Show Report - Vallejo CA 3/6 - 3/7

Crow Canyon Cat Club knows their stuff. They get great judges and put together a good show with excellent vendors. For this two day show I took Ichi for our entry, Slick and Romo to look at and compare. Slick is the one female where I got a normal coat. Her siblings coats weren't as thick or as wavy as I like to see, but Slick is just that sleek and slick. Compared to Romo's coat its pretty easy to tell the difference. Ichi did great in the ring and got 2nd place in all but two rings. One ring he got Best and one ring he got 4th. So on average for this Show Ichi was 2nd. Not to shabby but Ichi might have been bumped down if we had as much competition as had been expected for both days. It was a blast though and it was so nice to see so many young people walking through the show hall with their parents learning about all the different cat breeds. I dont know which school or teacher promoted it, but what a great way to get young people interested.

So its official this was finally the last time for a while that the Helki will be put on a judging bench. Hopefully we can make quick progress and get enough breeders by next year to submit all the appropriate paperwork by August 1st. I can hope can't I?

I also got great news. Santoi cattery got back in touch with me and I should be able to get this lovely kitten to show in the next season. My goals this season are to assist with clerking, and show this sweet little guy at the same time exhibition the Helki. Wish me luck.

Jumping Through Hoops - Day 1

First thing I want to say is there are going to be some huge changes in the works for me. I have been advised on one occasion in a very polite way that even in CFA it is now time to do Exhibition Only with the Helki. Then recently some staunch advice and words of alert were said to me during a show. My mentor and I had planned on attending and putting the cats on the bench one last time in March, but after that we knew it was time for Exhibition Only. Now I am contemplating just doing Exhibition Only at this show in March. Its a difficult decision for me, however I know the advice given to me could also be the warning that I may be stepping to far into territory where I will be causing myself and my breed nothing but harm. I am not making the decision today but I do think that its time to settle in for the long winter in Exhibition Only. Its not an easy feeling but all the advice given is from those whom I trust and respect. I've never gone wrong by following the advice from these people.

Another thing I'd like to try is 30 days of Helki Blog! I neglect this portion of life so well. I really dont like putting my heart on my sleeve in front of everyone and their dog to read. I like to believe that all people have good intentions but I know from experience that it is not the case. Again I have to think about the breed and not myself. I need breeders and I need people interested in this breed. So in order to do that I need to talk about them and my methods more. Hopefully my honesty can help others understand that my intentions are not bad, even if those people do not agree with me or if they dont like my breed. Here is the skinny, I will attempt to post about the Helki everyday for 30 days. If I skip a day the 30 days starts over. The post may be very simple and sent from my cell phone, or could be long and involved. It will be at my whim and hopefully fun and informative. :)

Show Report - King City CA 02/20/2010

King City was a lot of fun. I am going to attempt to make this short and sweet though this cattery brought two kittens and Najo cattery brought one kitten. Thats a total of 3 Helki kittens being show under HHP class. Alton is a red ticked tabby. He scored the best with two Bests. Ichiban scored one Best. Sappuro's best placement for six rings was one 3rd place ribbon. Over all a fun day in a very low key show hall with fun judges. Alton and Ichi held  most of their scores between Best and Third throughout the day. We were able to get some stunning photos of Alton done and are hoping to post those soon.

Show Report - San Diego CA/CFA

The Food & Water Bowl XVII!!! San Diego Cat Fanciers knows how to do it right. This was a fabulous show and they really pulled in the whole crowd. I don't think I've been to a more celebrated cat show. 2 days, 10 rings being 5 rings each day was just awesome. Fanciers from around the globe showed up! We took Ichiban and Sappuro to show and compete and Romo came as a companion for the kittens. Of course we could not forget Nancy Jo and Danny. Danny and Ichi were entered in the agility ring of which they both did really well. Danny is a Oriental Shorthair with an appetite for fun. Both cats love the agility ring. Its a great place for the cats to run around and get rid of pent up energy. Ichi did really well. At only 4 months old he got a score of 49 sec which by the end of the show put him in 5th place, but for a while Ichi's score was the one to beat. We are proud of our little guy he can draw a crowd like a popstar! Sappuro is a more laid back kind of guy. He love attention and enjoyed being in the Judges Ring. This time around we had 28 total cats in the HHP class. This gives a lot of room for play for the judges. Our little 4 month old guys were up against Seasoned Regional Winners, so we were thrilled to see Ichi get 5th place in Gary Veach's ring and Sappuro placed 6th in the same ring. Gary said he was won over by their excellent temperament. Most judges see a small fry like mine and figure they will see these cats have long carriers in the cat fancy so they figure the kittens are more there for practice. It was nice that Gary felt they were of superb enough quality to final our cats and we were very happy he thought to include our kittens. Another touching moment was that Larry Adkinson made or brought these wonderful Merit ribbons. Our cats should get merit ribbons in every ring if they qualify for finals by being in good form and health. While we did get merits in all rings with both boys the ones that will stick in our minds are the ribbons that we got to take home. All the judges were wonderful it was a nice treat.

Last but not least we had some wonderful interest brewing in the show hall for the Helki and again the spectators were very excited to see and touch our cats. I will definitely go next year.

Show Report - Stockton CA/CFA

This was a wonderful show put on by Poppy State Cat Club. I was excited to attend as I missed this clubs last show here in Sacramento. I can not tell you how nice it is to be able to drive to a cat show and then back home all in the same day. Had it been a two day cat show then yes I would have been in heaven sleeping in my own bed in stead of a hotel room. But that's neither here nor there is it? I took my young daughter Arie and met up with my friend Jacky Andersen. Jacky shows and loves Sphynx cats. The seating was a little messed up so Jacky and I sat separately from each other but we each had complimentary groom space or elbow room as I like to think of it lol. Arie and I took a very special kitty Wyrdwul Ichiban of Najo. Ichi as we call him was breed in our cattery but has aims to be a Helki stud for the Najo cattery someday. He will be the first breeder cat used in another cattery and so we have high hopes for him. This show was his first show and we expected there to at least be one other cat to compete with. Unfortunately that cat was absent. Which means he received Best(1st) HHP ribbons in every ring but his points are not counted. Sad but true, however it gave Ichi a taste for the show life of which he does seem to take to like a fish to water. 

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.

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.

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.