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Our banner cat this month is CFA's 23rd Best Cat in Championship, GC, GP, NW DEYDREAM GOOD DEY SUNSHINE a tortiseshell and white Manx - Shorthair Division
(photo by Larry Johnson)
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May 1 - Delegate Forms must be postmarked by this date to be eligible to vote at the Annual Meeting
May 9 - Club Fees and Membership List to CFA Central Office in order to send a delegate to the CFA Annual Meeting.
May 15 - Photo deadline for all NW and BW photos
May 17 -
Duplicate Trophy Orders Deadline
May 23 - National Breed Rosette Sponsorship Deadline
June 1 - CFA Directors-at-Large ballot must be received in Central Office by this date
June 1 - Club fees and membership list must be received in Central Office by this date for a club to remain on CFA's roster.
August 1 - Breed Council Membership Deadline
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Here's hoping that everyone is enjoying as glorious a spring as we are here....and that they had few issues with the storms that blazed across the US over the weekend.
We're down to the last two weekends of the show season and you know what that means: it's time to be pulling all of your photos together from the past show season! Every region and division celebrate their wins, and all celebrations require photos for presentations and awards booklets. And of course, the CFA Awards Banquet will need photos of all National and Breed winners. So, on behalf of all awards committees, please do check requirements and deadlines for photo submissions for your region or division. The information for photos for the Annual is
available here.
And let's not forget photos for On the Road Again! Information for submitting those photos is
available here.
Teresa
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 Only two weeks left in this show season and things get a little crazy. Many exhibitors have been showing their cats all season and have invested a great deal of time, energy, and money into showing their cats in hopes of achieving their end-of-season goal. While I did not show a cat this season, I know from my own past experience that it can be difficult to keep in mind that we got into this hobby to have fun and enjoy ourselves. Whether you achieve your goal or not, I hope when you look back at this past show season you can say you enjoyed it and that you would do it again if the circumstances were right. Remember to be both a gracious winner as well as a gracious loser.
At the Board meeting earlier this month we adopted a budget for the new fiscal year that starts May 1st. Last year the budget we approved for the current year reflected a significant loss; however, our income was higher and our expenses were lower than anticipated and CFA Treasurer Kathy Calhoun assured the Board that the current year will reflect a profit rather than the projected loss. Once again, the Board approved a budget for the coming year which reflects a loss. Our budgets always take a very conservative view. The new budget reflects a 10% decrease in registrations and significant investments in both our computer system and our marketing efforts.
Ballots for the five Director At Large seats on the Board were distributed last week. Please make sure your club votes. If the club has any questions or did not receive a ballot, contact
Sean Dobbins. Clubs can vote either online or snail mail a paper ballot to the CFA Central Office. You can check to see if your club's ballot was received
here.
Ballots must be received in the CFA Central Office by June 1st.
Each CFA club in good standing as of 5/09/19 is eligible to have a delegate at the Annual Meeting to represent the club and vote on its behalf. Delegate Forms are expected to be distributed this week. Club secretaries should be on the lookout for them. Delegate Forms must be postmarked, faxed or emailed b
y May 1st.
Another important deadline is that clubs must have submitted their dues and membership list to the CFA Central Office by June 1st. Failure to do so will result in the club being dropped from CFA membership. Check
here
to see the list of clubs in good standing.
Good luck to each of you in the remaining weeks of this show season.
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Allene Tartaglia
The countdown has begun...to the end of the show season that is. Exhibitors are preparing for their final couple of shows and the Central Office is preparing for the final scoring, dissemination of reports, preparing for the new show season and starting all over again. Sound familiar?
It's the "Once A Year" time of the year. Director At Large voting is happening. Ballots were sent via email and via regular mail and you should see them in your mailboxes starting April 12. Check here to see if your club has voted
. Contact Sean Dobbins at the Central Office with questions
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Breed Council Membership renewal notices are being prepared and will be emailed no later than the week of April 22. The deadline for Breed Council Membership applications is August 1, 2019.
Sign up to sponsor National breed rosettes, National Winner and/or Agility rosettes.
The deadline to sponsor a rosette(s) for the sponsor name to appear on the rosette is Thursday, May 23.
If you are receiving a National Win and you want to order a duplicate trophy and/or rosette, place your order online here by Friday, May 17
Lastly, don't forget the deadline of May 9 to pay club fees and submit a membership list to CFA in order to send a delegate to this year's Annual Meeting in Verona New York. Delegate forms must be postmarked or delegate information filed online by May 1. Here is a list
of clubs which have filed a delegate form.
The list is updated regularly.
Did you know...and we bet you do, that show scoring and the method points were accumulated was far different back in 1955? Here is a page from the Cotton States Cat Club show catalog which shows how different it was!
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Meet the Central Office Staff
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Melissa Watson
interview by Geri Fellerman
Melissa first joined the crew at Central Office in October of 2016. She was hired to do show licensing. She is now involved in Protests along with Breed Council sponsorships.
An attorney by trade, Melissa grew up in Huron County, Ohio, and went to Smith College in Massachusetts. After meeting her husband who was a West Point graduate and serving in the army, she went on to a few different positions before becoming a mom. Her husband's career (after the Army, he became an engineer) took her to many different areas of the country. She has settled down with him and their two children, William and David. William is an artist and David is pursuing a career in music.
Home life includes two rescue cats, Wallace and Harley, as well as Sherman the dog. Apparently the Watson household is partial to black animals, as all three of their pets are black. Melissa has been to a couple of cat shows, including the International, which she hopes to attend again in 2019.
In her spare time, Melissa enjoys reading all things historical. She is definitely looking forward to an upcoming trip to Europe. She also enjoys singing in her church choir.
Melissa finds the cat fancy to be such fun and really enjoys her coworkers immensely. The only downside of the job is some of the people involved in protests, especially tales of sick kittens.
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Former CFA Judge Bill Lee Passes
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Former CFA Judge and CFA Board of Directors officer Bill Lee passed away on Sunday, March 24. Bill was also a well-respected exhibitor and was active in other CFA programs until he left the CFA Judging Program in 2005.
Along with his first wife Gayle (Armstrong), Bill bred Persians under the cattery name Lee. They showed two cats to Cat of the Year:
GC, NW Hawthorne Nite Liter of Lee, a black Persian male, bred by Russ Haussmann, Jr (show season 1974-75); and GC, NW Lee's Let the Sunshine In, a cream/white Persian male that he and Gayle bred (1980-1981). They also had Second Best Kitten (1975-1976) with GC, NW Lee's Chief White Cloud, a blue/white Persian male.
Bill held several offices on the CFA Board. He served as Director at Large from 1980-1990, then served as Treasurer from 1990-1996. He also served as Vice President from 2000-2002, and was chair of the CFA Clerking Program in the early 1990s.
He is survived by his second wife Susan, and his daughter Laura. |
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Melanie Morgan
CFA Judging Program Committee Chair
Judging Program Committee changes and advancements from the April 9, 2019, CFA Board Meeting:
CFA and the Judging Program mourn the loss of CFA allbreed judge Walter Hutzler.
Leave of Absence:
Gene Darrah has been granted a Leave of Absence from April 25th to June 30, 2019
Advancements:
Mihoko Yabumoto advanced to Approved Allbreed
Rod U'ren advanced to Approved Allbreed
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Carol Krzanowski
CFA Clubs Committee Chair
The following clubs were accepted at the April 9, 2019 CFA Board teleconference:
1. China Ming Mao Fang - International Division - Asia, Chongming Xian, China
2. Cosmos Cat Fanciers' Club - International Division - Asia, New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC
3. Dilmun Show Cats Fanciers - International Division - ROW, Hamad Town, Bahrain
4. MuKeDer Happy Cats Club - International Division - ROW, Avcilar, Istanbul, Turkey
5. Summit Feline Fanciers Club - International Division - Asia, Shanghai, China
6. The Cat Fancier's of United Arab Emirates - International Division - ROW, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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Marketing Support for Your Shows
Desiree Bobby, Director of Marketing
"
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
Helen Keller
Welcome to Companion Cat World
 All household pet cats recorded with CFA will now have a new place to call home and it is called Companion Cat World (CCW.)
One of CFA's best kept secrets is that non-standard, non-pedigreed, random-bred, and rescue/shelter cats can also be part of the CFA family simply by being recorded though eCat. Qualifying cats (not declawed, etc.) can compete in the household pet (HHP) class, but there is a large percentage of our recorded feline friends that would like to strut their stuff and enjoy the #CFALIFE but will never actually compete for titles. In order to also celebrate the uniqueness of all of our recorded pet cats, we created Companion Cat World.
Companion Cat World (CCW) is a world where only pet cats are members. They receive a membership card and gain access to special news and offers, receive invitations to pet-only, CCW non-competing events, and if they qualify, are able to compete for HHP titles. Companion Cats will compete and be recorded in the same manner as household pets have been in the past. There are no significant changes to the program for our non-pedigreed friends, just additional benefits and a new name.
2019 is the year we will let the cat out of the bag and spread the word to cat lovers around the world that CFA celebrates and welcomes ALL cats. As more cats become involved in CCW, their humans will begin to learn more about CFA and begin to understand and appreciate that CFA's mission includes enhancing the welfare of all felines, breed preservation, and responsible breeding.
If you are interested in participating in Companion Cat World initiatives, joining the committee or volunteering in the development and administration of the program, please contact Kathy Black
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CFA Marketing Committee
Kathy Black, Marketing Chairperson
Desiree Bobby, Director of Marketing
Mike Altschul, Marketing Committee Member
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Teresa Keiger
Editor
CFA had a very good showing in The Cat Writers' Association (CWA) 2018
Cat Writers Communications Contest. "Cat Talk Magazine," along with several articles published in it, and other CFA-related projects earned Certificates of Excellence. They now wait to learn if they earned the highest score in their respective categories, which would award them a prized "Muse Medallion."
A Certificate of Excellence winner's entry earned an average score of 90 or above by three judges-not an easy achievement. A category may have several certificate winners, or it may have no winners at all if the no entry's quality warranted a high enough score.
The Muse Medallions will be awarded, along with several other special awards, at the CWA Conference in St. Louis, MO May 19, 2019.
Cat Talk Magazine Certificate Winners:
Magazine: National Circulation
Keiger, Teresa Cat Talk Magazine
Written Article: Health & General Care
Drury, Lucy "Synthetic Feline Pheromones "
Written Article: Behavior/Training/Enrichment
Jackson, Candilee "Kitten Kindergarten
Written Article: Lifestyle
Zinck, Iris and Barbara Stone-Newton "What's in a Name? "
Written Article: Feline-Human Bond
Clark, Shery "The Last Meow "
Coughlan, Laurie "Taliban George "
Written Article: Rescue & Advocacy
Drury, Lucy "When Kitty Needs a New Home "
Poem
Willett, Susan "Ex-Mouse Gift "
Photography: Series
Shutt, Mollie "Ex-Mouse Gift "
Photography: Single
Johnson, Lawrence Cat Talk Magazine cover
CFA-related Certificate Winning Entries:
Books: Poems/Gifts/Other
Redinger, Austin CFA Ambassador Cats Adult Coloring Book
Photographic Art
Keiger, Teresa CFA Ambassador Cats 2019 Calendar
Graphic Design
Keiger, Teresa CFA National Awards Banquet
Awards Booklet Cover
Larry Johnson also earned a certificate for his book
Show Cats: Portraits of Fine Felines
in the category of
Books: Nonfiction - Other
Our annual April "Kitten" issue should be in mailboxes and online any day now.
