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. :)

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.