|
Northsprite News |
||
 Home
Page
|
(Posted 12.02.08) Our Latest Edition: After much consideration, we have decided to keep Magni, Siguna & Thor's Lilac Silver boy. He's such a chip off the old block that we found it increasingly difficult to bring ourselves to let him go. (Posted 02.11.07) Goodbye Thor: It is with immense sadness that we announce the untimely loss of our beautiful Thor. Thor was taken from us suddenly a few weeks ago. It has taken us time before we could bring ourselves to mention this sad loss on this website. We are still in shock, but felt that we should let people know about his passing. We have been assured by the vets that his death has nothing to do with any genetic defect that Thor may have been carrying. We will all miss him immensely, but we have many happy memories of his short but happy life with us. (Posted 19.08.07) Thor and Siguna Mating: Well we haven't had too much to report recently. Both Freya and Skadi have been speyed, leaving Siguna as our only 'active' female. She has not called for some months, but finally she has come into season. We hope that the mating will be a successful one. We will report any developments on the web site. Posted 26.02.07) Show Success for Thor: We took Thor to the Coventry and Leicester show on Saturday. He won his first Champion Certificate and 'Best of Breed'! He was a little nervous however, and did not seem quite as relaxed as in his previous shows as a kitten. Here's a snap of him at the show, peeking out from under a blanket. This is his first CC (you don't get them as kittens), so he will need two more from different judges to be awarded the title of 'Champion'.
(Posted 05.02.07) Freya's Kitten Arrives: Freya gave birth to a single kitten on January 2007. Unfortunately she had to have a c-section after going about a week over-due. The problems she was having led to her being speyed, which means she can no longer have kittens. This makes that this little chap a very special kitten indeed. I have created a page for which can be linked to from the home page dedicated to Freya and her kitten. (Posted 15.01.07) Computer problems: We have had a few computer problems over recent weeks. Part of this problem has led to us losing much stored information, including details about kitten enquiries. If you are interested in being on our waiting list please contact us. We may have lost your details if you had expressed an interest in the past. Freya is expecting kittens any day now. They will be the first litter sired by Thor, our stud cat. We can't wait to see the results! (Posted 18.11.06) Update: Thor is now showing a real interest in the 3 girls! We hope that he will mate with Skadi during her next call. We are really pleased that (so far touch wood) he is not spraying. He has become such a big part of the family, we would hate to have to think about keeping him outside. (Posted 09.10.06) Ocicat Club Show Success: The Ocicat club held their first Championship Show at the weekend. We took Siguna and Thor along with us and they did us proud. Both won Best of Breed and did well in the side classes. Then to our surprise Thor was awarded 'Best Male Kitten in Show!' He was also awarded a special award for the best coat/contrast. Here's a picture of them both. First there's Siguna, with her trophy...
And here's Thor with some of his awards...
The show was a great success, with some beautiful Ocicats on show. We offer our congratulations to everyone involved in the event. (Posted 03.09.06) Jungala Cats: No, we hadn't heard of them either! We have been looking for information on classic patterned Ocicats, not an easy task as they are so rare in this country. They do seem more common/popular in other countries. Much of the info we have found is from websites of cat breeders based in New Zealand, where they are know as 'Jungalas.' We plan to put some extra information on our Oci-info page soon. In the mean time, put 'Jungala Ocicats' into a search engine and have a look at these beautiful cats. (Posted 27.08.06) Freya's Kittens are Here: In the early hours of 23rd August Freya gave birth to 3 kittens. You can find out more by looking on the link to Freya's 4th litter. One of the litter was a big surprise, a beautiful boy with 'classic' markings. This is very rare; we only know of 2 others born in the UK since we became breeders 4 years ago. They are not spotted, but have distinctive 'swirly' patterns. We will post more details about this unusual little boy. (Posted 13.08.06) Show Success for Thor: We took Thor to his first show, the Chester and Noth Wales CC Show, yesterday. He was fine with the experience and relaxed and played as normal. He had a very good day, earning 'Best of Breed' and coming first in everything he was entered in. Here's a picture of him back at home with his spoils.
Posted 08.08.06) Goodbye Girls: Both Eisa and Lizzie have gone to their new homes. We are sure that they will be well loved and provide many years of pleasure. We now await the arrival of Freya's kittens. She is due on or around 19th August. They were sired by Champion Thickthorn Cuscus and we are very excited to see what they will produce. Please contact us if you would like to enquire about the availability of her kittens. (Posted 02.08.06) Update: The kittens are now into their final week with us. They are sociable kittens who enjoy the attention of people and the other cats. We are very pleased that their new owners have kept in close contact with us and have visited the kittens. This has helped us to feel assured that both girls are going to loving homes. Skadi is VERY maternal at the moment. She has adopted Thor and calls to him and the two younger kittens. They respond to her calls and have even tried suckling!! We still have our fingers crossed that Skadi will get her chance to become a mum one day soon. (Posted 27.07.06) Latest: Things are back to normal here. Siguna's kittens are keeping us entertained - we will miss them when they go. Thor is getting on well with the girls. He is a very loving kitten who purrs like a tractor. Freya is pregnant and is taking life very easy. She is quite large already and keeping up with the others is increasingly difficult for her. (Posted 10.07.06) Thor arrives: We brought our new cat Thor home at the weekend. He has settled in well, although his arrival has caused a little tension amongst the cats. They are all a little on edge when they come together. I would say that we are at the 'tolerating' stage! Here is a piccie of Thor playing on his first day with us (13 weeks old).
