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Abyssinian breeders from across the country gathered in Atlanta, Georgia on November 21-23 to compete at the 1997 CFA International Cat Show. It was great to compete with all the people who took the time away from busy work schedules to make the trek to Atlanta and join in on some great Aby competition. There was a big Aby count again at this year's International show with 106 Abyssinians competing. The break down of colors and numbers competing will be listed in this edition of the Aby BC Newsletter. 

The absolute highlight of this International competition occurred on Sunday afternoon during the Best of the Best judging. GC Tinbat Morgan's Passing, a Ruddy male, was scored and received the right to compete in the Best of the Best competition by being the highest scoring Shorthair cat in show. Morgan put on a spectacular show for the audience. Morgan was the final contestant in the Best of the Best judging. The Best of the Best judging occurred on a long table with the three selected judges standing in line to handle the cats in turn. Morgan was presented and handled first by Allbreed judge Patty Jacobberger. When she was finished her examination of Morgan, he assumed the Abyssinian pounce position in reaction to a teaser in Craig Rothermel's hand. On cue Patty released Morgan and he immediately ran to his second station to be examined by CFA President Craig Rothermel. The reaction from the crowd was unmistakable, they were taken with the Abyssinian on the table. While Craig handled Morgan, Pam was handed a teaser to solicit a repeat performance of Morgan's passing from Patty to Craig. When Craig had completed his judging of Morgan, Pam touched the tease to the table and Morgan worked his magic on the crowd as he pounced from Craig hands to the tease in Pam's hand. The crowd responded uproariously to this performance by an Abyssinian. I remarked to the person I was standing next to that if that didn't secure a victory for Morgan, there would never be an Abyssinian winner at one of these events! 

The scoring of the Best of the Best competition took a few moments before the winner was announced. Craig took his time before announcing the winner. Then the words flowed smoothly and with impact, GC Tinbats Morgan's Passing is Best Cat in Show!! The crowd went wild. There was jumping, screaming and even a few tears of joy were shed as the announcement was made. Reg and Lynn Martin, Morgan's breeder and owner, slowly made their way to the presentation ring. They appeared a bit stunned by this exciting event, but were very happy and proud of their baby, Tinbats Morgan's Passing CFA's 1997 International Best Cat in Show. 

GC Instincts Klein Bonaire, a 10 month old Ruddy male was the 2^nd Best Abyssinian at the International show and was also 2^nd Best Shorthair Cat at the International show. Special congrats to the two top winners in the Shorthair competition. 

In the CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS there were 28 Abys entered and 25 present and competing.

Ruddy Males - 11 entered and 9 present

Ruddy Females - 4 entered and 4 present

Red Males - 4 entered and 4 present

Red Females - 6 entered and 5 present

Blue Males - 2 entered and 2 present

Blue Females - 1 entered and 1 present

Fawn Males - 4 entered and 4 present

Fawn Females - 1 entered and 1 present 

Purssynian Jambe Finete, a 7 month old Fawn male, B/O Beth and Darrell Newkirk

Zzaby's Cigar, 6 month old Ruddy male, B/O Karyn Dillard

Veraine's Cherry Supreme, 6 month old Red female, B/O Lorraine Jensen

In the KITTEN CLASS there were 67 Aby kittens entered and 54 present!!!

Ruddy Males - 16 entered and 14 present

Ruddy Females - 17 entered and 13 present

Red Males - 8 entered and 7 present

Red Females - 8 entered and 5 present

Blue Males - 7 entered and 7 present

Blue Females - 2 entered and 2 present

Fawn Males - 4 entered and 4 present

Fawn Females - 5 entered and 2 present 

GP Toepads Hipster Rufus, a 1 year 2 month old Ruddy male, B/O Susan Dixon

GP Toepads Blues Traveler of Toogoodoo, a 1 year 2 month old Blue male, Breeder: Susan Dixon

Owner: Mary Ann Hall. Hipster Rufus and Blues Traveler are littermates.

In the PREMIERSHIP CLASS there were 10 Abyssinians entered and ALL were present and competing.

Ruddy Males - 4 present and competing

Red Males - 1 present and competing

Congratulations to all the Abyssinians and their owners who competed in the 1997 CFA International Cat show. Don't forget to mark your calendar for the 1998 CFA International show to be will held on November 20-22 in Kansas City, Missouri. Hope to see you there. 

