Our featured cat this month is CFA's Best Cat in Premiershihp Regions 1-9 GC, GP, NW, AW PERZOT PANDORA OF ENVYPURRS, a tortoiseshell Exotic spay.

From time to time, I will bring you my perspective on specific topics. These are my thoughts-just my personal thoughts-about things we have in common. In the October edition of Cat Talk, I will share my thoughts on “CFA ~ The Core and More.”

Until then, be kind to one another,

Rich

 Allbreed Judge Wain Harding effective June 18, 2022

After decades of judging, Wain has decided to hang up his spray bottle.

Wain registered Bastis cattery in 1971. He initially bred Egyptian Maus and quickly added Abyssinians and later Persians. Wain was instrumental in getting the Egyptian Mau breed accepted by CFA and wrote the breed standard at that time. He was also the author of The Egyptian Mau in America, article Jan/Feb 1972 CATS Magazine. He left a legacy as an extremely successful Aby breeder. He bred numerous grands as well as Regional and National winners. He mentored many of our successful Aby breeders and he certainly made his mark on that breed.

Wain was accepted into CFA’s judging program in 1979. He very quickly became one of our most popular and respected judges. He judged all over the world. He thoroughly enjoyed traveling to foreign countries and helped many of our judges adapt to foreign cultures and led sight-seeing tours for them. He was truly a tremendous ambassador for CFA. Wain judged almost every CFA International Cat Show. Judges for that show are selected by our clubs so it was no small accomplishment to be among the judges with the most votes so consistently from one year to the next. Wain also trained many of today’s judges. One after another commented positively on their training experiences with him.

Wain’s contributions to CFA are many. He and (and Pam DelaBar) judged the first CFA show in China and helped the fledgling Chinese cat fancy become such as success. CFA remains the gold standard for cat organizations in China. Wain served CFA as a judging program committee member, and CFA Co-Chair International Committee-China. He continues to serve CFA as the co-Chair of the ID – China. Wain was the recipient of CFA Judges Spotlight Award 2021. In 1984-1985 he organized the NW Region and Annual Judges Workshop, and was also on the 2006 Reno Annual Committee.

We are fortunate to have had Wain as a judge for so many years and even after his retirement to have him continue to serve CFA with his understanding of CFA in China. CFA Allbreed Judge Wain Harding was awarded Judge Emeritus status – Congratulations and well- deserved Wain!

Associate Judge Resignation: Mia Johan effective July 31, 2022

Associate Judge Resignation: Johan Arief effective July 31, 2022

Associate Judge Resignation: Fadly Fuad effective July 31, 2022

Laura Gregory to Approval Pending Longhair – 1st Specialty

Congratulations to Laura on a job well done!

Anne Mathis is developing a practical clerking test for those applicants that do not have a clerking license. These tests will be sent to applicants after the closing of the application process August 31, 2022.

Anne Mathis, with the help of Bob Zenda, is also developing a PowerPoint presentation for associate training that deals with CFA Judging Program and rules. This will become part of the training that the associate trainees view and discuss.

Welcome to Teresa Sweeney the head of our new recruitment team! Team consists of Loretta Baugh (Education) and Kathi Hoos (Applications)

Participating Instructors: Melanie Morgan, Barbara Jaeger, Sharon Roy

19 Active participants, handled between 1 and 4 breeds in one-on-one sessions over two days of the show. 19 breeds were handled in 51 handling sessions over the two days. On average we tried to have three examples of a breed available for each session. This was not always possible, but the almost all of the classes had at least two cats and some had four.

Next test session Belgium September 17, 2022

The Next CFA Breed Awareness and Orientation School (BAOS) will be held October 7, 8 and 9, 2022 on-line via the Zoom platform. The flyer and registration information will be available soon. This school is for individuals who are interested in applying to the CFA Judging Program or just anyone interested in learning more about CFA and our breeds. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Barbara.jaeger911@gmail.com or call me at 602-692-6852.

At their 2-Aug-2022 meeting, the board lowered the point requirements for grands in mainland China for the 2022-2023 season. The new requirements are 175 points for grand champion and 50 points for grand premier.

Also at the meeting, the board changed the definition of smoking to include e-cigarettes and vaping, effective immediately.

The CFA website has an addendum to the show rules here: https://cfa.org/cfa-manuals/

Introducing Felix Cat Insurance 

Felix is now the Cat Fanciers’ Association exclusive pet insurance partner.*

• Coming Soon: Benefits and perks tailored specifically for breeders!

Click here to learn more and get a custom, no-obligation quote or call 1-866-FELIX-09 (1-866-335-4909).

Purr-tect your feline family members with Felix!

Sheri Shaffer

CFA's Youth Feline Education Program was honored to recognize our youth who spent this past season earning recognition for their achievements. The Youth Feline Education Program provides the opportunity for youth to foster their personal growth and development concerning feline interests, and to create a sense of community for youth through various activities.

