E-Mail: AbyBCS@aol.com

Abyssinian Breed Council URL: http://www.AbyssinianBC.org

The 1998 CFA International show was held this past November 20-22 in Kansas City, MO. Many of the Abyssinian breeders gathered together on Friday night at the Marriott to discuss their ideas on breeding, breeding strategies and breeding programs. In the August Newsletter I had asked for volunteers to form a round table to discuss questions posed from the audience. At that time I had asked for members to submit questions for this panel. Unfortunately, none volunteered to serve on the panel. Fortunately, Catherine Swanson submitted a list of questions that will be discussed later in this edition of the Abyssinian Breed Council Newsletter. To set the stage for a discussion of breeding, I searched the Internet in hopes of finding loads of interesting tidbits to titillate the inquiring minds of the Abyssinian BC members. I have enumerated those bits of information that I shared with the members present at the meeting.

 Commercial breeders: those who breed for profit, exercising economic principles, but with the attempt to breed healthy stock.

 Backyard breeders: Two types:

1) those who love their animals and think he/she is so wonderful they want another just the like the one they have.

2) puppy/kitten mill wannabees: some breed an occasional litter to get a little extra money, some even think they will eventually be able to make serious money by breeding.

 Puppy/Kitten mill: mass production system, where the breeding stock is kept for one purpose only, supplying young puppies and kittens that can be sold, where great effort is made to spend as little as possible to maximize the profit margin.

 Hobby breeder: (also called the ethical or responsible breeder) refers to the dedicated, knowledgeable breed devotee who breeds as part of his/her concern for a particular breed. This type of breeder is concerned with breeding not merely a sound, healthy cat, but a sound healthy pet who is a good example of breed the particular breed. These are people who study pedigrees and complete genetic tests (where indicated) before breeding, and who take the time to place kittens in the best possible homes.

 What global objective might we state in reference to a breeding program? ONLY BREED IN AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE THE LINE.

 Most of us are familiar with the monk Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) who is known as the Father of Genetics.

 Can you name the Father of Pure Breeding? Robert Bakewell, from Leicestershire, England is credited with that title. He used the method of "close breeding" to develop a line of horses. He discovered two basic laws, which are:

 1) "like produces like" and,

2) "no two animals are ever identically alike"

 Bakewell used close inbreeding to produce his stock. He also introduced the concepts of linebreeding, outcrossing and crossbreeding.

 TWO TYPES OF BREEDING:

 Random: breeding without supervision: turn the cats loose and let them do what they do best!!!!

 Selective Breeding: Means just that. There is a choice of which male and female are mated to move more closely to the breed standard.

 Purebreeding: members of a breed which possess a common ancestry and distinctive characteristics and is either registered or eligible in that breed.

 Inbreeding: Two Types:

 OUTCROSSING: Mating of animals of the same breed, but which have no closer relationship than at least 4 to 6 generations. This system is practiced by most purebred breeders and is classified as a safe system.

 CROSSBREEDING: Mating of two animals which are members of different breeds. This system is practiced by many swine producers because of the resulting hybrid vigor which makes possible improved production efficiency.

 BREEDING BY GENOTYPE:

 Inbreeding creates greater homozygosity in offspring and fixes desirable traits. IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR GREATER EXPRESSION OF RECESSIVE GENES THAT ARE NOT EXPRESSED IN THE HETEROZYGOUS STATE.

 If a recessive gene is rare in the population, it will almost always be masked by a dominant gene.

 INBREEDING DOES NOT CREATE UNDESIRBLE GENES, IT SIMPLY INCREASES THE EXPRESSION OF THOSE THAT ARE ALREADY PRESENT IN A HETEROZYGOUS STATE. A TENDENCY TOWARD DISORDERS CONTROLLED BY MULTIPLE GENES, SUCH AS HIP DYSPLASIA AND CONGENTIAL HEART ANOMALIES, CAN BE EXACERABATED BY INBREEDING.

 The inbreeding coefficient is an estimation of the percent of all the variable gene pairs that are homozygous due to inheritance from common ancestors. It can also be viewed as the average chance that any one gene pair is homozygous due to inheritance from a common ancestor.

 For the calculated inbreeding coefficient of a pedigree to be accurate, it must be tabulated from a number of generations. This is because inbreeding in the 5th - 8th generations has a profound effect on the genetic makeup of the offspring represented by the pedigree.

 Rare and recently introduced breeds usually have an inherently higher average inbreeding coefficient.

 Mating based solely on the appearance (phenotype) and not on its pedigree or the relatedness of the prospective parents. This also referred to as "assortative mating."

 Two types of assortative mating:

 Positive: like-to-like matings

Negative: Like-to-unlike matings

 Breeders use positive assortative matings when they wish to fix traits.

 Breeders use negative assortative matings when they wish to correct traits or bring in traits the breeding stock may lack.

 Some individuals may share desirable characteristics, but they inherit them differently. This is especially true of polygenetic traits, such as ear set, bite, and leg length. Breeding two phenotypically similar but geno-typically unrelated animals together would not necessarily reproduce these traits.