The Abyssinian Breed Council meeting was held on Friday night at the show hotel. Even though the weather was not cooperative and the show ran a bit over, it surely did not spoil the wonderful slide show presentation put together by Hilary Helmrich. It was thrilling and exciting to watch the pictures of the cats we normally only read about on our pedigrees come to center stage. Thank you very much Hilary for the research and compilation of this marvelous list of Abyssinians for the crowds' viewing pleasure.  

At the conclusion of Hilary's presentation, the meeting was opened for discussion. 

A brief discussion was held concerning the necessity for the continued use of the 360 designation for Ruddy and Red Abys that have the potential to carry the dilute mutations of the dense gene in the genotype. This was first presented at the Florida CFA annual Abyssinian Breed Council breakfast by Bruce Alexy. The conversation was not as lively as expected, as Bruce was not able to attend the International show. 

Regina Shaffer presented a draft proposal to amend the Abyssinian standard to include the mention of ear tipping and black hock markings. Regina has agreed to work on the final wording for ballot considerations to be presented in time for the March issue of the Aby BC Newsletter. This will give the Aby BC members time to read and think about the impact this ballot consideration would have on the Abyssinian Breed standard. A full discussion of this will take place during the Aby BC meeting to be held at the 1998 CFA Annual meeting. 

Carolyn Osier presented the preliminary work that has gone into the Abyssinian Breed presentation for the Annual CFA Judges' workshop to be presented in June at the Philadelphia Annual meeting. Carolyn and I will be preparing this presentation. If you have comments or suggestions that you would like included, please contact one of us. In conjunction with this presentation Beth Newkirk will be preparing a questionnaire to be mailed to all members of the Aby Breed council to solicit your comments and the results will be prepared as a handout, or will be appended to the booklet normally given to attendees at the Workshop. 

Mimi Cat (Eaton) has volunteered to manufacture a set of cage curtains to be used in a raffle. The proceeds will be used to produce the 1998 2^nd Annual Abyssinian Awards Booklet. The raffle tickets will sell for $5.00 each and will be limited to 200 tickets. This will provide a profit of $1000 to used to produce a booklet, in color, featuring the 1997-1998 Abyssinian winners. I am asking the Breed clubs to consider taking 40 tickets each to sell in order to accomplish this task. I will be contacting the breed clubs to ask if they have discussed this at their regularly scheduled club meetings. 

Penni Putman asked the group to consider whether or not the Blue and Fawn Abyssinians should be included in a Dilute Division of the Abyssinian breed. There was no forthcoming discussion on this suggestion.

Betsy Bloom asked if there was still consideration of adding to the Penalty section of the Aby Breed Standard a statement to penalize for white undercoats on the Blue and Fawn Abyssinians. Betsy has agreed to write a proposal for possible inclusion on the 1998 Abyssinian Breed Council poll. 

The final discussion for the night was the opportunity for people to express their opinions in regard to the 5 vs 8 certified generation requirement for register Abyssinians in CFA from other organizations. The discussion of was fairly mute and tame. Guess we all have talked this one to its end. The ballots are due January 9 and we will have closure on the number of generations required to register an Aby in CFA. I will get the results of the ballot to you as soon as possible. 

September 20, 1997 

Having carefully reviewed all of the responses to the Breed Definition Questionnaire, the CFA Breed Definition Committee is pleased to present our compromise "Option 3" -- a breed definition that assures the continued integrity of CFA's breeds, while allowing breed council self determination, and provides for continued breed health and vitality. This report represents a consensus of all the members of this expanded committee. 

Last year, all CFA Breed Council members were asked to participate in the ongoing effort to establish a definition of "breed" for purposes of our registry. More than 600 responses were received, nearly half of which contained excellent, well-thought-out essay responses. The Committee had provided a starting point for discussion with two different breed definitions, included in Option 1 and Option 2. By a two-to-one margin the respondents expressed a preference for Option 2, with or without some modifications. An even greater majority rejected Option 1. 

Two primary concerns were articulated in the essay portions of these surveys, and the Committee has endeavored to address them. Our survey respondents told us that while they generally favor a registry concept that would eliminate outcrossing to other breeds, they felt that some safety net should be provided in the event that a breed's continued health and viability should be jeopardized. Also of concern was that Breed Council members wanted to maintain the element of self-determination for their breed, and that the CFA Board should continue to address individual breed issues on a case by case basis.

The Committee Report makes specific provisions for meeting both these concerns. The Committee's only deviation from the wishes of the majority of survey respondents involved the question of requiring new breeds to end outcrossing before they are granted championship status. While a clear majority of 345 people favored this action, and 246 opposed it, the Committee felt that there is merit in advancing new breeds to championship status with allowance for continued outcrossing for a period of time. New breeds are a "work in progress" and the Committee felt that the breeders of these breeds should be given a wider opportunity, with the element of competition, to refine their standards and their "look" before outcrossing is ended.  

