Daring

3 Intermediate Certificates Awarded (GCCF)

16 Merits Certificates Awarded (GCCF)

3455 Points accumulated (TICA)

December 2007
Awarded TICA Award of Excellence for 2ns Best
Selkirk Rex of the Year
Plus
Best Blue Selkirk Rex of the Year

Chester & North Wales Show
11th August 2007
1st Selkirk Entire to win 3
Intermdiate Certificates

CaTICA Show 3rd & 4th February 2007
1st UK Selkirk Entire to be awarded
Supreme Grand Champion with TICA

CoonTICA Show 5th & 6th August 2007
Awarded Triple Grand Champion

Rex Cat Association 2nd April 2005
Best in Show Selkirk Rex

Rex Cat Club Show 2004
Best in Show Assesment Cat

1st Selkirk Entire to win 4 Merit Certificates

In Memory of those
we have loved & lost...

Daring on Exhibition
at the Shropshire Cat
Show in February
2005, in his usual
relaxed & curious pose.

aka Daring
79s 16
Selkirk Rex Short-Haired Blue Self
Born 12th June 2003
Sire:
Trueblu Anns Owinglyndwr (79s 17)
Dam:
Positively Don (15)
Breeder: Mrs Lisa Peterson

And can it be
That in a World so full and busy
the loss of one creature
makes a void in any heart
so wide and deep that nothing
but the width and depth of eternity
can fill it up!

Author Unkown

I can remember the first day I set eyes on Daring. It was October 2003 and I was
attending the Kensington Kitten & Neuter Show held at Bracknall. I was just walking
past the Exhibition pens when I saw this gorgeous curly blue boy, Daring. I'd read
about the breed in a very recent Cat World article so was thrilled to see one in the
fur. I knew then that I had to have him. After long conversations with his breeder,
Lisa Peterson and with some final pursuasion he came home with me in the
November.
I soon started taking Daring on Exhibition only to the GCCF shows and his gorgeous
looks and purrsonality won over many judges and cat fanciers.

Daring in his exhibition pen
at the KK&N Show 2003 @
6 months old.

Once the Selkirk Rex breed gained recognition from the GCCF I started showing
Merits before we could apply to have the breed elevated to Intermediate status.
Daring became the first to gain his 4 and over the next 2 years Daring was awarded
16 Merits in total, more than any other Selkirk Rex.

Over this period the American TICA shows were starting up in the UK and as the
Selkirk Rex breed had already gained Championship status with them I though it
would be nice to show Daring and see how he faired in a different format. I shouldn't
have worried. On his very first show he gained Grand Champion status, the
following show Double Grand, the following after that Triple Grand. In February
2007 we took him to our local TICA based show which was two days, he gained
Quadruple Grand on the Staurday and earned enough points for his Supreme title,
he just needed that elusive placing of Best Cat in a final.
Daring didn't dissapoint us, on the Sunday on his 3rd Ring our lovely boy won Best
Cat out of 41 Adults in show making him the first Adult Selkirk Rex to be awarded
Supreme Grand Champion in the UK.

This is one of my favorite
photos of Daring, he was
enjoying a photo shoot
with Robert Fox, I swear
he was laughing!!

American TICA Judge
Lynne Sherer who awarded
Daring his Best Cat award
at the CATICA Show in
February 2007

Daring returned to the GCCF shows in the Summer of 2007 with the 3
Intermediate certificates before we could apply for the final Championship
status.
Daring was awarded his 3 Certificates in three consecutive shows, again
making him the first Selkirk Rex to do so in the UK. Our lad was a bit of trend
setter.

Darings final public appearance was at the Supreme Cat Show in November
2007. We placed him on exhibition on the Club Stand, with his gorgeous
looks and wonderful personality he made a great ambassador for the breed
and thoroughly enjoyed all the attention with out getting fazed by the crowds
or the noise of a busy Cat Show. The photo below
is the last one I ever took of him. He sat on the club
stall all day or in the arms of Norman upside down
with this curly tummy in the air happily allowing
complete strangers to stoke his belly.

We lost Daring on Valentines day this year, all
very suddenly. After a weeks fight with liver
failure and intensive care treatment with the
vets (who were wonderful) he passed away in
our arms very peacefully. Our hearts are broken
by his loss.

I have to thank his breeder and good friend Lisa
Peterson for the time we had with Daring and
entrusting him to us in the first place.
Lisa, I'm forever in your debt.

