So much has happened this past month, I hardly know where to begin. I guess I should take it in the order that it happened.

We were once again victims of a terrible storm that came through Ohio on July 10th and once again we lost many, many trees (more than we did last year). According to the weather service, we experienced "straight line winds" which is basically a tornado without the rotation and that is what it looked like happened to our property.

The trees that came down completely blocked our driveway for about 50 yards of it. The only good thing about the trees coming down where they did is that they snapped a power line, so it was at the power company's expense that the trees had to be cleared off the driveway in order to get their trucks into the property to fix the power line that was cutting off power to several homes (including ours).

Since so many people were affected by the power lines being snapped on our property, we were without power for a little less than 48 hours. Once again, John broke out the gas powered generator to keep the refrigerator going as well as a nice fan in our room so we could get some relief from the heat and sleep at night.

The trees that fell down on the power lines also snapped the telephone lines. We were without phone service for 72 hours. Awful quiet around here those few days. :-)

We posted more pictures in the album on our Facebook page, if anyone is interested in seeing more pictures.

Status on Gracie

On Saturday, July 13th, I decided to take Gracie to the veterinarian as she was just not acting right. Given the fact that she lost an entire litter last year, I felt it was better safe than sorry. It was determined that since she was so close to her due date (July 15th) and that she was dilated, to go ahead with the c-section as only one kitten's heartbeat was showing up on the ultrasound. There were three kittens; two were already deceased, and the other one was not in good shape, and he did not make it either. We made the decision to have Gracie spayed while under anesthesia.

New Additions

We are very pleased and excited to announce that we have purchased two wonderful girls from Cacao Cattery (the same place we got Diggie and Sugar from). Joining our group is:

1. A black and white female (yet unnamed) that was born last September. Check out her picture and pedigree on our website.

2. A Grand Champion blue and white van female, named "Cacao Make No Exceptions (Maker). Maker was born November 22, 2008. Check out her picture and pedigree on our website.

Now the REALLY exciting news: Maker has been bred to Grand Champion, National Winner "Cacao Xcitement", who is a solid white Persian. Check out his picture, story, and pedigree on the Cacao Cattery website. If Maker is pregnant, the ONLY colors she can have is - solid whites or bicolor vans! We wish to extend a big shout out to Cacao Cattery for trusting us with these two girls.

Persian vs. Exotic

Recently, I received an email inquiry from a woman that had gotten a "Persian" but felt that the kitten did not have the same type of coat she was used to in the Persian cats she had owned before. She wanted to know if perhaps she had been sold a longhaired Exotic. So, I began my quest to learn more about the Exotic breed.

Origin of the Exotic Shorthair

First and foremost, an Exotic Shorthair is NOT a short-coated Persian. The roots of the Exotic are from breeding Persians to American Shorthairs, British Shorthairs, Russian Blues, and Burmese. The Exotic Shorthair is similar to the Persian breed in many ways, including temperament (but Exotics tend to be more active and inquisitive than a Persian), and conformation (except an Exotic has a short dense, double - "undercoat". Due to this double coat Exotics shed a lot!!

Designer Cats - Hybrids

Over 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians domesticated cats. Nowadays, people have a taste for all things exotic and are working to undo the domesticated cat with the introduction of "half-wild" cats. These "breeders" (and I use the term loosely) are breeding for a designer look and taken to breeding house cats with medium-sized wild cats to create new animals that act as if they were still in the grasslands of Africa.

Did You Know?

Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows in mourning when their cats died. If someone killed a cat, he or she could get the death penalty.!

The fumes from moth balls destroy a cat's liver cells -- Use cedar in your closet instead!

According to Guinness Book of World Records the longest whisker on a cat measured 6.8 inch on July 30, 2004 and belonged to Mingo, a Maine Coon (which is also the largest domestic breed of cat). Mingo lives with her owner, in Finland. Although most castles in Britain are no longer residences and instead have been turned into tourist attractions, many still employ cats to control the rodent population.

"The artist is uncomfortable with his success and with the blizzard of fan mail it has produced. Kliban's recent collections have been conspicuously empty of cats. 'Cats are wonderful,' Kliban once said. 'It's drawings of cats I get tired of.' " ~ J.C. Suares, Great Cats

Litter Box

Sophia had her kittens on July 22nd. She had a black & white van male, a red & white male (could be a tabby). a solid cream (sex unknown at this time), and a cream & high white (sex unknown at this time).

We have not announced this on Facebook or on our website yet. Our Newsletter subscbribers are going to learn about this first. - We believe that Sugar is pregnant (by Diggie). Her current weight is 6.60 pounds (up from her normal weight around 5 pounds). If Sugar is pregnant, she will be due around August 15th. This will be our Grand Champion Diggie's first litter.

Available For Sale

Tempest - is available to a permenent home. Tempest was born in 2008. She is a Brown Patched Tabby and White and is very affectionate, loves to sleep on your bed and has good house manners. Tempest is already spayed. Tempest is priced at $500 (shipping not included). If interested in this great cat, please fill out and submit our on-line Application.

Gracie - She turned 6 years old Janauary of 2013. She is a Brown Tabby & White Van. Very sweet, with good house manners. Gracie is priced at $500 (shipping not included). If interested in this great cat, please fill out and submit our on-line Application.

For more information, please visit our website . Review the pages under the Placement tab and if you would like to be considered for one of our Persian kittens, please fill out and submit the on-line Application.

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