This has been an emotional and divisive issue for much of CFA. The Committee has made every effort to provide a compromise solution that reflects the wishes of the majority of our Breed Council members to maintain and strengthen the integrity both of our breeds and our registry which has made our CFA cats the most in demand of any in the world. 

Respectfully submitted,

Breed Definition Committee

A breed is a group of domestic cats (sub-species felis catus) that the governing body of CFA has agreed to recognize as such. A breed must have distinguishing features that set it apart from all other breeds. 

The definition presumes the following: 

1. At the time of recognition for registration CFA will assign a new breed into one of four classifications - Established, Hybrid, Mutation. or Natural. 

2. No breed of any classification may be merged in whole or In part with a Natural or Established breed. 

3. CFA will establish guidlines for outcrossing for a breed should its health and well being require it. 

4. Within the next two years, Breed Councils for those CFA breeds which are still outcrossing and do not currently have a cut-off date will be required to determine a cut-off date. The breeds affected by this are: American Wirehair, Balinese, Bombay, Colorpoint Shorthair, Exotic, Javanese, Oriental and Somali. 

5. Certain breeds may be excluded from the requirement for a cut-off date for outcrossing based upon the fact that to include them would be detrimental to the continuation of the breed, e.g, Scottish Fold. 

Show Rule Changes 

(These are the Show Rule changes passed by the CFA Board at their last meeting [Oct. 1997] which will go into effect on 5/1/98.) 

2.12 The show committee may permit cats or kittens, 4 months or older, to be present for display or sale. Only cats or kittens eligible for CFA registration may be sold. This does not apply to animals being adopted from humane organizations. No kitten ... 

3.03 Any exhibitor, judge, clerk or show committee member suspecting any cat or kitten of having fungus, fleas, ear mites or any contagious or infectious illness shall report same to the show manager and it will be the duty of the show manager to remove such cat or kitten, along with all other exhibits belonging to the same exhibitor, being agented by that exhibitor, or traveling with that exhibitor, to an area outside of the benching and judging rooms until a veterinarian can pass upon the health of the suspected cat or kitten. In the event that a veterinarian confirms and/or diagnoses fungus, fleas, ear mites or any contagious or infectious illness, that entry as well as all other exhibits belonging to the same exhibitor, being agented by that exhibitor, or traveling with that exhibitor shall be disqualified. If a veterinarian certifies the entry as free from fungus, fleas, ear mites, contagious or infectious illness, the entries shall be returned to the show room and ... 

3.07 The excessive use of white powder, or chalk, or the use of any colored powder, colored chalk, tints, color rinses or other artificial coloring or concealment media on a cat or kitten entered in a CFA show is strictly forbidden. The plucking of buttons or lockets; the use of any device, substance or chemical; e.g., tranquilizer, hormone, antihistamine, that will alter the natural actions or appearance of a cat or kitten, is forbidden. Any surgical alteration to the cat's anatomy such as cropped or stapled ear, docked or shortened tails, etc, is also forbidden. Evidence of such, as determined by the personal opinion of the judge, will result in the immediate disqualification of the entry in that ring. 

6.06 When the contracted judge does not officiate, an exhibitor may withdraw his entries from competition in that ring prior to the commencement of any judging, but may not remove them from the show room for this reason. The cat(s) will be scored as if they were present in such a ring unless the exhibitor provides a written request to the Central Office, submitted with the official show records of the show, requesting that the ring not be counted for scoring purposes.  

6.07 Show management shall assign benching cages for all entries. End-of-row benching must be provided to exhibitors with bona fide handicaps at no extra charge. These requests must take precedence over paid requests by exhibitors without handicaps. All entries of a particular ... 

9.02 Breed and Division Points a. Cats which receive the award of Best Champion/Premier in each of the Breeds/Divisions currently recognized for Championship/Premiership competition (see paragraph 31.01) will receive one Grand Championship/Premiership point for every benched Champion/Premier defeated within the Breed/Division. (Delegates passed by 2/3) 

9.03 a. A cat must have at least one win of Best Champion/Premier or Second Best Champion/Premier or a final award of Best -Tenth Best Cat in either a CFA Specialty or Allbreed final in order to qualify for the title of Grand Champion/ Grand Premier. (Delegates passed by 2/3)

11.01.1 (New Number) Exhibitors should transport cats into and out of the show hall in an enclosed, secured carrier. 