 Each individual with the same pedigree will not necessarily look or breed alike. Therefore, breedings should not be planned solely on the basis of the pedigree or appearance alone. Breeding should be based on a combination of appearance and ancestry.

OUTCROSSING: Matings with a lower inbreeding coefficient than the average for the breed, tends to increase heterozygosity.

 Outcrossing can be a useful tool to bring in traits that you do not have in your breeding stock. You should choose a mate that corrects your animal's faults but phenotypically complements your animal's good traits.

 INBREEDING DEPRESSION: Generally means that the members of a breed are smaller, produce fewer offspring, are more susceptible to disease and have a shorter than average life span.

1. What hereditary defects eliminate a cat from your breeding program? E.g. tail defect, luxating patella, umbilical hernia, foot/toe fault, etc.
2. What is your rule of thumb for hereditary lethals? E.g. RA.
3. How long do you keep a male whole? Without activity?
4. How long do you keep your best queens whole?
5. Line breeding vs inbreeding, where is the line drawn?
6. How many litters are needed to determine if a stud or queen produces a quality kitten. Is it different for outcross progeny?
7. If you are keeping a female for breeding, what one characteristic is most important? Head, body type, color, coat or temperament?

We all enjoyed a variety of viewpoints on many of these questions. We had two guests from Denmark attend our Breed Council meeting, Lars and Marianne Seifert-Thorsen. They both participated in our discussion and we all delighted in their viewpoints to Catherine's questions. Lars had an uncanny memory for just about everyone's names!! How do you do it?????

The total Abyssinian entry this year was 70 entered. We were the second highest breed entry to the Maine Coon Cats whose total entry was 113. There were 36 Aby kittens, 26 Abys in Championship and 8 Abys in Premiership. The following charts list the colors and sexes in each competitive category.

Best: Freejon Virtual Freeality B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

2^nd: Abycinnamons Catrick Swayze B/O: Mimi Cat

3^rd: Freejon Freeality Check B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

4^th: Abycinnamons Leonardo Decatrio B/O: Mimi Cat

5^th: Abyriginal's Dixie Chick B/O: Paul/Lynda Palmer

Best: Freejon Freeality Check B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

2^nd: Purssynian Katznjmmr Kid

of Zehnder B: Beth/Darrell Newkirk O: Monica Zehnder

3^rd: Purssynian Trader Joe of Sanjack B: J Bulter/ B/D Newkirk O: Jack/Sandy Barlion

4^th: Abyriginal's Dixie Chick B/O: Paul/Lynda Palmer

5^th: Freejon Virtual Freeality B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

Best: Freejon Virtual Freeality B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

2^nd: Abycinnamons Leonardo Decatrio B/O: Mimi Cat

3^rd: Purssynian Katznjmmr Kid

of Zehnder B: Beth/Darrell Newkirk O: Monica Zehnder

4^th: Azam Foxy Fawn Dancer

of Danapeg B: Barbara Nyhart O: Dan/Peggy Hamblin

5^th: Freejon Freeality Check B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

Best: Abycinnamons Catrick Swayze B/O: Mimi Cat

2^nd: Freejon Freeality Check B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

3^rd: Freejon Virtual Freeality B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

4^th: Purssynian Katznjmmr Kid

of Zehnder B: Beth/Darrell Newkirk O: Monica Zehnder

5^th: Cheetara's Epiphany B/O: Greg/Susan Baker

Best: Abycinnamons Catrick Swayze B/O: Mimi Cat

2^nd: Freejon Freeality Check B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

3^rd: Azam Foxy Fawn Dancer

4^th: Freejon Virtual Freeality B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

5^th: Purssynian Trader Joe of Sanjack B: J Butler/ B/D Newkirk O: Jack/Sandy Barlion

Best: Freejon Virtual Freeality B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

2^nd: Freejon Freeality Check B: Chip Conn/John Presley O: Beth/Darrell Newkirk

3^rd: Purssynian Katznjmmr Kid

of Zehnder B: Beth/Darrell Newkirk O: Monica Zehnder

4^th: Abycinnamons Catrick Swayze B/O: Mimi Cat

5^th: Azam Foxy Fawn Dancer

Best: GC Instincts Madagascar B: Chris Giammarinaro O: Search/Giammarinaro

2^nd: Ch Melowmews JP Morgan B/O: Carol McCutcheon

3^rd: GC Dablues Dusty Springfield B/O: Christopher/Cynthia Gray

4^th: GC Zzaby's Seattle Slew B/O: Karyn Dillard

5^th: GC Westleigh's Mairead B/O: Janet/Robert Leigh

Best: Ch Dablues B.B. King

2^nd: GC Instincts Madagascar B: Chris Giammarinaro O: Search/Giammarinaro

3^rd: Ch A Tail Or 2 Sonrisa B: Marilu Yee Lowe O: Lowe/Zhender/Vande Sande

4^th: Ch Kikuchi Kamui B/O: Yuji/Hitomi Kikuchi

5^th: GC Dablues Dusty Springfield B/O: Christopher/Cynthia Gray

Best: GC Westleigh's Mairead B/O: Janet/Robert Leigh

2^nd: Ch Mellowmews JP Morgan B/O: Carol McCutcheon

3^rd: Ch Freejon Fancy Free of Inxs B: John Presley/Freelin Conn O: Butler/Presley/Conn

