The Official Publication of the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers As- sociation

Index: The Scratch Sheet

“Take Me Out To the Ball Game!”

“Runner safe on Second!”

“Fly Ball! My Ball!”

“Yer OUT!!” Home Run!

“C’mon, Ump—You know that was a fair ball…”

“Oh, my—You mean I get to throw out the first ball??” The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

and I was still thinking someone would eventually want him. He still didn’t even have a name as I like to let the new owners name their kitties. When he reached ten months of age, I took a good look at him and said to my husband, “Well, if he’s going to hang around here we better think up a name for him. Besides, he’s quite nice and I think I’ll enter him in the CFF show coming up in September. The Kitten Nobody Wanted Maybe someone will see him and want him.” Tom looked at him and said, “I think his name should be Toby—he looks like a Toby.” I had to agree; he October 12th, 2000, LeBeau Minu Jes- did look like a Toby and so Toby he became. sica Lynn gave birth easily to six happy, Toby was 11 months old when he went to healthy, colorful kittens sired by LeBeau Minu his first show in the alter class. He wasn’t fond at Great Balls of Fire. Jessie loved all her babies all of riding in the car and stated that fact over and and was an excellent mom. She had a lovely over and over in the 30 minute ride to the show- blue patched tabby w/white, a brown patched hall ! I was concerned that he might not like being tabby tabby w/white, another blue patch—all shown either. Toby loved it!! He gloried in being girls—and 3 boys. Two were quite high white handled and loved stretching up the sisal rope to brown tabbies and the third, a low white brown show his length. He played with the judges and to tabby. the crowd. My fellow exhibitors and friends started I am generally not fond of high whites and usu- Toby he needed to give lessons on how to be a ally sell them all as pets. The kittens grew well show cat! Toby did very well at that first show and and became quite lovely as time passed. I decided to keep showing him. Before long, he When they got to be about 6 weeks of became a Grand Champion Alter and then a Mas- age, they started to have the run of the house ter Grand! How exciting for this kitten that nobody part of the time; when we were home to make wanted!! For the 2001/2002 season, he was 2nd sure they wouldn’t somehow get hurt. Time Best Maine Coon Alter and 9th Best Alter over all went on and the kittens got old enough to sell. in CFF. For the 2002/2003 season, he was Best Before they left home, we got a call from one Maine Coon Alter and CFF’s 2nd Best Alter over of the editors of the Portland newspapers and all!! He still loves being shown and hates riding in she asked me if I would be willing to have pho- the car so I have retired him. His home is with us tos taken for a coffee table book about Port- forever and he makes a hit with everyone who land and the surrounding area. They were try- comes here as his personality makes him shine as ing to promote the city and some of the other it does in the show hall. He is truly a gentle, lov- areas of the state and wanted a reputable ing boy and I believe that somehow he was just breeder of Maine Coons to show off our state meant to stay here with us. I would not dream of cat!!! I was thrilled to be asked and just about letting him go anywhere else to live now—not be- this whole litter ended up being in the book cause he is a winner in the show ring, but be- with one photo of me. One of the high white cause he has wound his way into our hearts for- boys was on my lap. ever. Soon after that, the kittens started to Toby’s sister, Ella Rose, never got very big leave for their new homes. I had decided to and I eventually had her spayed. One day I got a keep one female, the brown patch w/white and call from a gentleman in Lewiston whose wife had named her Le Beau Minu Ella Rose. Soon all Alzheimers and was in need of a special friend. the other kittens had gone to new homes— Rosie wasn’t big except in a capacity for love and except for the one high white brown tabby. attention. When they came to pick her up, she im- It seems no one was attracted to him and yet mediately jumped into the lady’s lap as though his brother, who was almost identical to him, she belonged there. Soon after, he called to say was sold as a pet. The months went by and no his wife was talking more than she had in a long one wanted this boy. He was getting larger time. Rosie and Toby, it seems, both had very and older and I was afraid he would get some special callings! “big boy” ideas so I told my husband that we Carol Pedley Le Beau Minu Maine Coons The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

From the Courier– Gazette, Rockland, Maine: Geneology: Mainiac Felinus… Marilis Hornidge

The chilled-down state of Maine tops old A cat walked by who had a Siamese-slim Route 1, which was the New York and Boston Post body, tiger markings and a tail like a feather Road along which all meaningful commerce once duster. This cat said something to The Cat who moved. At the other end of this first of the US high- put her nose up in the air. “Not every feline con- way links lies Key West, warm haven of smugglers, siders their duty to society,” she said. “That’s one artists and people looking for la dolce vita since the of my cooney cousins. They’re not days of the conquistadors. very...discriminating.” What, you ask, could these two places have “Standards aren’t what they used to be,” I in common? Believe it or not: a cat. said. A friend took me though the restored “Tell me,” said The Cat, putting a gentle memorabilia of the Ernest Hemingway house in paw to my cheek, “my grandma used to put us Key West while we were down there (doing re- kittens to sleep with all sorts of tales about Maine, search for a new book, in case the IRS is reading but we never quite believed them. Do your lob- my column these days.) I was marching a little be- sters really have big pincher claws to pull bad little hind our tour group, listening with one ear to the pussycats’ tails?” knowledgeable young guide and admiring the an- “They certainly have big claws,” I said, “but cient banyan tree in the brick-walled backyard no cat with any sense would ever get that close to which was festooned with cats (Hemingway being one.” a noteworthy aficionado) when I spotted The Cat. “My goodness,” said The Cat with a deli- “That’s a maine Coon Cat!” I said, perhaps cate shiver. “Our Florida lobsters don’t have any a trifle loudly. claws at all.” “You truly have a parochial feline fixation,” she ignored the face I mqde at the thought said my friend, Joan. that those Floridian crawfish had the effrontery to “Finestkind,” said the Cat. call themselves lobsters. ”And she said that you that was it. The tour moved off, but I sat eat the body of your crabs...down here we only down.. The Cat, being a friendly sort, sat down take one claw and put the crab back and it grows also—in my lap. She was a calico cat with every another one. Surely that is barbaric to eat the Maine Coon stigmata any show judge could de- whole thing.” sire...the long smooth varied-length coat, the I refrained from comment on matters pisca- plume-like tail, the glorious ruff. Her color pattern torial. “Any place that fries bananas into chips…” I was just like that of my late lamented Ms. began. Threepenny Abzug, who was noted for the perfec- “Plantains,” said the Cat. ”Actually, I don’t tion of her pattern but not her disposition, which much care for them myself. How did you know was far from perfect. that I was a Maine Coon Cat?” “How did you know you were a Maine Coon “I wrote a book about them,” I said—more Cat?” I asked. “And where did you hear that ex- or less modestly pression which is indigenous to the Midcoast of “Good heavens,” said The Cat. “Please go Maine and the Canadian Maritimes?” in and tell Mrs. Thompson at the desk and maybe “My grandma done tole me,” said The Cat— she will order some to go with Ernie’s books. Then who had, of course, added a touch of Southern ac- my family will all be famous and correctly identi- cent during her Floridian years. “She got it from her fied.” grandma, who got it from hers who, they say, was About this time, the tour group returned. shipwrecked down here long ago off a boat from up “Are you still patting the cat?” said my friend. “It’s North sailed by a man named Kuehn. She told us time to meet the Grouse and the Grinch at the kittens lots of stories that got passed from mew to Conch Train.” mew, and impressed upon us that we were de- I got up and put the cat in a comfortable scended from royalty. She said that one of our an- branch of the banyan tree. “We’ll see ya,” I said in cestors came over instead of the Queen of France my best Tim Sample patois. and settled in Maine, so we don’t mix with the wa- “A-yuh,” said The Cat. terfront riff-raffy cats, just Persians and maybe Sia- There are actors on television getting paid mese. for impersonating Mainers who don’t come close The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Spring Fever!

