Bald Baby Kitten Grooming at 8 Weeks

Baby Kitty In A Box

June Cat Fancy Magazine

Be sure to pick up the June issue of Cat Fancy Magazine.  It will probably come out at the end of May.  You will want to have it for Summer vacation reading by the poolside.  It will feature all the cool hairless breeds, including the Peterbald. 
We have a box ad with a photo of my favorite boy, CH CowboyClaws Boot Hill Bandit, aka Walkie.  The photo was taken by Helmi, who is the best cat photographer and who has her photos published throughout the world in books, magazines, online, etc for decades.  We were so honored that she allowed our cats to come to her studio for photos.
This photo is by Helmi for our ad:

Then Helmi just told me yesterday that she has a full page photo inside the Cat Fancy Magazine for June of CH Gatika Codeli For Cowboy Claws, our import from Russia.  We are so excited that Gatika will be a Pin Up Girl!!  It's really awesome that the Peterbald is getting recognition in Cat Fancy Magazine.
Here is the Photo by Helmi for Cat Fancy in June:

Gatika's mother and sister/littermate are both top Award winning super stars in Russia with WCF cat association.  So we are really happy for Gatika that she can be a Cat Fancy super star model as her achievement. 

This is the best thing that has every happened for us!  We will surely rip out the page and pin it on the wall so we can smile every time we walk by her photo! Okay, we do have the photo in a frame!  Helmi has such a big heart to give Gatika this opportunity!!

The other hairless breeds will also be featured in the Magazine so it should be a very interesting issue about the most exotic and desired breeds.  You will want to get your copy as soon as it hits the news stands because this will sell out fast for Summer vacation browsing. And I'm not getting paid for saying this either!!

 

 

Peterbald Cat in Diaper

 

  Finally I've hit upon a great pair of stud pants for my Peterbald cat, Walkie, who methodically sprays down the room to attract the girls.  He's already attractive so he doesn't need to leave all those calling cards.  Also he hollers fabulously day and night whenever there is the slightest whif of a girl in heat.  So they know what his intentions are, even without the smelly messages.

But we don't want Walkie to mate the wrong cat at the wrong time or to stink up the house.  Sooo we finally decided on Pampers human baby diapers with a hole for the tail and duct tape around the top to keep him from pulling it off.  Duct tape is good for everything it seems.

 With his diaper on, he can move freely about the house and participate in more of the home activities.  He was bottle raised as an only kitten, so he hasn't learned that he's a cat yet.

 

 They all like to lay in the sun in front of the wall of windows facing the prairie and further out, the cows. Walkie has always loved laying on the shelves of the cat tree in the sun.  See how pretty his blue eyes are?  It's that deep blue color that the pointed cats have, not the light blue color.  And the shape of his eyes are almost almond, as the Standard calls for, not the big round or oval eyes that you sometimes see. (Well, someone is always changing the Standard somehow so I'm referring to the original Standard that the breed group voted in when accepted to Championship status)  Some Peterbald do not like to keep their eyes all the way open, but not Walkie, he doesn't want to miss a thing!!

 Walkie was born with hair but had a really good hair losing property so that now he looks hairless except for his feet and muzzle. His body feels so soft and smooth, exactly the coat that  I love the most.  Walkie has many features that are hard to maintain in the Peterbald, and that differentiate the Peterbald from other breeds.  He is really valuable to our Peterbald development as well as being our big baby!

He has not had a chance to mate because his younger half brother, Outlaw, has the girls fighting over him.  You just never know what it is about a certain cat that makes the others think he is the top cat. Okay, I will admit that Outlaw is a beautiful boy also and I can see why the girls would fight over him!!

Walkie says "Can you take my diaper off now, Mom, so I can get in one of the litter boxes?"  He likes to use the Litter Robot but if it's busy, there's a Rubbermaid Storage Box with a big hole cut out in the middle that is his second favorite litter box.

A New Sweatshirt for the Peterbald

Alibi outgrew her old sweatshirt so I made her a new one.  This one has feathers, ribbon and a spot of fake fur on the back.  We like to watch her groom the feathers to try to make them lay down flat and she thinks she's special in this new sweatshirt.  Already the feathers have broken halfway off but she will outgrow this sweatshirt soon and it's almost Springtime anyway. 

Eventually I will get making sweatshirts and stud pants for long thin hairless cats figured out. But here's a sweatshirt I made way too big and gave to a neighbor's dog.  I like these reversable sweatshirts that are boy colors on one side and girl colors on the other.  That way they are more versatile.

