When I first said out loud that I was thinking about going to Moscow in January 2019 by myself to pick up a new kitten, my 38-year-old daughter, Linda, suddenly became the over-protective parent. My daughter-in-law also jumped on the bandwagon. While I had traveled extensively in the U.S., with a couple of trips to Canada and the Caribbean, the idea of their mother going by herself to Russia, of all places, did not sit well with them.
However, what I told my family was: “I am not exactly going to be by myself. My friends Nikolay and Svetlana will meet me at the airport.”
Linda was not buying it. “Internet friends!” she exclaimed. “You would have never let me go meet someone half a world away whom I had met on the internet!”
That was likely true, I admitted. However, I pointed out to Linda that she was not my mother and these two were not exactly random internet friends. I had made their acquaintance two years previously when I first decided to start my own Siberian cattery. I had a couple of males from my mentor that I could use if I focused on color points, but finding a breeder-quality girl that was a great match for my boys proved a bit difficult.
The Perfect Girl
And then I stumbled across a Facebook post by Olga Korbasova, who owned the Taiga Star cattery in Tula, Russian Federation. It was a picture of three blue lynx point Siberian kittens about eight weeks old, two of them with white mittens. I fell in love with them immediately—they were exactly what I was looking for. But importing from Russia?
Denne historien er fra December 2023-utgaven av Cat Talk.
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Denne historien er fra December 2023-utgaven av Cat Talk.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Checklist For What to Look For in Your Club's Next Show Venue
Show Manager To Ring One, Please
Tonkinese
When You're Well and Truly Tonked
AVOIDING The Kitten Fear Period
Young kittens seem fearless.4 As soon as those eyes open and they can get their legs under them, they are off to see the world if their mama and humans let them.
No Milk For You!
Milk Issues and Kittens
Fostering Kittens
When asked if I would be interested in fostering a queen and her eight newborn kittens, I volunteered without question.
Do You present ? Polish! OR DO YOU
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS!
No Kitten! Cats Are Part of the Military!
Felines have graced the decks of boats and ships back nearly to the beginning of time, roaming freely on passenger ships, war vessels, and merchant schooners, keeping vermin at bay.
Feline Summer Movie Fun!
School is almost OUT! Huzzah! But raindrops are plunking against the window, the amusement and water parks haven’t opened yet, camping is out, and roasted hot dogs and S’mores are another month away.
Kittens Are Special...
...and so are some of the show rules for them:
Genetic Pleiotropy and the Risks in Breeding Recessive Mutations
Nearly everyone loves what’s rare and unique. A slight defect in the minting process of a coin can create a demand and a value well beyond the face value of the coin. The coin is functionally no different than its perfectly minted counterpart, but its scarcity and uniqueness alone make it more desirable than the rest.