“Who can sleep with all this snoring going on?”

“Shall I rattle the Kibble can?” The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Viking “Forest Cat” discovers America The living descendents of those early days in reprinted from Ancient American #47 Viking America are today’s Maine Coon cats. Frank Jo- Their majority presence in the state seph which gave them its name suggest that the Norse did more than briefly establish a settle- DNA research is not only revolutionizing po- ment at L’Ans aux Meadows, as mainstream lice work, but uncovering all otherwise historical in- scholars insist, but went on to colonize other formation with no less revolutionizing consequences parts of the Eastern Seaboard. Concentration for our understanding of the past. A case in point is of the Maine Coon’s population in that state the unexpected solution of an old controversy sur- implies that the Vikings’ elusive Vinland was in rounding the Maine Coon Cat. The breed has long Maine after all. The Maine Coon’s descent from perplexed biologists, because they are unable to Norway’s Forest Cat is unmistakable. The explain its unique appearance or trace its origins. skaugkatt is somewhat larger; its fur texture is The animal derived its modern identity from the not quite as silky; the head shape is slightly dif- state in which it is primarily found, although smaller ferent; tufts, not seen on its American counter- populations appear in the Atlantic coastal regions of part, sprout from the tips of its ears and, most New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Somewhat larger noticeably, its hind legs are straighter. But than the average house cat, specimens of ten or physical and behavioral comparisons leave no more pounds are common. doubt that it is the ancestor of the Maine Coon But the beast is best known for its unusual cat, as confirmed by DNA research. hindquarters, which resemble those of a raccoon; In a happy coincidence, the skaugkatt hence its name. Moreover, its bushy tail, brown and was designated Norway’s official cat by King white striped markings, together with an occasional Olaf late in the last century, about the same tendency to wash its food, helped to promote its time the Maine Coon was named the official cat reputation as the result of unions between cats and of the Pine Tree State. Connections between raccoons. But such crossings are biologically impos- the two are valid evidence for Vikings in Amer- sible, because raccoons are not felines, but canines ica, centuries before Columbus. Anyone who related to members of the dog family. In an attempt wants to meet a direct descendant of the first to trace the genetic origins of the singular Maine Norwegian visitors to our continent need only to Coon Cat, scientists subjected it to DNA testing last make the acquaintance of a Maine Coon cat. year for the first time. The results were as clear as they were surprising: The Maine Coon is the direct descendant of an unknown domestic breed that went extinct within the last few centuries and the Skaugkatt, or “Norwegian Forest Cat,” brought to our continent from Scandinavia a thousand years ago. As the website for the Cat Fanciers’ Associa- tion explains, “these are the cats that explored the world with the Vikings, protecting the grain stores on land and sea and are believed to have left their progeny on the shores of North America as a legacy to the future. Is their Norse name accurate? Yes, the skaugkatt, meaning ‘forest cat’, really did come out of the Scandinavian forests in the last 4,000 Oh, yeah? years.” Because the large animals are determined Hunters, they were invariably taken aboard Just for my own information—and those of interested Viking expeditions to keep the long-ships free of members, I would appreciate it if those of our number vermin. When the medieval Scandinavians landed who also breed Wegies would make a few compari- along North American coasts, some of the ‘wegies’, sons between our breeds. And I will print them in the SS. Anyone wishing to comment to Ancient American as they are commonly nicknamed in Britian and the can write them at Box 370, Colfax, Wisconsin 54730 United States, jumped overboard and mated with ed. that unknown domestic breed which no longer ex- ists. The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

