What's New at Coonyham?

Mirabella

Coonyham Mirabella - blue classic tabby and white female kitten - at 8 weeks of age. Is this a cute kitten or what? Mirabella is owned by Mami Matsumoto in Japan. Copyright Ron Kimball, all rights reserved.

Fog City Cat Club is having a show this year on November 24-25, 2007 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. Details may be found at www.fogcitycatclub.com
We have kittens! Yea! Details on our Pet Kitten page....
We survived our show with 109 degree heat; thanks for visiting!
Fog City Cat Club - our show is July 22-23, 2006 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. Come on out and visit the show!
We have updated our adult page with available cats. Take a peek.
It's time to neuter Comanche and Rough Rider and place these boys as well as Mandalay. Please call Joe or Sharon for more info on the boys and the timing of this important vet visit. ;-)
Joe wants to lighten his load so we have made the decision to drastically cut back on both the number of cats we have but also curtail breeding to 1 litter per year. It's hard to part with treasured friends. We will be rehoming Catalina, Valkyrie and Sarah. We want to be extra careful about rehoming these special cats. If you feel you have what it takes to adore one of these precious friends, then please call us to discuss them.
We had a fabulous time in Australia. Photos will up soon, to show the tropical far North Queensland with scuba diving and snorkling, rainforest treks, Kuranda, Fraser Island, Brisbane, judging cat shows, exploring gorgeous Sydney and the impressive Blue Mountains. Australia is gorgeous but Australians are the true treasure. Erin, Penny, Anne and Cath - thank you all for welcoming us into your homes and showing us such a bonzer time.
April 27, 2005 - we had to say goodbye to a special cat, rather unexpectedly. Navarro had lost a little weight but you could only tell when you ran your hand down his back. He was eating well and looked great. However, we could feel a lump on one side that was not quite right.... The vet did xrays and ultrasounds and checked his bloodwork and he was scheduled for emergency exploratory surgery which discovered acute gall bladder disease. His bile ducts were enormous and when three surgeons deemed him to be "inoperable", we had to make the hard decision to not wake him up in order that we might have another month of time with him. We had to put his quality of life over our need to hold onto Navarro. It was hard to do. We know "gall bladder disease" does not sound especially serious to those without medical backgrounds but his was. We miss him very much. He was a very special, loving boy whose progeny went on to bless many peoples' lives. He was expecially loving and in our laps that last week, as if he knew he needed to say goodbye to us. Here is a tribute to Navarro, our loving boy.
Not much to report other than April and May will be kitten season for us. We know it's hard to wait but those little squirmy kittens have to grow up - with their moms and siblings and learn how to wrap their humans around their furry big paws. Love - from our home to yours.... coming in July. :-)
October 2004 - this was a very difficult month. We had to say goodbye to Santana who had kidney disease and she was failing in spite of our best efforts. Then - suddenly, we lost Caliente who developed a duodenal ulcer from being on prednisone for a minor ailment. Our hearts are broken. Please - if there is anything positive to come from our loss, it might only be getting the word out about the possible dangers of steroids in some cats. Do NOT put your Maine Coon on prednisone (steroid) unless the disease being treated seriously impacts your cat's quality of life. Investigate alternatives first and make steroids your last option. :-(
September 9, 2004 - Update on Tuscaloosa Comanche of Tasahara - Sharon's new boy from Francesca Gagern in Austria, did very well at his last kitten show in Edmonton (The TICA Annual) with three finals (with 17 Maine Coon kittens and over 100 AB kittens - not too shabby). He was a delight to show - albeit heavy to carry around and his coat was pretty amazing too. His first adult show will be in October. You can see his kitten photos in this directory.
Some changes to our cat roster - we have spayed Hippie Chick who is available as a pet now.
Sharon has been busy showing her new girl - FogCity Hippie Chick of Tasahara - new cat - new cattery name. Tina Dodge did a great job raising "Chicklet" - she is curious, busy, sweet, playful and into EVERYTHING. :-) What a doll.
November 20, 2003 - Sad news: We had to put Cheyenne to sleep. Her mammary cancer returned nine months after surgery was first done to remove the tumors. Cancer was detected in all of her lymph glands and she was not expected to live past six months. Cheyenne has spent the past nine months living quietly in Sharon and Joe's bedroom, getting lots of attention, hugs and love. It was time to sadly say goodbye to our special girl with such an incredible history with us.
September 7, 2003: We wanted to share some good news. :-) We took a number of our retired and breeding Maine Coons to Dr. Lori Siemens, a veterinary cardiologist in Sacramento this Friday for a cardiac ultrasound screening session with color-flow doppler. Dr. Siemens has been used by a number of Maine Coon breeders or owners in Northern California. In the past, we've had these or other of our Maine Coons tested by Dr. Kittleson and/or Dr. Pion. We are very fortunate to have access to such excellent and renouned veterinary cardiologists in Northern California.

