Some Pics of my Girlie

Thanks to Nancy Jo here are some great pics of my daughter Arie as she showed Romo Meowski as a Novice in Junior Showmanship. I am so very proud of her.

 

Show Report - Vallejo CA/CFA

Wow where do I even start? The begining is probably a great place ;)
Saturday was a great day for a cat show. My daughter Arie and I got up at 5 am and left at 5:30 am. We traveled up to Yountville and got my friend and mentor Nancy Jo and then traveled down to Vallejo. We got there pretty early and spent most of the time trying to figure out the parking situation. We got the cage decorated and comfy for Romo Meowski, who was in a great mood. he was purring and making biscuits and loving Nancy's attention. I thought it was going to be a great day...

Romo went to the first ring and was placed right next to another cat who was not so happy to be at the cat show. It set Romo off. The remainder of the day he hissed at judges, other cats, toys, etc. Personally I was really astounded at his attitude. I mean Romo doesn't even hiss at home. Heck I didn't know he even knew how to hiss! I was a bit embarrassed at first but he wasn't striking out at anyone just letting his feelings be known. So Romo was not happy about the cat show. lol.

Four cats were in the catalog, one didn't show. After halfway through the show our competition again went down by one cat. At the end of the show it was only cranky Romo Meowski left to compete against himself. While Romo didn't score high he was still turning heads and again was a spectator and crowd favorite.

Ranking in the ring is somewhat meaningless IMO Romo is a purebred cat and therefore more likely to score low because it will seem to the judges as if I am trying to pass off an established pedigree/purebred cat for a hodgepodge anybodys guess HHP. Which technically I guess I am. The Helki Breed is a new experimental breed there are no other classes I can show them in and I want to get these cats into the hands of the judges. So we got 3rd place 3 times, 2nd place 2 times, and Best HHP in the last ring because Romo was the only HHP left in the show hall. Arie was able to get 1st place as Novice Junior Showmanship using Romo. It was the only time I saw him not hiss at everyone the whole day lol. As if he knew he didn't want to ruin this for Arie. hahaha. Even the Judge Kim Everette-Hirsch commented that Romo behaved better for Arie then he did for her. Arie does have pretty good handling skills.

We had some excellent comments from the judges. Romo was said to have good conformation, a unique texture to his fur, lovely eye shape, solid body, among other very nice things. When I would explain what Romo was the judges all seemed happy to have the puzzle pieces fitting together and were very pleased with him. At the end of the show many of the Judges were gathered in a group and watched Romo get his only Best HHP award for the day and they all applauded loudly for him. It was very touching and gave me hope and joy for my breed.

Silver Bells Cat Show Vallejo

Our very own Romo Meowski is scheduled to be shown as HHP (Household Pet) and for Junior Showmanship at the Silver Bells Cat Show in Vallejo on December 19th.

This will be Romo Meowski's last show appearance until he has been a daddy at least a few times and has a suitable replacement. Romo is one of our finest cats and is a Must See & Feel!!

Please come join us at the Solano County Fairgrounds,McCormack Hall,900 Fairgrounds Drive.
This is a CFA licensed show.

Its Official!

Today I recieved my Cattery Name Registration Certificate in the mail. Wyrdwul is now a cattery name that is registered with the Cat Fanciers Association.

A Sneaking Suspicion...

Do you remember the story about Stormy the kitten we found under the house during the storm? I've been wondering who her mom is. I know its not the feral we call Wyfe. When I offered the mewling kitten to her Wyfe looked at me like I had to be crazy. She was uninterested in the opposite way from how she reacts to her own kittens. Anyway to make a long story short today after feeding Chuck and Wyfe I sat off to the side to see what they do after they eat. The two went under the house and out runs this long hair creamy gray colored cat. I know this cat! Its one of Chucks family members. Its either his mom or a brother that looks similar to Chucks Mom. My suspicion is that Stormy is possibly a half sister to Chuck. Both Chucks brother and Mom have not yet been able to be caught and spay/neuter. I can't say that its a for sure but its a possibility.

FWD:

Haru the golden one taken by Arie G

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

I just couldn't believe it!

I go to messybeast.com for anything cat related. Sarah Hartwell is someone I respect and admire not just as a person who loves cats but because she has taken the time to record and keep important cat related info cataloged and available to the public.

Here I was at way too early in the morning trying to do some cat related research and found myself checking out Sarah's site and lo' & behold there is a neat blurb about the Helki.

http://www.messybeast.com/curly-cats-rex.htm "The Helki (2009) developed from feral cats by Aubrey Anderson has a "semi-rex" coat that has a mix of wavy and straight guard hairs that can look unkempt. Helki, means "touch" in Miwok Indian (Northern California) and reflects the silky, fleecy texture of the coat. Early breedings to domestic cats show 50% semi-rexed kittens indicating a dominant gene mutation. Non-rexed kittens can display a mohawk (upright ridge of fur) along the spine when happy. As well as the texture, the fur has a high degree of rufousing, making some colours hard to distinguish. The colour can change during the cat's life; a cream kitten may turn blue and end up reddish-brown while a blue may turn black. The wavy, brittle whiskers are moulted in the first year and replaced by long drooping whiskers and there is a Laperm-like moult of wavy fur as the kittens grow. The breed was mainly developed from feral/semi-feral cats around South Sacramento (Northern California) and the mutation appears to have originated there with LaPerm-type cats also present among local feral colonies, however the Helki is smaller than the LaPerm. The local feline population includes descendants of various Asian cats that arrived with immigrants several decades previously."