A 20th Century Cat Breeder’s Prayer From the Kittybox Liner October 24, 1987

Lord, thou knowest as well as I that my cattery is growing better, litter by litter and will someday be perfect. Keep me, however, from the fatal habit of letting everybody else know about it, too. Keep my mind free of the memories of past defeats, but seal also my lips on our wins and titles. They are increasing and love of re- hearsing them is becoming sweeter as time goes by. Thou knowest, however, that I want a few friends at the shows. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ wins, but Charmalot Sweet Toby Rheingold help me to endure them with patience. I dare not ask for a top-ten win, but grow- My husband and I used to be breeder ing humility and a lessening cocksureness when members of MCBFA and I recall that the Scratch my kits don’t meet the faulty standards and per- Sheet had a feature from time to time on “old’ sonal preferences of a less than gifted judge. Maine Coons. It suddenly struck me that my re- Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally a tired queen, Toby, is now an ‘old’ Maine Coon judge may be mistaken and that the next ring (though I don’t want to think too hard about that) will right these grievous injuries. and members might enjoy what may be the last of Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not the surviving Richard daughters. Her health is want to be a saint—some of them are so hard to good, aside from a nasty recurring cutaneous fi- live with—but a vindictive cat person is one of brosarcoma., for which she has just undergone the crowning works of the devil. Give me the her 2nd operation in a year. She will be 19 on the ability to see good things in unexpected cages 25th of May! Our vet can’t believe her stamina— and talents in unexpected people. And, give me, she begins to come around as soon as he turns O Lord (gulp!) the grace to tell them so. off the gas. Her parents are Heidi Ho Richard III of AMEN Charmalot and Charmalot Lady Rebecca; she was (of course) bred by Ginny Molloy. She’s pretty Fancier Dues: July 2004 Stirling, S deaf now but she still likes to play and eat, shows April Adams, M/C Tyminski, M no sign of being old and stiff, sleeps with us or our Barcalow, N Aldridge, D Zimmerman, L/R daughter. She follows us from room to room and Berger, G Ayers, D 10-Year-Member-- naps wherever we are. Sadly, she is the last of Calhoun, C/J Bair, B congratulations: our Maine Coons; we lost both her sons last year: Coggins, L Clardy, J Crain, H Cunningham, L Connor, C Hull/NS Charmalot Siegfried von Rheingold and Rheingold Deckenbach, F Creighton, C Phillips, MJS Baron Auslese (Murgy). Siggy died of CRF at the Delano, C Dodge, S Prov/Breeder Dues age of 15 and Murgy died confounding the vets (at Fawcett, E Glaser, L Jan. (Past due) OSU but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong Friendman, M Hackman, S Crowley, S&J with him either) at the age of 14. We’re glad to Greer, B McNew, M Dodge, T have her and we’re not looking forward to realizing Harrell, B Murphey, M Mimric, B that when we joked we would have her for ‘the Henry, K Nelson, C April 2004 long haul’ back when she survived a nasty pyo- LaVay-Borris,V Nissen-Foley, K Boyd, J metra, that this WAS the long haul. Lorrey, G/J Polhill,L Bush, M With best regards, Niswander, M Pretzer, E/A Craig, A Norris, C Robbins, Pat Harvey, A Audra Morrison (Macmann) Northrup-Fisher, D Ryan, L Kembitzky, L 5036 Collinwood Place Smith B M Sable, J Noguchi, Y Cincinnati, Ohio 45227 Wade, S J Square, J Permutter,L [email protected] The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Talent, Thy Name is Cat? Erika Fawcett I woke up t his morning and noticed that there was a plastic bag stuck in the door. Nor- mally I leave the bedroom door open only a few inches so that the cats can come and go as they wish, but frequently they wish to push the door all the way open. This time it was at a few inches stage but with a white plastic. . . litter box liner in it. With a sudden feeling of dread, I opened the door to see a trail of litter all the way down the halol, leading back to the kitchen where the results of cleaning litter boxes were bagged and waiting to be hauled out to the trash. I noticed that the line of litter made a carefully wide arc at the corners so as not to snag. A shoelace was artfully draped across the litter at one corner. Additionally, the culprit was perfectly capable of opening the bedroom door all the way if the goal had been to drag the bag into the bedroom—but chose to leave it in the Hang in there, Katie! doorway. Rachelle Washburn’s daughter, Kate, with wee Mandy I say ‘the culprit’ because I didn’t see the artist in action but I have one cat who is a fur covered slug and another who is sweet but just not that creative. So that leaves one furry beast, who is also the one watching me carefully sweep up the litter and try to put the house back in order. My brain, however, is thoroughly disor- dered and likely to remain that way for some time. Kitty litter isn’t exactly Stonehenge but I can’t think of any motivation for a cat with one of the world’s largest arsenals of toys to drag 3 pounds of kitty liter to my bedroom. Is it some sort of protest action? Maybe she wants the trash taken out sooner or litter boxes cleaned less often? She wants to hunt plastic bags a la greyhound style lure coursing? Maybe she’s lost Velvet Jewels Legolas Best In Show, Bregemz, Austria Prov/breeder Mathis, S Burrow, J/D Sylvia Calavara-Widmer /Waterproof Maine Coons duesCont. April Norman, S Conley, C Deiner, H Null, J Dillingham, D Ingram, J/R Pettison, K Stelmaschuk, C/T July 2004 Suski, J Paplanus, A Edwards, T Johnston, V/R Pattesin, C Still, P Amidon, J Szabo, A Fisher, E Jones, A/G Quimby, J Storm, I Blair, C Sullens, P Frew, G/B Whittenburg, T Tomlin, K Juul, K Refstrup, P Sweeney, C Blakely, D July 2004 Friedman, J Katsumata, f Salan, L Sweeney, J/D Bott, R Beazizo-Harvey, L Breeder mem- Gaudet, J Kennedy, P Schoneis, K Tetreault, F Boulter, S Erikson, S, bers April 2004 Golfer, M Komar, L Seurinck, M/N Tobias, P Bowman, K/G Fleming, K/ R Bartram, S Greenlee, A/R Ledoux, L Sherer, l Vickerman, S/R Bruce, B Illia, U Behringer, W/S Haeck, C/P Linderfeld, K/J Shiino, M Walsh, G Budzinski, H Keleher, D/M Bistline, L Haley, Ca Lumbopris, S Shindler, A/K Weil, V Butler, S Kereluk, T Boroff, L/A Hall, M Mann, A/E Shipp, V Whittaker, R Cada, G LeBaron, N Bradley, S Heimer, M Miller, T/M Skipchak, C Winsky, S Carazzone, B Brickley, D Lindemannm J Hill, D/V Motohashi, F Smith, M Yanik, S Chapetta, D/J Brown, M/E Horton, V Mowery, R/N Speilhofer, A Crouch, K The Scratch Sheet

“Not if you’re waiting for the photographer to trip…”

“Give it a rest, Mom!”

“These photo ops are so-o boring!”

“I tol’ ya he had the attention span of a snowflake.”

“What broken vase, mom?”