11.01.2 (New Number) Any person offering a cat(s)/kitten(s) for sale, must ensure an enclosed, secured carrier is used for the transport of the cat being sold. 

11.02 (New. Renumber current 11.02 through 11.29) Exhibitors with bona fide handicaps shall be responsible for making their special needs known to the entry clerk. 

11.03 b. If any of the information as printed in the catalog is in error, or a kitten registration number has not been printed in the catalog, it is the exhibitor's responsibility to provide corrections of the information printed in error and/or lacking kitten registration number to the master clerk at the show. An officialcatalog correction request form must be used and the exhibitor submitting the form must obtain a copy of the catalog correction form signed by the Master Clerk, or designated representative, showing the correct information has been supplied. This receipt should be retained by the exhibitor in the event any question might arise at a future date regarding an entry. 

11.07 a. Each entry must be accompanied by the stipulated entry fee. If the club opts to accept fax entries, such entries must be paid in full within 10 days of receipt or prior to the start of the show, whichever is first.  

11.07 b. If the club sponsoring a show finds, after the opening of a show, that an exhibitor's check for fees is not collectible, or the fee for a faxed entry is not paid, the following actions shall be taken. 

11.07 b. 4. (New. Renumber so current paragraph 4 becomes 5) CFA Central Office requires a photocopy of the certified post office receipt for all certified letters sent to the exhibitor in accordance with this rule. 

12.04 (Insert before last paragraph) A change from a two day show where all judges and entries are present both days to a back-to-back show is not considered a format change (see 12.07 b.3.); however, Central Office and all contracted judges must be notified of the change by the club. 

13.18 (New) Unsportsmanlike conduct will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Article XV of the CFA Constitution. 

14.10 (New) Unsportsmanlike conduct will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Article XV of the CFA Constitution. 

16.10 The show secretary MUST send the following to the Central Office by EXPRESS MAIL Next Day Service, UPS OVERNIGHT, FEDERAL EXPRESS or an equivalent overnight service, [no later than 12:00 noon] on the first (1st) business day after the close of the show. This must arrive at the delivering service prior to the time such service requires for delivery to arrive at CFA Central Office the next day (the second (2nd) business day after the close of the show. 

17.06 (New) The show entry clerk must pass on to show management all information received regarding benching requests for reasonable accommodation by handicapped/disabled exhibitors. 

18.08 e. (New) The chief ring clerk shall verify titles (OP, CH, GC, PR, or GP) which the judge has entered on the finals sheets for cats receiving finals awards in the Championship and Premiership classes prior to submitting the sheets to the Master Clerk.

18.13 The master clerk is responsible for initialing and posting the official (pink) copies of the color class sheets that have been fully checked. The sheets should be posted in a manner readily accessible to all exhibitors. Once the master clerk has completed checking the color class sheets and has initialed the sheets, [the awards are to be considered final and may not be changed, except by action of the CFA Executive Board.] the awards can only be changed as follows: If a mechanical error is not discovered until after the master clerk has initialed the sheets, the error may be corrected by the judge. The judge's written confirmation of the correction must be provided with the show records. The only other method of changing the awards after they have been posted is by action of the CFA board.* (Delegates passed, but not by 2/3) 

18.13 * If a mechanical error is discovered after the close of the show, the Central Office will void the affected win(s). 

18.14 The master clerk is responsible for the safekeeping of the completed official CFA copies of the judge's color class sheets until such copies have been released to the show secretary for transmittal to the Central Office. (Delegates passed by 2/3) 

20.09 (Current wording) CFA titles of Champion, Grand Champion, Premier, Grand Premier and Distinguished Merit must not appear in the catalog listing as part of an entry's name. 

(Proposed) CFA titles must not appear in the catalog listing as part of an entry's name. (Delegates passed, but not by 2/3) 

22.02 (Current numbering) In Longhair/Shorthair Specialty rings the Championship finals will be Best through 10th Best Cat, Best and 2nd Best Champion; the Kitten finals awards will be Best through 10th Best Kitten [if 35 or more kittens are entered, Best through 5th Best Kitten if fewer than 35 kittens are entered]; the Premiership finals awards will be Best through 10th Best Cat [if 35 or more cats are entered in Premiership; Best through 5th Best if fewer than 35 cats are entered], Best and 2nd Best Premier. 

23.03 Add... Best Prem/Champ of Breed/Div Ribbon/Rosette Purple. (Delegates passed by 2/3) 

25.08 A contract that has been signed by both the judge and an officer of the club is binding on both judge and club. The club may not alter the contract. If the club wishes to make any changes, the club must obtain a new contract from the judge. 

26.01 Judging Fees are as follows: 

27.02 d. A judge may not judge a cat owned or co-owned by a member of his/her immediate family which includes father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, step-children, step-parents, or in-laws. 

27.13 (New) An officiating judge is not permitted to perform the duties of Master Clerk or Assistant Master Clerk. 

27.13 (Or 27.14 if above is adopted) Unsportsmanlike conduct will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Article XV of the CFA constitution. 

29.01 All judges' color class sheets must be signed by the judge. All judges shall mark the Best and Second Best of Breed or Division as well as Best Champion of Breed or Division on the judges' color class sheets, if the judge determines these awards at the completion of judging the breed or division. If the breed or division wins are not awarded at the completion of the breed or division, the judge's sheet will be submitted to the master clerk without the wins marked. All judges must initial all error corrections. All judges' finals sheets must be completed, including the titles for cats receiving finals awards in the Championship and Premiership classes, and signed by the judge at completion of finals. ... 

31.01 The following breeds and colors are recognized as entitled to win Kittens, Championship or Premiership honors.. 

(NOTE: Male cats of any of the following colors are never eligible for Championship or Premiership competition: Shell Tortoiseshell, Shaded Tortoiseshell, Tortoiseshell Smoke, Shell Blue-Cream, Shaded Blue-Cream, Blue-Cream Smoke, Silver Patched Tabby (Torbie), Blue Silver Patched Tabby, Brown Patched Tabby (Torbie), Blue Patched Tabby (Torbie), Tortoiseshell, Blue-Cream, Calico or Dilute Calico, Van Calico or Dilute Van Calico, Tortoiseshell Smoke and White, Blue-Cream Smoke and White, Calico or Dilute Calico Smoke and White, Tortie Point, Blue-Cream Point.) (Delegates passed by 2/3) 

SCORING 

Note: requests to restore wins voided by the Central Office or to receive credit for awards/points earned at a show but not posted to the cat's record, due to the presence of an incorrect registration number of the lack of a registration number in the catalog, can be considered only if a correctly completed registration application for the cat in question was received in the Central Office no later than [four (4) weeks for adults or three (3) weeks for kittens] 21 days prior to the opening day of the show in question. ... 

AWARDS 

National Awards 

Best - 25th Best Cat*: Trophy, Rosette 

Best - 20th Best Kitten*: Trophy, Rosette 

Best - 20th Best Cat in Premiership (Alter)*: Trophy, Rosette 

**Best of Breed/Division: Plaque 

**Second Best of Breed/Division: Plaque 

**Third Best of Breed/Division: Plaque 

(No change to the remainder of the section) (Delegates passed by 2/3)

Several new CFA committees were formed during the October CFA Board of Directors meeting. 

• Goal: Increase youth involvement by 25% within 5 years of the programs implemention
• Committee appointed 10/97
• Report to the Board by 2/98
• Present Program at 6/98 Annual
• Implement 1999-2000 Show Season 

• Goal: by the year 2000 50% of CFA clubs will have a Novice program in place
• Appoint Committee by the '97 International
• Interim Report by 2/98 Board Meeting 

• Goal: 100 Mentors by 1999
• Appoint Committee by '97 International
• Interim Report to Board by 2/98 

• Goal: Measure satisfaction with current system and develop possible alternatives for presentation to delegates 6/99
• Appoint committee by '97 International
• Interim reports by 2/98 

Results of the 1997 Abyssinian Breed Council Ballot. 

The results of the 1997 Abyssinian Breed Council ballot are as follows: 

Total Aby BC members: 160

Total votes 106

Number voting yes 55

Number voting no 51 

Non-standard breed issues do not require a 60% majority of voting breed council members. The vote on any non-standard breed issue is advisory only. The CFA Board of Directors will review the balloting of all the CFA breed councils when it meets in Houston on February 7-8.  

Several people on the Abyssinian E-mail list recently questioned why names of cats on CFA certified pedigrees were missing and the comment "not on CFA records" was indicated for some of the cat's names. I called Craig Rothermel, CFA President, and asked why this was happening. Craig did call CFA and he gave me the following information. The current policy is to list the sire and dam along with the grand sires and grand dams of the cat to be registered in CFA. Additional listing of cats on the pedigree are not entered into the CFA database, but maintained on file as the certified pedigree received to register the cat. CFA charges $20.00 to register a cat via a certified pedigree.

Good luck to you and your Abys during the remainder of the 1997-98 show season. I look forward to seeing you at the CFA Annual in Philadelphia.

Darrell Newkirk
Abyssinian BCS