All 11 cats passed with healthy hearts and no signs indicative of HCM which is wonderful news. Of note is that the oldest cat tested in this group was our 10 year old retired stud male, Coonyham Navarro. Dr. Siemens said he had a normal, healthy heart and absolutely no signs of HCM. :-) That's our boy!

The complete list of cats tested and passing their cardiac ultrasounds on 9/5/03 included:

Coonyham Navarro (10 years)
Coonyham Lone Star (6.9 years)
Coonyham Sonoma (6 years)
Coonyham Rough Rider (5 years)
Pinecoon Caliente of Coonyham (5.3 years old)
Nascat Fire It Up & Burn Out (Tori - 3.4 years)
Coonyham Nola (3 years)
Coonyham Oreo (2 years)
Velvetjewels Valkyrie of Coonyham (1.10 years)
Coonyham Mandalay (1.9 years)
Coonyham Dolce Vita (1.4 years)

Special thanks to Betsy & Dave Tinney for Caliente, Donna Hinton for Tori and Roxann and Van Rokicki for Valkyrie - these beautiful girls are a joy to us.
Thank you all for sharing in our good news. Copies of the cardiac reports will be forwarded to FOMCC.

August 2003 - well, it's not that we have not had any news, we've just been too busy to report it. We had lovely kittens from Nola, Valkyrie and Caliente. Sharon has branched out into salt scrubs, lip balm and hand lotions in addition to her great soap! Check them out. :-)
September 12, 2002 -- Sharon has been hard at work learning a new skill - making cold process soaps using natural ingredients and essential oils. At first, it was interesting (ok, Mom has a new hobby...) but we have to say, Sharon is REALLY good at this! Even the soap shops are impressed by how quickly Sharon has picked up the techniques and combinations. She's very creative. Her experimentations are quite clever (some are too clever...ask her about the Scharffenberger chocolate soap for a good laugh). Her soaps are marketed under the name Tassajara Soaps and she is selling them at local cat shows, street fairs and craft shows. She is also been contracted to provide soaps as judges gifts for several West Coast clubs. Sharon will have her own web site up soon (www.tassajarasoaps.com) but in the meantime, be sure to ask her about her soaps when you see her. Our favorites? Way too many to mention but Spicy Fig, Plum, Energy, Pikaki and the new "Rise and Shine" and "Pink Lemonade" soaps are big hits.
September 1, 2002 - Wow, what a great Annual awards show in Washington, DC. Mandalay got five finals including three best of breed awards and ended up the highest scoring MC adult in show. You go girl! Laura won the celebrity judging contest and gave her talk on grooming. We went sightseeing, had fun times with friends and just kept on going despite lack of sleep. :) We need a vacation to recover from our vacation. :-) P.S. Congratulations to Dave and D'Nette Musser whose beautiful male kitten - Oldestage Doc Holliday of Mainette - was Best of the Best Kitten in show - out of 140 kittens! Way to go!
July 21, 2002 - We survived putting on the TICA Mid-Pacific Regional Awards show and banquet. We all feel like we were hit with mack trucks but the show went well, garnered praise and everyone seemed to have a great time. :-) Elaine Weitz took home Dralion, a cute black smoke boy from Tori and Tommy's litter. Mandy picked up 4 finals, Oreo picked up 2 and Coonyham Valentino of Versus picked up 3 finals at his first show. Woo Hoo.
June 16 - Both Mandalay and Valkyrie ended their kitten careers with a nice show in Santa Rosa. Mandy got 7 finals and Valkyrie got 2. Both girls handled well and enjoy themselves. They are best pals.
May 4 - We visited Baxter, Rascal and Maggie - the CoonyKids who live with Arthur Stern. Arthur welcomed another CoonyBoy into the horde - a black smoke. Check out Arthur's wonderful art and stained glass. A neighboring artist (Gwen Connolly) does the most wonderful sculpture. Someday, Laura sighs.... she'll have one of Gwen's pieces.
April 6 - Laura is back from Japan. Everything was magical - the Tokyo Cat Club put on a fantastic show with outstanding cats, wonderful weather most of the days, the cherry trees were in bloom - everything was PINK! Spending time with Sumiyo and Franco Cremente in Kurashiki and Okayama, seeing the Himeji castle and the Kurakoen gardens was very special and shared with wonderful people. It was fabulous to finally meet Michi's mother and see Sunny again as well as to stay with Michi and visit her friends (and to go to Kamakura with them).
Monica - our wonderful Japanese Bobtail (well, she lives with Faye Heath and rules a house filled with Maine Coons) is now famous! Check her out on one these gorgeous prints and shirts by the very talented Claudia Sanchez. Monica is at the bottom of the page.
February 24, 2002 - We have a new kitten! Velvetjewels Valkyrie of Coonyham is a beautiful brown classic tabby from Roxann & Van Rokicki. She is a lovely, sweet girl. her parents are SGC, RW Coonyham Gold Rush of Velvetjewels and Sarafina Tamaya of Velvetjewels. Photos and more info to follow. Thank you Roxann and Van - she's a treasure!
February 15, 2002 - Laura was advanced to Provisional Allbreed Judge.
November 11, 2001 - Laura returned from the cat show in Mannheim. She enjoyed sightseeing in Vienna with Francesca Gagern and Gerhard Wrodnick who went out of their way to ensure Laura had the best possible time imaginable -- getting home just in time to learn that Nola has delivered her six babies. It's Coltrane's first sired litter and they look super.