“Yuk! Ever since he had a bath, Teddy’s tasted like perfume.” The right combination: kids and kits The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Once all the siblings are stuffed little sau- sages, they crash. Here, there and yonder. Often in positions only a Chinese contortionist would think comfortable. Shortly, a pair of blue eyes will open and it’s off-to-see-the-wizard all over again. Momcat instinc- tively starts the roundup all over again and is once more thwarted in her effort. (by some miracle, they all seem to find their way on their own back to the nest in the closet when twilight falls.) Kittens, Maine Coon kittens in particular, were born to climb. It’s hardwired. There’s no other expla- nation for it. The igloo is only the first step. The foot- hills, in the form of the quilted bedskirt, are next. It’s not long before the afternoon comfort rations at the milk bar are enjoyed in the middle of the bed. It’s only a short step for naptime in the middle of the pil- Because It’s there… lows. Mt. Everest, however, awaits on the far side It happens when the big-eyed little of the room in front of a sunny window, its far-off balls of downy fluff are about 3 weeks old. A summit shrouded in shadow near the ceiling. Xena wee head appears at the closet door. If it has already spotted it. Heady with success on the senses no kitten-eating monsters, it trots out foothills,she’s soon sinking her crampons in the car- into the room, tail high. Usually female, this pet covered uprights of the cat tree. The first platform adventuress is curious and questing. She’s is reached easily enough. Base camp will remain most likely quickly followed by her more cau- here for a day or two. But Bandit, Merry and Whisper tious—male— siblings. “Well, they didn’t eat are not about to be left behind. Soon, base camp be- Xena, so they’re not going to eat me.” And comes intolerably crowded for Xena. She unsheaths in a trice, the floodgates open and pour out a her spikes, leaps across the crevasse and is on her veritable waterfall of kittens who immediately way to the next level. Successfully negotiating this hare off in all directions: under the dresser, ascent, she makes the mistake of peering down. behind the desk and up to the top of the fab- Ooooh! It’s a long way down there to the bottom. ric igloo, the closest climbable object in the Perhaps she wasn’t really experienced enough for room. this level. Her siblings are still contentedly wrestling Momcat goes nuts trying to run them around at base camp. She’s nervous now. How to all down, pick them up and return them to get down? She paces back and forth along the edge, their nest box in the safety of the closet. No front paws now dangling, then back. She really does- sooner does she deposit Xena and go forth n’t want to do this but momcat is complacently hav- to corral Bandit or Merry or Whisper that ing a cool drink on the other side of the room. Well, Xena is out again and bookin’ for the bed- there’s no help for it. Catching the edge with her skirt. It’s like trying to suppress a bubble un- crampons, she swings her hindquarters over the der a rug. Flatten it here—and it pops up edge, dangles precariously and drops back to the over there. next level, leaps across the crevasse and joins her Pretty soon, momcat gives up this fellow mountaineers at base camp. Safe among futile chase, stretches out in the middle of them, she looks up. the floor and croons the dinner call. The rush Perhaps tomorrow she’ll reach the summit. is on. They hop down off the igloo, out from There’s no rush. It isn’t going anywhere. And once under the bed, out of a fluffy bedroom shoe she plants the flag, the Kitchenus Cabinetti are just and careen across the slick floor, hind parts around the corner, crowded with many obstacles; sometimes at odds with front parts.. Momcat verboten! looks And thereby a much greater challenge! wise. There’s more’n one way to round up her gaggle. And presently, all have found its Garnet Quinn own nipple— although there are disputes. The Scratch Sheet Spring Winter 2004 2004 Page 13 Page11111111111

PRESIDENT PROV.BREEDER SEC’Y SOUTH CENTRAL DIR. Vicki Shipp Joan Gaudet Karen Crooke 2719 Wicklow Drive 512 Lester Street 52 Sandelwood Trail Augusta, Georgia 30909 Lafitte, LA 70067 Beaumont, Texas 77706 706 736 3312 504-689-4535 409 899 1668 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

VICE-PRESIDENT FANCIER MEMBER SEC’Y WESTERN DIRECTOR Lynne Sherer Liz Flynn Judi May 3840 Charbon Lane 208 Kings Chapel Road 3021 Road 84 Advertising Bartlett, Tennessee 38133 Augusta, GA 30907 Pasco, Washington 9930 901 372 3394 706-860-1521 509-544-7893 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] • Only full Breeder Members may advertise cats or kit- TREASURER NORTHEAST DIRECTOR OVERSEAS DIRECTOR Karen McInchak tens for sale, stud service, Cynthia Patteson Misha Peersman 27590 Via Sereno 312 Woodbine Ave. Spoorwegstraat 42 catteries, or any other ser- Carmel, CA 93923 Northport, NY 11768-2827 B-2600 Berchem, Belgium vice related to animals. 831-622-0819 631 754 6674 32-3-230-9373 • Any member may submit Fax: 408-622-0814 [email protected] [email protected] listings and photos for the [email protected] MID-ATLANTIC DIR. APPOINTED OFFICERS Grand or Winners Gallery. RECORDING SECRETARY • Jane Baldinger Anyone may submit mer- Roxann Rokicki 6320 Hillsborough Dr. ARCHIVIST chandise ads or cat show W8905 Canary Road Falls Church, VA 22044 Beth Hicks ads Beaver Dam WI 53916 703 241 5989 3840 Charbon Lane 920-887-7704 • Payments must be received Work: 202 973 4941 Bartlett, TN 38133 Velvetjewels@ globaldia- 901-372-3394 with ads. log.com SOUTHEAST DIRECTOR [email protected] Sharon Butler Please send your ads CORRESPONDING 818 Woodberry Drive EDITOR, SCRATCH SHEET and payments to the Editor: SECRETARY. Evans, Georgia 30907 Kit Mounger all checks made payable to Deborah Hall 706 860 6820 485 Cottontail Lane 4405 Karrol SW [email protected] MCBFA. Afton, TN 37616 Albuquerque NM 87121 423-639-1585 Cattery Ad Rates 505-873-2704 [email protected] Business card-size ads $5 [email protected] per MIDWEST DIRECTOR 1/8 pg. $10.00/one time $35/ BREEDER MEMBER SEC’Y Caron Gray yr. Rebekah Cumbie 19165 Bennington Drive Brookfield, Wisconsin 53045 1/4 pg. $20.00/one time $65/ 3373 Ravenwood Drive Augusta, Georgia 30907 262 782 1110 yr 706 650 8189 [email protected] 1/2 pg. $40.00/one time/limit 2 per [email protected] year Full pg. $85.00/one time/limit 1 per yr. Merchandise and/or Cat Membership Dues & Postal Rates Show Announcement Ad Fancier Membership: ( payable in US funds only) Us: $20.00/one year, $35.00/2 years, Rates $50.00/3 years (this includes first class postage) 1/4 pg. $25.00 per Canada: $15.00 + $6.00 postage per year (total: $21.00) Postal Money Orders Only issue All Other Countries: $31.00 per year: International Money orders only. No Bank checks 1/2 pg. $50.00 p Please send membership fees and addresses to the Fancier membership secretary: issue DO NOT SEND TO THE TREASURER OR EDITOR. Full pg. $100 per Always use a current application/renewal form from the magazine or a photo copy issue Photographs Provisional Breeder membership: Important: Please note that online information and Please NO laser color copies; application forms which can be downloaded are now available at the MCBFA website: they do not reproduce well. www.MCBFA.org. If website is not available to prospective Provisional Breeders, please Photos will be returned if ac- follow these instructions: companied by self-addressed First: Write to the Provisional Breeder Secretary for information and application packet. stamped envelope. Do not send money at this time. Scratch Sheet Submissions Second: Follow instructions in the application packet. Then send dues ($30/first year; Anyone may submit articles, pic- $25 subsequent years.) and address changes to the Provisional Breeder Secretary, address tures, and stories to the Scratch above. Sheet; however only a Breeder, Breeder Members: $25.00 per year to Breeder Membership Secretary. A copy of a cur- Provisional or Fancier member rent litter registration must be included to enable you to stay on the Active Breeder list. may submit Winners Gallery infor- mation ***There will be a $25.00 charge on all returned checks!*** The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Mainerd Sez… continued from page one