August brings the annual "Year in Review" issue where we take a look back at shows and happenings from the previous season. We are already beginning work on our round-up of special and interesting achievements (both feline and human) and have asked all breed council secretaries and regional directors to send us what news that they might have. But we'd also like to ask our readers to tell us about any unique or impressive accomplishments that they know of.
Please send me any information that you wish to share. Many thanks in advance!
Remember that you can subscribe to either the print or the online version of Cat Talk. It's available online through the Kindle Newsstand or through Magzter. Complete ordering information is here.
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 Karen Lane
Ambassador Cats Co-chair
This month has great meaning for many of us in the cat fancy. We celebrate both Passover and Easter, a time for many of us to look to the needs of others. And to look to ourselves and strengthen our resolve.
One thing that makes the A-Cat Program so amazing is our members and their ability to take a good idea and make it better. The A-Cat program has been looking for ways to put CFA into homes and families in many ways, one of our members stopped thinking and put what we do into action in a way of giving from our hearts.
Linda Bartley has been an active A-Cat member for many years and her generous heart will point a new direction for our program and for CFA in the future. Charitable work and giving will not only bring CFA into families but also into their hearts. Linda has been fully committed to a children's charity and this is the second year the A-Cat Program has make our coloring books available for placement in Easter Baskets for so many children in hospitals.
Right: Linda found a way to get crayons donated to go with our coloring book to be inserted into the Easter Baskets for children;
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| Linda and her family and friends helped places 8000 baskets in 18 states and Canada. |
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 The A-Cat Program, all of our members, and CFA could not feel better about being part of this enormous project.
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No matter if or how you celebrate in April, CFA has played a small part of bringing happiness into the lives of some children and their families at this special time of the year. The A-Cat Program cannot thank Linda and her family for giving us, and CFA, the opportunity to help so many. Thank you Linda for your work and effort.
This is the best example of taking a good idea and making it better. Because of Linda and her work on this program, CFA and the A-Cat will continue to look for ways to continue and build upon this kind of project for the future,
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Our program will continue to be committed to reaching out to children in special ways. However you celebrate, Happy Passover and Happy Easter to everyone.
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By Patricia Jacobberger
The Cat Fancy is For the Birds!
Or
Don't Count Your Cornish Until They Hatch!
Once every 7-10 days, I do a search on eBay for "CFA" and "cat related" memorabilia. It's one thing I do to support the CFA Foundation. I've been lucky in the past and figured on March 22, that my good fortune was continuing! I sent Karen Lawrence, Curator of the Feline Historical Museum, the listing for her Yay! or Nay! and to be certain we weren't bidding against each other for the item. She remarked, "I think it's lovely! And, a bargain at the moment!"
 Oh! What WAS it?! Well, it was listed as a "Nice-Art-Deco-Madison-Square-Garden-New-York-1946-Metal-Cat-Show-Trophy" and it was a beauty! The photo proclaimed that at a Madison Square Garden event, the award of "Grand Champion Cornish" had been won by Norman Wood in 1946. I won the auction and soon, the trophy was on the way to Las Vegas!
In the meantime, Karen began looking for provenance - the historical record of the cat's name, the particulars of her/his lineage, the owners, who they were, etc. She started by writing to Nancy Dodds, Breed Council Secretary for the Cornish Rex Breed. Nancy wrote back.
"
It is not a cat," she wrote. Norman Wood must have been a breeder of Cornish hens or chickens. There were no Cornish Rex documented in 1946 and they were not accepted for championship competition until later in the 1960's."
Karen forwarded the email to me. My response? "Bahahahahahahahahaha!"
So, now I have a trophy won by a chicken on the way to my house . . . When it arrived, I looked it over top to bottom hoping to find the word "cat" somewhere. Of course, it wasn't there! I should doubt the learned opinion of our BCS for the Cornish Rex?
So, I wrote to the seller requesting a return and asking for my money back as this was obviously not a cat trophy. And, not wanting to pass by the opportunity to do a little education, I cited three references on the internet to substantiate my case. Never heard back from the her.
Great! Now I have a chicken trophy. I considered, asking Karen if we could polish it up and just fake it but, I knew that was an idea that would crash land. So, I decided to wrap it back up and send it back to the seller to see if I could shame her into returning my money.
Now, there is a reason the Cornish Rex people elected Nancy Dodds as their BCS. She is resourceful and persistent besides knowing a lot about Cornish Rex. In my mailbox the morning of April 1 was an email from Nancy. She wrote,
"Good morning.
I joined a Facebook group for Cornish chickens and posted the trophy information. I got a response and they want the trophy!"
My first response was to want to write her back and remind her it was April Fool's Day but, I resisted and simply wrote back and said,
"LOL . . . I have it! I haven't sent it back yet! Was going to do that today! To who and to where do I send it?!?!"
Nancy wrote to the people on the Cornish Chicken Facebook page for information and gave them my email address. That afternoon, I received the following:
"Pat, I am sending you this email based on information provided to me by Nancy Dodds, who made me aware that you had inadvertently purchased a historical Cornish trophy awarded to Norman Wood in 1946 for his Champion Cornish
Chicken
at Madison Square Garden. Since you were really interested in Cornish cat items, this purchase was made in error. Nancy Dodds reached out to our Cornish chicken group thinking that we may have an interest in this trophy AND WE DO!
"Norman Wood was a key figure in the Standard-bred poultry world in that era and his Cornish chickens were highly regarded. I am President of the International Cornish Breeders Association and I would be very interested in obtaining the Norman Wood trophy as an historical award for our club."
