News in 2005

January 11th 2005

Both we and the cats enjoyed the days off at X-mas and the turning of the year. 

X-mas Eve we even celebrated Sarantoya's 4 years birthday, and now we can't deny it any longer: She is an adult cat. Anyway she hasn't accepted this fact herself, she still wants us to play with her all the time except when she is taking a nap.  
We have started clicker-training with her. She thinks it is great fun, and she has already learned some tricks. We should like to teach her standing and sitting quiet (on the judge's table, please!), but we are sure this will be much more difficult. It is against her natural behaviour. 

February 13th 2005

Sarantoya has made a new tradition. Now she sleeps in Dorthe's bedroom at night, but first she hides in the cathouse made of cardboard that is placed at the landing. Then Dorthe is supposed to carry the house with Sarantoya to their bedroom. 

Before the cats go to sleep they often race together in all our house. Afterwards Lilit seems to be quite content to be the only cat in Kirsten's bed, but is the daytime the cats use to sleep together.

There hasn't been great progresses when it comes to clicker-training, but the trainer - not Sarantoya - has to be blaimed!

They got their passports when they were at the vet to their annual health check. The vet found both of them completely healthy and in good shape.
As always they were also weighed, and for the first time Sarantoya was heavier than Lilit. It is because Sarantoya has put on weight - finally she has got her full grownup size, not because Lilit has lost weight. Neither we nor the vet thinks she is too heavy, but we better keep an eye on her weight in the future.

We have been to see Yrsa, Zuri and Addis, and as usual we had a very nice time with them.

It was very, very good to see them all again, and especially to watch the cats on their own ground. They are doing fine and are exactly as cats should be: Curious, active and affectionate. 

Zuri has developed very much. He is fully grown now, and he is a wonderful cat. The very best almost is that his eye-colour has turned really green. The colour is not as attractive as Addis', but anyway definitive green. But he will never have a perfect noseline.
As a young kitten he looked like Lilit, and it is the same way now. We took a few photos - the one to the left is one of the photos of Zuri - and in some of the photos the resemblance between Zuri and Lilit is very clear. 
More of the photos will be in Zuri's gallery before too long.

Addis is still long and loutish. Just like his father he has not got any bothering male tendencies, and he is still a full male. 

March 11th 2005

A week ago we humans started our winter holidays, but the cats were working hard during the weekend: They were shown both Saturday and Sunday in Herlev near Copenhagen.

Saturday they were the only Russian Blues present. Both achived certificates, and Lilit was even nominated for Best in Show. It was obvious that we haven't been training Sarantoya for some time. She was more turbulent at the judge's table than she use to be, and though she was considered for nomination she was quickly screened out. 
At Best in Show Lilit got the votes from alle the judges for best female neuter, and she also beat the best male neuter, though not with alle the votes. So she was BIS! Fortunately we had not entered her in the class for veterans - then it would have been too hard work for her. 

At Sunday it were the same judges, and most of the cats were also the same; however more Russians were present. We hoped for BOX or BIS for Lilit again, but it didn't happen. She was nominated, but lost to another female neuter who had also been to the show the day before. We wonder if the shorthair judges had decided that there should be new winners, because none of the Saturday winners won again - except the male neuter that Lilit had beaten. He was BIS on Sunday.
Sarantoya got a certificate again, and actually we are quite pleased about that. It can't be taken for granted in her high class! Once again she was wriggling quite a lot, and now we have started her training again. 

April 12th 2005

Lilit was the best veteran in the big Swedish Russian Blue Club in 2004! We are quite proud of her and a bit surprised, too. After all she was shown only three times in the veteran class, but she did win at all three occasions. 

Furthermore she was the second best neuter. She was only beaten by her half-sister, the Finnish Zarin Vega. 

April 28th 2005

Lilit did it again! She was shown last Sunday - once again she was nominated for Best in Show, and this time she was BOX.

Sarantoya was not at the show, she needs certificates in other countries than Denmark. And so does Lilit now.

June 4th 2005

Lilit "helps" sewing new show curtains

We hope to have solved Lilit's allergy problems. For a long time she has been fed Hills Diet for allergetic cats, and it helped, but she didn't like it very much. She took every opportunity to steal Sarantoya's food - and you can't imagine how guilty she looked when she was caught red-handed.  And the allergy returned.