Wow you can see how windy it is here when you live on the prarie and have no trees.

 

Here's the back of Outlaw's stud pants with the big mousie attached to them. Pretty funny to watch them play with the toys on their clothes.

 

 Laura is just wearing flannel instead of fleece on this day that wasn't as cool.  We probably have more flannel weather than fleece weather.  Laura is so hairless that she often wears shirts year round.

 

 

Peterbald Kitten Playing With Pipecleaner

The link is:

http://youtu.be/8jUua3L6pWk">http://youtu.be/8jUua3L6pWk

Scrapper is probably going to be available after her first litter of kittens. It would be great if we could coordinate her spay with the end of the State year in August so that she will not count as one of our adult female cats next year. She is important to us because she is a unique bloodline on her mother's side that we otherwise would not have. Because the Peterbald are such a new breed, and significant inbreeding was required to start the breed from the one hair-losing cat found on the streets of Russia, it is important for the health and genetics to develop as wide a range of bloodlines as possible.

However, our program is also limited by the State laws so we are trying to develop the Peterbald within those restrictions. In the past,we usually waited until our cats were mature adults, around 18 months of age, before allowing them to breed. The State law counts female kittens as adult cats when they are 6 months old. Therefore we can't wait for our cats to achieve the level of maturity we feel is in their best interest. We must allow them to mate when they are younger so that our count stays below the limit. We also must pet out the cat as soon as she's had a litter instead of waiting to be sure her kitten is going to be able to actually replace her.

When you work with a new breed that has so much inbreeding to begin with and then has the Oriental Shorthair/Siamese as the outcross cat(a breed with significant problems with the deadly disease, amyloidosis), you can have kittens that look great but as adults end up to not be what you were hoping for. So you would normally keep the mother until you were sure the kitten worked out and if the kitten did not achieve expectations, you would pet the kitten out and keep the mother. So now I must make choices and decisions that are not in the best interest of developing the Peterbald breed.

There are not many Peterbald breeders who have been working to develop the breed here in the USA. Usually the Peterbald breeders like to sell kittens for profit or they like to show for awards as their main goal. The Peterbald breeders usually come and go within a few years anyway. So my goal, of breeding to preserve and develop the Peterbald, is really why I've been around for so long...the longest actually!! With a new breed, as complicated as this one is, it requires more attention to pedigrees and development, to continue to produce healthy kittens.

The brush coat Peterbald do not shed as much as a regular cat and they have the wonderful people-oriented personality the Peterbald are known for having. However, the brush coats do not have the hair-losing feature which is the unique trait of the Peterbald. There are other breeds of cats, such as the American Wirehair, that have the brush type coat. There are other breeds of cats that can have a suede coat, such as Cornish Rex.

I am pretty sure that Scrapper does not have the hair-losing feature to her coat, really just based on how bushy her tail is and the fact that her coat hasn't changed at all in any way since she first grew her brush coat.

Scrapper is used to being the only kitten within a group of adult cats. She is used to doing things for herself and figuring out how to get where she wants to go. Like a lot of Peterbald, she is stubborn and thinks she knows best. Well, we think that's so cute so we sort of encouraged her independence and we haven't really set a lot of rules for her to follow. She is really smart though so she makes a lot of great decisions anyway.

She has the long narrow eyes that are a really common trait among Peterbald. Often she will sit with her eyes seemingly closed although she somehow is watching everything. This gives her that more exotic look.

Sometimes Peterbald are sensitive and get their feelings hurt if you laugh at them or say something rude. But Scrapper enjoys being the center of attention even if you are laughing or talking about what she's doing.

Scrapper is a very loving lap-cat who thinks you are her mom. She bonds really close with her owner and doesn't like being far from your side.
She won't be available until this Fall though.

Stud Pants for Outlaw

What to do if your stud pants are in the wash?  Upcycle, repurpose a Walmart bag and add a little duct tape!

Oh yeah, he's lovin' it! And at the end of the day, you can just toss it out instead of washing it. 
Oh, I got it at Walmart!!

Cornish Rex In Her New Sweater

Here are some new pictures of  Cowboy Claws Kicking Up Corral Dust, our 9 month old Seal Tortie Point and White Cornish Rex female cat.  She still has a suede coat so on cold days she wears a little sweater.  This is her new fleece pink flowers sweater because she outgrew her old sweater.