I feel honored and I think its awesome to see it unexpectedly. ^_^

Of course there is the neat blurb written by my mentor Anthony N on his RareCatBreeds site "The Helki is an experimental cat breed still in its early developmental stages. It is based on cats with an unusual coat mutation found in Northern California. The name Helki is taken from the Miwok Native American tribe’s language and means ‘touch’. It was chosen to reflect the breed’s most significant feature: its unusual coat texture which can be likened to the feeling of a silky fleece blanket. The feature is caused by a dominant gene and is a semi-rex type coat with some light waving or crimping."

Very cool stuff indeed.

Here is a nice updated image of Romo Meowski. Romo has the perfect type for the Helki breed. He will be 7 months old on the 25th.

it is 37 degrees out

it is 37 degrees out & 69 degrees inside humidity is at 89% all the cats in the house are displaying their Helki coats.

Yuki(cream) & Koji(cameo)

Odie's Litter Announcement and Dooms Kitten Extravaganza

On 11/02/09 Odie gave birth to Four kittens sired by AmunRa. Here is there info:

Ahmose (born of the moon) - so far all white possibly pointed Male with Helki waves

Shai (Egyptian God with pigs body God of Fate and Destiny) - Tortie Female with Helki waves and a short corkscrew tail.

Stubz (Another mom in the nursery stole him and bit off his tail :( ) - Blue Male with Helki waves

Clowd - White Female with Helki waves, Clowd was also stolen and her foot and tail were bitten and chewed, she lived less then 24 hours but was a lovely little angel.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The End Times Litter is now officially 10 weeks old and three of them will be needing nice forever homes. Inquiries are welcome, feel free to email me at blueinle@gmail.com if you are interested in a Helki kitten.

Stormy

On Tuesday October 13th there was a huge storm here in Northern California. Chuck had been kept indoors for the past few days because a neighbor had threatened to allow her dogs to eat him if he ventured into their backyard again. Chuck had been a bit stir crazy but he really got worried on the day of the storm. He wanted outside so badly, but we lost a tree early in the morning and I couldn't bare to let him out. Later on that rainy windy day I went to pick up my friends daughter from High School. I left my youngest son and my friends son home while I went out. The door didn't latch properly as I left and soon after I had left the wind blew the door open. Chuck dashed outside with a league of other cats and they all proceeded to get under the house. While I was gone the boys got under the house through an access door in the home to gather up the cats. Low and behold Chuck led them to a little frightened lonely kitten. As they were figuring out what to do, I got home and heard about this feral furball. With a bit of team work the four of us were able to get the little one inside and Chuck marched right in after, as if that all he had been concerned about.

Stormy as she is called now is a fluffy long hair kitten about 7 weeks old. Where her momma is I don't have the slightest clue, but we have nursing moms here so she is adjusting really well.

I went out a bit later after the storm had subsided and found that the area where the cats went to find Stormy, was flooding. The cats got the humans motivated just in time to get the kitten out safe and sound.

Mia's "Gaia's Rainbow" Litter

On 09/26/09 Our final fall litter was born female Mia gave birth to six lovely kittens sired by Feazy McCheezy. Here is there info:

Altan (Алтан) -Red Male with Helki waves
Haru - Red Male with Helki waves
Antares - Red Male with Helki waves
Misu - Blue Male with Helki waves
Grizel - Blue female with Helki waves
Ayako - Black female with Helki waves

Romo Astounds the Postman

I know its terrible but I have to brag when I get the chance to. Today the postman came to the door and Romo ran outside. He is a cat person and proceeded to help me collect my kitten from the front yard. The postman couldn't stop petting him and kept saying "oh he is sooo soft. I can't believe how soft he is. Wow!" LOL it was funny to watch but it was also nice to see that I'm not the only one that can feel the difference in this coat. ^_^

EverCats.com

Yay Romo got runner up on the EverCats Daily cat for today!!
http://shrinkify.com/18lm

Website Update

Ok I have a new layout for wyrdwul.com, its been a bit of work and it looks that there are a few tables out of alignment but over all it was ready to put on the web. :)

Older Website Stuff I wanted to Keep

Foundation Cats

The map below shows the places where the cats were obtained.

1. Shadow   Sex: Female | D.O.B. 2005 | Size: Medium | Coat Color: Black Smoke | Eye Color: Yellow | Coat Texture: Long Silky | Shadow Princess - Shadow was found when she was about 8 -10 weeks old in the engine of a car down the street in 2005. We tended her burnt paws and shampooed the oily kitten to find she was Black Smoke. Shadow turned out to be a very intelligent cat, her favorite kitten game was to play fetch. She also was great at learning and playing little tricks. Its one of the things she has passed down to her offspring. We never fixed her as all the other males in the house were neutered, and wasn't a problem until years later.

