MY
CATS
My present feline population consists firstly of 20 gentlemen. One(vasectomised) has the pleasant task of keeping his harem happy ( and is pleased to entertain ladies of other breeds - by arrangement), and the rest live in groups of 2, 3 and 4, with separate suites for entertaining the ladies.
I always have a few cats in the house as pets, they seem to choose themselves, though I do like to find homes for as many as possible when their breeding days are over. I think it’s fair to reward them for their contribution to my pleasure in their progeny , by endowing them with a loving home where they can live out their days as 'top cat'. In my new house in Victoria, I have very wide verandahs divided into large houses for the ladies. Some houses have access to an enclosed garden area, and here youngsters, (and very oldsters!) have time outdoors.
Girls go very rapidly - I often have a waiting list, but it is always worth inquiring whether anyone is ready to go. Then we do also place 'Australian Mists in distress'. these may be living temporarily with any one of us, but we generally all know which cat is waiting where!
All these
oldies make visitors very welcome. Being the most wonderful ambassadors
for the breed, they sell many a kitten for me.
And
the commission?
Yet
another tasty tidbit to add to their girth!
Every group of cats has character. Dan and Danny Boy ( yes - I do have an alphabetical litter naming sequence, they have been together since kittenhood) are two big studs - brown and gold. They adore each other, standing head to head and rubbing and purring in obvious delight. That little graphic at the top is my attempt to show them at it! These fellows have moved to Artumblom Cattery - and are very happy. Several of my oldies also now reside there, as do a couple more studs, and girls.
Ode, Kouros and Evergold are a happy, very stable trio, taking the big interstate move in their stride. All are superb sires, with many features of type, colour and pattern and excellence of temperament which they pass consistently to their offspring.
Idol
( chocolate spotted), who as a 6 month old kitten, mated a 7 month old
girl on my bedroom floor (no harm done, 4 lovely babies) shares his house
with a beautiful chocolate marbled boy, Dandy, gold spotted
Zahan
and a lilac
spot, Xenopus. Xenopus has the most stunning eye colour like emeralds.
Zahan has sired a couple of litters with the most beautiful heads, lovely
ears, Xenopus has passed his emerald eyes onto his children, and has had
some fun on the Show bench. Idol is now a Gold DbGd Ch, and Dandy,
with the most superb coat texture, has won many hearts, and reached Bronze
Db Gd Ch. These four boys moved well, though they did have a !!lovely!!
time in the verandah run where they first lived on arrival in Victoria.
Transfer to their own big run in the Barn solved the tensions experienced,
and all have returned to their usual selves with more available space.
Roundel, the first Australian Mist marbled stud, has lived alone for quite some time, and was known as Rowdy, because he continually complained about being so. He has now gone to Ongarra Cattery, where he gets almost as much attention as he would like!
Buttonwood cattery have recently been beneficiaries of the dispersal of studs, being joined by Prince, Harmon and Purrson. I was very sad to have to place these boys when they are so young, and I haven't yet had a chance to see what they can do. I have kept Zorro, a son of Purrson, who lives with Trebizond, a really energetic brown marbled boy. Oci, the lilac spotted boy who did live with them, now shares with my Maine Coon stud, Merlin, who he uses as a warm and comfy pillow.
As you might have
guessed, I am very fond of male cats!
The ability to maintain over long periods, groups of mature males has been both a product of my initial selection criteria, and one of the reasons why this very new breed, with no more than a couple of dozen breeders has a good broad genetic base. As well as my 20 studs, there are at least a further 25 elsewhere in Australia , this total is not far exceeded by the number of breeding females throughout Australia. Some of the boys are repositories of earlier lines, so that if we need to go back behind a problem, or want more of something desirable, the ‘living ancestor’ is available. I also collect boys from other breeders, as a way of harvesting the contribution that they have made to the development of the breed. As in all breeds, many people join us for a few years, a few litters, then retire, and many do not want to keep their own stud cats, or at least want to swap with me from time to time. I try to encourage the maintenance of an open gene pool within the breed, so that no-one diverges too far from the breed standard, and no undesirable traits become too widespread.My quarter century of breeding has confronted me with many challenges, particularly concerning the health problems involved in keeping a very large number of cats. I have had excellent support from family, and my vet, Dr Karen Hedberg. Without Karen’s help and advice, and interest in the developing breed and genuine distress when very difficult decisions have had to be made, I doubt that I would have stayed the distance: starting in 1976, it took 10 years to reach championship status, and another 10 years before I felt reasonably confident that the breed was here to stay.
When we added a new pattern (marbled) to the Spotted Mist, as they were originally known, the change of name to Australian Mist was really the final seal of approval and stimulated a great surge of activity amongst pet kitten buyers, avid to have a wholly 'Australian Made' pet. The most recent confirmation that the breed is 'here to stay', is that the number of breeders is now sufficiently large to have spawned a beakaway organisation (Australian Mist Breeders and Fanciers Inc), in turn stimulating the original informal association to incorporate as the Australian Mist Cat Fanciers Association Inc.Personal spinoffs from this long road have included long lasting friendships with other Aussie Mist breeders.A growing knowledge of the practicalities of cat rearing resulted in the production of a Breeders Manual , and the initiation of an Advice Service to assist breeders new and old, and cat owners in general ‘to do it better’. Another spinoff has been my involvement in the NSW Cat Fanciers Association, as firstly Journal Editor, and currently as part of the Management Committee. Invitations to become involved in developing Codes of Practice for the Welfare of Cats, and the development of Companion Animal Legislation at the state level have come my way. I am currently a member of the NSW Companion Animals Board, as the nominee of the NSW Cat Fanciers Association, where we are working on the second stage of full implementation of the Act in mid 2000..
Last but not least, I have known a great many cats as friends and dependents, some fabulous show cats, some top purrsonality cats, and some that just show they love you with every move they make. I can’t bear to even think of a life without cats, I can’t cope with neglect and unkindness towards them. Through creating a loving house pet, and through becoming involved with creating a framework for an improvement in the lot in life of all cats, I hope that I have repaid the pleasure that they have given me. If you have a cat as companion, or feed the cat that comes to your door, I wish you the equal of joy and pleasure. If you don’t have one, I urge you to think about acquiring one - perhaps it might be an Australian Mist.
The Breed logo:
The original of the breed logo is a silver pendant made for me as a fiftieth birthday gift. From this a mould was made, and bronze medallions are cast. Suitably engraved, these are presented annually. Special occasions are also marked by presentations. Winners have converted medallions into earings, brooches and tie bars.
All designs based on the medallion are copyright to Truda Straede.BACK
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Last updated 4 April 2002