stories

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=140 BGCOLOR="#9966CC" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="00300a20ezthtv.png"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="0077d7d0.gif" border=0 width="125" height="125" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#9966CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial Rounded MT Bold" ><A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: HOME"><U><IMG SRC="00f96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></FONT><A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: The Maine Coon"><U><IMG SRC="01096140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Maine Origin Authentic"><U><IMG SRC="01196140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: F.A.Q."><U><IMG SRC="01296140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Our Goals"><U><IMG SRC="01396140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Health Info"><U><IMG SRC="01496140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Our Family"><U><IMG SRC="01596140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Our Males"><U><IMG SRC="01696140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Our Females"><U><IMG SRC="01796140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Nursery News"><U><IMG SRC="01896140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Kittens for Sale"><U><IMG SRC="01996140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Previous Kittens"><U><IMG SRC="01a96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Contract"><U><IMG SRC="01b96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby Foundation Projects"><U><IMG SRC="01c96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PriairieBaby: Links"><U><IMG SRC="01d96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="http://guestbook.mycomputer.com/guest.html?u=prairiebaby&b=1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://guestbook.mycomputer.com/guest.ht"><U><IMG SRC="01f96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><IMG SRC="02096140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=340 BGCOLOR="#CC99FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> PrairieBaby<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" > Maine Coon Cats</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The Story behind it!</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="1265b65e0.jpg" border=0 width="438" height="350" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Please note: </div> <div> this is not our backyard, </div> <div> not our boat,</div> <div> not our moose and </div> <div> not our cat :)))</div> <bR> <div> But..........this picture was definitely taken in Manitoba,Canada!!</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>PrairieBaby Gonna Be Worth It All (Cameron)</U></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="cameron"><U><B><IMG SRC="126a787c0.jpg" border=0 width="120" height="124" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> Cameron is a complete product of nature. Nobody bred this boy, he comes from a romance relationship of two cats in my neighborhood. </div> <bR> <div> Cameron's father Peppy is the most wanted tom cat in our little town. Nobody really likes him. As a matter of fact, the guys in town have been trying to shoot Peppy on several occasions. Peppy goes into peoples' rubbish and steels things out of their garage. For some strange reason, nobody has ever been able to catch him. Peppy has endured many cold winters with no home. His face shows scars from endless cat fights. My neighbor Glenda had compassion on him and has been feeding him for a while and has also given him shelter. She is the only person Peppy has warmed up to. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="7680a150.jpg" border=0 width="266" height="277" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Peppy, marked by a lonely vagabund life</div> <div> (held here by my neighbor)</div> <bR> <div> Cameron's mother is was owned by my neighbor Rose's daughter Vandy. We will try to provide a picture soon. Cameron's mother was in love with Peppy the minute they first saw each other. The first time she had a litter from him was last year when I was on holidays. Rose had told me "Judith you have to look at these kittens!".  But............Judith was too busy at the time. Well, this early spring Rose said she had seen her kitty at another rendezvous with Peppy. A couple of months later the babies were there. She had four again, just like last time. At first they looked like regular longhaired kittens. But all of the sudden Rose called me and said " Judith you gotta come over and look at these kids. They look better than some of your purebreds". So I went and could not believe my eyes. Rose was right - again!! Like so many times before. </div> <bR> <div> The kittens grew and grew and the more they grew the more they looked like little Maine cats. One of them was supposed to go to Rose's sister, Rose kept a girl kitten, a third one went to a lady who lives down the road. Cameron was the cuddliest of them all and so Rose's daughter Vandy wanted to keep him badly, together with his sister.  