 

 On the back of her sweater is flower with sisal rope petals and fake fur center.  The trim around the fleece is some fluffy purple ribbon.  She thinks she looks great in her sweater, you can tell.

 Her nickname is Bullets but she doesn't answer to that.  She answers to the sound of a can of wet cat food or tuna fish being opened.  She's pretty sure that's a call for her to race to you as fast as she can.

She's not show quality since she doesn't have a coat with rows of waves but she still has a great background and could produce show quality kittens.  There's still time for her to grow a coat as she has some red ancestors who did not grow their coats until they were a year old.

She has a great personality and really awesome markings with beautiful blue eyes.  She cannot mate until we obtain an unrelated Cornish Rex male.  We only have one Cornish Rex male and he is her brother so that won't work!!
Cornish Rex are really active cats who like to climb and investigate.  They have a super silly personality and remain playful all their lives.  They are very people oriented and do not like to be left alone for long periods of time.  They want to be a part of everything going on in your home life and are very persistant.  Because of their silly personality, they do not understand anger or attempts to teach them to conform to rules.  They think everything is a game and are fearless in dangerous situations.  They are indoor only cats and are not safe outside for even short periods unless on a leash with supervision.
If you are interested in a Cornish Rex, you can watch my website for updates at www.cowboyclaws.com

Photos of CowboyClaws An Unlikely Outlaw, Peterbald Cat

"Just got me some Big Boy Pull Up Pants!!"

"Don't I look So Cute in my Big Boy Pants!! I'm 8 months old now!!  Big Boy!"

 

 " Wait, you say these are Stud Pants!  It means Mating Privileges Have Been Revoked!!???"

 

 "I'm so embarrassed. I'm going to hide until you take these Stud Pants OFF!!"

New Photos of Ginger, our Peterbald cat

 

 Today was a really sunny day even though it was windy and cold, so Ginger Codeli for CowboyClaws, our 1 year old male Peterbald future stud cat, was enjoying sitting in the cat tree in front of the back windows.

 Right now he has a little bit of a brush coat but at other times he can be almost hairless on his body

 He is a super healthy, strong boy which I credit to his breeder in Russia who gave him an excellent start with his diet and care.

 We have big blackbirds that he likes to watch. They descend in a flock and walk methodically across the yard looking for food, then hop the fence to continue across the next yard.

 There are black feral cats and kittens outside also but they usually only come out at night.

 Ginger is a really intelligent cat who does a lot of thinking.  He's very aware of everyone and everything around him.  He is gentle with younger cats and gets along with all the cats.

He's pretty loud though especially if a cat is in heat. He likes to tell you about that all day and night. But otherwise he just talks to you like it's a conversation.  He thinks I understand what he says but I don't.  He's very outgoing and friendly and prefers people over cats.

 He's a really great looking Peterbald with good type as well. We enjoy having him with us.

It's hard to remember what it was like without this big Personality in our home!!  He is old enough to breed now so maybe he will have a chance to prove himself in the not too distant future.  We would like to see how his kittens turn out!

The Peterbald Muzzle and Whiskers

One thing that sets the Peterbald apart from the Oriental Shorthair and Siamese breeds is the muzzle.  The Peterbald is supposed to have a blunt ended muzzle while the Oriental Shorthair and Siamese breeds have a more pointed or narrow muzzle.  To achieve the blunt end to the muzzle, often or maybe always, there is a slight outward curve before the muzzle rather than a straight line from ear to muzzle like the Oriental Shorthair and Siamese have.

 

Sister has a good example of a blunt ended muzzle.

Because the outcross cat for the Peterbald is the Oriental Shorthair and Siamese, it is easy to lose the blunt ended muzzle in an outcross breeding.  The Oriental Shorthair and Siamese have existed for so many years that the look is set in the breed while the Peterbald as a new breed does not have many multiple generations of the same features being passed forward over and over that would set the look. 

It is important, if you are trying to develop your lines through outcrossing, that you make sure you keep a cat with really good muzzle on hand to breed back to so that you don't lose this really important feature.  This feature is only a TICA requirement.Due to the super limited number of TICA peterbald catteries with a subset of even fewer peterbald catteries who are trying to develop their lines by moving down to a next generation kitten with better features (as opposed to just breeding to produce income), it doesn't really affect but a couple of peterbald catteries in TICA. Peterbald catteries in other cat associations are not concerned with this feature at all.

