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Our Review of 2006
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Happy New Year!! 2006 had three main high points for us; two litters of kittens and being joined by Thor, our 4th Ocicat. The year started well on the show front and by the end of February Siguna had become a champion, only the 4th Ocicat to achieve this in the UK! Siguna is a very gentle cat and she received very complementary comments from the judges. By May 'Champion' Thickthorn Siguna had given birth to her first litter of kittens. The litter was sired by Allagash Texadots, a big black-silver stud owned by Jacky Atkinson. 'Tex' is also the father of Freya's first three litters. Siguna had 5 kittens, but only 2 made it through the first couple of days. This devastating loss was a real setback, but the two remaining kittens did well and grew into beautiful cats. We decided to stick to the Norse Mythology theme when naming the cats. They are named after two sisters Einmyria and Eisa. Einmyria is a blue girl who now lives with Karen and Colin in North Yorkshire. Eisa, a black-silver, travelled a little further north to Stockton to be re-homed with Kelly and Marc. We are very glad that both families made the effort to keep in touch as we always appreciate the photo's and news we receive about our kittens. As Siguna's kittens grew, we were joined by the latest edition to our family. Thickthorn Thor arrived with us in July. Thor is a chocolate boy who became the third cat from breeder Rosemary Caunter to join us. Thor is a wonderful cat and he melted our hearts as he settled in. August was an eventful month: Siguna's kittens left us, Thor won 'Best of Breed' in his first show, then Freya gave birth to her fourth litter of kittens. The kittens were sired by Thickthorn Cuscus, a blue-silver stud owned by Rosemary Caunter. There were three kittens in the litter; two little girls and one big surprise! For the first time in our short breeding history, we had a non-spotty Ocicat. Woden was a blue-silver with 'classic tabby' markings. He is a beautiful cat and very distinctive. His sisters were more conventional but no less beautiful. The two girls were named Freki (ravenous) and Geri (greedy), who were Woden's wolves. The girls now live in Huddersfield with Phil and Johanna, whilst Woden moved to Liverpool to live with Carol. October saw us make our first trip to the Ocicat Club Show. We took Siguna and Thor. Both did well, winning Best of Breed in their respective classes. Thor was also awarded 'Best Male Kitten in Show' which was a very pleasant surprise for us. Like Siguna, Thor is very relaxed at shows, so we plan to show him as an adult cat in 2007. Freya's kittens left us in November, leaving their already pregnant mother to prepare for her next litter! This pregnancy was unplanned, but Thor must have become very 'friendly' with her as she came in to season. So that's 2006 in a nutshell. All in all a more positive one than 2005, but still with its ups and downs. It ended with Skadi making the December page of the Ocicat Club calendar, but not with any kittens. We hope she will get her chance next year. We hope 2007 brings Thor and perhaps Siguna more success on the show bench. A litter of kittens for each of our three girls would be great (a nice litter of 4 or 5 without any complications would be great!!). Mostly (as always) we hope for many more years of pleasure from our cats and their offspring. All t' best, Michelle and Gavin. January 2007
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