When Cameron (they call him Flinn) turned 5 months old, we decided to borrow him for a season.Cameron has made some lovely kittens for us and since Vancy has now decided against taking him back, he is still whole. Cameron is presently still being used in our breeding program, but lives with some of our other foundation females on a farm here in Manitoba. </div> <bR> <div> To our best knowledge, Cameron's parents are not closely related. Looking at his outer appearance, we also don't think that Cameron is related to our other foundation cats - and if then probably only slightly. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>PrairieBaby River Revival (Franky Frownsalot)</U></div> <div> <U><IMG SRC="1360788a0.jpg" border=0 width="120" height="138" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></div> <bR> <div> Franky's dad is the same cat as Cameron's dad. Franky's mom is our Foundation female Jessey who is living with the neighbors now. When we got Franky at about 10 weeks of age, we honestly did not believe that we would be able to integrate him with our other boys.  Franky hadn't been handled up till then and he didn't exactly have that *gentle giant temperament* that we like our foundation kittens to have. In the contrary!! Franky was a terror!! Extremely quick to act, unbelievably smart, extraordinary territorial, way too early maturing and rather "pro-actively aggressive". The food bowl was empty before the other cats had even spotted it. Franky swatted the boys (young or old) over the head when they did not stay back. Even grandpa Silhouette who usually don't take any nonsense from anybody was feeling unusually intimidated. Franky took his job very seriously! Everybody was a dangerous rival in his opinion. He felt he needed to defend all things around him, no matter if they needed protection or not! This went on for about 3 or 4 weeks. We didn't even create a separate homepage for Franky at that time, simply because we did not think he would be able to stay. Had this boy not been so drop-dead gorgeous and very sweet with people, he probably would not have gotten a chance to show us weather he had a lamb under his lion coat or not. </div> <bR> <div> After about a month Franky suddenly started to change. He was beginning to realize that nobody wanted to take anything from him and nobody was going to rule over him. He has now developed into a <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF0033" FACE="Arial" >SUPER </FONT>affectionate, sweet, social and good natured (not quite well behaved yet :)) young male. He can still be a bit bossy at times but we have enough girls to even this out. </div> <bR> <div> The adventure with Franky made us realize that a strong desire and ability to survive is definitely one trait that can make a foundation cat very valuable - if this trait will fade when the cat is handled and socialized. We are by no means suggesting that people should breed with domineering and unpolite cats. :-). In the contrary! In our case the bad behavior was simply a learned, natural  *proactive measure* to stay alive. Had this boy been raised in my kitten nursery, he would have been a completely different kitten.  Franky has smartened up and we used him for several breedings. We are seing wonderful temperament in all his kids.  Franky has played a vital part in our foundation program.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>PrairieBaby Drench the Barren Land (Prairiegirl)</U></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="prairiegirl"><U><IMG SRC="b64838c0.jpg" border=0 width="131" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div> Here goes: We were shipping a kitten and spent the night in a Hotel in Winnipeg. How do these stories start? You tell me! Breeder is bored in the evening, really does not need any more outcross cats til next season, but is of course looking through the pet section in the local paper ..........Longhaired kittens for sale. Nothing better to do, lets take a trip to Selkirk, just outside of Winnipeg - just to have a look. .....Nice people, two dogs, three female cats, three kittens left, all are loved and well taken care of - but not much money seems to be available and things at their house were going overboard. Only one of the females was spayed. The other two (mother and daughter) were both whole. One was 4 years old and the other one (Prairiegirl) was 3. And.........this prairie girl was too nice to be overlooked!!</div> <bR> <div> Have they had kittens before? This is what the owner said: "They both had had a few litters -  whenever they managed to get out when they were in heat.  