...that there is a new book I would order with my last dime, even skipping the Crab Legs Ordi- naire, and that’s the title: The Cat Who Killed Lillian Jackson Braun. Excuse me for being a curmudgeon but I’ve felt that for the last few years, Mz. Braun’s computer has written her books and hasn’t skipped one single cliché in the English language (and Rita Mae Brown, alas, learned at the old girl’s knee) The animals are fine and make for fun reading. The human characters are something else altogether; and we won’t even mention the plots! But I digress. If you want to see The Cat Who series turned on Hurklecats Shiloh its head darkly, check your bookstore for it... On a more favorable note, Shirley Rousseau Murphy also has a new book out about my hero, the estimable tomcat of note, Joe Grey. And the aforementioned Rita Mae Brown, as well. Oh, if she’d only really turn Mrs. Murphy loose at her keyboard, how much better her writing! Shirley’s book is Cat Fear No Evil and Mz. Brown’s is Whisker Of Evil. “Evil” It seems, is getting a lot of press these days. Well, it’s no wonder. But what do I know? I’m only a cat…I better let my editor take over here before she edits me OUT...Hang tough! Mainerd

The Editor Abroad Cats being cats and hardly the least opinionated critters about, I will let Mainerd’s views stand. After all, everybody is entitled to their own opinion—even my furry book reviewer. That I might have had a stowaway on my recent trip to the North of England hardly caught my notice. I was too busy trying to survive 7 to 9 hours , going and coming, on a 747, being Purrserene Brandywine of Hurklecats folded up like a pretzel. But I have to add, all this discomfort was well worth it. And if I ever won the lottery, I’d sure stake a claim to a small piece of Cumbria where I could see the lakes, the fells, the sheep in their stone paddocks and all the standing stones that dot the countryside. The antiquity of the place seeps into your bones—not to mention its sheer beauty. But this is not a travel mag, this is a cat mag. And along that line, I have to add that while the Maine Coon is not so numerous there as here, what specimens there are of the breed are truly beau- tiful. I was the guest of Ann Mary Bishop of Hurklecats, a delightful lady who lives high in the Hurklecats Fancy That The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

The Editor Abroad… continued from page 11 Before the show, we had lunch at the home of Kathryn Atkinson of Katmea Cattery right Windermere. It’s a fairytale place and I enjoyed outside of Manchester. Below are some of her every minute. We visited friends of hers who had cats: PR Hurklecat Lionheart, a very relaxed some of her cats and we also took in a cat show brown classic neuter and a litter of lovely kittens in Manchester. Now here, I have to say I’m terri- out of Hurklecat Joy and sired by Advent Hill Billy- bly glad we don’t do our shows the British way. No offense to our MC breeders in the UK; but the system is one that would totally discourage me from showing—as it has Ann Mary. The best part of going to a cat show in this country is get- ting to watch the judges handling the cats; Maine Coons, in particular, are real clowns. We get the fun of watching them play court jester and then we get the suspense of wondering how the judge is going to hang the ribbons and ro- settes. Then we get to see how the exhibitors have duded-up their bench cages and see the cats relaxed therein. All of this fun is missing in the UK—and I assume here all their different association shows are basically structured the same. An exhibitor takes his cat to the show, deposits it in an assigned cage—with nothing allowed on the top of the cage and only water and a box inside—and departs! After which, the judges, with their little rolling cart, and their stew- ard, come around and judge each cat and hang their ribbons. In the afternoon, the exhibitors get to come in and see the fait accompli. Nuts! No excitement there. But that’s not the worst of it to my mind. Because nothing can be put on top of the cages—like a drape—what I saw in Mances- ter were mostly cats either cowering under their rugs or with their heads stuck in a back corner. Most—but not all—were stressed and obviously unhappy. I have no doubt they have good rea- sons to do it that way but I’m very glad we don’t. Not much fun and suspense there. Peter Kilmartin with his champion, Cooncity Whitesocks

Niterap Cattery The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Editor Abroad… continued from page 12