Kitten Update: Eisa and Lizzie had their first injections on Monday. They have the run of the house now. Like Thor's arrival (above) and Freya's return from stud (below) this unsettles the cats for a little while. They love the freedom and the space to play. Lizzie can now jump onto the kitchen table and they spend long periods playing together (they're running around like idiots as I type). (Posted 27.06.06) Update: Eisa and Lizzie are now over seven weeks old; time flies and all that! Freya is back from Stud, so now we must wait to see if she is pregnant. Re-introducing a cat back always causes a little tension between them for a few days, but everything is getting back to normal; whatever that is! Picking Freya up gave us another chance to say hello to Thor. We can't wait to bring him to his new home. (Posted 23.06.06) Our New Stud! We are very pleased that our good friend Rosemary Caunter has kindly agreed to us homing another of her lovely 'Thickthorn' Ocicats. Thor is a lovely chocolate and will be joining us in July. It will be some time before he is mature enough to 'entertain' our three girls, but we can't wait to bring him home. Posted 19.06.06) Update: The kittens are well, fully litter trained and eating a nice variety of solid food. Freya is currently being 'entertained' by a male cat at the moment. It is very early days, but we hope that it will result Freya's fourth litter of kittens! Watch this space... Posted 12.06.06) Kitten Update: Siguna's kittens Einmyria (or Lizzie to use her new pet name) and Eisa are doing well and growing quickly. There are a couple of new photo's on their page (see the link on our home page). We are very pleased that we found new homes for them at an early stage. This has given us a real chance to get to know their future owners. Lizzie is booked to Karen and Colin from North Yorkshire, who already own cats. Eisa is booked Michelle and will be traveling further north to the North east. We are delighted that Michelle is planning to show her. (Posted 29.05.06) Kitten Update: The two kittens are now up and about. They're exploring the room and are much more aware of their surroundings. They have decided to change where they sleep, since they found a little cat basket in the room. There are some new photo's on their page - see the link on the home page. Congratulations.. to our friend Jacky Atkinson and her cat Thickthorn Cornpoppy who became a GCCF Champion recently. (Posted 22.05.06) Kitten Update: The kittens are developing well. Their eyes opened after about 9 days and they are now moving around the 'nest' more and more. Up to a day or two ago all they did was suckle and sleep!! We were devastated that during the first week, 3 of the 5 kittens Siguna gave birth to died. There was nothing obviously wrong with any of the kittens, but nothing we did was enough to save them. Our vets have advised us that the most likely cause of this tragic loss was some kind of infection. We did originally put up a beautiful picture of the five kittens, but felt that it was too emotional for us to leave it on line. (Posted 06.05.06) Siguna's Kittens Arrive! Siguna gave birth to beautiful kittens in the early hours of Friday morning. We will post a page dedicated to them all in the next few days. (Posted 20.05.06) Pregnancy update: All seems well here. Siguna is eating well and relaxing lots. We are making sure she gets plenty and trying to give her a good variation of dried cat food, wet cat food and fresh meat. She is also eating kitten food as this should give her extra nutrition. We dropped in on another breeder early this week. Rosemary has three litters at the moment of various ages. Our lads had a great time playing with the kittens and the hour we spent there reminded us just how lovely it is to have kittens around the place! Roll on early May! (Posted 14.04.06) Pregnancy update: Siguna is doing well and enjoying the easy life. We have decided to use the spare bedroom as our 'nursery' this year. We have always used our own bedroom in the past. The room is just next door so we can keep a close eye during the nights. We are starting to prepare the room and hopefully Siguna will choose to nest in the place we provide. (Posted 07.04.06) Siguna is pregnant and we expect her to give birth in early May. If you are interested in re-homing a kitten, please contact us as soon as possible. She was mated with Tex, a stunning black-silver male. This should mean that there is a good chance of black-silver or blue-silver kittens, but other variations are possible. We will keep the site updated on how things are going. (Posted 16.03.06) Champion kittens? We are hoping that Siguna is pregnant after visiting Jacky Atkinson and her black-silver stud Ocicat. If she is pregnant, we can expect kittens in about 6 to 7 weeks. Watch this space! (Posted 25.02.06) Siguna becomes a champion! We are thrilled to announce that Siguna won her third Challenge Certificate at the Coventry and Leicester Show. This means that she is now a GCCF Champion, only the 4th Ocicat to achieve this in the UK! We are very proud of her. (Posted 08.02.06) We heard recently from a couple of the owners of Northsprite kittens. It was lovely to find out that Freya's litters are fine and well loved. We will post a photo or two on this site next week. Siguna received her second CC at the Shropshire CC Show last Saturday. One more and she will become a champion! At the same show WINNOTHDALE MEOLE (owned