2. Chuck   Sex: Male | D.O.B. 6/2006 | Size: Large | Coat Color: Blue | Eye Color: Yellow | Coat Texture: Short Thick Wooly | Chuck - In 2006 a little blue kitten from the porch down the street was smuggled into my home by my lovely sons. It didn't take long for me to love the little guy but I was totally put off when my little Tom all the sudden had sick eyes. When confronted my sons quickly confessed there was a 2nd kitten who we know now as Chuck. Tom unfortunately snuck out one night and was killed by a neighborhood dog. Chuck on the other hand stuck around to woo the ladies and sire kittens with both Shadow and Mia. After his first two litters were born Chuck also snuck out after we took him for shots at the SPCA so that we could neuter him. Chuck disappeared for 6 months when he returned he was neutered, frightened, and disoriented. Its taken some time but he is now coming back inside for short periods of time

3. Mia   Sex: Female | D.O.B. 4/23/07 | Size: Small | Coat Color: Tortie Tabby | Eye Color: Yellow | Coat Texture: Short Coarse | Mia - I got Mia when she was about 4 months old in 2007, from a co-worker. Mia was loved and cared for but never socialized to humans. I got a very cute sketchy cat that didn't even want pets. She was so small and could hide in the most strange placed. Like in my closet clothes. Yes clothes hanging in the closet! Mia also introduced me to what called silent heat. She would go into heat and only the boys would know. A month later I had one round little girl.

Dominant or Recessive? - Jazz was the only kitten born to Odie(Dam) and Shady(Sire). Shady was the only male cat in the house at the time that was whole, so it made it easy to know who the parents were. With only one kitten in the litter there was no way to determine if the gene was recessive or dominant. Shady had sired a previous litter with Mia and in retrospect several of the kittens born had traits that made the fur different then normal cats I just didn't see the dramatic waves in the fur and known that both Shady and Odie were half siblings, it was then thought that it must be a recessive gene. At that point I wanted to get a breeding pair with the same coat so I bred to Shady to Nermal (Odie's sister and littermate). From that mating two kittens were born with wavy fur. the male Osiris had beautiful tufts of wavy thick wool, his whiskers were short and brittle. The female Isis, had short wooly fur and wavy whiskers. Unfortunately the both passed due to milk fever. Mia the ever sneaky queen got out of the nursery and successfully mated with one of three males in my house. Could be Shady, Garfield, or Pookie. All of which are son's of Chuck. She produced a litter of four. Now armed with looking at not only the fur but the whiskers I could see the Rex trait in all four. Three had the trait in their fur one in her whiskers. Two of the kittens were also nursing off of Nermal and died of milk fever shortly after Osiris and Isis. It was a terrible blow to the heart and mind. It may seem like a short time that these kittens entered my life but I love them still and promise to continue telling their story in hopes I never forget the things I learned and the loves I lost too soon. I put all that love in the last two kittens, AmunRa and Hostlov. Amun Ra had a new version of the wavy fur. It would curl up and backwards. Hostlov has thick soft fur and wavy whiskers but no waves or curls in her coat.

Oh those Helki Waves

Oh those Helki Waves
Originally uploaded by Wyrdwul - Helki Cat Breed

come see more photos of the Helki on Flickr

Sapporo

Sapporo
Originally uploaded by Wyrdwul - Helki Cat Breed

Nothing better then kitten pictures ^_^

A Quick Comparision

Pictured Coutsey of the CFA WebSite: 
Brown Tabby American Shorthair Male
Best of Breed GC, BW, NW STEDAM AMERICAN BRAVADO Photo: © Larry Johnson 

 Black/Silver Classic Tabby Helki Male
 Romo Meowski Photo: © Alissa Otero

When I attend various cat shows I am often asked if my cats are American Shorthair because they carry the classic tabby pattern and it is my favorite pattern to show. Here is a nice comparison by photo. As it is plainly visible the Helki's conformation and type are widely different then the American Shorthair. The Helki is a Small to Medium sized cat of slender build. While the American Shorthair is a Medium to Large sized cat with a robust powerful build and muscles to match. The ASH also has a head that is slightly wider then it is long giving the gentle curved rise of the nose bridge the illusion at times of a break. The Helki has a medium slightly rounded wedge shaped head and the nose should be medium length with a slight rise from the bridge of the nose to the forehead. Hope that helps define the cat a bit more.

