Friends Remember Nancy Davenport Saint Clouds Cattery At the passing of Nancy came her MANY friends of- fering to contribute writings for the Scratch Sheet about her and her cattery, St Clouds. This issue will Remembering 1 Nancy 6-7 feature Nancy, her cattery, her dedication and love Davenport of the Maine Coon cat, as told by her friends. I never had the chance to meet Nancy, but from The Vaccine 2 what I’ve received from these friends about her, it’s Conundrum 13-17 a shame I didn’t have the good fortune to do so. Nancy appears to be a shining star and I know eve- Spotlight on 3 New Breeder 5 ryone will agree after reading this article. Members While Nancy’s friends will recount their time with her, I first want to share what her publisher, IUniverse, says Dutch Show 3 about her and her book, Eternal Improv, written about her life, outside of the cat fancy. Winners’ 4 Gallery “Following a childhood of parental abuse, and sub- sequent homelessness, Nancy Davenport went on to What’s New 8 graduate from UCLA Phi Beta Kappa, later receiving her Master’s Degree in Social Work. An accom- Vaccine Recall 8 plished poet and artist, she dedicated her life to counselling children and families affected by child Kids Korner 9 abuse. While writing this memoir Nancy was diag- Remembering 10 Nancy is pictured here with her all-time nosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Suddenly faced A Special Feline favorite cat, St. Clouds Diamond Lil with devastating illness, she became determined to President’s 11 complete this work in order to spread her message that child abuse is likely to be found in a Corner mansion as in a mobile home. Eternal Improv is an inspiring work of profound courage and Feline 11 hope.” Seminar My sincere thanks to Barbara Ray, Willowplace cattery, Laura Cunningham, Coonyham cat- Recipe 11 tery, and Hazel Brandenburg, for sharing their stories with all of us. Liz Hansen, Editor 2005-2006 12 Story Continued on Pages 6-7 Winners Mainerd Sez 18 Meet This Year’s Top Membership 19 Maine Coons Officers, 20 Contact Info Find Out Which Maine Coons & Advertising Champions, Kittens & Alters Were Top Five for the 2005-2006 Show Season in CFA TICA CFA’s Best Maine Coon Kitten GC NW Shubacoons Desdemona of Highlandser TICA’s Best Maine Coon Kitten Page 12 IW RW TGC Smokeycoons Here Comes the Sun The Vaccine Conundrum: How Should I Vaccinate My Cat? Susan Duke, Health Contributor Dukehaven Cattery, North Carolina When I posed this topic to Dr. Susan Little for this issue of the vaccinate. The “Age of the Internet” Scratch Sheet, she replied “The key is that we build individualized has given us a broad and sometimes vaccination protocols now, there is no one size for all.” confusing range of information, and Safety concerns (especially vaccine-induced sarcomas – see VAS vaccination of our cats is no different. sidebar) are the prime motivator behind this change. But com- Because the theme of the guidelines is pletely eliminating vaccination has even greater safety concerns. to adjust the vaccination protocol to Lorraine Shelton’s sidebar describes the more serious situation fit the cat or cattery, it shouldn’t be before vaccines were available. too surprising that veterinary practices In 2000, the American Association of Feline Practicioners (AAFP) are adjusting for the same reasons and the Academy of Feline Medicine Advisory Panel on Feline Vac- (and some vets haven’t yet changed A Dukehaven kitten cines released a report entitled Guidelines on Feline Vaccines11. Ac- their vaccination protocol). cording to one of the co-authors, Dr. R B Ford, revised guidelines So it’s no wonder that vaccination protocols ranked near the top of the are scheduled to be published later this year. Dr. Ford explained list in a recent MCBFA survey of health topics of interest. The objec- that the most important change to the guidelines is the stronger tive of this issue’s Scratch Sheet health topic is to clarify and elucidate safety concern about use of adjuvants. the diseases vaccines protect against and what and how vaccines do Adjustment to fit individual cat’s and cattery’s situations is healthier what they do (including safety concerns), so you can minimize the risks for our cats than one-size-fits-all. However it requires owners to and maximize the benefits afforded by the vaccine options available (and be better educated about diseases, vaccines, and how often to better evaluate new options as they become available). Feline Diseases with Available Vaccines Part of the decision on which vaccines to use is determining the risk of getting the disease. Virus Acronym Disease Symptoms FV R-C-P –Diseases with Vaccines that are “Core” “R” FHV-1 Feline Viral FVR is the more severe of the two most common upper respiratory viruses, the other being Feline Rhinotracheitis Calici virus. As suggested by the name, it affects the nose ("rhino"), eyes, throat area and Herpesvirus (synonyms: sinus areas. The "itis" refers to the inflammation/infection that is happening. It is referred to Type 1 Rhinotracheitis, as an "upper" respiratory virus because it affects the area involved with breathing that is Feline Herpes before the lungs and trachea. Virus Infection) FVR is actually a herpes virus, specifically Herpes Virus 1, and it is specific for cats. (from WinnFeline) “C” FCV Feline Calici Virus Calici is the least severe of the two most common upper respiratory viruses. There are Feline Calici Infection MANY strains of Calici, some of which make cats very ill while others cause only mild illness. Virus Symptoms range from nothing at all to severe pneumonia. Usually there are mouth ulcers (including the tongue, and sometimes the lips and nose), nose and eye discharge, sneezing, fever, lack of appetite and severe drooling due to the mouth ulcers. The discharge from the eyes and nose is neither as thick nor as profuse as that associated with Rhinotracheitis. The cat may also have swollen eye membranes on the inside of the eye lids. FCV can cause death, and it is most often kittens which contract the severe form with pneu- monia. (from WinnFeline) “P” FPV Feline Panleukopenia is an infection so severe that it was referred to as "Cat Plague" in earlier Feline Panleukopenia times when infections would nearly wipe out cat populations in certain geographical areas. It Parvovirus (synonyms: is a highly contagious, severe parvovirus that causes enteric (bowel), immune system and Distemper, nervous system disease. It is important to be aware of this disease as the fatality rate in sus- Feline Infectious ceptible cats/kittens is 50-90%. (from WinnFeline) Enteritis (FIE), PanLeuk) Rabies Rabies Rabies Once infection occurs, the rabies virus grows in muscle tissue and may go undetected for Virus several days or months. Rabies causes typical symptoms. The infection progresses in a predictable manner, from the initial prodromal phase to the excitative, or furious, phase to the final paralytic phase. The first sign usually is a change in behavior. Rabid animals usually stop eating and drinking, and may appear to want to be left alone. After the initial onset of symptoms, the animal may become vicious or begin to show signs of paralysis. Some rabid animals bite at the slightest provocation and others may be somnolent and difficult to arouse. Once the animal shows signs of paralysis, the disease progresses very quickly and the animal dies. (from Animal- HealthChannel). In the US, cats are the most commonly rabid domestic animal. Worldwide, more than 30,000 people die from rabies each year, with many more undocumented cases, and 10-12 million receive postexposure treatment. Increased awareness and vaccination of cats will help re- duce the need for PEP (postexposure prophylaxis). Once infection develops in humans, it is incurable. Although less than five human cases of rabies occur each year in the US, approxi- mately 20,000 to 40,000 people annually are given antirabies PEP. In less developed coun- tries, the cost of prophylaxis is prohibitive so many cases are not prevented (From Greene's Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat). Continued on Page 13 Page 2 Introducing New Breeder Member Shastacoons Lisa Beazio-Harvey of Redding, California My husband Dan and I live in Redding. California. Redding is very far Northern Ca., about an hour from the Oregon border. We are originally from the Oregon Coast and moved to Redding to escape the coastal fog, wind and rain. We are both RN’s. I am a clinical instructor for the Voca- tional Nurse program at a small college here and Danny is the PICC Line Coordinator (peripherally inserted central catheter-a special IV line) at one of the hospitals here. We also have our own PICC Line company and service the smaller outlying hospitals in the area. 2 years ago we planted a small vineyard-100 Cabernet and 200 Cloned Old Vine Zinfandel-we can harvest next year, so anyone interested in helping with the harvest can plan on visiting next fall! Our cattery is in our home-the girls and kittens live in the house and the males have their own enclosed rooms at the back of the house. Danny has built the nicest rooms for the guys-heat, air conditioning, fresh air, lots of windows and a floor that is easy for me to clean! Our kittens are born in our bedroom/bath area and live there with their mom until after the first vet exam and vaccination-lots of nighttime company for us! We keep our numbers small so that everyone has special attention.