The Peterbald has broken, curled or kinked whiskers that are usually thick and highly visable.  Many of the Oriental Shorthair and Siamese have very fine, thin whiskers but they are always straight and long, although for show, they are usually removed so that the breeds look sleek.  The Peterbald whiskers are usually not removed for show since their odd attributes are one of the differences between the Peterbald and the Oriental Shorthair/Siamese.

You can see more photos of Peterbald on my website www.cowboyclaws.com

My Cornish Rex and Peterbald Cats Photos

Sister gets up with us every day to help make the coffee, bright and early, even if she is half asleep waiting on it to finish.

Laura wears a sweater because she is a born bald.  She likes to play inside the cubby hole of the cat tree.

 

Bullets likes to rub against the sisal rope and sisal post.  They all love sharpening their nails on the sisal.

 

Outlaw likes to sit and watch you.  You might think that he's really smart because he watches so intently. But he's really just a pretty boy and doesn't have very much that he's thinking about except being held and petted or having snacks.

 

Alibi looking down from way up high on the cat tree.  She always looks like she's smiling.  She has pretty eyes but she closes them faster than the camera shutter.

 

 

Gatika is really funny when she lays her back foot on the back of the bed so that she can rest her chin on her leg. She always gets the highest bed on the cat tree so she must be the top cat.

 

Sheriff hiding in the bread waiting to steal some snacks. Sheriff, don't you know the flat bread won't rise if you watch it? Or is it cake that you can't watch?

 

That's just a few pictures to give an idea of what the cats are doing during the day at a quiet time when it's easy to photograph.  They often move too quickly to capture in a photo.

 

My website is www.cowboyclaws.com   You can check it for updates from time to time if you are interested in a kitten or retired cat.

A New Sweatshirt

CowboyClaws The Outlaw's Alibi, a.k.a. Alibi, outgrew her sweatshirt so I made her a new one and she's really proud of it.  It's made of heavy no-pill fleece, pink on the underside and zebra print on the back with black knit ribbing around the neck and front leg openings.

 

On the back,there's a furry mouse complete with pink ears and a little sisal tail. 

 

 That;s her little pet mouse she takes everywhere with her.

  It's pretty funny to see her walking around with a mouse riding piggyback.

 

 On the front, there's a little red heart on the left side that you can see when she is sitting up.

 Then she has a few fish where her tummy is.  She gets so much attention for her new sweatshirt that she's starting to think she's special or something!

 

She IS special ... that's why we chose her to be the model for this new sweatshirt idea. It's not possible to find pet shirts that fit Peterbald appropriately because they are so long and thin.  Well, I'm sure in Russia, where this breed originates, there are plenty of cat shirts.  But the breed is really rare here still so you have to make your own shirts for them.  Because they are hairless, they often need shirts year round to stay warm.

Really this outfit is pretty tame; if you've ever seen any of my other designs, like the cat carriers or play mats, then you know what I mean.

Our Future Cornish Rex Stud

Cowboy Claws The New Sheriff In Town is a seal point with blue eyes.  He is our only Cornish Rex male and we hope that one day he will want to be a stud.  For now, he enjoys playing with toys and looking for snacks.  He also likes to take an afternoon nap in the sunshine. 

He's a really pretty, sweet guy with big blue eyes that seem to say "I'm clueless".  He's in his own imaginary world where stuffed toys or even pillows come alive and must be wrestled to the ground; balls must be carried by mouth to safer hidden locations; cabinets and drawers must be investigated for future potential uses and naps occur wherever the energy runs out.

I really like his egg head. So many Cornish Rex these days have a residue of some past outcross to the Oriental Shorthair with a wedge head rather than the egg head.  Usually my egg heads have a shorter nose but I like the more extreme nose that he has. 

I just hope he grows some longer legs and keeps his weight down. There are some lines of Cornish Rex that have nice coats but are heavier set.  I had those lines when I first started many years ago and sometimes even now, it gets pulled forward.

In another month, it will be the earliest age that we would allow him to mate, although I'm not sure he will be mature enough.  We used to wait until the cats were 12 to 18 months old before mating them to give them time to mature into adults before having kittens.  Kittens having kittens doesn't really work in the best interest of anyone except the State Law.

We now must mate our females as soon as possible after they go into heat and retire them before we even know if their kitten we keep is going to be better than the parents or not.  We have to just hope for the best and leave it up to chance!!!  We used to work to better the breed with every mating and keep a kitten for the future if the kitten turned out better than the parents, who were then retired. 