I can’t say the best part of the trip was returning home because, frankly I didn’t want to leave, but I have to say in the same breath, that it was certainly a very entertaining excur- sion. Coming home, I had company: Hurkle- cats Beau Nidle, a 5 month old silver classic who left a smile with everybody he met. Be- cause the flight wasn’t filled, Beau had his very own window seat on a 747. His carrier was belted and ever so often I’d unzip the top of it; that handsome head would pop up (I didn’t allow him out of his carrier) and he’d hold court with all the surrounding passengers, who were World Traveler Hurklecats Beau Nidle no doubt quite bored with being a sardine for nine hours. When we debarked the aircraft and went through the metal detector—the se- curity personnel said I had to hand carry him through—he perched his paws on my shoul- ders and favored everybody with a look of in- quisitive interest, ears forward, leaving all sorts of smiling faces in his wake. The last phase of the journey from the airport in Atlanta was a subway ride to the end of the line where I was to be met by my sister for the final van ride home. My bags were very heavy at this point so when I entered the subway car, I sat down in the first seat by the door which faces the aisle and put Beau’s carrier on the seat beside me. The car rapidly filled with regulars who, no doubt, were just as bored as all my fellow air- line passengers; it being a trip they made daily. Two sweet young things plumped down on the seat facing Beau and unfocused, checked out, detached themselves from reality and went off on some interior journey. Sud- denly I heard a small squeak of surprise, turned to see one of the girls’ eyes get the size of saucers and peer down closely at my Breeder Dues July Jennings, B Robinson, C/R Cunningham, S/L Kakemoto, B Ruhle, D Sherpa bag. “Oooh!” she cried, “there’s a cat Diaz, J M Kurtz, J/L Sanderson, B in there!” And she happily chuckled, running Doi, R Lange-Deegan, P Sasamoto, M her fingers across the mesh. Other passen- Doran, J Lloyd, F Scott, R M gers swiveled around, not doubt surprised at Doery, S May, D/J Shields, D Downing, B McInchak, K/S Short, J/B something a little different on their daily jour- Dunford, E Meyer, W Sistonen, E ney home from work. And once more, the Fisher, V/L Middelman, J Smith, M/D space where so many strangers were shoe- Falhault, B Mitchell, G Spayde, J horned in together, came out of themselves Fleischer, I Moody, C Sykes, M Fulton, B/S Moriarty, M/T Triolo, G and smiled broadly. Gerver, E/A Nagy, B/J Valerian, S Just think how cats could change the Haoomnd, E/M O’Grady/P Weiner-Santulin, J world—if only we’d let them! Hinton, D Pedley, C ed. Hovden, C/A Powers, E/R Jacobi, M Robbins, J H

The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Being a little over two hours to get there, she Boots told us she didn’t think he would make the trip. She was really leaning towards pushing us into having him put to sleep, but thankfully, my pet buyer was adamant that she was going to try anything to help him and so we were able to talk the vet into extracting some more fluid from Boots’ chest in order to make him as comfort- able as possible and we made the trip to Mizzou Veterinary college. Pyothorax is an infection of the chest wall cavity. They have a few ideas of how it hap- pens but they usually are not able to narrow it down specifically for each case. One way is from a puncture wound. The puncture would Pyothorax: Not Always A Death Sentence serve as a route to the inside of the chest for bacteria to enter; the chest wall cavity is a per- One of my pet owners called me on a fect environment to allow bacteria to grow and Saturday night and told me that Boots was so the infection does. This infection starts creat- having trouble breathing and I told her to call ing a fluid over time—they are not sure how long her vet. Later she called me from the emer- this process is—we were told within a few weeks gency clinic because her vet had referred her or even months. When this fluid starts to fill up there. It was not good news. She told me that the chest cavity, it cause the lungs to not be the emergency clinic was saying Boots had able to fully expand when a cat breathes. Even- either FIP or cardiomyopahy. I told my pet tually it will get so bad that the lung capacity is buyer that I would be right there. (this was a so compromised that the cat cannot breathe and Saturday night at 11 p.m.) When I walked into the cat dies. The infection can also get in the the room, the vet was talking to my pet buyer. blood, which will cause the blood to become I also noticed two small vials of yellow fluid toxic. When I talked to several people who had that the vet had extracted from Boots. She this happen, none of their cats had survived told us that it was not FIP and not Cardio- Pyothorax. myopathy but Pyothorax. So after a nerve-wracking drive to the My first reaction was one of relief—I Vet College with Boots in my lap, we finally ar- have never had FIP and never had any heart rived. The staff on duty met us at the door and problems(knock on wood). Then after thinking ran with him to the back of their Intensive Care about what she said, I remembered a breeder Unit. It was like a scene from ER on television, friend of mine who told me a story about one only with a cat as the patient. Within ten min- of her boys who died from Pyothorax! When I utes the doctor came out and told us that they realized how serious this was, I tried explain- had him on oxygen and were able to extract a ing it to my pet owner. I think we were both in little more of the fluid. She explained that at this shock. Boots is only 10 1/2 months old. The point they would have to do a surgery to insert a vet at the clinic told us there was less than a tube into his chest to allow the fluid to drain. She 4% chance for him to survive! Since they told us that most cats don’t even get past this were not equipped to handle Pyothorax there, surgery because their lung capacity is so com- she suggested that we take him to one of two promised that when they administer the anes- vets in the area (which was a joke because it thesia, most cats die during the process. At this was a Saturday night and by the time we point, my pet buyer and I agreed to continue. I could have reached them, it would have been guess we waited over an hour; the doctor finally too late for Boots.) She also suggested we came out and told us the surgery was done and could take him to the University of Missouri Boots was just waking up from the anesthesia. Veterinary College in Columbia. MO but it Well, it was another milestone we passed but The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Pyothorax continued from page 14 In our case, Boots came home with just a small area of concern on one of his lungs. The veterinarian explained that they actually had to They told my pet buyer that since the area was put a chest tube o n both sides of his chest. The so small that later they can perform a surgery process from this point on is daily radiographs to to remove that part of the lung and thus elimi- see who much fluid is remaining and to do a culture nate the chance of a relapse in the future. A on the fluid to see what antibiotics will work for week after Boots came home, my pet buyer each specific bacteria because there is usually took Boots to her vet for a follow-up, including more than one involved. Since it was Sunday a radiograph. The radiograph showed that the morning very eaerly at this point, they told us that dark area on Boots’ lung was gone and all he tjeu would not be able to do the culture u ntil Mon- had was some scar tissue on the sides of his day morning. They started him on Ampicillin though chest from the tubes. The vet informed us that and told us it would be 3 to 5 dayys if he makes it. this scar tissue would most probably totally We left the college very worried; they still told is reabsorb within a month and no further sur- that any time they might lose him and that at this gery would be needed! point it was up to Boots and his own immune sys- So after all this, I am happy to tell you tem. this story. Pyothorax is not always a death The following days went by very slowly. My sentence. There arte a lot of factors that could pet buyer called me twice a day to let me know the make the difference in the life and death of a progress of Boots. The culture was not growing cat with Pyothorax. and they were trying to speed it up and although First, anytime your cat is having diffi- he was making progress on the amount of fluid be- culty breathing possibly accompanied by ing less and less, there was still some new fluid coughing, do not take this lightly. Do not wait! being produced by another bacteria that needed to Drop everything and get your cat to the near- be identified in order to be able to give him the cor- est veterinarian as quickly as possible. Better rect antibiotic. The second day, he was more active to be safe than sorry. There were other things and one of the tubes accidentally came out. They my pet buyer noticed with Boots that day: he had to do another surgery to replace it and would had a loss of appetite. He seemed depressed; up putting in two larger tubes. They almost lost him he wasn’t as active as he normally way. And during this surgery. His vitals started going down then she and her husband noticed the very but there was an anesthesiologist there during sur- quick and shallow breathing. If my pet buyer gery and after an hour and a half, they were finally had gone to bed that night, Boots would have able to stabilize him. It became evident that he was surely been dead by morning. She got him to going to have to stay there longer than 5 days and the doctor quickly and they recognized the they were still waiting for the second bacteria to be problem and were able to extract the fluid right identified. Finally by that Friday they had identified away. And we also had the convenience of a the second bacteria and were able to give him the veterinary college for his care. second antibiotic to overcome it. His progress was Boots beat all the odds and is not dramatic from this point on and two days later they called the Miracle Baby by his owner. were able to take his tubes out and the following Anne Paplanus Mainastasia Cattery day, he was able to go home. In all, he was there a total of nine days. Which cat got the cream?? He is on two different antibiotics that will need to be given at least for 8 weeks after he had left the hospital. If the antibiotics are stopped too quickly, it can cause the cat to have a relapse. The vet told my pet buyer that with Pyothorax even if they make it and are able to come back home, there can be a problem with a scarring that occurs to the lungs when they are compromised by the infection fluid. The scarring can cause the lung to collapse in the future and the cat can also die from The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