If you know a youth who may be interested in our program, please reach out to Sheri Shaffer, CFA Youth Feline Education Program Chair, at sherilyn.shaffer@pchas.org, or (469)-952-9336. The only requirement we ask is an interest in cats.

Massachusetts' cat fanciers can breathe a little easier with the end of the 2022 legislative session. The adjournment halted progress on Senate Bill 2994 , which would have added cats to the state commercial breeder licensing law. Current law requires a license for "commercial [dog] breeding kennels" engaged in the business of breeding animals for sale to wholesalers. This substitute bill for SB 1322 (see What's Hot 10/2021 ) removed "commercial" from the proposed “breeder kennel” definition and expanded who was covered. Like SB 1322, it required anyone with five or more intact cats or dogs who sold directly to the pet owner to be state licensed in addition to those selling to pet stores or brokers. Senate Bill 2994 would have authorized the Department of Agriculture Resources to promulgate rules covering licensees' inspections, care, facility requirements, and various other topics. And it provided that 25 citizens of a city or town may file a petition for a hearing with local officials if they are unreasonably "aggrieved or annoyed" by a nuisance animal or a facility’s conditions. Senators voted for SB 2994 on July 11. But as the adjournment date of July 31 approached, progress stalled in the House, killing it for this legislative session. However, like bad pennies, these failed bills may see new life in the future.

What's Hot………… No Writ of Habeas Corpus for Animals Says New York High Court

Please report legislation happenings in your area to the Legislative Group – legislation@cfa.org

Visit the CFALegislativeNews Facebook page and the CFA Legislative Group Blog to see the current legislative news.

“Health Breakthroughs for Every Cat: FIP and Beyond” was a resounding success! Over 450 people from 20 plus countries attended, both in-person and virtually. A mixture of veterinary professionals, shelter/rescue professionals and volunteers, cat fanciers, and pet cat owners heard from noted feline experts on topics including FIP, shelter medicine, and unowned cat populations, along with information about feline osteoarthritis and pain managements, and hospice/end of life care. The event concluded with the “Fabulous Feline Fête, with dinner, dancing, a silent auction fundraiser, and awards presented to 5 individuals who have been instrumental in the fight against Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP).

EveryCat also thanks the generous sponsors who helped make this symposium possible:

Zoetis Animal Health; IDEXX; Anivive Lifesciences; Royal Canin; Antech; Boehringer Engelheim Animal Health; Basepaws; Dr. Elsey’s; ZenByCat; People, Pets & Vets; TICA; and The Cat Fanciers’ Association.

EveryCat Health Foundation has big plans for the first weekend in October! Keep an eye out for more information in our upcoming newsletter and our social media channels!

Not getting the EveryCat Monthly Newsletter? Sign up to have it delivered right to your inbox at

Charitable trusts can be an important part of estate planning for many taxpayers. There are several types of charitable trust, among the most common are charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts. With charitable remainder trusts you place assets into an irrevocable trust. The beneficiary (such as you and/or your spouse) receives income during the term of the trust. At the end of the trust the “remainder” is given to charity. A charitable remainder trust may provide a cash stream during the term of the trust, while providing you with a current income tax deduction when you fund the trust, based on a calculation of the value of the remainder given to charity. Placing highly appreciated assets into the trust may avoid capital gains tax as well. On the other hand, with a charitable lead trust the situation is reversed. Charitable lead trusts give the charity income up front (in the “lead”) with the remainder back to non-charitable beneficiaries. This can provide a regular payment to the charities of your choice. It may also provide benefits such as current income tax deductions or estate or gift tax savings on assets ultimately passed to the remainder beneficiaries. Please consult your estate planning professional to determine if a charitable trust is right for you.

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 CPOAPHHT. There is a dedicated reservation site for CFA at www.motel6.com/en/cp/cfa.html or you may call 800-466-8356.

Wain Harding has resigned from the CFA judging program. As an allbreed judge Wain has been very popular with the exhibitors and the cats not only in our region but in all of CFA. Wain is still involved with CFA and will chair the China region with John Colilla. We in region 2 hope for continued improvement with Wain’s health and wish him the very best.

The Triple Crown Cat Fanciers put on an amazing show In Lexington, Kentucky July 9-10. The show was held at the Lexington Ice Center, where there was plenty of space for everyone. They had an amazing raffle table and so many different vendors with a little of something for everyone, both human and cat. Including cat trees, toys, color street nails, Aroma Bath and Body to name a few. The gate was absolutely fantastic, with tons of exited spectators. Thanks to Bethany Colilla for helping judge both the best cat costume contest, as well as a best stuffed animal contest which everyone seemed to really enjoy. Best cat costume won a bag of goodies, and best stuffed animal won gift certificates for ice cream. There was a food truck called the Swinery who served up some delicious BBQ.

As always there was no shortage of stunning kittens and cats, who were all lovingly handled by our awesome judges. Best kitten, Champion, Premier and HHP in show were all awarded a rosette and trophy. A huge congrats to Sue Swaim for best kitten, Helen Sevig for best Champion, Cynthia Lewis for best Premier and Donna Zimmerman for best HHP! Thank you so much to the club and all who did their part to make this show so fun and successful!! It was truly a wonderful time for all!