Sam
President, International Cornish Breeders Association
And, there's more! He has provenance! Later, he wrote:
"Thank you so much for this, it is indeed kind of a neat find. While vintage Cornish Rex cat items might not be too common, let me assure you, the vintage poultry items are quite rare finds. As it turns out,
I may have in my personal collection the marked catalog for the 1946 Madison Square Garden poultry show
. I grew up in New Jersey and both of my two older brothers were actually poultry exhibitors at the Madison Square Garden Show in 1948 and 1949."
I couldn't get to the post office quickly enough. The trophy was received in fine shape and Sam wrote to say:
"The trophy arrived here in good shape and it now occupies a spot on my dining room table while I figure out what to do next. I am certain that there is a photograph somewhere of Norman Wood posing at a table with one of his large White Laced Red Cornish males, so I need to find a copy of that to accompany this trophy.
"Thank you again for working with the International Cornish Breeders Association to secure this piece of chicken history for us. Just neat to find it."
So, boys and girls, Norman Wood was the Harrison William Weir of the Cornish Chicken Fancy! Who knew?! And, what's more . . . Cat people helping Chicken people!
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Carmen Johnson-Lawrence, Chair 
Can you believe it? Two weekends left in this show season! Our youth across CFA have been busy this season - from stewarding, clerking, showing their cats, participating in club meeting, giving presentations to other organizations, volunteering at shelters, and assisting in other ways at shows. The activities these youth participate in are far too many to mention! Youth who have had activity this season should be submitting via the Google sheets. If there is not a Google sheet available, or help is needed, please reach out to me. Awards will need to be ordered soon to ensure all awards are ready for Regional Celebrations.
Changes are coming to the Youth Feline Education Program! The following changes were approved by the CFA Board at the February 2019 meeting and will go into effect May 1, 2019 (start of the new show season).
1. Remove all age divisions effective May 1, 2019.
2. Remove point scoring effective May 1, 2019. Each activity regardless of complexity, time involved, program area, etc. will be counted as ONE activity.
3. Remove recognition based on highest scoring within the age divisions regionally and nationally effective May 1, 2019.
Recognition to be based on the total number of activities completed within the three program areas, at 4 different levels.
- Participant (certificate): 1 to 4 activities completed
- Bronze (award): 5 to 20 activities completed
- Silver (award): 21 to 40 activities completed within 2 of the three program areas
- Gold (award): 41 + activities completed within all three program areas.
- JoAnn Cummings Memorial Spotlight Award: criteria to remain the same as approved June 2018
ALL YOUTH will be recognized regardless of the level of participation.
- Participants, Bronze, Silver and Gold presented at Regional Awards Banquets.
- JoAnn Cummings Memorial Spotlight Award being presented at the Annual meeting.
4. Removal of monetary awards at end of season.
Excitement in Pleasanton, CA as our Northwest Region member Abby Bendixen gave a breed presentation at the Crow Canyon show on the Household Pet class!
Her talk resulted in at least one person being excited to show their HHP at the next local show. Abby is a great YFEP ambassador. Abby presented three HHP's in her talk. Pictured is Abby with HHP Tarjae. Photo courtesy of Nancie Dunn.
Safe travels to everyone traveling in these last two weekends of the season!
If you know a youth that is interested in the Youth Feline Education program, you may contact Carmen ,
or reach out directly to your Regional Coordinator! If you have suggestions for our youth program please also reach out to us!
- North Atlantic Region - Lynda Smith & Sandra Polcaro
- Northwest Region - Sande Kay
- Gulf Shore Region - Anne Paul
- Great Lakes Region - Lorna Friemoth & Bethany Colilla
- Southwest Region - Kelsey Friemoth
- Midwest Region - Emily Conaway & Cathy Dunham
- Southern Region - Chandler Bussey & Karen Thomas
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WINN FELINE FOUNDATION
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A list of our donors contributing $100 or more in March is available here
The Winn Feline Foundation Board of Directors March 2019
meeting was held in Chandler, AZ March 14th, 2019. Winn is growing and so many exciting items were on the Agenda for the meeting.
WFF's Grant Review Committee also met in Chandler, AZ the next day (March 15th, 2019). They worked hard and were very pleased to make recommendations to the WFF Board of Directors for approval of over $307,000 in grant awards supporting 16 grants in this cycle. The WFF Board of Directors voted in favor of the recommendations. This is the largest amount awarded and largest number of grants supported to date, so everyone is very happy and proud of the work Winn is doing with the support of its donors, sponsors and volunteers.
Winn Feline Foundation partnered with the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) on two student scholarships
for third- or fourth-year veterinary students enrolled in accredited veterinary colleges or schools in the United States or Canada. The $2,500 awards are based upon academic achievement, financial need, leadership, and dedication to and excellence in the study of feline medicine, health, and welfare.
This year we received 44 applications and they are now being reviewed by our panel of 2 AAFP Board members and 2 Winn Feline Foundation Board members. They are tasked with identifying the 2 best applications and the winners will be announced April 15th, 2019.
Winn is delighted to have been able to partner with TICA and Dr. Elsey's
on the Time Square ad. We think the ad turned out great and are very excited to have this opportunity. Thank you to TICA and Dr. Elsey's for thinking of us.
Planned Giving by George Eigenhauser -
It may
be
several years before the full effect of the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017" can be determined. The Act affects both federal income taxes as well as federal gift and estate taxes. Some popular income tax deductions have been reduced or eliminated. The standard deduction has been increased, which may mean fewer taxpayers will itemize. One income tax deduction which has increased is the charitable deduction. Taxpayers may now deduct charitable contributions of up to 60% of their adjusted gross income, an increase from a cap of 50% in prior years. Changes have been made to the unified gift and estate tax exemption which may reduce the number of estates subject to federal taxation. However, some of the changes are set to expire in 2025. Now is a good time to meet with your estate and tax planner(s) to determine if there are either new tax planning opportunities or tax rules that have been changed by the Act.