Beer International Litter

On 09/11/09 Our female Hostlov gave birth to five lovely kittens sired by Feazy McCheezy. Here is there info:

Kinnekulle -Blue Self Male with Helki waves
Helsinge - Blue Self Male with Helki waves
Ichiban - Blue Self Male with Helki waves
Sapporo - Blue Self Male with Helki waves
Killians Irish Red - Red Tabby Male with Helki waves

Roxy's Starlite Angel

Oh I have fun news... I was able to pick up a kitten today that has long hair and a van pattern with tabby markings in the van pattern. Roxanne her previous owner was most gracious and was a delight to meet. I have been calling her Angel because thats just what she is... a little piece of heaven. She's definitely a Turkish Van look a like. She is a tiny thing and I wont be able to show her for a few more months. If all works fine she may even add to the Helki genepool. For now she is my snnugglebug, which is just purrfect =^_^=

Here is to Roxy's Starlite Angel and her bright future!  ^_^

Updates

Oh if only you knew how hard I've been working :)

So after the cat show I really have felt motivated to get some work done on the blog and web site. I added a Flickr account and have been trying to link all my networking sites. If you have an account and I haven't added you on send me an email.

In the mean time I have a Dam who is ready to have kittens and has been wanting me to spend all my time with her. Plus there are other new kittens to check on and attended to (who are all doing great btw).

So the blog looks updated for what it needs, once I get the new site layout up I'll use those colors on the blog as well.

Developing News

Today I went and visited a neighbor across the street from me as she and her husband enjoy cats and cat for around 13+ cats from the feral colony that lives on our block. She has lived in our neighborhood for 33 years or so and has seen many a "throw away" cat come and go.
I was surprised and delighted to see many of Chucks family members including his mother in their backyard. Also it was fun to hear that Chucks name over there is Mr. B
cuz he is mister big in regard to size lol. They also confirmed that Chuck did disappear for 6 to 7 months. I was able to let them know he was neutered and that I believe he moonlights at another house behind me. This couple should win an award for what they have done for this cat colony. In their backyard they have it customized for their feral colony with a sandbox litter box, a cat tree, and cat beds. They have spayed and neutered all but a few that have recently cropped up and make sure the cats get veterinary care when needed.
While I stood amazed and delighted in their home, I was in for even more of a shocker. My neighbor produced several photos with cats that had very obvious Rex coats. I also go a lesson in genealogy and record keeping for these cats! I was quiet impressed. So now I have more of an idea of what the Rex cats look like that have helped to create the Helki breed and I am excited to get the information recorded in my Breeders Assistant program.

End Times Litter

On 09/03/09 Our female Flying Hugs of Doom gave birth to four lovely kittens sired by Feazy McCheezy. So here is there info:

Dooms Dae: Female Blue Spotted Tabby with Helki waves
Dooms Apocalypse: Female Black Tortie with Helki waves
DoomAgeddon: Female Black Self normal coat
Dooms Hexen: Male Black Self with Helki waves

CFA Show Hayward 09/06/2009

I will be taking two beautiful boys to this show. Please come and visit us.

Roseville Show

Regrettably I will be unable to take Tigre to the show in Roseville. Its terrible but I wont even be able to attend. I have a family engagement that wont wait for cat shows. Your family shouldn’t have to ask you whats more important the cats or them. Obviously I love my cats, but my kids have to come first. Also my health has been a concern and I am taking new meds but they wont be completely effective until mid August. I need them to be working in order to make it through a cat show without problems. Either way its frustrating for me and been a difficult decision. While I know health and kids come first there is that selfish person screaming in my head that it would be fine to just ditch out and go to the cat show. There will always be other cat shows to attend. My kids will only be this age once. I go to do what a mommas got to do.

Food

I'm such a stickler when it comes to cat food and like many people fed my small group of cats an inexpensive cat food which they would gobble up and I would have nothing left to feed them but my dinner until I got paid :(

With this breed project I've had to grow my number of cats and read about feeding a high quality food to the cats early on. I got them Iams kitten food and Iams original. I was pissed about the price until I found that they were eating less often and the Iams lasted and the cats weren't really begging for food all the time.

With so many bred mothers and a huge mass of kittens on the way I began making kitten glop which we call Cat Pudding and feeding that regularly. Even my old man cat Glenn loves the pudding and the mothers milk is strong and kittens get fed regularly.

At the cat shows many food companies advertise and bring samples. EVO was one of them. It a high protein food for the cats with a lot more meat in it. The cats loved the sample they got but I again went back to the Iams. Recently AmunRa was shown in Reno NV and while he did well he probably could have beaten all of the competition if he had more muscle mass. I asked my mentor and she probed about deworming. Ra was wormed for roundworm and tapeworm and I haven't seen a problem since then. She said then its what you are feeding them, he needs more protein to build muscle. Right then I knew she was right. She had told me and told me I needed a better quality food and now I really know why.

While I wont be showing Ra for a while, I do want him to have strong musculature. Many of my males don't mature until they are about a year and half old. I think he will be peak then but until then its time for some protien shakes! j/k buit he will be getting a higher protien meal now. I will also be feeding the EVO to my other prospective show cats.

This is good because now I can be a bit more stingy on the cat food and hopefully get some of my fatties down in weight and build up my thinner cats. We will still feed raw a few times a week and any meat leftovers from dinner will also be fed to the cats.