4^th: GC Catquea's Sea Monkey

of Chereve B: Nancy Abbott O: N Abbott/J&C Thieler

5^th: GC Instincts Madagascar B: Chris Giammarinaro O: Search/Giammarinaro

Best: Ch Mellowmews JP Morgan B/O: Carol McCutcheon

2^nd: GC Dablues Dusty Springfield B/O: Christopher/Cynthia Gray

3^rd: GC Westleigh's Mairead B/O: Janet/Robert Leigh

4^th: GC 24Kt-Moon Risen Star B/O: J Delahaye/P Putman

5^th: GC Instincts Madagascar B: Chris Giammarinaro O: Search/Giammarinaro

Best: GC Catquea's Sea Monkey

of Chereve B: Nancy Abbott O: N Abbott/J&C Thieler

2^nd: Ch Mellowmews JP Morgan B/O: Carol McCutcheon

3^rd: Ch Freejon Fancy Free of Inxs B: John Presley/Freelin Conn O: Butler/Presley/Conn

4^th: GC Westleigh's Mairead B/O: Janet/Robert Leigh

5^th: GC 24Kt-Moon Risen Star B/O: J Delahaye/P Putman

Best: GC Instincts Madagascar B: Chris Giammarinaro O: Search/Giammarinaro

2^nd: GC Zzaby's Seattle Slew B/O: Karyn Dillard

3^rd: Ch Mellowmews JP Morgan B/O: Carol McCutcheon

4^th: Joka's Samantha of Zzaby B: K/J Jenkins O: Karyn Dillard

5^th: Ch Freejon Fancy Free of Inxs B: John Presley/Freelin Conn O: Butler/Presley/Conn

Best: GP Inxs Medgar Evers B: Scott Butler O: Butler/Presley/Conn

2^nd: GP Zehnder's Frequent Flyer B: M Zehnder/A Biederman O: Zehnder/VandeSande/Biedrman

3^rd: GP Eigthmoon Encore of Cagey B: Jeanne Delahaye O: Kathleen Poarch

Best: Pr Zehnder James Blond

of Catastery B: M Zehnder/A Biederman O: Zehnder/VandeSande/Biedrman

2^nd: GP Inxs Medgar Evers B: Scott Butler O: Butler/Presley/Conn

3^rd: Op Talisyn's Blue Danube B/O: Steve/Vicki Baylus

Best: GP Inxs Medgar Evers B: Scott Bulter O: Butler/Presley/Conn

2^nd: Pr Zehnder James Blond

of Catastery B: M Zehnder/A Biederman O: Zehnder/VandeSande/Biedrman

3^rd: GP Zehnder's Frequent Flyer B: M Zehnder/A Biederman O: Zehnder/VandeSande/Biedrman

Best: GP Zehnder's Frequent Flyer B: M Zehnder/A Biederman O: Zehnder/VandeSande/Biedrman

2^nd: GP Inxs Medgar Evers B: Scott Butler O: Butler/Presley/Conn

3^rd: GP Eigthmoon Encore of Cagey B: Jeanne Delahaye O: Kathleen Poarch

Best: GP Inxs Medgar Evers B: Scott Butler O: Butler/Presley/Conn

2^nd: Opn Talisyn's Blue Danube B/O: Steve/Vicki Baylus

3^rd: GP Zehnder's Frequent Flyer B: M Zehnder/A Biederman O: Zehnder/VandeSande/Biedrman

Best: Pr Zehnder James Blond

of Catastery B: M Zehnder/A Biederman O: Zehnder/VandeSande/Biedrman

2^nd: GP Inxs Medgar Evers B: Scott Butler O: Butler/Presley/Conn

3^rd: GP Zehnder's Frequent Flyer B: M Zehnder/A Biederman O: Zehnder/VandeSande/Biedrman

The International show this year was very exciting. If you missed this year, please plan to come next year. Kansas City has been chosen as the designated site again next year. Plan to come to KC on November 19-21, 1999 for a great weekend of fun visiting with fellow Aby breeders. I will see you there!

It seems only a few months ago that I declared as a candidate for the position of Abyssinian Breed Council Secretary. I would like to thank you for electing me to serve in that capacity for the past two years. It has been fun and educational for me. I want to thank you all for your input during my tenure as your council Secretary.

My best wishes go to Norman Auspitz as he assumes the chair of the Abyssinian Breed Council. We have been in contact and the transition will be a smooth one as he takes over the helm. The CFA Abyssinian Breed Council URL will remain active on my server at the present time.

Beth and I wish you all the happiest of Holidays this year. We hope to see you soon at a CFA cat show. May you have good fortune with your breeding programs.

Darrell Newkirk
Abyssinian BCS