June 20, 2001 - we have welcomed a new kitten! Sarajen Nighthawk of Coonyham comes from Teri and Ken Matzkin. Laura flew out and picked up "Tommy" and we have been enjoying him ever since. He is an unusual look for us as he is a black and white tuxedo but he has a great pedigree, excellent type and is a very loving and doofusy boy. Thank you Teri and Ken - your love and care shows in this boy.
June 2, 2001 - Sharon and Laura visited Vickie Shields and Adriana Kajon in Albuquerque, NM to attend the TICA judges school but had the opportunity to some fun sightseeing with Vickie and Adriana--the Petroglyphs and Sky City - the Acoma Pueblo. What a fun time we had - such beautiful scenery with a fascintating history and culture. Now, if we could just live there... Thanks Vickie and Adriana for such a great time!
May 20, 2001 - Laura had a great time in Germany - judging the CATS-4-US e.v. cat show in Mannheim and seeing so many wonderful cats. She also had a great time exploring Heidelberg and Mannheim and enjoying great German and Greek food. Now if she could just get over her tendencies to climb on medieval castle walls.....
April 30, 2001 - Laura had a fabulous time in Austria, hand-delivering Natalie to Francesca Gagern and Bonnie to Irmi and Peter Bittner of Macavity Maine Coons. In addition, Laura judged for the Blue Danube Cat Club in Altheim and had a great time. The weather was spectacular in Vienna and thanks to Fran and Gerhard, Laura had a wonderful time. :-)
April 2, 2001 - Cassis and Tori are now CFA champions. Sharon showed them with the wonderful assistance of Janet and Alli Brown (proud owners of Coonyham Jack Daniels). The girls showed well and Tori even made a second best of breed placing (as an open, over a grand and two lovely champions). Sharon Tolby showed her boy, Coonyham Dylan who is now a CFA Premier in addition to working on his TICA titles (he is currently a TICA DGCA). Her other boy, Coonyham Makena enjoyed hanging out and enjoying himself. Sharon T. reports that Makena is a "guy magnet". She holds him and guys come from far and wide to admire him. Hmmmm. Maybe Laura should borrow him for a while.... ;-)
March 24, 2001 - we had to say goodbye to a very special cat. QGC St. Clouds Silver Shadow of Coonyham - our first Maine Coon, the one who started all of this, finally lost his battle with kidney disease. He purred through the end; leaving us as gently as he lived with us - full of grace and quiet affection. Goodbye dear friend - we miss you very much. :-(
February 4, 2001 - good news!! We took four cats to see Dr. Kittleson and all have normal and healthy hearts. The girls are: St. Clouds Cheyenne of Coonyham (10.5 years old), Cooncreole Mardi Gras of Coonyham (10.5 years old), Coonyham Bandita (2.5 years old) and Coonyham Dixie Chick (1.5 years old). Yea!
December 24, 2000 - Santa Claus came early this year. At the New Orleans show earlier this month, we brought home a very special present from Donna Hinton of Nascat Maine Coons - her gorgeous girl - Nascat Fire It Up & Burn Out - a black smoke tortie. Tori is very special and precious to us - we cannot thank Donna enough for her trust, generosity and friendship. Special thanks also to Kathy Joiner and her friend Chris for bring Tori from Houston to New Orleans. :-) We also showed our kittens Cassis-a solid black and Sierra, her brown tabby sister. Both made breed wins and were fun to show. Cassis loves showing and Sierra is starting to think it's not too bad (heck, those judges have cool toys). :-)
December 10, 2000 - we took a carload of cats up to Davis for echocardiograms as part of the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy clinic with Drs. Kittleson and Pion. We are very happy to report great news - look for detailed updates on our females page. All but two of our breeding cats (males and females) have been tested in 2000. Those two will be tested once they have stopped nursing their kittens (a retest for one, a first test for the other). In addition to our actively breeding females - we also retested Coonyham Cherokee, a retired queen who is now a 5.5 year old spay. Cherokee tested completely normal and free of HCM, as she did in her previous two ultrasounds. Cherokee produced eight beautiful kittens during her breeding career (she obviously believed in quality, not quantity). She is now in a great home in Vallejo and busy training her new humans. :-)
September 4, 2000 - Just got back from Las Vegas - had a blast, ate far too well but did not lose any money gambling. :-) Dylan got a final at the show (yea for the blue cat) and had a nice photo session with Jim Brown. Coltrane emerged from retirement very short on coat but long on love, attitude, head bumps and show stretches. He is so much fun to show - relaxed and goofy! Dylan's brother, the wonderful Jack Daniels looked marvelous and Jack made second of breed in one ring (yea Jack!). The awards banquet was so much fun - thanks to everyone for their support and noise! Elaine's clapper toys were marvelous. It was great to see everyone so gussied up and having fun. Baci's blue son, Coonyham Casanova of Wistariantale (aka Bubba) is winging his way to Italy with Sumiyo Cremente (Baci's breeder) - sniff. He could not have a better home but we do miss him. Back to litterpans and kitten snuggling now.
31 July 2000 - what a weekend!! Where to start?