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By Kelly Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison
Connecticut Legislature Considers A Bill To Increase Dog Adoption And Licensing Fees While Also Adding Licensing For Cats And Other Domestic Animal Adopted From Shelters
The Connecticut Legislature's Joint Environment Committee is considering a limited scope cat and "other domestic animals" licensing bill, with the latter being undefined. Cat licensing raises several concerns among cat owners including paying for a program they get little benefit from, privacy concerns, and the need for rabies vaccinations (already required by Connecticut state law). Fanciers should note that Raised Senate Bill 999 could be a gateway to all cat licensing in the future. This bill, however, would increase adoption fees and amend Statute 22-338 to include licensing of cats and "other domestic animals" adopted from municipal animal shelters and dog pounds. The bill also provides for differential licensing for sterilized vs. unsterilized animals. However, it seems most cats adopted from a municipal animal shelter would already be sterilized prior to adoption. Fanciers will also find highlights from the testimonial letters of certain groups, both in support and opposition, interesting (hint, most are opposed).
Before getting to the testimonial highlights, it is also important to note that this bill did not come about in the normal fashion. Committee leadership developed raised bills so the committee can vote to have a bill drafted in formal statutory language. A raised bill may be a completely new bill within the committee's authorized subject matter, or the idea could come from a proposed bill but would not be associated with that bill and would have a new bill number.
Testimonial Highlights
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ("strongly supports"): Requires evidence of current rabies vaccination to reduce cats from being a rabies vector - cat licensing laws increase the likelihood that cats will be reunited with their owners - prevents overpopulation and homelessness of the animals. PETA also attached a letter purportedly from the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) supporting cat licensing. It should be noted, however, that NACA sent a testimonial letter opposing both the bill and cat licensing in general. Furthermore, NACA specifically noted that a letter on NACA letterhead in support of the bill and cat licensing did not come from them and to please have it struck from the testimony.
Humane Society of the United States (opposed): Although the Humane Society of the United States supports Senate Bill 997 that concerns dog licensing fees, they oppose S.B. (R) 999 for several reasons. The low rate of sterilization of cats is due to a lack of low cost sterilization services, not a lack of licensing - Connecticut funds its low-income program and feral cat grant programs through licensing fees, adoption fees, and animal welfare license plates but then regularly raids the funds - public compliance with cat licensing will likely be low - costs often match or exceed revenue placing the burden on taxpayers- only 2% of owned cats are reunited with their owners (nationally) - community cat caregivers are penalized for their public service - nearly all community cats are euthanized.
Alley Cat Allies (opposed): Cat licensing laws are unenforceable, expensive, and ineffective - compliance rates are "notoriously" low - increases the number of cars picked up by animal control - directs funds away from low-cost veterinary services - increases the number of cats killed in shelters.
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (opposed): "Other domestic animal" is undefined - this would require licenses for all animals including hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, snakes, lizards and fish.
Connecticut Town Clerks Association (2 members, opposed): The highlights from these letters will be combined: Compliance with dog licenses have been falling for years - expenses already exceed revenue even with the proposed fee increases - S.B. (R) 999 appears to be a gateway bill to all cats and other domestic animals that would result in an incredible burden to insufficiently staffed town clerk offices - difficult to assess animals adopted vs. acquired elsewhere.
National Animal Care & Control Association (opposed): After setting the record straight about testimony that was provided on NACA letterhead was not submitted on their behalf, NACA clarified that it opposed cat licensing programs for many of the reasons given by others. Additional rationale: "trap and remove" programs are ineffective at reducing community cat populations - recommends trap-neuter-return methods - cat licensing has a "chilling effect" on community cat caregivers and places an undue burden on animal shelters and taxpayers.
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| Our friends at Motel 6 would like CFA to continue to receive the 10% discount at participating locations by using the new updated reservation code of OAPHHT. There is a dedicated reservation site for CFA at https://www.motel6.com/en/cp/cat-fanciers-association.html or you may call 800-466-8356. |
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Code: 1000026977
or call 877-999-3223 and ask for the discount code CFA CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION
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Discounts Available to You!
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by Sharon Roy, Regional Director
Region 1 invites all to this year's annual at the Turning Stone Casino.
Something to look forward too when you come...
Turning Stone's must-try
Boozy Milkshakes are among the best in the country. And they are among good company in
Forbes Travel Guide top six tasty treats, which include The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, The Venetian and the Ritz-Carlton.
Forbes
calls the Boozy Milkshakes at Turning Stone's Upstate Tavern "photogenic treats that are certainly worth the caloric splurge."
There's five different flavors to choose from that cost $12.
As the show season draws to a close, we invite you to attend the annual Sign of The Cat Club show in Easton PA. Come celebrate the end of the season with everyone! April 27&28 2019.
To start the new show season...
Seacoast Cat Club Annual show, Concord NH May 4& 5 2019.
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Terri Zittel, Regional Secretary
A busy time here at the Zittel Household. Getting ready for our annual two-day show on April 13 & 14, 2019 in Longview, WA. This is a 10 ring show with lots of really fun extras. We have exhibitor bags planned as well as spectator bags. Our show manager, Sandy Duvall and her grandson, Luke Duvall have designed a terrific bag for the spectators. We also have Jolly Rancher Lolli Pops and Cat Show Guides. For the younger spectators we have CFA Ambassador coloring books and crayons. Anne Marie Burrell, Deena Stevens and Anne Marie's mom have created a spectacular exhibitor bag. And Ariel Bartelmes has done her usual fantastic job of show announcements. Also helping in this area is Maureen Clark and her grand-daughter Kenna Goldsbary. Kenna designs a flyer for the show and passes out the flyers to various venues in the Longview/Kelso area. Maureen handles the local advertising in the Longview Daily News.