I have to say I gave out the cat food earlier and each cat has their bowl. Even the kittens wanted some EVO. Since I put their individual portions out not one of them has come begging for my lunch and the house is almost eerily quiet. The mothers are feeding the kittens and I haven't given them pudding yet. Its a very neat thing to experience and I wanted to share in detail. ^_^

Wyrds Feral Kittens

I wanted to blog a big about the ferals in my neighborhood.

Firstly I did want to report that a friend of mine that lives about 25 minutes from me recently found a flame point kitten with wavy whiskers and she stated like my cats have. I didn't know what to think so I went over and sure enough her kitten has the whiskers but her fur was not pronounced as rexed she had a thinner coat then most of my cats. I was forlorn and not sure what to think. The only logic I have is that we know this gene is a dominant gene, most likely an incomplete dominant. If kittens with the trait are being re-homed within the city it makes sense that the gene could travel so far away. Then again I have heard that some cats will travel pretty far to establish new territory.
As I have introduced these traits to those around me and people have visited my cats it doesn't surprise me that some features are being noticed however most of the traits that make these cats unique are not very easily noticed and fly quietly under the radar. Either way I know that the traits seem to be strong in the feral, semi feral, and free roaming cat population of the greater Sacramento area. Even if my work on a viable breed fails, these genes do not seem to be the kind that will just go by the way side.

Now as I've discussed on the site, my mentors and I feel that this trait comes from Chuck and his progeny and other relatives. I can not say if it came from his mother as she is clearly very wild and will not approach humans at all. I have only ever been able to see her at a large distance of 15 feet or more. I don't know who Chucks father is, at all. We do see relatives of Chuck and his family who were an established colony even before I moved to this area. We have lived in this home for 4+ years and have often tried to take care of and watch over the ferals on our block. We have seen many come and go. While this is a very ideal neighborhood for cats it is still dangerous and cats face so many perils from dogs to cars to illness. Thankfully though most people here are cat loving people and most dogs are well managed or cat friendly.
Within the past year, Chuck (who is a semi feral cat that was neutered & a founding cat for my program) returned after a 6+ months of hiatus and he returned with a female we called Wife. Wife came with one gray tortie kitten that had vivid blue eyes at the age of 6 months. That kitten disappeared as many do. Wife and Chuck stayed close. With regular food Wife found a will and a way. She was a medium sized cat when we met her so never thought much of her size but were delighted when she started bringing four small kittens to eat the dry food I'd but out for her. She and the kittens moved from under a house across the street to under our house. They were small enough to begin socializing so we would pick them up as much as feral kittens would allow. There were two unpatterned tabbys, one blue, and one black with gray ruff around the neck. Just a few days ago while feeding the kittens I was able to pick one of the unpatterned tabbys up and she had this abcess on her tummy. I knew she had to come in. I got the abcess clean and its healing very quickly with regular care. She is adjusting to life in a human home extremely well. A day or so after I started caring for her I was feeding the cats at night and we were ambused by a roaming dog. The older cats were able to get up and out of the way but the kittens weren't sure of the real danger and didn't run and hide quickly enough for my comfort. I shooed the dog away and the owner came and got the dog but we have since seen this out of control dog all over the neighborhood threatening children, dogs, and cats. Sadly that same night a siamese patterned cat from down the street was found dead in the morning. It wasn't mangled but obviously shaken to death. The next night I began working to capture the other feral kittens. I picked up the black one and he clearly was not going without a vicious loud fight. I had to put him down and I will regret that decision for a long time. We found him dead under our tree that next morning. Again no tearing or mangling but I believe shaken to death by the roaming dog. It was no longer a choice I just couldn't let the other girls go in that same way. We caught them and put them in an isolated room away from the rest of the household and clowder and have since started working slowly on socializing as they are not as sure and confident as the first kitten. Chuck comes and checks on the kittens, their mother Wife wont come in but will check on them through the window screen.

So thats a lovely story in and of itself but I also wanted to report that here I complained of having so many male kittens that showed the Helki features strongly but only a handful of females and all cat breeders know you need more girls then boys. All three surviving kittens are girls, have wavy whiskers and thick wavy undercoats! The blue girl has the best coat overall but is quite a priss who only loves me lol. So again the Wyrd has come and taken control to drive fate. While I dont really know much about these kittens backgrounds or how inbred they are, they so far seem pretty healthy and have had baths and dewormer from me starting about a month ago when I caught them all last time. Now for a good routine check up and we should be set.

An all cat update

This was posted as a blog on mycatspace.com I edited this version with the cats that are currently in my home and removed info about cats that were placed in forever homes, etc...

Glenn Lee: It seems he has taken on full retirement. I wasn’t sure until I noticed that Tanuki was now the cat that waited until everyone had finished before eating and Glenn takes advantage of eating before anyone can steal his food. He is creaky, and tired but since he has retired I’ve seen a new light in his eyes. He is enjoying the twilight of his life.