First of all - we had a fantastic weekend at UC Davis attendingthe 2nd International Conference on Feline Inheirited Diseases , hosted by Drs. Leslie Lyons and Neils Pederson. We learned a great deal about different types of inheirited diseases, became updated with the latest information on previously "known diseases" and enjoyed meeting an international group of feline medical scholars, judges, breeders and veterinarians.
Secondly, we participated in the HCM screening clinicon Sunday and had seven of our cats examined by Dr. Mark Kittleson and Dr. Paul Pion - none had HCM, what a relief. :-)
Thirdly - we learned that Coonyham Chynna Doll of Coonwyck achieved her grand champion title in TICA. This is not only exciting news for Chynna and her owners, Dave and Becky Lovall, but it also means that her mother, SGC, RW Cooncreole Mardi Gras of Coonyham now has five of her offspring as confirmed TICA grand champions (or higher) which means that she is a TICA Outstanding Dam. This is very exciting for us. Mardi Gras has definitely earned this award with her outstanding children who have been shown in many associations around the world, not just TICA.
Fourthly - Jack Daniels and Quincy were shown at the CFA show in Pleasanton and both boys had great shows; finalling in several rings. It was the first time their new owners had exhibited their boys and they all had a great time at "their" first show. Yea - new exhibitors...!
Fifthly - Coonyham Cisco of Coonpulsive (Caliente and Navarro's son, also Quincy and Fiesta's brother) was shown at the TICA show in Pennsylvania and he also had a great show with many finals. So - it was quite an exciting weekend as you can see. :-)