This coming weekend, April 6 & 7, 2019, Crow Canyon Cat Club is sponsoring their two day 10 ring show in Pleasanton, CA. It is a terrific show and it has filled this year! We are so pleased for this club. Only sorry that I cannot attend with our show entries coming in and thus cannot be away from home for this weekend.
Obviously this show will be over by the time the newsletter comes out. Sometimes deadlines are not are not convenient.
I do want to recognize two of our stalwart members of the Region 2 team in the upper Northwest. Alice Juan and Mary Fran Marron have been our Master Clerks for almost every show here in Washington and Oregon for many years. This very efficient team can be found working away during the entire show. They are retired Scottish Fold exhibitors and breeders that have found a special place in our hobby. They do a fabulous job and we are so dependent on their efforts. Below is a picture of them at the "Betty" show in Portland, OR on March 9 & 10.
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| by Leesa Altschul
IMPORTANT! Kathy Black needs "On the Road" pictures for the Regional Awards Banquet slideshow!! This is always a crowd pleaser at the Banquet (June 15th) but we need your contributions to make this happen. Please send your photos to Kathy at Kathy.Black@Yahoo.com .
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Terri & Mike Cassiday
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On March 16-17, Ozark Cat Fanciers in Mesquite, TX, had their cat show.
WOW What a great show it was. This was a new show hall for Ozark and it worked out great being a hotel & show hall together. There was plenty of room inside the show hall that the benching rows and judging areas had extra room which accommodated the great gate too. We had over 500 people visit the show even though it was spring break for the area which meant many people were out of town on vacation.
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Patsy Tokoi and Kathy Black costume contest winner!
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Talk about FUN - there was also a hilarious costume contest held both Saturday and Sunday. Kathy Black judged the contest on Saturday and Brian Pearson judged on Sunday and they did an excellent job getting the enthralled visitors (and exhibitors) to enjoy the contests! Patsy Tokoi with her neutered male Oriental Shorthair, who was dressed like a girl, won the contest on Saturday. The costume contests were such a hit and had everyone cheering for their favorite cat!
We also had some grand parties, which were fun and the visitors were also invited to partake in the cake and goodies too. They seemed to enjoy the show as
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Vendor/Exhibitor Sherri Kerns |
well.
This show also had 12 vendors which was fantastic!
Way to go Dwight Dow,
who was in charge of vendors. The vendors also had a great show. We also had a couple of new exhibitors at the show.
It was great how everyone helped them out as they had plenty of questions. We also hosted 2 rescue groups at the show and they adopted a lot of kittens and cats out to their forever homes! We love supporting rescue groups. There was also an extensive raffle that Cheryl Dorrell and Carol Booth worked on. Each spectator was given a free raffle ticket when they paid for their spectator ticket. We had lots of great prizes and happy winners at the show.
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Tara, Diane, Harold Bourgeois
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On March 30, Greater Baton Rouge Cat Club had their show in Gonzales, LA.
What a great show we had!!! Great Cajun food, southern hospitality, great raffle, etc. We also had a tremendous gate. The Jean Bassett Memorial Awards were giving out to the highest scoring cats in HHPs, Kittens, Alters, and Championship groups. Congratulations to the highest scoring cats at the Greater Baton Rouge Show in Gonzales, LA:
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Jean Bassett Award - Best of the Best
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- Best HHP - Chat Noire (black) owned by Kenneth & Tammy Blanchard
- Best Kitten -Santacats Check Meowt of Xpressions - Ragamuffin owned by Terri & Mike Cassiday
- Best Alter - CH, GP, RW Ri-Kar Katts Aharon of Angelforest - Norwegian Forest Cat owned by Leah & Dwight Dow
- Best Cat - GR Woodspirits Halo - Persian owned by Sherri Humphreys
On April 6, Oklahoma City Cat Club, Inc. in Norman, OK, had their cat show.
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People's Choice Award - GC Lapcats Tobias Macnifico (Cathy Johannes)
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This show had great publicity and the gate reflected it too. The gate was almost 3x what was their normal gate average. That is a huge improvement! They also had a special award for the "Fan Favorite" cat and the winner was a Main Coon, GC Lapcats Tobias Macnifico, owned by Cathy Johannes. They also had special awards for the HHP categories. The owners really enjoyed these awards. The highest scoring HHP was a shelter cat and it found it's forever home at the show! It went home with it's new owners!
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Carol Booth granding Warren's last Persian
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Be sure to mark your calendar for these upcoming Region 3 shows:
- April 13-14: Foot of the Rockies Cat Club. Loveland, CO
- April 20: North Texas Cat Club. Mesquite, TX.
- April 21: Fort Worth Cat Club. Mesquite, TX.
- June 15-16: Gulf Shore Regional, Mesquite,TX .
HELP THE REGION by supporting the Honey-Baked Ham fundraiser. Go to this link and purchase a gift card. The Gulf Shore Region will get 20% of the proceeds to put towards our 2021 Annual in Houston, Texas. We need your support!
The season ending Golf Shore Regional Banquet will be held at the Hampton Inn/Mesquite Convention Center, Mesquite, TX on June 15, 2019. We want all of you to attend as we are planning a night full of celebration for you. Here is the reservation block link to make your room reservations at the Hampton. Room rate is $109 1-king or 2-double beds (1-4 people) or $119 for a suite. Book by May 24th to reserve your room!
