New Year!

I start back to work at my day job (teaching eighth grade Reading, Science, and Art) in the morning. While I have enjoyed my time off, I look forward to interaction with my students, who always put a fresh perspective on life. I have been so busy with daily chores that I sometimes put off during the work week, that I have failed to share Howie's first professional photos. I will share one each time I post and hopefully, will have some of Howie's little brother (who is still nameless) in the not too distant future.

Living with two Devon Rex kittens is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I am in the process of putting together a video of the little guy and some of his impish antics. It will be a while before I get it ready for publication as this is a new learning process for me, but will post the video as soon as possible.

Howie enters the show world!

Finally, I have a kitten to show! I have waited so long and was fearful that something would keep me from showing Howie as a kitten. I have never had a young kitten to show and I have longed for the opportunity to grow up in the show halls with a kitten of my own. This past Saturday, I drove to Huntsville, Alabama, to a one day show. It was Howie's first CFA show and although he didn't final, I was/am very proud of his participation. The first couple of rings had Howie a bit confused as to what was going on, but as the day progressed he began to realize that all he had to do was be himself, which he did in flying colors. The constant pressure of being cute, did not daunt Howie in the least. He was a bit worn out after the long day and slept all the way home in his carrier. I made a few new friends while there and spoke to a member of the Birmingham Feline Fanciers about membership. All in all, I felt that it was a very productive day.
I also decided to have professional pictures taken of Howie. The photographer, St. Arnaud, is very good at getting my Devons to play in front of her camera, so I knew, I would not be disappointed with the proofs. There were several really adorable pics of Howie and some very grownup looking poses as well. I purchased a package of eight photos, a 5 x 7, and a page of all the proofs. I can't wait to get the finished product as I will definitely have some nice pictures of Howie that I can share.
Work is taking much of my time, but I am going to attempt to make entries more often. Birdette is pregnant and her litter is due any day now. I pray that the babies will be born healthy and Birdette will have no problems birthing. I love Birdette and long for a baby girl from her to carry on the bloodline. Time will tell, if I am going to get a little girl or not. I think I will. :)

Howie, Howie, Howie!

The inevitable finally happened. Howie took a flying leap from the top shelf of the cat tree. I was writing lesson plans and heard a LOUD thump behind me. I looked to see what had happened and there sat Howie, eyes crossed and head wobbling to and fro. For a few moments, I feared that I had truly lost him. My heart sank. He shook his head several times and attempted to walk, but only staggered a few steps. I could tell he was definitely disoriented. I scooped him up into my arms and hugged him so tight, fearful that this might be the last time he would know how much I love him. After several of the longest minutes I have ever lived, he seemed to regain full consciousness and wanted down to play. The remainder of the day, I watched him closely to see if he was okay.
He was rather subdued for several hours but then Howie the Fearless made his appearance and I knew he was going to be fine. Howie is no longer allowed to play unsupervised on the largest cat tree. There will be plenty of time for that when he gets older and can handle getting down without so much drama/trauma for me.
I am now on a mission to add a little girl about Howie's age to my cattery. Howie needs another kitten to romp and play kitten games with him, and in the future, a mate to produce more Howies for the world to love.

kitten update

I have had a difficult time getting logged in to Gaia Devon Rex on my desktop so decided to try the laptop. It worked like a dream and now I can post pictures of the little boy who will be five weeks old tomorrow. He is absolutely adorable and knows just exactly where he shouldn't go; then heads in that direction at top speed! Birdette has introduced him to the other cats (3 Devons and 2 Cornish Rex that are strictly pets) and decided that he was not quite ready for his debut. Actually, Birdette was not ready....she did not like the fact that the other cats were sniffing the little boy so she became rather aggressive and a cat fight ensued. No one was hurt but there was a lot of screeches, hisses and cat-er-walling. I was shocked to say the least as Birdette has always been extremely friendly and affectionate to the other cats. I have lots of pictures that I will post as soon as I can gain access to them. Just realized that my PC can't be networked but I am getting a new PC (it is en route as I type), then I can do more than ever before. technology is great!

Puppy Update

Birdette has proven to be a better mother than I ever hoped. She is so laid back but does not allow that little boy to mew more than twice before she rushes to him. When he is quiet, Birdette visits with the other cats and of course, spends time with me. She has all ready regained her girlish figure and has an air of confidence that I have not seen before. She seems to radiate self-confidence in the field of motherhood. Not anything like I felt when I became a mother for the first time. Indeed, I never experienced that amount of confidence when my second baby was born either!

Bird has really surprised me. She was so spoiled that I feared she would not be an attentive mother but she proved me wrong. The same way she proved me wrong about being in shows. Even though Birdette was nearly a year old before I entered her in her first shows, she gave the impression that she was an old hand at it. I sincerely hope that she passes her attitudeand confidence along to all her offspring. What a joy it would be to not worry about an entry's first shows and how it will respond to the new environment.

The kitten is sleek and fat...very contented in its little world. I was surprised to see that its little eyes were open on yesterday and it was only 3 days old! At that rate, it will be grown in a few months but I want it to remain a playful little kitten for a while anyway. I have also decided that I will not call him Puppy since I intend to show him. He needs a more fitting name so I am searching for just the right name for the first kitten to carry the Gaia name.

Catie's daughter Birdette

When Catie had to be spayed , I had only her daughter, Ch. Bluegenes Sugar and Spice, to carry on the gene pool. Birdette (the nick name I gave to Sugar and Spice) was not only an integral part of my breeding but my personal pet as well. There are always those few pets who just step into your heart and leave footprints...Birdette was/is that 'special' furry someone for me.

From the time Birdette was born she made her presence known.Birdette, a beautiful odd-eyed white, loved the show atmosphere. She was a year old before I entered her in a show so I was concerned that she would be nervous and shy. Birdette thought the shows were being held in her honor. She loved the attention from the spectators and and showed to perfection in the rings. She won the six blue ribbons necessary for her championship at the Birmingham Feline Fanciers' cat shows in one week-end. I entered her in two more shows before it was decided that I should breed her.

Over the next two years, Birdette was introduced to several males but no kittens were produced. Judie moved from Tennessee to Michigan and made arrangements with Denis Downey of Northshore Devon rex for me to lease a beautiful cream bi-colored male named Northshore Tradewinds (aka Trader). After several attempts at breeding, I was beginning to think that I would never again hear the patter of little Devon feet. Last week, Birdette surprised me with all the signs of being
pregnant. After consulting my calendar and counting from the last day Birdette and Trader mated, I have determined that kittens are due around the 20th of April. I pray that all goes well and that in a few short months I will be using my new pink security cage showing a Devon rex kitten. Stay tuned because I intend to show off the little fellas asap!