The tom cat used to sit in front of our door, waiting for them, peeing on our stairs. The kittens always went well because they were so nice and fluffy. Sometimes we brought them to the pet store if we didn't find owners". My question: Were the kids alright and healthy? "Oh yes, both are great moms, the babies already ate by themselves at 3 1/2 weeks of age. They had many Calicos and Tabbies with white paws, usually around 4 kittens." </div> <bR> <div> Question: What about the young female, the one who has babies right now? " She has had babies from the same tom cat as her mother, the next door guy,  for the past couple of years. Nice friendly guy." "Can I see him?" "Sure, if he is home". over at the neighbor's house.....</div> <bR> <div> This particular tom didn't turn out to be exactly the most handsome cat but obviously capable to produce nice kids with his own "daughter" outsch!. "I ***think*** we won't take any of the kittens, but would you be willing to let us have the young female instead of a baby kitten?". "You mean you don't want a kitten but the mother?" "Yap. I am sure you will find homes easily for her 3 remaining kids". "Well we weren't planning on it, but we were kind of thinking of keeping one of these kittens........sure!! " :-)</div> <bR> <div> Prairiegirl and her mother Susie were obviously naturals when it comes to raising litters. According to the owners only her mother lost a baby once in her first litter. Of course pet people are not fully capable to see deformities in young kittens, but this "health history" still speaks for itself. And........even better (or not): None of them has ever seen a vet. So we have some vaccinating to do here :-)). They also did not care to spend the money to get either of them spayed, like many cat owners here in Manitoba. They actually seemed released when I offered to take "Prairiegirl" with me. </div> <bR> <div> Prairiegirl loved me from the first minute on. Since we had not planned this incident at all, we had to go buy a kennel for her in Winnipeg to transport her home - or actually - to be more specific, straight to my vet in Brandon. In her kennel she turned and turned, trilling at me, wanting attention. When I put my hand into the kennel she rubbed against me, licking my hands. </div> <bR> <div> At my vet she did not resist any kind of checkup or blood test. Her temperament is so loving and stable that this alone would have been a reason to include her in my program. Since she did not come from a shelter or farm, I am less concerned about health problems or parasites, but everything needs to be done by the book to be safe. you can read about her health checkups on our <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="the story behind it"><U>"how healthy is this line"</U></A> link. </div> <bR> <div> What we like most about her is her lovely color, her strong muzzle and chin, her eyes and her long body. She is a small cat. We do have enough big foundation lines to work with, in order to balance our her size. PrairieGirl has has babies from Cameron and Masterweaver so far and is still an active part of our breeding program. </div> <bR> <div> Since we had no digital camera with us when we got Prairiegirl, we don't have pictures of her parents available.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Lilly of the Valley, Oakland, Souris Valley, </U></div> <div> <U>Canada Love, Fear No Evil and Oktober (I Love All You Made)</U></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1266aa8d0.jpg" border=0 width="170" height="141" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial Black" ><IMG SRC="126796730.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="115" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <div> We had been keeping an eye on our neighboring farm cat colonies for a while. One night, my friend Rose phoned me  and told me she had seen a litter of kittens that looked "just like Judith's cats" and I should go have a look at them. My two guys had taken both vehicles and so Rose took me to the farm. It should be mentioned that we have a certain type of longhaired cats populating the Oakland area for many years. </div> <bR> <div> At the farm we met a whole group of large, wonderful looking cats with nice long rectangular bodies. Most of them longhaired. Inbreeding must have taken place because most of them were dilutes with white. Most farm cats have a certain amount of inbreeding. Even though we are against inbreeding, we believe that even an inbred farm cat presents a great outcross to our existing lines because there is a long invisible pedigree behind them. Also, if a group of cats has stayed healthy over many years and litters are still large and perfectly formed - despite of the inbreeding - then this is a good sign that this is a relatively clean line with great vigor. Then some of our research has automatically been accomplished - in a natural way! We looked at the gums and teeth of some of the tamer cats and they looked great! </div> <div> One of the blue/ white females, 4 years old,  who just had a litter of four kittens struck our attention. They were just being weaned and all seemed to be in good health. We decided on one of the blue tabby/white males and took him to our vet. We also asked permission to take mom