Are you anticipating a Regional Win, Grand of Distinction, Breed Award, Grand Parade, etc? If so,
start looking through your pictures and email them to Leesa Altschul at Photos4GSR@gmail.com . If you are getting a plaque, the photo need to be a minimum of 300 dpi resolution. Helmi will be at the upcoming Mesquite show for any last minute pictures!
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by John Colilla, Regional Director
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by Howard Webster, Regional Director
It has been a rough couple of months in the Southwest Region. We have lost two people within the last month or so. Both breeders had been in the cat fancy for years, and their loss will be truly felt.
First, we lost Bruce Isenberg. Bruce and Donna were pillars in the fancy for decades. Catsafrats Cattery was well known for Grand Champions, Regional and National winners. Bruce will be sorely missed.
More recently, we lost Susan James of Sydsu Cattery. She was a breeder of Orientals with her partner, Sydneye, and Claudia La Grippe. Her sudden death was a shock to the fancy.
Unfortunately, this is becoming more commonplace as we all age.
We need to take this time and reflect on just where, as a hobby, we are going. Each year, our breeders/exhibitors get older, and the show-producing clubs are having a hard time putting on shows. They don't have the younger people to help, but what are we, as an organization, doing about it?
It is not a big fancy program to drum up new exhibitors. It is us doing it ourselves, reaching out to the spectators, the kitten buyers, and the people who say, "Wow, that looks like fun! How do I go about doing this?"
I had a breeder talk to me this last week about this problem, and she asked what CFA could do to change this direction. I told her CFA can do some things, but it all lies with each and every one of us who go to the shows, register and sell cats to the public.
We have programs in place, but if we don't tell people, or steer people to them, it will not happen. Our Newbie coordinator once said, "People come to make new friends and spend time with people who like and enjoy cats like they do. It's expensive, and they can spend their money doing other things if they are not having fun, or feeling welcome." We need to make them feel welcome every time we smile, speak, and introduce ourselves. We are CFA's ambassador to the public, and we can make the difference!
Don't forget the Los Vegas Show at the end of the month! Go to this website, and get all the information you need to have a great show! It's filling up rapidly, so get your registrations in for our final show of the season! Where else can you go and have a show hotel and show in the same place?
https://www.cfasouthwest.org/
Remember to use our affiliate program when you are shopping! You're buying the stuff anyway, so you might as well help CFA!
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by Mary Auth, Regional Director
We have had two really interesting shows in the Midwest Region since the last newsletter.
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Things do look a little different at an ACFA show. Here Murlene Priest, judge and president of ACFA, judges a Toybob, which are not fully accepted for championship in ACFA. In May, Toybobs will begin being shown in CFA as a Miscellaneous breed. In the background are two golden British Shorthairs that are being shown for acceptance in ACFA.
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On the March 23-24 weekend, we had our first (of two) in-conjunction shows with ACFA. The CFA club(s) held their show on Saturday, sharing resources like cages, judging stands and publicity. Brian Pearson's Tornado Alley and Cats Kansas City hosted the show. It was a phenomenal success for both days, with publicity being driven by Facebook posts. In fact, the Saturday gate was more than all previous March shows combined. Several CFA exhibitors stayed on and exhibited at the ACFA show, but it was lopsided, as more ACFA exhibitors showed at the CFA show. Murlene Priest, President of ACFA, was in attendance as a vendor on Saturday and officiated as a judge on Sunday.
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Clerk Holly Mueller takes the COWS theme seriously by donning a special hat for the show.
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The Cats of Wisconsin show in early March was also a huge success with the gate - again using social media to promote the show. COWS (as the club is affectionately known) always puts on a fun show. Cary Plummer was ringing the cow bell throughout the one-day show. Every exhibitor who enters early gets an extra chance at the "cow cash", which has proven to be an effective incentive. Selma Kessler won the $100 envelope. The club skillfully uses the COWS theme throughout their rosettes and decorations, which contribute to a relaxed atmosphere and light atmosphere and a huge amount of fun. The raffle is also a draw at the show.
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The COWS show displayed and made available lots of CFA materials.
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Valori Trantanella always brings fresh cheese curds to the show from Ellsworth, Wisconsin, the cheese curd capital of the world. The curds are so fresh, they squeak on your teeth.
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Next up, the region is playing host to our second in-conjunction show with ACFA in Fremont Nebraska on May 19. This time the CFA show is on Sunday and despite what you are hearing, Fremont is recovering from the flooding and surprise blizzard that took place in March. The show is 30 miles west of Omaha and we are expecting a good gate despite the size of Fremont.
Let's not forget about the end of season show - America's Heartland being held in Springfield on April 27-28. Don't be confused when you see calls of entries from Catn on the Fox, which is the official licensing show, since America's Heartland is a collection of Midwest Region clubs that joined together to have a year-end show.
The regional awards show and banquet will be held June 1-2 in Bloomington, Illinois. Check out the Midwest Region web site for details:
www.cfamidwest.org
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by Kenny Currle, Regional Director
Plans are coming together for the regional awards show and banquet June 22-23 in Timonium, MD.
Details as they are finalized will be on the regional website.
We know that Southern Region exhibitors have a lot of friends throughout CFA. Every year, we receive questions from folks wanting to honor their friends' wins. We have you covered! Online sponsorship for all awards are now on the Southern Region website. All things Regional Awards Banquet and Awards show is under the "Southern Stars" tab in the menu.
Recent Shows
Tennessee Valley Cat Fanciers
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Teresa Sweeney
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The 42nd annual Tennessee Valley Cat Fanciers, Inc., show in Knoxville TN on March 23-24 was a rousing success, with a large number of entries (204) to include 34 household pets, and very competitive classes in championship and premiership. The format was 10 rings to include 3 SSPs in championship, 2 SSPs in premiership and kittens in addition to 3 SP rings.