Tanuki: Is a fantastic leader and great mother. Her milk is coveted by all the kittens. She is patient giving and takes extra time with all of the kittens. But her love is her own baby Bender who I’ll talk more of later. Most of Tanuki’s day is filled with kittens but she still has a fun romp around the house and is active and social with the other older cats. The house is very quiet and stable with Tanuki in charge.

Shadow: Has been going through a phase where she prefers to be on her own. She spends most of her time sitting in a window sill watching the birds. She has had a few problems with Yuki bothering her and chasing her but he has learned grandma can hold her own.

Shady: Must feel usurped by his daughter taking over. He wont come back in the house. When we bring him in it’s a tooth and nail fight and he sprays the house up and down if he gets the chance. He spends all his time in the yard out front with Chuck, Wife and Wifes four kittens.

Mia: had four kittens a few weeks after Tanuki had Bender. Three of which you can tell are silver/smoke and long hair. Since silver and longhair are dominant genes that means they are Nickademus’ kittens >.<

Nermal: Also had a litter before Mia had hers. She has 3 sweet kittens. Nermal is now Tanuki’s right hand momma cat. The two are side by side all over the house. This is a good alliance and helps Nermal feel important.

Odie: had five kittens two of which we have kept. They are about 14 weeks old as I write this. Odie did her best. She did let the burden of her kittens lay heavily on the other three mothers when her kittens were about 9 weeks old. She has rebounded and is now doting on her two kittens that stayed here.

Garfield: Spends a lot of time with his son Bender and the other kittens. Most of it snoozing though… When Garfield is up I have to watch him as he loves to open the screen to my bedroom window of which lets out any other curious cat that notices the roof access was “unlocked”. It’s a bit frustrating as I don’t use an air conditioner and like open windows. Now I have to shut the windows in my room and suffer hot nights.


Yuki: While Arie has refused to put her large Yuki on a diet he hasn’t gotten rounder. He has a nice defined muscle mass and is a force to be reconed with. He has been the kitten playtime cat. Running all over the house like a freight train full of semi trucks! He has finally figured out that he likes girls and we have sequestered him to the “gentleman’s room” Which changed his habits into breaking and entering. Garfield taught him the get out of jail free trick with the window and we have had to get Yuki off the roof several times before I finally said enough and closed the window. Now Yuki spends his time snoozing in his own blanket filled laundry basket.

Pigeon: Still not much into her princess bed. She loves the DVR though. It is warm and whirs and is a great nap spot. When she gets up there she ignores everything else. As if there is a force field there, keeping her from interacting with humans.

Jazz: Is still a love bug. I took him as an exhibition to a cat show and he was an instant hit. People kept asking about his fur and so many people stated that they love black cats best. He had a lot of attention on the two day adventure and came home rockin’ it like a rockstar. Which happens to be his new nickname. Jazz knows when Ra and I are leaving to the cat shows and sometimes looks a bit put off that he isn’t going. I’ll have to take him to the next one for sure ;)

Sable: Is still fat, I’ve given up on the whole grow into it thing. She is a master at getting into everything and for a while she was one of Garfields roof crew. Other then that its normal Sable the Doom cat trouble =^_^=

Hostlov: (7 months old) Pesty has not found her forever home yet. I still think she would make a great cat for someone but if no one wants her, then I’ll keep her for the Helki program. She has great fur, but not really great type and not really a good temperament. She doesn’t like to be held or petted she only likes to play. She is the first one of Mia’s kittens that is like this. Seems like she retains some of the feral temperament. Over all though Pesty is loved and gets petted and picked up like it or not.

AmunRa: (7 months old) Ra has been my show cat. He has a good type, great fur, had wavy whiskers, had excellent color and pattern. He also has excellent temperament. Its funny that he and Pesty were littermates. He is older then her by two days and is smaller. She hates pets and he will hunt you down for love and affection. Ra is a Superstar at the cats shows he looks good and behaves well for the judges. He needs to be more playful though and also we need to get him a bit more muscled. Because of his age and my plan to use him as breed stock he wont be able to attend any more shows until he is a proven daddy and I am not planning that until next year. So while he earned 550 points at his one show this year he wont be earning anymore points until his own kittens are 14 weeks old and that again wont happen for a while.

Kittens….

Haze: was born of Odie & Shady. He is a blue lynx point with blue eyes and a sweet personality. Like most Siamese colored cats he sticks close to his human (Me). He does like being picked up and petted though. Loves have to come on his terms. I wanted to show him but I have quickly figured that he is not suited for such a life as long as he doesn’t like to be picked up and handled. He’s a sweetie though and I love him.

Le Tigre: Is Hazy’s littermate and planned mate of AmunRa when they are old enough. Tigre is a brown spotted tabby girl who displays the Helki traits the best I’ve seen on any female of this breed so far. She has a very outgoing, playful personality and we have switched focus to training her for the show ring. For an almost four month old cat she has nicely defined muscles and she should stun the judges and the audience alike ^_^ Just to tell you how outgoing she is. From the first days she was born she would hear my husband’s voice and try to crawl to him. She loves my husband to death and checks on him often.