in for CBC and Felv/Fiv testing. Please note that a Felv/Fiv test on a kitten younger than 12 weeks is not reliable. That is why we always take mom in first. </div> <div> We took pictures of mom and the four babies and also of some of the relatives to get a clear picture of the traits in this particular line of cats. We later called the mothercat "Canada Love of PrairieBaby". One kitten was real nice. He is a Blue Tabby/White boy. The other boy kitten looked more like a hamster (ha!) than a Maine Coon and had a strong under bite. So he couldn't be used for breeding. Father of Canada Love's litter was a big Blue tabby/white male we called "Souris Valley of PrairieBaby". Maxine, the daughter of the farmers, promised us a picture . We later went back and took pictures ourselves. We weren't able to catch him though. </div> <bR> <div> This is an old line and according to the farmers - good, honest, old fashioned English folks - there has never been any sicknesses in their cats. As a matter of fact, the great grandfather of our little boy just died last winter at the age of 18.   He lived with the neighbors of the farmers.  Boakeman had been in many fights and has been badly beaten up. </div> <bR> <div> All their cats were well fed and most of them had nice shiny coats. Mother Canada Love has had several healthy litters. The fact that there were 4 kittens in the litter and all were large and healthy, told us that the inbreeding COI can't be too high. </div> <bR> <div> The farm where the 17 year old male lives is also the home of the little Red Tabby/White girl, we later called "Oktober". She is his great grandchild. Both parents of Oktober could be seen at the farm. Her mom is "Lilly of the Valley of PrairieBaby", a Cream Tortie/High White. Oktober's  dad is "Oakland of PrairieBaby", a Red Mac Tabby/High White. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> There was no scale for the cats handy at the farm, but my guess is that Oakland weighed about 15 or 16 pounds as an adult male. </div> <bR> <div> We were very impressed of this flock of cats. All looked extremely well taken care of. The litter of five where Oktober came from was running around happily. The lady knew all the "imaginary" pedigrees and could give us a pretty reliable history for all cats.</div> <div>  </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **********</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Shame into Praise of PrairieBaby (Moudine)</U></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1268acb10.jpg" border=0 width="172" height="177" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The story behind Moudine is boring. We simply found her at our good friend's farm and asked if we can have her and she said "sure, it's one less kitten to find a home for!". Moudine's parents are not related. So, that's the story :-)). This girl brought a lot of boning and affection into our foundation program. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Canadiana and Manitoba of PrairieBaby</U></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="126954710.jpg" border=0 width="84" height="113" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Please note: This project is currrently inactive<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF00FF" FACE="Arial" >.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Well, it all began with a church picnic at a park near by where we live. We had a great sunny day with plenty of food and were already on our way to our vehicles to go home. All the sudden I saw a woman with a white cat on a leash, sitting on a blanket on the grass, reading a book. The closer I came, the more this cat looked like a Maine Coon cat. Since we live in Central Canada (Rural Manitoba), where hardly anybody even <U>knows</U> the breed, no person in their right mind would even consider b u y i n g a purebred, registered Maine Coon cat. Manitoba is Prairie land, farmland, nobody even spends 50 bucks for a kitten, when you pick them up everywhere for free. That's the attitude here in the sticks. And I don't really blame them. That's why most my kitties go to the Eastern or Western coast. </div> <div> So, me - weird cat breeder - walk up to this lady and ask her if I could pet her kitty. Rude as I am, not only do I try to get a feel of her bones and coat, but also open her mouth and look at gums and teeth, to the great astonishment of the lady. This cat had a good muzzle, good set of ears, nice and shaggy, uneven coat, shorter on the shoulders, long body, long bushy tail. Nice scoop, no lynx , great and healthy gums and teeth. She also treated me like a "buddy" from first minute on - I liked that. She was not very big, but typey and sweet natured. </div> <bR> <div> I asked the lady where she got her kitty. She told me she got her from a fishing supply store in Brandon. She had always wanted a white cat and saw an add in the paper. She said the kitty's mom looked the same way and the people also had another very big white male cat. She then gave me her