As always, there were many wonderful vendors with terrific merchandise. The club hosted 10 rescue organizations with adoptable kitties, sponsored 6 entries into the HHP class, and almost 20 cats were adopted out or at least paperwork processed to get those kitties a new forever home.
Left: Vicki Nye with Lorna Friemoth and Lucy Gallian
The agility ring was popular also. The gate was nearly 1100 spectators on Saturday and reached nearly 2000 for the weekend in spite of the beautiful springtime weather.
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Midlantic Persian & Himalayan Fanciers
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| Catherine McNeese,Gary Veach, Kevin Ilone |
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Midlantic Persian & Himalayan Fanciers held an in-conjunction show with TICA Vision Cat Club March 30-31 in Raleigh, NC. Our weekend theme was Claddagh Cats and we decorated with the Irish symbol representing love, loyalty and friendship. 38 exhibitors participated in both shows and entered 76 cats in both CFA & TICA. Several of the Sunday TICA show judges showed Saturday in the CFA Show and TICA judges manned the CFA show gate. An exceptionally large gate came to visit the show due to extensive Facebook and local newspaper advertising.
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Four Japanese Bobtails finaled in Gary Veach's SH Specialty |
The CFA show featured Summit judging for the Selkirk Rex breed in 3 Allbreed rings, with special finals; 14 & 17 Selkirk kittens, whole and altered cats were entered in one or both shows. Selkirk exhibitors came from Pacific Northwest states, CA, Nova Scotia, NC, TN & FL.
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| Agility winners on Saturday |
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Club dinners allowed
judges from both associations to meet and interact with each other.
CFA Agility chairperson and ringmaster, Jill Archibald, held Agility at both shows, CFA scored on on Saturday and for fun & training on Sunday. 21 cats participated Saturday & 11 Sunday. The 5 fastest timed runs received awards each day. Jill taught spectators how to do agility usIng her own cats for demonstration.
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New exhibitor Judy Trunzo with Judge Don Williams after her kittens made his HHP final
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21 Household Pets participated Saturday. One of the first time exhibitors, Judy Trunzo from FL, had brother & sister kittens who showed in both shows and learned to run agility.
We have some great shows coming up in the Southern Region!
- April 20 - Mad Catters - Frederick, MD
- May 4 - Rebel Rousers - Lawrenceville, GA
- May 5 - That's My Point CF - Lawrenceville, GA
- June 1-2 - New Vision CC - Plant City, FL
- June 1-2 - Colonial Anapolis CC - Parkville, MD
- June 22-23 - Southern Regional - Timonium, MD
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Kayoko Koizumi, Regional Director
No report this month |
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by Michael Schleissner, Regional Director
Show Scheduling Europe
With the end of the 2018/2019 CFA show season our regional show scheduler Oscar Silva Sanchez will quit his job. I want to say thank for doing a wonderful job during the whole season.
I'm also proud to announce our new show scheduler, starting his work on May 1st 2019, is Romain Attard. I'm very thankful that he offered taking over this not-so-easy job. You can reach Romain at:
Again, thanks Oscar and Romain.
Guest Judges' Evaluations
During the last couple of weeks I was copied on emails going out from our CFA International guest judging administrator to several clubs in our region. I just want to remind the clubs using guest judges to send the guest judges evaluations right in time.
Spotlight Award / Exhibitor of the Year - Europe
We, the European Region , is looking for a person who deserves this award. Would love to have your input on this during the next days, so that there is enough time to prepare this very important award in time for our regional awards banquet. If you send your proposal don't forget to make a short description why exactly this person is the right one.
First CFA Show in Perpignan, France
March 9-10
submitted by Frederic Goedert
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| Frederic Goedert and Kit Fung with 2 Khao Mahnees |
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The first CFA show held in Perpignan, France, took place on March 9 & 10, 2019. Nestled between land and sea at the foot of the Pyrenees, this Catalan city is located near the Spanish border.
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Lorraine Rivard |
More than 130 cats from all over Spain and France, but also from Italy and Portugal came to be admired by the 6 invited judges. The judges themselves also came a long way; Kit Fung and Douglas Myers came from Asia while Dennis Ganoe and Lorraine Rivard had crossed the Atlantic from the USA and Canada.
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| Fabrice Calmès |
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Mr. Fabrice Calmès, president of the LOOF (French National Cat Registry), was part of this jury as a guest judge. Thanks to him and our President and our Regional Director Michael Schleissner, agreements have recently been signed in between the two associations to allow them to hold in conjunction shows and to share their judges and their experience with the feline world.
The French CFA-affiliated club Cat-H-Art which organized this event is working to make CFA accessible to more French and Spanish breeders by helping them and supporting them in their efforts to join a different system with a great International network.
Thanks to these efforts, nearly 25 new breeders were able to join the most experienced French, Catalan or Spanish breeders. Nearly 40 TRN were given to their cats to allow them to compete with CFA cats, and nearly twenty have already registered them permanently! This requires a great deal of logistics from both the Entry Clerk and the Central Office to submit the pedigrees of the other associations.
For the sake of promoting our association, especially in terms of breeds, Khao Manee, Lykoi and even 5 ToyBobs were presented to the judges 
As the cat part of a Pet Fair, it was a great success with nearly 20,000 visitors and for the exhibitors who shared their passion for the cats with new faces. More exhibitions are expected to join with the other shows planed soon in France, with Nice on April 27 & 28 and and Tarbes on May 18 & 19. This last event will offer an all Super Specialties' Rings in Championship.
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Have a question or a comment about the CFA Newsletter?
Feel free to contact me at
tkeiger@cfa.org
Thank you for being a subscriber!
Teresa Keiger
CFA Newsletter Editor
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