Daring at the
Supreme Cat Show
November 2007

TICA Supreme GRCH
Trueblu DaringPositively

Daring @ 6 weeks old

Darings final tally of show wins

January 2009 Update

Almost 12 months to the date that we lost
Daring we have just been to collect our
lovely new boy Mewsos Vincent.
We didn't have that many litters with Daring
and only 2 outside Queens came to visit
him, one of those girls belonged to my good
friend Pam Beard-Smith of Mewsos Cattery.
Her lovely girl produced a litter including
some gorgeous blue babies. We just missed
out on one of these babies when we lost
Daring as I was so disappointed not to have
been able to have a kitten from his lines.
Well, several months on those kittens had
kittens themselves and Vincent was born.
From the moment I laid eyes on him I
couldn't get over how much like Daring he
looks, he has the same eyes and same
profile just in Lilac.
This is going to be a very special boy for us.

I will update Vincents progress as time goes
by but I just wanted to say how amazed I am
that those he treasure most and lose have a
way of finding their way back to us....

Steelaway Snowfire
17.03.2005 - 18.03.2009

Black Tipped British Shorthair
Breeder - Mrs Jackie Steele

Sire: Britard Coer Deleon
Dam: Cushitekatz Hera

Snowfire arrived from sunny Wales mid 2005 with great
thanks to her breeder Jackie Steele. We wanted her in
particular for my new Selkirk breeding programme as I
knew she would work wonderfully with Jetranger who I
acquired the same year. We finally had a beautiful litter
of kittens 12 months later which included a my stud boy
Amazolou Polar Bear and a lovely girl Amazolou
Sweetpea who went to live with a friend of mine Liz
Blagdon.
Snowfire had such an endearing temperament that she
would flop on her back at the first sign of attention, she
was a head rubber and leg winder and we will miss her
so much.
Snowfire has taken from us very suddenly. After an
emergency C-Section for a displaced kitten placenta and
eventual speying, Snowfire never really recovered from
the anesthetic and died the following morning.
We are only comforted knowing we still have her lovely
son and her legacy will go on in him. I will see her every
day in Polar Bears beautiful big green eyes.

Photo on left: A baby Polar Bear

TICA Supreme GRCH
Trueblu DaringPositively
12-06-2003 - 14-02-2008

Photo:
Snowfire at the Wyvern
Cat Show in 2005 when
she won Best in Show
British. A very proud day
for us and her breeder
Jackie.

PR Chloedipuss Rich Tapestry
aka Tigerlilly
13.07.1998 - 23.04.2009

Tiger was a lovely girl and very matey with our only moggy cat Timon. She had the rare
chance to have the roam of the back garden and would love to sun bath on our decking.
Tiger died on Thursday evening, having gone to have a sleep under one of her favorite trees
and just passed away there in the evening sunshine. She was still warm when we went to
bring her in for the evening. She is greatly missed by Timon and we miss her face in the
kitchen every morning begging for her usual double helpings.....

'Bilbo'

Where do I start? How can I start to tell you about Bilbo and award him the credit he deserves
considering he's been such a huge part of our lives for nearly 13 years?

I visited the Supreme Cat Show in 1996 as I did so many years previous to admire the cats on
show. We walked past the British section and saw the most stunning example of a British Blue,
Kalpador Silvester. He was a huge cat with a massive head and amazing teddy bear qualities to
him. Just the sort of cat I wanted to buy myself for when I bought my first home later that year.
I managed to find the owner, Mrs Margaret Hudson and exchange some details. Margaret said
that Silvester had just sired a little of three and we could come up and see then at her home in
Todmorden, Lancashire in a few weeks. We did so and fell in love with the litter.

Billy under went several procedures with the vets to return him to health. It did look at one time
that he would have to have his pelvis re broken to fix the badly healed break, plus have his left
front leg amputated as his dislocated shoulder joint had re-fused on the outside of the joint not
allowing any movement in his upper limb. We were very happy when the vet decided that he was
coping so well with his previous injuries that both operations were deemed unnecessary as he
was coping really well.

Bilbo went from strength to strength with his only obvious visual effects from his injuries being
his limp from his shoulder and pelvis injury and a mark on his left iris, his jaw healed straight
and his fur grew back to normal.

Three months later in the Summer of 2000 I received a phone call from a neighbour only a few
doors away, she was very upset saying she had accidentally locked my cat in her garage whilst
she was away on holiday and that the poor cat had been with out water and food over two weeks!
I couldn't think who it could be as we had given up hoping for Figaro's return months before!!
To my surprise she told me that it was Figaro!! I collected her straight away, she was very under
weight and dehydrated from living wild for 9 months!! Fortunately she still had her collar on her
which the neighbour had been able to read as she was too weak to run away. We brought her
back to the house and placed her with Bilbo who even with his own injuries literally licked her
back to health, both seemed to draw strength from each other and were so pleased to see each
other again.