You can't tell if a kitten will be better than the parents until they are 8 months or older and even then you don't know if the kitten is going to be a producer.  So often the parents would be held back until the kitten proved that she would be a producer, at which time the parents were altered.  The State Law limits the number of females that you can have in your cattery so bloodlines are at risk of being lost which can result in having to inbreed later on as the available lines contract.  And there is a significant risk of keeping an inferior kitten to replace the parents, thereby working backward against bettering the breed.

Probably with many older, more established breeds, it's easier to tell how a kitten's type will proceed even at a very young age.  And if you hold back a kitten that ends up being a non-producer or inferior type, there are many bloodlines all over the world to choose another cat as a replacement. 

When I first started with Cornish Rex, I bought my cats from all over the United States and if I looked at the pedigree just 3 generations back, I would see the same ancestors.  The bloodlines have since expanded for this breed, but with the limitations and restrictions imposed by the State Law, which was written by lawyers, not animal husbandry experts, it's possible that the bloodlines will contract.  When there are limited bloodlines, inbreeding occurs which results in genetic defects, personality flaws and aggressiveness, and poor immune systems.

Our male, Cowboy Claws The New Sheriff In Town, is unrelated to our female, Cowboy Claws Daddy's Little Cowgirl, a typey black and white.  Hopefully we will have a litter of Cornish Rex kittens either late this Spring or in the Summer.  You can watch my kitten page on my website at www.cowboyclaws.com for updates.

How About A Little Trim?

I don't know how this happened but CowboyClaws The Outlaw's Alibi aka Alibi has grown the most enormous set of whiskers.  There's one whisker that must be 8 inches long.  That may not seem like much for a regular cat, but she's only about 5 pounds of hairless kitten.

I've tried to take some photos of these whiskers she has, but I never realized how hard it can be to capture the essence of long, curly, bent whiskers. She has one that curls upward almost in a circular shape.  Others droop down low and long. Still others grow horizontal with a gentle upward or downward curve on the end. The whiskers are very stiff, not soft and they stay in place when she turns her little head.  That's probably the funniest part of it all.. to see her moving her little kitten head around with this monster set of out of control whiskers on either side like misplaced shredded angel wings.

So it's time for a little trim.  Sometimes when the whiskers grow long, they scratch or infect the eyes.  It's a good idea to trim the whiskers near the eyes at the same time you groom them and cut their nails.Alibi is a really sweet girl except when she sees clippers or scissors. She doesn't really appreciate grooming.  It's important to get them used to regular grooming while they are young so that it's not as difficult later on.  Peterbald like to smell everything to make sure it's okay and so it's good to let them inspect whatever tools you are using before you get started.  That will help them to be more accepting of something new.

While you are triming stray whiskers and cutting nails, don't forget to check the ears. Because Peterbald have no hair protecting their ears, dirt and debris can easily accumulate. Your veterinarian can recommend an appropriate ear cleaner. 

The Real Photo Shoot

We went to Helmi's studio for the photo shoot after practicing for several weeks.  Peterbald can sometimes be stubborn, strongwilled and have a mind of their own.  They want to think about everything and decide whether they want to participate or not.  That's why we had so much practice beforehand.  I thought they would be really cooperative at the photo shoot after all the practice but I was wrong.  A new situation requires a whole new thoughtful processing of information in the Peterbald mind!!

Even so, Helmi, as the experienced professional cat photographer that she is, was able to pull a cat trick out of the hat, along with her professional cat wrangler husband, and take really wonderful photos of them that show their best features and personalities.

We took our entire cattery of adult cats for the shoot so it was a little stinky with 3 adult male cats who think the day is for spraying and rolling in it afterwards. We gave them baths and wiped them up but they have a way about them of making the most of any situation including a car ride.

We used to have only 1 male cat but when they passed the Texas Law to limit breeders, we had to start keeping our breed lines in the males instead of females.  Otherwise, with the extremely limited gene pool for Peterbald, and with the small number of catteries in the United States, if we did not keep extra bloodlines in our males, we would end up having to inbreed in a new breed that was only recently significantly inbred in order to get it started.  Inbreeding causes genetic defects both internal and external, aggressive personalities and bad immune systems.

Anyway, so below are some of the professional photographs that Helmi took of our cats:



Chellenger del Iris, 2 year old male Peterbald cat that we imported from Russia.  He is the father of our next generation of kittens.  We are holding onto him until we are sure that one of the kittens will be able to fill his position.  He is a very valuable cat to us because he represents everything we would want in a Peterbald breeder cat.  We just don't like to keep male cats in our breeding program for any longer than necessary because they must be temproraily confined to keep them from breeding everything including the kitchen sink, not to mention maarking territory and fighting for top cat position.  We want him to be able to go to a pet home and have a long normal home life in the future.