Bender: Bender was born of Tannuki & Garfield. He was her only surviving kitten. Tanuki gave birth to four total kittens. The other 3 being girls sadly they didn’t make it past their first day of life. Tanuki had a long strained labor which I am sure contributed to the early death of her 3 beautiful girls. Bender though came out with a twisted bent tail and was feisty and hungry. He has never given in, even when his momma was sad about his sister. She loves him and he loves her and they bring each other the joy needed from such a loss. Bender is stripped ticked tabby. He also has a marking on the ruff of his neck that looks like a classic tabby pattern but he is stripped and ticked. His ticking is so pronounced that I thought he was an unpatterned tabby for a while. The Helki coat has a way of opening up to throw off color and show off the undercoat which helps see his very thin stripes. His ticking is a nice rufused red making him even more unique. His bent tail is not seen as a fault. It is actually twisted like a Japanese Bobtail and he can move it about just fine. Bender is a fun kitten to have and also a contender for the show ring.


Ditto, Squishee, & Slick: This trio was born of Nermal and Nickademus. They were a surprise litter and not planned. Boy were they a surprise. Squishee is the only male and has long hair like his father. He is blue colored and loves to play, but shy of humans. We work with him daily but I feel like he will be a lot like Pesty when older, which is a shame as he is the first longhair Helki. The waves in his fur pronounced and beautiful. His silvery blue shows off the waves nicely. Ditto was named such as she looks like the perfect copy of her mother. She is a Dilute tortie and just a sweet doll. Slick is a little black smoke girl. Her smoke isn’t as good as her daddys but what she doesn’t have in color she makes up for in personality. She is a hunter. Player, getter, and all around troublemaker. But she loves a good human snuggle. She also has some gorgeous green eyes. There has been a forever home waiting for her for a long time and I am so sad to give her over for those green green eyes and great personality. So hopefully they change their mind and get a dog.


Romo Meowski, Braith, Cho-chan, Koji: These four were born of Mia and Nickademus and again was a huge surprise. This surprise was also very nice. I think anyone who has silvers and works with smoke shaded and shell cats know that every litter is a delight to see. The silver gene does amazing things and until you see it in person… At the show hall people literally gasp when they see a cat with silver. Its like an open clear white that glimmers… All of these kittens got the dominant silver gene and its breath taking on them. Romo and Braith are Silveer classic tabbys. Romo has a better pattern but Braith has a nice long fur with open waves. Cho is a smoke Tortie with long wavy fur. Koji is a red smoke. The smoke make him look like he has no pattern. I still have no idea what pattern he has but the silver smoke makes him appear like a light red with no pattern. Koji also has that great longhair full wavy fur. When my mentor Anthony Nichols told me I needed some longhair cats in my breeding program I was forelorn. I don’t really like longhair cats, but mine! Oh yeah I love what surprises I got. These kittens are still young at all of 7 weeks old but they are all my loves.


Chuck- Loves being the outside cat. He is protective of the other cats out there. I watch a kitten almost get eaten by a dog, but Chuck ran over there and kicked the dogs butt, and saved the kitten!

Its been buggin' me

So the gallery has been bothering me. I don't really like how I have it set right now. Its nice to see the kittens from each mom grouped but over all I would like to have a gallery for each separate cat. I can have a new kittens gallery and such and such as needed. But over all it would be nice to have a gallery that features each cat that is staying in the home not just a jumble of new kittens and litters.

In other words I should have a good update about the gallery soon... wish me luck.

Being patient

I ordered my edition of Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders. I'm pretty excited to get it. I know its a great reference and resource. Several months ago I had wanted to order the book and found a used one online for about $50 and thought that was a good deal. Finances didn't go as planned and I had to wait. Boy am I glad I did! I got the book for $3.75 and then paid about the same in shipping. The book is an old used library book. But its the original not the newer edition with all this editing from other geneticists. So for that I am extremely happy. Now I am waiting for the books arrival and that might be about 2 weeks. Le Sigh...

As for other stuff, I am mulling over attending a TICA show in Las Vegas. Several people I talk to online are attending and it sounds like a blast, but again I am not to sure about finances. So its a waiting game. The unpleasant kind where you aren't sure where the future is going.

As for cats. Everyone seems to be in good health and my youngest kittens are starting the weaning stage. Litterbox training has been hellish though. With other groups its been an easy transition and I always figure it take a few weeks for kittens to really get the whole litter box idea down, but I do have some stragglers that would prefer the paper to the box. There is still much time for these kittens to develop their skills again I have to be patient.

I was finally able to get some time to recreate all the records I had on my cats that were lost when the computer got a virus. Thank goodness for hard copies and also that I had put some of it online. I am still missing a huge bunch of pictures. Granted they aren't exactly the best pictures in the world but they were mine :(

R.I.P. pictures you are missed....