Bilbo has became more affectionate in his nature since his ordeal and flatly refused to leave the
house again preferring to stay on the sofa with us or curled up with his favorite girl, Figaro.
Figaro has been traumatised by her ordeal and is now a very shy girl, but still loves Bilbo and will
go any where he goes, even if that is in the open on the sofa.

Two years later in 2003 I saw advertised in Cat World magazine a competition for Britain's
Bravest Cat sponsored by Pet Plan. I wrote in explaining Billy's accident and his recovery and
his devotion to Figaro. I was so chuffed a few months later to learn that Billy had beaten over
2000 other entries to become Pet Plans Britain's Bravest Cat!! He won a years Petplan cover,
which was ironic as they wouldn't cover him for many of his aliments due to his previous
accident, plus a bottle of champagne and an article in the local paper.

In 2004 I thought it would be nice to see how Bilbo would do on the show bench. His injuries
had healed externally and as long as the judges didn't ask him to walk (which they don't) due to
his limp, he looked puuurrrfect!! He went on to win his Premier title in three consecutive shows
beating many other 'healthier' cats and then went on to win his Grand Premier title a few months
later. He was even been awarded an Imperial Certificate!!

Bilbo was retired at the tender age of 10 from the show scene, at this stage he was starting to
limp from his injuries and suffering from arthritis in his joints but was still a wonderful teddy
bear who loved his hugs. He was always, even to the end side by side with Figaro.

Bilbo started to go down hill at the start of Spring 2009. He was examined by the vets and put on
a course of pain killers for his arthritis. He never regained his vigor and started to decline
physically very quickly. On the afternoon of Tuesday 15th September we came home to find
him already passed. Figaro still sat by his side and still warm.

Figaro is now bereft with out him, she's totally deaf now and has been calling for him. We hope
that she bonds with one of our other cats for her final years, but honestly......we are like minded
in believing that Bilbo is un replaceable in our heart and hers.

God Bless you Bilbo and all the love you gave us in return..

TICA Double GRC ALTER
GCCF GR PR Witchwoods Jonty
15.11.1996 - 15.09.2009

'Bilbo'

Sire
Kalpador Silvester

Dam
CH Miletree The Morrighan

with us in the February of 1997. The photo
to the left was taken on their first morning
with us, Bilbo at the front and Baloo at the
back. Both were adventurous and sort
attention. Bilbo was always the quieter of
the two and would rather cuddle up on the
sofa with you whilst Baloo attempted all the
daring adventures. We'd added two Siamese
in the April of that year and Bilbo had an
immediate bond with Figaro our Seal Point
girl, both loved to lounge the days through
on the window sills or on the sofas creating
their own little detent's in them.

I moved house in 1998 with Norman to
Banbury and the furry tribe followed us.
Baloo, always the wanderer was knocked by
a car within the first month of us living in
the village and although surviving this first
encounter he lost his tail as a permanent
reminder. It didn't stop his wandering and
at the premature age of 7 decided to cross
the same stretch of road again, for the last
time.

We had decided after just 18 months that
we didn't enjoy village life so decided to
move back to Birmingham where my job
was and family.

In November 1999 Billy disappeared from
our home on Bonfire Night as well as our
rather shy Siamese, Figaro. Both cats
should have been safely tucked up in the
house but were let out by accident by some
visiting relatives. We searched for many
months hoping to see them again. To our
surprise 6 months later in May 2000 Billy
turned up in our garden looking very worse
for wear. After a trip to the vets it was
diagnosed that Billy had been hit by a car
several months previous resulting in a
fractured pelvis, dislocated shoulder,
broken jaw and damage to his left eye
socket, plus he was covered in ticks and
fleas from living feral. He was a very
depressed cat who must have survived on
the good wishes of strangers as he had
obviously been fed but received any
veterinary care.

Bilbo at front of photo at
12 weeks.

Bilbo at 6 months

In the back garden at a year old.

Bilbo with his very first award at a GCCF show in 2004.

A beautiful girl with the most amazing blue eyes & those eyes
were only ever for Bilbo. Out lived him by just two weeks.

Died of a broken heart 28th October 2009.
Can't say any more as we miss her terribly.

'Figaro' since 1996

One year on...

Still missing you Dad.....

Graham Amarilli Died 13th May 2009
Sudden heart attack

In Memory of those
we have loved & lost...

Photo taken in 1990 when I was
working at Disney World Florida,
with my Dad. WDW was one of
his favorite places on earth.

Photo taken in 1996 when we were
on holiday in Florida, Mum and
Dad at the Rain Forest Cafe shop
in Down towm Disney.

Photo taken in 2008 at the base of the
together as a family.