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My First Cat

First Cats. We all have that special very first cat—the one that we had as a child, or perhaps the first one when we had a home of our own. Maybe one found us, and we hadn’t realized that we needed a cat until then. Or perhaps this special cat was a first rescue, first pedigreed cat or first show cat. These are the stories of some of those special cats.

FUR NAMES

Names. Oh, what an important choice in the life of cat! It is how a cat will be known in the show rings and in daily life. A name can alternate between words of delight or new forms of cursing. Each name tells a story and this is the story of GP, NW Maryk's First Contact of Katsmith.

State Breeder Laws Every Resident Fancier Should Know!

CFA State Breeder Law Series, Part 4 – U.S. States of Region 6: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota

The Ears of Scotland!

What You Don’t Know About... Scottish Folds

Virtual Cat Competitions Get Their Start in CFA

About two years ago, long before the pandemic made virtual competitions popular, CFA Marketing Director Desiree Bobby first began investigating software solutions that might enable CFA to effectively run such competitions. At the time, the goal was to use the shows to make pedigreed cats—and of course, CFA—more visible to an online audience, and in so doing, increase people’s interests in the cat fancy.

Big Cats and Covid-19

What Can They Teach Us?

What You Don't Know About... Russian Blues

Silver-Tipped Elegance

WHO YA GONNA CALL?

Planning For Disasters and Evacuation

The Plight of Homeless Cats

What Do Cat Fanciers Have to Do with This Anyway?

My First Cat

First Cats. We all have that special very first cat—the one that we had as a child, or perhaps the first one when we had a home of our own. Maybe one found us, and we hadn’t realized that we needed a cat until then. Or perhaps this special cat was a first rescue, first pedigreed cat or first show cat. These are the stories of some of those special cats.

Letters from Lockdown

Recently, the staff of Cat Talked asked our feline correspondents to let us know what kind of impact the lockdown/ quarantine was having on them and their households. Here is a sample of the responses we received.

High Tech Cat Toys For Ailurophiles

Let’s face it, cat fans, our society, at least in the United States, is totally divided between “The Greatest Generation,” “Baby Boomers (okay?)”, “Generation X,” “Millennials” aka “Generation Y,” and finally, “Generation Z”. However, US societal divides DO have common ground: love of FELINES! And within this very broad CAT-egory (pun intended), there are certain beliefs:

FUR NAMES

From the files of: Nancy Kerr

Effective Show Management

Opening note: This is a work in progress, as many people across the country have helped. We began writing this series in March with the intent of eventually creating a piece which new and old show managers could use for reference. We began just after CFA joined the rest of the world in cancelling events in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and certainly local and state ordinances will change how we begin to hold shows again. But knowing about and responding to changes is also part of a show managers’ job.

A Very Rare Award Indeed

With GC, NW Velvetkist Crown Me Already earning her title as CFA's Best Kitten, Noralyn Heisig (shown right with Mark Hannon, her son Casey, and husband Wade in 2017) found herself in that most exclusive of CFA clubs: an exhibitor who had obtained Best Cat, Best Kitten, and Best Cat in Premiership.

Welcome to the world that is Life With Patrick

For those of you who do not know them, let me introduce you to the cast of characters:

Show Curtains Saved!

Skittles' She Shed Retains Its Beauty

State Breeder Laws Every Resident Fancier Should Know!

All of the U.S. states in Region 4, except Kentucky, have state-level breeder licensing laws.

Caring For Cats During Lockdown

Most of the world is under some form of “stay at home” order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

What You Don't Know About...Singapuras

Good Things Come In Small Packages

My First Cat

First Cats. We all have that special very first cat—the one that we had as a child, or perhaps the first one when we had a home of our own. Maybe one found us, and we hadn’t realized that we needed a cat until then. Or perhaps this special cat was a first rescue, first pedigreed cat or first show cat. These are the stories of some of those special cats.

Peaceful Coexistence in “Cat-tivity”

Fanciers with a social media presence have recently been deluged with cute posts about our new four-footed furry supervisors.

Living With Covid-19 CFA Style

As a retired teacher, this writer is amazed at the change in sentiment and the growth of generosity among both businesses and individuals.

FUR NAMES

FROM THE FILES OF: Mollie shutt

Facebook during Covid-19! Now What?

We now have gone several weeks without cat shows, with no inkling of when they may start up again. When will cat shows start up again, and what will that look like?

What You Don't Know About... Burmillas

Shades of Elegance

CBD and Pets

More Questions Than Answers

Birthing 101

How Kittens Get Here from There

Queens Candilee Jackson Choose the Strangest Delivery Spots

I remember well the first litter of kittens I birthed on my own. I was excited to finally have kittens to show under my new cattery name, Pawdancer. At the same time, I felt like the fictional Prissy from Margaret Mitchell’s novel, Gone With The Wind and her famous quote, “But Miss Scarlett, I don’ know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ no babies!” I read everything I could lay my hands on, visited my vet at least ten times during the final week or so (the office staff finally just waved me into an exam room without getting my charts), consulted with my mentors and non-mentors, laid in enough birthing supplies for a small army and as the “watch” date approached, I consulted the calendar at least five times a day. I fixed up a toddler’s playpen with two soft, washable beds—one for delivery and one for after delivery, food and water dishes, litter box and covered the removeable plywood top (painted baby pink) and mesh of the playpen with warm pink fleece. All was ready. The only thing I DID NOT prepare for was Jazzlynn, my mother-to-be. While I really did not know Jazzy’s thoughts on all this preparation, her inscrutable eyes, half-closed in thought, watched the process and a little smirk crossed her muzzle. Little did I realize she had made plans of her own.

My First Cat

First Cats. We all have that special very first cat—the one that we had as a child, or perhaps the first one when we had a home of our own. Maybe one found us, and we hadn’t realized that we needed a cat until then. Or perhaps this special cat was a first rescue, first pedigreed cat or first show cat. These are the stories of some of those special cats.