 

 

 Below is Laura del Iris, a 2 year old female Peterbald cat that we imported at the same time as Chellenger.  Laura is a beautiful example of a Peterbald and is everything we could ever want.  However, she has not yet had kittens so we are holding onto her for another year in the hopes that she is just a late bloomer.  Often Peterbald, especially the hairless ones, can take longer to mature than a domestic or wild cat.  We don't push our girls into breeding, especially Peterbald who have a mind of their own and like to make thier own decisions.  We wait until they are ready.  However we don't want to hold her so long that she misses out too much of a loving permanent pet home life.

 

CowboyClaws Boot Hill Bandit is the only Peterbald adult cat that is my own breeding.  Actually I only mated 2 cats that I got from other breeders so I don't really think of him as my own breeding.  I usually think of my own breeding as being at least one parent from multiple generations out of my cattery lines.  But since I handraised him from birth on a bottle, I think of him as my very own baby anyway.  He's a real baby too but very gentle, mildmannered and loving.  His father is del Iris Chellenger and his mother is from Magnoliachat Cattery in South Texas.  He has an American look about him, more moderate and not so "show stopping" that he would overshadow another breed like say, for instance the Oriental Shorthair or the Sphynx.  He has the perfect coat- it's not sticky and it's not hairy.  It feels like soft nubuck leather.  It's something you would want to pet all day and never get tired of it.

 

 Gatika Codeli for CowboyClaws is a 1 year old female Peterbald cat that we imported from Russia She is really the latest top show look for Peterbald in Russia where these cats originate. She has super big ears, and super long lines.  There is nothing moderate or non-descript about her.  She is a major "show stopper" look with extreme perfection.  She is the kind of cat that every breed is jealous of, not just the Oriental Shorthair or Sphynx.  She has killer looks and spots to die for!!  She's a very loving, gentle, mild mannered girl who everyone loves to spend time with. 

 

Ginger Codeli for CowboyClaws is a 1 year old male Peterbald we imported from Russia.  We think he represents the American show look. He's got a little bit of brush coat and a more moderate look.  At home he is very outgoing, friendly and talkative.  At the show he was very talkative which scared the judges.  He was scared of the judges also, probably sensing their fear.  He tried to swim through the air to safety on the judges stand when they picked him up, not trusting their intentions. He tried to walk backwards up the walls of the judges cages and scooted all around backwards inside the judges cages, looking for some exit.  It's true he wasn't a "cage cat" and was used to more freedom but I don't think that was the problem. I think these Peterbald are so intelligent that they can sense more than the average cat.  After all, his sister's ribbon was stolen from her by the judge after the final was over, in collusion with the ring clerk and 2 other exhibitors and who all else I don't know!  But cats know what cats know and Peterbald know even more than that so really I trust his judgement.  He is the most sincere, earnest boy with a very loving, gentle personality. 

 

 

Sestrichka Alyonushka Fantasy Neaven is the baby of the family.  She is only 10 months old but you would think she was the oldest one because she mothers everyone including me.  She is very sweet, loving, and gentle with a wonderful, outgoing personality.  She's very playful and gets along with everyone.  She was given to me by a very special friend in Russia who I tried to help, although unsuccessfully, with an American cat issue.

 

And the only adult Cornish Rex cat I have is Cowboy Claws Daddy's Little Cowgirl who is 1 year old.  She is out of at least 5 or 6 generations of my lines.  I would show her but I already know she is top quality and the judges won't know whether she is or not.  The Cornish Rex breed is really not shown in the United States even though it is one of the top most popular breeds. .

We have only had one litter of kittens in over a year's time and the kittens were given to people we already knew.  We only breed to develop our lines in some ways. We are a hobby breeder not a business.  We are not making money in our hobby.  We only do this hobby because we enjoy our cats and want the breeds to be healthy, strong, with great personalities and good type.  When we first started breeding over 13 years ago, we thought we would enjoy going to cat shows when we retired in the future.  Over 20 years ago, we bought purebred cats for our kids to see which breeds we might enjoy the most since we were all cat lovers.  But now after our experiences we know the show environment is the wrong place for us. It seems a lot of people are making that same decision though.

I was going to try to make this blog only about the photo shoot with Helmi but I just can't stop adding my personal commentary!  Oh well, it IS my blog!!