16 July - Our regional awards show and banquet was a lot of fun. Not only was the awards ceremony enjoyable (well, ok, we were obnoxiously loud but we did want to celebrate), but the Sunday breakfast we co-sponsored with Paul Huntley, Trish Leary and Susie/Lou Woolsley went without a hitch and based on the quick disappearance of the food (bagels, assorted cream cheeses, marionberry jam, lox, breakfast cakes, strawberries, assorted grapes, dip, coffee, sparkling cider, OJ and mimosas); was very much appreciated by all exhibitors. We all wanted to celebrate having best cat, best kitten and best alter who happened to be all Maine Coons! It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed hosting this "breakfast party". The show was good too; Dixie Chick is now a champion with two finals. Jack Daniels and Dylan both had another fun show with many breed placements and several finals including a Best AB Kitten final for Jack. :-)
5 July - Navarro has been retired. We are all eager for him to rejoin us in bed and enjoy life as a lap kitty. Uncle Navarro loves to groom kittens and his new role will be as one of the official greeters for the Coonyham Clan - a role he has already taken to heart. He is sooo cool. :-)
17 May, 2000 - The 1999-2000 TICA Show season is finally over and we are delighted that our two special boys are both TICA International Winners. SGC, IW Coonyham Rough Rider is Best of Breed MaineCoon Cat and 14th Best AB Cat. SGC, IW Coonyham Coltrane is 2nd Bestof Breed Maine Coon Cat and 16th Best AB Cat. Coltrane is also TICA's 5th Best Maine Coon kitten. We are thrilled beyond belief with these two handsome boys. It was so much fun to show them last year. We will celebrate their wins at our Regional Awards showin July (they are Best Cat and 2nd Best Cat plus Coltrane is 5th Best kitten in the region). Later, we will celebrate their International wins at TICA International Awards Show and Banquet in Las Vegas on Labor Day weekend.
22 June 1999 -- We are pleased to announce four new Regional Winners. Pinecoon Caliente of Coonyham is 9th Best Kitten in TICA's Mid-Pacific Region and Coonyham Rough Rider is 11th Best Kitten, based on the TICA standings. QGCA Pinecoon Born Flirt of Coonyham made a regional alter win and GRC Coonyham Rawhide (aka Randy) made a regional longhair cat win.
5 May 1999 -- We took eight cats up to UC Davis for new or follow-up ultrasounds for HCM and we are very happy that all passed their exams (Navarro, Lone Star, Dakota, Sundance, Santana, Sonoma, Tenaya, Cherokee).

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Last modified: October 30, 2007