Cleveland Persian Society celebrated 104 years as a show-producing club this weekend in Medina, Ohio July 23-24 this weekend. The show had amazing vendors, a delicious food truck and amazing gate. When the club found out the night before that the show hall was unfortunately not air conditioned, as promised, they didn’t give up. They could have given up, but instead they pulled together to try to make the show as comfortable as possible for all exhibitors. They brought in large commercial fans and even allowed those showing long haired cats to be benched in a cooler area if needed. Everyone seemed to have a lovely time and we even got a special visit from Gene Darrah! Thank you to all the exhibitors who supported the show and to all the judges who handled the cats with care. A huge shoutout again to the club for going above and beyond to help turn lemons into lemonade!

Midwest Tabby Fanciers put on a wonderful show in Michigan August 5, 2022! Before the show started all the exhibitors were given a beehive paper and all of the spectators were given bee stickers. At the end of the day the top 3 exhibitors who received the most stickers won a rosette! What a fun way to get the spectators involved in the show! Congrats to those who got the most stickers! A wonderful lunch was brought in for all the judges, clerks and stewards, and a huge thank you to Paul and Wendy Goldman for bringing in delicious smoothies from Tropical Smoothie Cafe for all of the exhibitors! Even though the show was only one day, there was no shortage of beautiful cats!

Thank you to all the exhibitors who came out to support the show. The judges all got a beautiful ceramic beehive to go home with as a thank you for handling all our babies with such love. Thank you to the club and all its members for all their hard work in making this show a successful and fun one!

The Midwest Region has totally enjoyed its support of the region’s 4-H clubs this summer. In addition to Allene Keating and Brian Pearson who judged 4-H in early July in Missouri, regional director Cathy Dunham judged 4-H cats in Winchester, Illinois, on July 27th, where she met a lot of wonderful kids who presented their cats in the judging ring. Our judges came up with extra categories to add to Presentation and Sportsmanship, the 4-H requirements, which include Best Speech Presentation and Best Eyes. Continuing their creativity, Allene Keating recycles her CFA ribbons to make ribbons for the 4-H cat lovers and their audience.

Taking to heart the Youth Feline Education Program, junior exhibitor Cloud Vandygriff is not only showing his cat, but is also raising funds to support the Meow Mobile in Springfield, Illinois. A budding and award-winning artist, Cloud has put up for auction several paintings. To date, $340 has been raised in support of the rescue and adoption goals of the Sangamon Animal Control

To bid on his art, please go here. Bids will be accepted through August 31, 2022.

Saturday, August 6th found members of the Midwest TGIF Club hosting a wonderfully attended show at the gorgeous facilities in Purina Farms, Gray Summit, Missouri, just outside St Louis. This facility was built specifically for training and showing both dogs and cats. The club enjoyed a sizeable gate with a number of school age children who sat in rings while judges explained the judging process. A lot of fun was had by all.

The Sunday, August 7th show was presented by the National Birman Fanciers, and the gate was well over one-thousand visitors! Though difficult to get to rings and back to benching, it was amazing to visit with so many people in one day! The NBF turned out a large number of cats to be judged, and the height of excitement was their costume contest which had the gate and exhibitors yelling in support of their favorite costumed feline.

The Midwest Region extends their deepest sympathy, love, heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Cathy Dunham and her family on the passing of hubby, Roger. He was a gentleman, and a very gentle man whose presence will be missed greatly.

The Global Egyptian Mau Society (GEMS) held their show in Richmond, VA on July 30. The show featured an Egyptian Mau breed summit with judges judging all cats in the breed at the beginning of the show. It also featured a breed education ring. In the evening they held a program featuring two topics: color and contrast in the Egyptian Mau and emergency planning for your cats.

Entry requirements for many countries in Asia where we traditionally have shows continue to be relaxed for fully vaccinated travelers from the USA, Europe and Japan, allowing CFA activities to gradually return to “normalcy”. Coupled with the ability of our CFA Associate Specialty Judges in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to travel in and between those countries to judge our CFA shows, the show calendar is very active with one or two shows scheduled every weekend.

In addition to a full show schedule, this is traditionally the time of year when the International Division Award Banquets are held. On July 24th Gritthanut Srikritsanaruk “Jay” and his Central Breed Cat Club team organized and hosted an incredible event honoring the achievements of cats from Malaysia and Thailand during the 2021-2022 show season. Held in a spectacular venue at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Bangkok, everything was first rate, including magnificent floral arrangements, fabulous trophies and rosettes, an outstanding menu, a moving tribute in memory of Douglas Myers and contemporary entertainment provided by two colorful ladies throughout the evening.

The Cat Fanciers of Korea has already licensed their next show in Goyang-si, South Korea on October 30th and is getting the ball rolling again in Singapore by lending their show license for a show there on October 15th.

Feel free to contact me at  tkeiger@cfa.org