Introducing Tundra...

No we haven't adopted another cat, Tundra is Snowgum Titan's stage name in his issue of "The Cat Collection" Magazine! You may remember that Titan did a photoshoot in November last year, well the magazine is now out and to my surprise, the whole issue is filled with photos of our boy! They have given him the name "Tundra the Siberian" (not a bad name actually, maybe I'll use that for one of his future kittens ;-) and changed his age to 3 years instead of the 1.5 years he was at the time of the shoot! But we are thrilled with the result. The best bit is the furry toy that they have created to look like him! It even has the Siberian signature furry ear brushes sticking out of its ears! So cute!

If you would like your very own Tundra soft toy, or would just like to see our handsome boy's pics in the magazine you can order his issue (47) from the publisher's website:

http://www.the-cat-collection.com/shop/uk/shop.asp?issue=CATISSUE47 Be sure to select your country from the home page to get the right currency. Enjoy!

Show success!

Last weekend we took Delta and her son Spirit to the Garden of England FIFe cat show in Worthing. We had a great time and both of them made us very proud!

Delta was awarded the final two CAC certificates she needed, so after I get all the paperwork done she will now be "Champion Delta Diva Siberia"! She was also nominated for the best in show final on Sunday! Well done Delta!

Spirit was very well recieved by the judges and by the visiting general public too. We were amazed that he showed no signs of nerves despite it being his first show! Spirit was awarded Ex1 both days, BIV on Sunday and was nominated both days for the best in show final! Unfortunately he lost out both days two votes to one to a beautiful silver and white Norwegian kitten. Still, he got some wonderful comments from the judges and we were very proud of the little man to make it that far. Way to go Spirit!

Here are some pics of them at the show:

Delta relaxing between being judged and the final:

Spirit being judged in the final:

Spirit worn out after a long day!

A new family member

For those of you who don't yet know, the reason we are taking a break from breeding for a while is to welcome a new family member. Our first fur-free baby is due in December! I am definitely showing now and can often feel the baby kick inside. We are very excited and can't wait to meet the little one! Here is a pic taken at a scan a couple of weeks ago:

Titan-san

Our friends Darren and Erica just returned from an awesome shopping trip to Japan. They are both really into fashion and love the originality of the designers there as well as the unique culture. Very kindly they brought back a lovely gift for us! So I've taken some pictures of Titan-san in his new and very stylish kimono! Thanks Darren and Erica! Titan is still a little bit unsure about it but I think it is fabulous!

Delta playing

Some videos of our darling girl Delta playing. It is incredible how quickly she has settled in here :-)

Delta has finally arrived!

After a huge 10 month wait our beautiful golden classic girl Delta Diva Siberia has finally arrived! For those of you who have not had to go through this agonizing waiting game, it is because the UK is rabies free and have strict quarantine rules to keep it that way. To import a pet here, they either have to sit in quarantine for 6 months or they get vaccinated for rabies, then 30 days later they have a titre test to check antibody levels. After a sucessful titre test the pet must then wait a further 6 months before they can enter the UK. So the earliest that a kitten from Europe or the US can arrive in the UK is at 10 months of age as they can't be vaccinated for rabies until 3 months of age. It is a very long wait, especially when you have been following the kitten's progress since just after birth!

We have to say a huge thank you to Izabela Jarosz of Diva Siberia who bred and expertly raised Delta for us. Izabela kept Delta for the 10 months required to get her passport and did all the extra vet visits, paperwork and rushing around in order to ship her to us safely. We can't thank her enough for doing all this for us. It was touch and go in the last few days as to whether she would arrive on time- the crate I bought was deemed just a bit too small by the airline so Izabela had to get express delivery of a bigger one. She found just one company who could get it to her in time but then the delivery van driver had an accident on the way! Luckily nobody was injured, the crate was not damaged and they were able to deliver it later that evening.

So Delta finally arrived at Heathrow last night. We were very stressed but when we finally got her she didn't look the slightest bit bothered by the whole experience! She took it all in her stride! The lady at the Animal Reception Centre thought she was lovely and couldn't believe how calm she was.

Delta is at home with us now and relaxing next to me on our bed as I type this. She is an incredibly friendly, loving and gentle girl even after all the upheaval she has just been through. She was even wonderful when our vet visited her today for her checkup/blood tests. This is a testament to how well Izabela raises and socialises her kittens. Thank you Izabela!

And now for some photos of our gorgeous girl Delta:

Strategy

My friend adopted two gorgeous Ragdoll brothers around the same time that we adopted our first Siberian Georgia. Vinnie and Pabs love to hang out and play together. Here are some pictures of these clever boys during one of their favourite games...

Vinnie planning his attack:

And executing his move. I don't think Pabs is impressed!

You can see more footage of these handsome guys on YouTube where they are watching their favourite David Attenborough wildlife documentary: Vinne & Pabs What intellectuals! I often think that cats would take over the world if they had opposable thumbs! I know our Georgia would definitely give it a try ;-)

Titan the male model!

Towards the end of last year Titan was a model in a photoshoot for a new series of cat magazines called "The Cat Collection"! It's a new monthly magazine collection that will feature a different breed each month. It it is due to come out in the UK shortly and the Siberian Cat will be feautured in the latter part of the year.

Titan only had his summer coat at the time but we still think he looked handsome. He was a real show-off for the entire shoot, really enjoying being the centre of everyone's attention :-) He had a great time and was pretty good at posing so the photographer got all of his shots done in record time!

Here are some sample shots from the shoot. We can't wait to see him in print!








A stylised one with a wide angle lens:

Delta's first show!

In November our youngest girl Delta Diva Siberia attended her first show with her breeder in Poland. She did really well with hardly any nerves and was awarded Ex1 on the Saturday and Ex2 (she lost out to her brother!) on Sunday. The judge commented that she has very nice texture of coat and beautiful eyes and all in all she is quite a promising girl :-) We think she is lovely too and can't wait to meet her in early March when she gets her PETS passport and can finally travel to the UK!

Here are some pics from the show: