John and I both hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. My brother, Matthew, came over for Thanksgiving dinner and as you can see Bandy found a NEW friend in my brother. Bandy spent quite a bit a time on Matt's lap, and he was more than happy to let her lay there. It was adorable.

The Christmas Holiday season is upon us. Everyone is in gift-giving mode and friends and family are making plans to spend time together. I thought it timely to update an article I wrote a few years ago and reprint it in this month's Newsletter.

Here at Pelaqita Persians, we will be going through some changes over the next several months. My husband, John, would like to retire in a few years. John has supported my (very) expensive hobby of raising and showing Persian cats for our entire marriage - poor guy! :-)

The two most significant expenses in the hobby of breeding are veterinary and showing costs. To reduce these costs, Pelaqita Persians will be downsizing. Let me make one thing clear:

I plan to get down to no more than 3-4 female cats and one male. I am also not going to do any more traveling to shows that are more than an hour or so away from my home after the end of this current show season. The current show season ends at the end of April 2018. Until that time, I will continue showing my cats. Jan and I travel together, and it has made traveling and showing much easier on me. I greatly appreciate all that Jan and Edd have done for me over the past year.

My newbies, Jan and Edd Smith, will be taking over the majority of my breeding program. We are in the process of buying an outcross male from a good friend of mine in Colorado. That boy, Gunner, will live with Jan and her husband, Edd. Gunner will be available to me for breeding. In a few years, Diggie will be retired from breeding, and we hope that Mikey will take his place. Daisy has gone to live with Edd and Janice - we hope that with her away from here and the smell and sounds of the boys, she will start to gain weight again and eventually, it is hoped that she can be brought back out and shown to her Grand Champion title. Jan will be showing Daisy once she can get the weight back on her. I am still undecided as to which girls are staying, which girls will be spayed, and which girls may be petted out. But most of them, the ones I do not hang onto, will go to Edd and Janice.

We are thrilled to announce that Mikey is now a Grand Champion. Forevermore, he will be "GC Pelaqita Nothin But Trouble." As many of you know, from the minute that Mikey was born, he was "special" to me. He carries my brother, Mike's name. Mike died unexpectedly a few years ago, and this kitten is his only namesake. My brother left behind no wife or children - just his siblings and other family members. GC Pelaqita Nothin But Trouble is my tribute to my brother who left this world way too soon. I love you, Mike! Look what we did....

In mid-to-late November, we start getting calls and emails about kittens. Many of the inquiries are about giving a kitten as a gift to a loved one. In many instances, the gift is intended to be a surprise. Why you may ask, is giving a kitten (or any pet) not a good idea?

Read on ......

Ancient Egyptians believed that cats' eyes reflected the sun, even during darkness when the sun was down.

A group of kittens is called a "kindle".

At birth, the kittens cannot see or hear. Kittens start to open their eyes at about 5 days and begin to develop their eyesight and hearing at approximately 2 weeks of age. They begin to walk at about 20 days of age.

If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr. ~ Martin Buxbaum

We still have a few kittens not spoken for. JR is currently with Diggie. Funfetti has been bred to Diggie, but it is too early to confirm her pregnancy.

If you are interested in being considered for one of our Persian kittens, please visit our website and review the pages under the Placement tab.