by Mrs J Edge and bred by our friend Jacky Atkinson) became the first Ocicat Grand Champion in this country! (Posted 01.01.06) HAPPY NEW YEAR! That's about it really! Nothing to report apart from Siguna has called for the first time. We will probably try to mate her next time she come into season. Watch this space! (Posted 26.10.05) Siguna Earns Her First Challenge Certificate! Siguna took part in her first show as an adult cat on 22nd October. We entered her in the Yorkshire Show, Doncaster and are thrilled to announce that she was once again (despite stiff competition) awarded Best of Breed. This is her first step to becoming a 'Champion' as she needs to win 3 Challenge Certificates (CCs) awarded by 3 different judges. She was also placed in three side classes. Well done Siggy!! (Posted 25.09.05) More Show Success for Siguna! Siguna had her best day yet at the North West Cat Club show yesterday. She won Best of Breed for the third & last time as a kitten and came first in all three of the side classes she was entered in. She was also nominated for best in show! This means that, as a kitten, Siguna won each Best of breed she was entered in and was placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in every side class. We are very proud of her. As she reaches nine months of age she will now be entered as an adult rather than a kitten. And talking of shows... Congratulations goes to WINNOTHDALE MEOLE (owned by Mrs J Edge and bred by our friend Jacky Atkinson) for becoming the first Ocicat Champion! (Posted 08.08.05) Congratulations to the First UK Ocicat Premiers! Northsprite offer our sincere congratulations to Thickthorn Malva for becoming the first Ocicat Neuter to win 3 premier certificates since Ocicats gained championship status in June. Also to Merrydancer Troika who wasn't far behind. Its great to see and we're sure the first non-neuter adults won't take long before some of them become champions. I have put a couple of photo's in our gallery. Have a look if you want a giggle! (Posted 25.07.05) Then there were 3: Laufey and Mani have now gone to join Dominique in North Shields. We are sure they will both be very happy living there. The house seems very quiet without them! Freya, their mum, has come straight into season. She did this after her last litter and never came out! This led to the decision to mate her earlier than we wanted to. We hope she does not continue to 'call' this time. I have created a page with many of the photos of them called 'Freya's Third Litter.' There are also a couple of images on our Gallery page. We took Siguna to her second cat show the other weekend. It was the Gwynned show held in Queensferry. Once again she was given Best of Breed and she was placed in all 3 'side classes' we entered her in to. (Posted 07.06.05) Show Success for Siguna! Siguna made her show debut at the Merseyside Cat Show and came away with a big pawful of rosettes! She was awarded first in the 'Ocicat kitten' section and Best of Breed. She was also placed in all 3 of the side classes she was entered in. The best news however, is that she was very comfortable with the whole experience; very calm in the show pen and extremely easy to handle for the judges. It was also the first show that Ocicats have competed for Championship Certificates (CCs). Until now they have only been able to compete for Intermediate Certificates (Both Freya and Skadi have won these). As a kitten, Siguna could not compete for a CC but showing her a this young age should get her used to the experience. Here's a photo of Siguna and her winnings:
(Posted 25.04 05) Siguna Arrives! Last weekend we took the long drive down to Hampshire to pick up the latest addition to our family. Thickthorn Siguna, a blue-silver Ocicat has settled well. Siguna loves a cuddle and gets on really well with our two children. When she is ready, we hope to breed from her, but for now we are spending lots of time with her as she gets used to her new surroundings. Here she is 2 days after arriving...
(Posted 05.04.05) And talking of kittens... we are thrilled to announce a new addition to our family. We will be the new owners of a blue-silver kitten that has been bred by Rosemary Caunter. It is another female that we will hopefully breed from. Rosemary was also the breeder of Freya, our first Ocicat, but she is from different lines and, as such, will enable us to help the breed further by breeding from her. She will be registered as Thickthorn Siguna, she is very pretty and has a lovely temperament. Here is a picture of her....
We recently received a couple of photos of Layla (Northsprite Astrild), Skadi's sister and one of Freya's first litter. She lives near Birmingham with Viv and her other cats. Here's one of the pictures Viv sent...
(Posted 25.10.04) Success for Skadi at the Yorkshire cat Show! Skadi entered her first cat show on Saturday 23rd October. We do not show our cats very often, but it is important for the breed to be seen at the shows, so we try to do our bit. Skadi arrived at the show venue (the Doncaster Dome) a little stressed, and we were not sure how she would cope. (She had also just started to call the night before.) But she settled down and was awarded her first Intermediate Certificate (IC) and Best of Breed!! She was also placed in a couple of side classes, coming first in 'AV Foreign Novice Adult' and third in 'AV Foreign Maiden Adult.' Well done Skadi! Here's a picture of her at the show.
|
|