CFA Show Reno 06/06/09

AmunRa (1st pic) was entered as HHP for this show. He is only 6th months old and already turning the judges heads. He won 2nd place in 4 rings and 4th place in 2 rings. He was up against some heavy competition from the 5th best cat in our Region(NorthWest). Mikelah (2nd pic) who is 7 years old and a feral rescue. She is an excellent example of a DSH mackerel tabby. And notably so she won 1st place in all rings as I recall.



As for Ra this will be his last show for about a year. I want to pass on his genes before I neuter him and by the time the next show comes around he will be too old for the competition without having been fixed. Also I need to work on his muscle tone. So I figure a nice year to mature in muscle tone and coat texture and then watch out HHP cats ;P

Our next cat that we are showing will be Kipper(Tigre 3rd pic) she is a Brown Spotted Tabby. She has these amazing waves in her whiskers and her coat really shows the difference between the Helki and the DSH. She has better muscle tone then Ra. Look for her at the Region 2 show in Roseville August 8th!

P.S. All my show schedules and plans are tentative. There are a few shows in Region 2 & 5 that I may or may not be attending with the above mentioned cats.... I'll update the blog as needed.

Cat Show

No word from the Reno cat club if they are not having HHP so I got AmunRa ready to show. I tried something new in the line up. I brushed him out and clipped chin hairs and the lynx tips on his ears. Then took an oatmeal bath and just rubbed that deep into the undercoat and brushed him out again. Then rinsed him off and shampoo'ed him with Garnier moisturizing shampoo. Let him sit five minutes. Then did a white vingar rinse. Last but not least we put some texturizer on him and let him sit for five minutes and then rinsed. It a quick towel off and then I let him air dry. Later I'll add some rehydrater and see how that looks. So far his coat looks fluffy and soft but I haven't touched him yet. I'm hoping this is the great and final grooming test. These cats have such different fur that I am having to find my way through grooming for show. I tried all the different rex cat grooming tips and truely have to use a bit from each but I've also had to take tips from the OSH and Persian people. So again we will see. Here is to hoping the competition falls flat compared to Ra's amazing type, and pattern!

Web Site Updated

To get in tune with the new blog I updated the website. I still have to organize and upload more images to the gallery but overall the site and blog are updated! ^_^

Next Step - SOP

So the next step is determining a Standard of Points. I want to at least have a template that can be tweeked if needed. Because this breed has come from ferals and domestics I have a wide range of body types. For the most part the Helki is a small cat some individuals being close to the size of the Singapura with a stockier build. So far I've had a wide range in patterns just from the small group of cats that I've bred. So far no Chocolates/Lilacs/Cinnamon/Fawn but possibly do have Burmese brown... Some kittens are born with light colors that later develop into dark rich colors that are difficult to identify. Anyway thats what I have for now. I'll post more under this label at a later time ^_~

Whats in a Name

Its been a battle trying to figure out if I should try and develop a new breed of cat or not. Its a hard decision that I don't take lightly and I question daily. In breed development and experimentation there are kittens I keep and kittens & cats that need good forever homes. One of my trusted mentors advised me its time to think of a good breed name.

We sat down and had a instant message brain storm but while some of the names we came up with were nice nothing really had that feeling. You know that "Thats the One!" feeling.

After that I would sit for hours thinking about cat breed names. Many breeds like to honor the area that the breed came from. None of the things in my area really sounded like a viable breed name. So then I got to thinking about the native people of Northern California. This cat breed was established from cats that came from San Joaquin County as well as Sacramento County the tribe that stuck out in my mind was the Miwok tribe. I then researched Miwok language and came across the name Helki meaning "touch". I thought Helki sounded very Scandinavian so I did more research and came across the German translation of the word Helki meaning "The Sun". The Sun is a major link in cat mythology around the globe and I felt like all the connections were being met. A connection to the land by using a Miwok word, the connection to the finder(Me) by a Germanic word being connected, and the word Helki itself translating into to very relevant words that describe this breed.

Why Touch? - This is a rare rex mutation as a dominant mutation and also because the gaurd hairs on the cat are mostly straight but there are not as many gaurd hairs on the Helki as you will find on the standard domestic cat. When you run your fingers through this fur you have a soft silky top coat and a plush luxurious undercoat. When the cats are viewed by the public many can not stop petting the cats as the texture is inviting and comforting. You really have to touch a Helki to appreciate them.

Getting Started - Current Updates

Hello all. I am currently working on getting this blog together. I plan on putting my thoughts feeling and milestones on this blog. My last blog was all hand coded and got pretty time consuming so I am looking forward to the ease of Blogger.

Ok so as for updates I wasn't able to take AmunRa to the CFA show in Fresno. As many of you know because this breed is so new I can only show my cats under the Household Pet(HHP) status. I was the only one to apply for HHP at the show, to help save time I withdrew Ra and my daughter Arie and I got the chance to steward. Basically its cleaning cages in between cats. It was fun, but as I've been ill I got so worn out that I had to stop several times on the way home and just slept.

As for other shows Arie and I would like to make it to the Reno NV show, but we are still trying to decide if we want to show a cat or go just for fun.

The Past

Here is a link to my manual blog and older post - Wyrdwul Blog