From the Editor’s Desk… There is no president’s message this issue as we are between presidents. As this issue goes to press—finally!—the ballots have not yet been counted and finalized. Not that there’s a whole lot of doubt but one must follow the rules of procedure...A note about the photos on my visit abroad story. I did take them and my name has appeared on some of them—but this signature and the lovely embellishments on the photos are NOT mine. All this digital legerdemain was ac- complished by Ann Mary Bishop herself who is a real sorceress at the computer. (if her Maine Coons suddenly sprouted wings, I wouldn’t doubt that they were real). She is an MCBFA member and I would like to salute all our overseas members. It’s not easy for them being across a couple of oceans but they do take part and give me input and I appreciate all of them. That our Maine Coons have become so popular in other parts of the world is very gratifying...I realize summer is coming on and most of our members are so busy they meet themselves going out the door. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record here but it would be nice if some of you stopped for a few minutes and thought about some of the things you are doing with your cats, some of the things they are doing to you, fun or fanciful, real orscientific or just some photos of beloved furry- persons. This is not a one-person show here. All you members: breeders, Prov breeders and fanciers are hereby solicited to take part. In fact, along this line, I would like to dedicate the sum- mer issue to stories, photos and articles by our fancier members. They mostly ‘lurk’ and I think it’s time their contributions to the breed were recognized. Just get your material, photos and/or text to me by the first of July. Please! Beth Hicks, TICA judge and MCBFA member, has put together a very detailed and thoughtful ‘book’ entitled the Maine Coon Breed Seminar. It contains many, many photo- graphs which detail what the Maine Coon best looks like and is very helpful to our mem- bers for spotting details which to the untutored eye might not be so obvious. This semi- nar can be viewed by going to http://home.midsouth.rr.com/mcseminar/ It’s well worth a thorough study. And be aware that as summer does come on, there are more and more kittens being born to feral and abandoned pets and our humane shelters are full to overflowing with creatures who, through no fault of their own, have no place to live and often fall into the hands of those sub- humans who think nothing of ill-treating them. Lend them a hand. Contribute to them with money or with time or with ideas that will make money for them. Kit

British Cat Show circa 1900

Bishopsgate Cattery, UK 1904 The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004 All Hat and No Cattle... With Cindy Pitts

“Milk in a dirty glass, Bar- keep, I got the blues...my horse done run off with the “Oh, yeah? You ‘n who else?” Lone Ranger…” “Actually, darling, I bought it off the rack at Walmart—but don’t tell Barbie. She has one just like it she got at Sachs—”

“ I dunno—I don’t think orange is my color—”

“Smile when you say that, “I think I need a size smaller, Pod’nah—” Madame.”

“Because it’s there, silly…” “Go to Alaska? Why??” “Wait’ll I get my hat—” The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

This interview with Don Shaw first appeared in a 1976 issue of the Scratch Sheet. Beth Hicks was the interviewer. ed.

