beyond with gorgeous rosettes like those from the "good ole days", and a fabulous Saturday night social at the show hotel, just steps away from your room. Special thanks to Ray Cherrington and Absolutely Abyssinians for their outstanding hospitality in true Southern style.
C at Club of the Palm Beaches in Ormond Beach, Florida, followed with their 10-ring show. The club has an awesome location at a community center park, and obviously did a great job advertising the show and good signage directing visitors to the location. Numerous spectators that I spoke with advised me that they looked forward to the show every year and were amazed at so many beautiful representations of our CFA breeds. Their great gate was only surpassed by their even greater raffle, with prizes that everyone wanted. I must share the hand-made needlecraft picture that I won (left)
The following weekend was Roanoke, and I had made my hotel reservations well in advance, looking forward to a HOTEL show, and remembering the great time that we had at last year's show. This year, however, was not meant to be..... On Wednesday, the weather reports were becoming more and more dire for the approaching winter storm, and I had a momentary thought of leaving Atlanta then, to get ahead of the storm. My husband, however, had other ideas, saying among other things, "well if you are the only cat - will 'best cat' really help you??" I was miserable, but finally fears of traveling across the mountains in snow, coupled with the memory of Kayli and my unplanned week of "vacation" following a Vermont show in January convinced me to stay home. Never underestimate the tenacity of cat people though. Below is a short article submitted to me by Central Carolina club member Jean Aldrich:
THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!
by CFA Exhibitor Jean Aldrich
Timing is everything, and the winter storm, Jonas, and the annual CFA Star City Cat Fanciers/Central Carolina Cat Fanciers' show in Roanoke arrived together, with Jonas out ahead of the cat show by one day, dumping 12"-14" of snow on the area where the show was being held.
However, CFA cat-show exhibitors and judges are very dedicated to the Cat Fancy, and to showing and judging their cats, so the show did go on! There was some shuffling around of show rings and judges, as some of the scheduled judges were unable to make it, but the show was held and everyone there had a fantastic time. We ended up with a 3X3 show weekend - 5 AB rings and one double-specialty ring. Two judges, who were masquerading as exhibitors for that particular show, were very gracious to agree to fill in for some of the absent judges, and we thank them very very much: Lynn Search and Doreann Nasin deserve kudos for giving up their exhibitor weekend to be judges.
Out of 176 entries, 70 cats showed up, with a few additional cats arriving on Sunday after the storm had passed. We even had some gate on Sunday!
The planets were aligned for those who attended the show - it was a hotel show, held in the Holiday Inn-Roanoke, which has a lovely restaurant on site. Once you arrived safely at the hotel, you did not have to step outside the entire weekend. We named the show, the "Snowpocalypse" show. There is talk of acquiring some commemorative t-shirts...
Many thanks to Jean - along with those who posted the great snow pictures on Facebook!
Our Birmingham show was the last weekend in January, and I am proud to say - another CFA show filled to the BRIM!! Way to GO - Birmingham!! They have an awesome facility (perhaps except for the bathrooms.....) which was filled with lots of vendors, tons of spectators, and all of us! Birmingham has a number of active rescue groups in their area, and had exhibits in the show and several vendor booths. I was so happy to see that they had FORTY-TWO household pets entered! When I spoke to the coordinator of the rescue/adoption program, she told me that all of the kitties they exhibited that were available for adoption found homes by the end of the show! What a great CFA show success!!
Lastly, let me say to everyone how proud I am of each and every one of our clubs and exhibitors! You all make it possible for all of us to enjoy the hobby that we love so much. Thank you
Region 8
by Edward Maeda, Regional Director
I must announce to Japanese exhibitors. We decided to hold the Japan Regional Award Banquet for 2015-2016 show season on July 17, 2016 at Convention hall 'Ohmi' in Biwako Ohtsu Prince Hotel. The annual club meeting will be in the 'Eizan Sunire' room in Ohtsu Shiga. Lake Biwa is the greatest lake in Japan and hotel is near this lake. And Ohtsu is historical town near Kyoto. All of hotel rooms are lake view, so the you will have a beautiful view!! Please join us at there and enjoy the beginning of summer vacation season. We would like to announce about detail on it later.
Also there are shows in Japan almost every weekend until the end of the show season. Please enjoy the rest of the run for your cats/kittens Japan Regional wins and take care of your partners.
Region 9
by Michael Hans Schleissner
January was a very busy time in Region 9 as there has been a show all over Europ every single weekend.
Sweden ====== The Swedish Cat Paw Club opened 2016 with one of their traditional shows. As always very convenient, very close to the Stockholm Arlanda airport, 10 minutes bus drive to the show hotel, 10 minutes to the great show hall. Very well organized show by Ulla Strindberg and her team. This is one of the shows you can definetly bookmark for the future. Next show at this place is scheduled for January/07&08/2017
Germany ======= Second weekend in January German Catwalk e.V. had its first show in 2016. After moving the show from the planed show hall to another place because of the refugee situation in Germany, it became a very successful show. A high number of entries for this time of the year made this event a great show. You can easily reach via Dusseldorf International airport and take a short train ride directly from the airport. Next upcoming show will be on April/16&17/2016 in Eching, very close to Munich airport.
England ====== UK Cat Fanciers filled the third weekend and had a wonderful show. The count has grown from show to show and LeAnn Rupy and Ulrike Knueppel and their team is working hard to establish CFA in Great Britain. The club has moved his show hall to a wonderful new place with lots of space and light. Close to London city center, so that exhibitors also have the option for lots of sight seeing and fun. International judges and a well organized show are waiting for new exhibitors. Next show will be held at the same place on March/07&08/2016. A show you shouldn't miss.
Italy === Last weekend in January was the surprise for Europe. A new team led by Giulia Di Natale produced their very first show. The club "44 Gatti Cat Club" had his debut in the Milan area in Italy. With top 15 finals in Championship, and produced in conjunction with WCF and TICA made this weekend a real "don't miss" event. Close to Milan Linate and Bergamo airport easy to reach. Perfect organization and wonderful flair at the show made this an unforgettable event. Next show will be at the first weekend in April 2016, same location. Congratulation to this club and very best wishes for the future.
International Division
Dick Kallemyer, International Division Chair
On February 5-6, 2016, K-Cats had their 5
th show in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
The show hall 'tent' with red carpet and chandeliers.
The winner of the "Fancy Dress" contest at the K-Cats show.
The
Universal Cat Fanciers Show had their first CFA show in Beijing on January 30-31, 2016.
Wain Harding and his clerk Katherine from Chengdu
Walter Hutzler judging Championship cats
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Some of you may have received emails and phone calls from the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union 165 requesting that you ask CFA to relocate the 2016 CFA Annual from the Red Rock Casino and Resort. Please note that this a scare tactic used by the unions to gain a bargaining advantage. 
by Karen Lawrence
OUR WISH LIST
at Club of the Palm Beaches in Ormond Beach, Florida, followed with their 10-ring show. The club has an awesome location at a community center park, and obviously did a great job advertising the show and good signage directing visitors to the location. Numerous spectators that I spoke with advised me that they looked forward to the show every year and were amazed at so many beautiful representations of our CFA breeds. Their great gate was only surpassed by their even greater raffle, with prizes that everyone wanted. I must share the hand-made needlecraft picture that I won (left)