It got worse and worse, and she began getting too skinny because she didn't eat enough. We thought about giving her some food she liked as well as medcine to relieve the itching. 

Fortunately we read about a new allergetic diet called Eicosa. That is tasty food for Lilit! And (touch wood!) she has no allergetic symptoms. She has been fed this diet for almost a month now, and she doesn't look undernourished any more. Besides she is much more happy now that she doesn't feel hungry all the time. 

Tsaritzas Groucho

We and the cats have been to a 2-days show in Lund in Sweden.
It all went very well, both Lilit and Sarantoya got certificates both days, and Lilit was even nominated for Best in Show the first day. One of the judges voted for her, but it wasn't enough, because another cat got two votes. Anyway we were pleased with the nomination.

We had a really good time together with the Swedish Russian Blue owners. On the forst day we knew both the owners and all their cats - all beatuful Russian Blues. 

On day two we met two new Russian Blue fanciers and their cats who we liked very much. We were especially pleased to meet the junior Tsaritzas Groucho, a big and beautiful male - almost adult. It was so funny to see him because he reminded us very much of Djingiz. Both because of his size, but also because he had exactly the same expression. We were not the only ones who thought so, also one of the Swedes who has never seen Djingiz, but has seen many photos of him, could see it. 
Also the judge liked Groucho, he got BIV and was very close to a nomination.

Sarantoya and we attended a show last Saturday, and for the first time since she was shown in open class Sarantoya had to settle with EX.2. Anyway the other cat in Sarantoya's class - a beatiful German Russian Blue - deserved to win. Sarantoya's reduction diet still hasn't done the trick.

Yrsa and her two boys were also at the show, and they had even less luck. Addis is still too thin, and he got EX.1 in class 7, but the certificate was withheld. Meanwhile Zuri was placed in the judge's pen. Next to him was a hissing Sacred Birman who managed to put Zuri in temper, and Yrsa chose to draw Zuri from the judgement. Not a great success! Yrsa and Kirsten had to comfort themselves by doing some power-shopping.

Lilit made the day for us though she wasn't present at the show. She was the front page cat of the catalogue! And despite the sad results of the cats we all had a very good day with the other Russian Blue owners at the show. 

August 21st 2005

We have all spent a week in a summer-cottage on the island Als in southern Jutland. As usual the cats soon felt at home. When they were not together Lilit had a favourite spot in Kirsten's room, and Sarantoya found her place in Dorthe's - just as when they are at home. 

The cats were at work during our stay, they were shown two days in Flensburg in Germany. On the first day Sarantoya got EX.2 (...we are getting used to it), and Lilit got her last certificate for Grand International Premier. On the second day we had more luck. Both cats got certificates, Sarantoya was even BIV (10 Russian Blues competed), and Lilit was nominated for best in show (4 cats competed).

At the show we found a "fishing rod" exactly like the one that has been Sarantoya's favourite since she was quite young, but which is now broken more than once. We didn't give the new one to her until we were home in the cottage - or in fact she found it herself. She got very enthusiastic and couldn't wait to play with it. 

October 13th 2005

The cats have had a quiet autumn so far - they might think they have a holiday at home, and they enjoy it.

They don't enjoy quite as much that they both have needed to be a bit slimmer.
Sarantoya has been fed a reduction diet, and she has lost some weight, but still she needs to loose a little more. Unfortunately it has had an effect on her coat as well. It isn't quite as soft as it use to be.
Lilit must have her allergy diet, so we had to cut down how much she eats. She has lost a little bit, but there is still some way to go.

At the show in June we bought a play-tunnel for them. It was ignored for months, but suddenly they found out what the tunnel was for, and now they are very often playing hide and seek in it.

Our own cats have been showed again, and they both won another certificate. Sarantoya was even the best Russian Blue female, but it was a male who got BIV. By the way she is much more relaxed at the shows now, and she is almost standing quiet at the judge's table...
We had entered Lilit in the certificate class only, but the arranging club had a second opinion and had entered her in the class for veterans as well. We decided to let her be judges also in this class, and once again she was the best shorthair veteran. 

Lilit was at the show, too, and she got her third CAPE. We were quite pleased with this result regarding that she is still too heavy. Unbelievable that not longer ago than this spring we worried quite a lot, because her weight was too low...

December 31st 2005

Happy New Year to all the visitors of this site!

Those were the news in 2000....in 2001....in 2002....in 2003....and in 2004