The Origin Of The Maine Coon

DS: I personally feel that the Maine is the result of what nature was permitted to do with the cat on the North Atlantic coast of the North American continent. During the period of exploration of the area, rats and pests on board ship were a great prob- lem. Cats were great seamans’ omens and they carried them constantly on ships. Like their shipmates, the cats jumped ship from time to time. The cats that did escape and were on the coastline of the continent had to survive in those winters that did occur here. If you really look at the structure of the Maine and you look at its coat, I think that it is the kind of thing you might have expected nature to produce starting with a lot of raw material. Evolution has supplied us a great deal of genetic variation. The cat is a very good example of this because we have a tremendous amount of genetic variation in the general group of feline species. When nature is permitted to operate then those structures that will make the cat more survivable in that terrain, will survive better than the animals which don’t. They will be the ones surviving until spring to breed and produce. I think that is what happened in Maine. If you look at the Maine Cat, you will see these features: the long legs, the long body—this helps them get through snow, through terrain, through wooded areas, over things. BH– In the standard, it calls for medium legs and a long body with a rectangular shape. DS: Well, medium legs only in the sense that they are medium in regard to the length of the body. If you took their legs in regard to the length of legs of other cats, I think you’d find they would be relatively long because the Maine is a large cat in general. But with the extremely long body, the legs do not appear to be as long as they are. They are also a heavy boned cat, a characteristic which gives them a great deal of stamina and sturdiness with regard to being able to move through heavy terrain. Dainty legged things would not survive in those heavily wooded areas with tangles, snow, slush, that type of thing. The coat:sparse underneath, but shaggy down the back and sides: if it were very heavy underneath, it would only accumulate snow and as this would melt, it would freeze and refreeze. The result would be a mat- ted mess and would cause the cat many problems getting about. The coat on top is insulative from na- ture— it sheds water and snow and the wind that the cat would have to face in harsh climate. BH--Why the shortness in the shoulders? DS: I would say the shoulders of the cat are the widest part of the body. If you can get your shoulders through something, you can get your body through it. Remember these cats are having to make their way through the wild and must move rapidly from time to time in order to survive. If you have a heavy, shaggy coat on the shoulder area, this would tend to hang up on knotholes, hollow logs, crevices be- tween rocks, etc. while evading your pursuer. I am not by any means implying teleolistic concepts here; they did not develop short coats on the shoulders so they could get through these places. The short coat is due to the fact that the animals that did not hang up in the brush were the ones who survived to breed in the spring that followed. BH: What kind of texture would the coat be for it not to mat? DS: The guard hair (top coat) on a Maine should be a rather hard hair. That is, they would be a slick hair and would have a full cuticle on it. That’s what would stand the kind of conditions we’ve been talk- ing about. The under coat, or awn hairs, would be soft but fine and straight, not the curled or kinked hair that you find in the awn coat of cats like the blue Persian. The down coat would be very soft and very close lying but also very dense. This gives you a great deal of support to keep the upper coat off the body so that it does not tent to mat next to the body. A long silky coat mats and kinky awn hair coats mat. This would be disadvantageous to a cat who is surviving in wilderness conditions. Maine today— even though anybody who’s been there in February can still consider it a wilderness—but we are talking The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Origin of The Maine Coon continued from page 18 about the Maine of 400 years ago. There were completely at the mercy of nature then: they couldn’t huddle under houses, shacks or man-made structures. They would have to depend entirely on what was available in the way of caves, rock notches, hollow logs, trees and things of this kind in order to bed down and keep warm to sleep. I think you can see that a very long bushy coat like a Persian with that heavy dense undercoat would be very detrimental. BH: Why do Maine Coons have big feet? DS: Oh, snowshoe rabbits have big feet; do I need say any more? It gives them better traction on a soft snowy surface which they had to spend a great deal of their life on. BH: why tufts on the feet? DS: Same reason.; it gives you more structure on the foot for support on the snow. It’s like putting on a snowshoe. Tufts are light yet they distribute the weight on a larger surface so the feet don’t push down in the snow. And, of course, for warmth as well. BH: Why large ears? DS: Probably because they had to depend a great deal on their hearing. The ones that survived were the ones that had the best directional hearing. Large eats will give you better funneling in of sound from specific directions. Maines also have tremendous ability to move their ears: from almost 75 to 90 de- grees. Abys have this—denoting closeness to their wild form. BH: Wouldn’t a cat with very large ears in a very cold climate have trouble with their ears freez- ing? DS: The Maine is more heavily furred on the ear than most cats. Also the ear structure that I have seen on very good Maines tend to have a thicker ear structure than some others. You also have to remem- ber that they are not going out frailing around with those ears standing high in the air unless they have something that is attracting their attention. They can lay their ears back; Maines tend to do this. BH:Why a long tail, particularly a long bushy tail? DS: The tail is sort of a rudder or steering gear for animals. Maybe that’s why man is so clumsy. If you were going to use a tail in a lot of slushy, cold, snowy weather, you don’t want a tail that keeps getting caught in the snow. If it is furry and fluffy, it will lie on top of the snow and not land to submerge in it. That also protects it from the cold. It would give them a great deal of rudder power running at a rapid pace, making short turns easier because you have more balance. BH: Don’t you think this would also be a big factor in keeping the thin parts of the face warm since the cat could curl the tail across the face? DS: In the resting position, insulation on the tail can be used to cover face and shoulder areas which are less furred. Remember, you want them less furred because they are the leading part that would tangle when you went through things. So there would be a double advantage to having extra fur on the tail and extra fur on the upper body because as they curl up, they would insulate the parts less furry. BH: the width at the base of the ear—does this increase the mobility? DS: Width at the base increases the funneling capacity. The things tat hit you up here aren’t all that im- portant. It is what gets down in the base of the ear that you ear. The second part of this interview will be written up in the summer issue of The Scratch Sheet. Ohiyesa Maine Coons CFA Cattery of Excellence TICA outstanding cattery MCBFA Breeder Member Sharon and Dan Butler Evans, Georgia 706-860 6820 [email protected] The Scratch Sheet Spring 2004

Kids (??) and cats...

Fancier membership/Renewal, Breeder Dues, Change of ad- Address change dress/Code of Ethics signed Liz Flynn and returned 208 Kings Chapel Road Rebekah Cumbie Augusta, GA. 30907 3373 Ravenwood Dr. 706-860-1521 Augusta, Georgia 30907 [email protected] 706 650 8189

If you’d like information about sponsor- Name______ing or becoming a Provisional Breeder Member, contact Address______The Provisional Breeder Secretary:

Joan Gaudet City______State______Zip______512 Lester Street

New fancier member______Change of address______Lafitte, Louisiana 70067 504 689 4535 Breeder member change/[email protected]