phone number and also the number and address of the people where she got her kitty from. </div> <bR> <div> So, here goes Judith and phones the fishing supply store to make an appointment to see mama. They tell me to come in any time and have a look. Well, I picked the day of their "Grand Opening" and everybody was thrilled to see me and tell me everything I wanted to know, while taking care of 100.000 customers at the same time and serving them coke and hot dogs. Good day picked, Judith. Husband of storeowner tried to find white mom kitty for me but couldn't find her (the reason being that she was just having babies in the back room, as we found out later, ON GRAND OPENING DAY). So, because he did have a heart for me, he went upstairs and came back with the son of the mama, just from a previous litter. And here I just about fainted. </div> <bR> <div> ...and here I just about fainted. This guy was HUGE. And I mean h u g e - as in - h u g e!!! </div> <bR> <div> He came down the stairs and rolled on the floor right in front of me, letting me pet his belly. His owner told me "he follows you wherever you go - like a dog" - (sounds familiar). "Does he play with water?" "Oh yes, he knocks over the water bowls all the time." I also was allowed to pick him up and wow!! guy was WAY over 20 pounds (later confirmed by owner) . A little tiny bit overweight - may be . I touched his coat, which was a bit too coarse and not shaggy enough for a Maine Coon. However, it was nice and long, uneven, shorter over the shoulders and he did have a ruff. His head was great and broad, ears all right, excellent muzzle and chin, big and heavy boned body, nice long bushy tail. May be not as rectangular as we would like to see. But, ...That's why there is time to fix up the weaknesses. To me this guy looked better than some Maine Coons with a 20 generation pedigree!!</div> <bR> <div> Husband talked to me for 10 minutes, I squished in a few questions about previous offspring of the mother cat, any death births or deformities, any known illnesses, what color kitten they have had with her in previous litters. He told me the mother cat was 12 years old and had raised at least 90 kittens in her entire life. According to him, nobody has ever brought back a kitten or was not happy. They had been giving them away to nice people over the past years. Kitty had been found in the ditch when she was a baby. So much for her origin. Nothing about her parents. </div> <bR> <div> I quickly checked the inside of the mouth of this white monster male (great!) and ...Then I heard the voice of a very upset wife calling her husband back to work. So, with 1001 questions and a huge "flame" in my heart, I had to let go and leave. I did manage to take pictures of the white male who later turned out to be a former brother of the two litters that were born this year.</div> <bR> <div> When I phoned back a few days later, I found out that kitty had had another litter and this was the reason she had been hiding on the day I was visiting. There was four white kitties in the litter. I was so excited, I could have went to look at them right then and there. Instead I waited a few days, to be polite and to save the tiny bit of a good relationship that was left between me and them, after being an intruder the previous Saturday. So, I waited - well - till Tuesday, ha! Was even allowed to look at the babies. Handed a nice little flower to the lady to show my respect and gratitude, apologized for Saturday ………. And tried hard to walk s l o w l y to check out those babies. All nice and chunky. Good strong muzzles on those guys. But NOOOOOOO! There were all males! All four white with big black smudges on their heads. OK, now go home and rip apart all the breeding plans for the next two years .. and readjust all matings. And after having a white foundation male from Maine, who needs another white F1??????????????? Plus, people will think this is all fake and those guys are really Sid's kids. Thank God they got green eyes! Why white??????? Whatever!! </div> <bR> <div> I took heart and asked the lady in a thin voice: Are any of the babies spoken for yet? "No, none are spoken for". "OK, I take the whole litter". "Sure". So, from then on the people at the store saw me every single Saturday with Iams and Goats milk and may be one tiny little question for the day. Since I wasn't getting anywhere concerning necessary information for future references, I also made up a questionnaire with all the stuff that's on the mind of a foundation breeder and gave it to them at one of my visits. </div> <div> Then the pickup day came along and I wasn't able to sleep for 3 whole nights, thinking about real meaningful names and future matins. I also suffered the thought where I would keep four whole males until I know which one passes on the best traits and looks the best as an adult and also has the best character. All those questions one has to ask himself when making a decision to start a new line. </div> <bR> <div> At day of pickup all four were so fat and chubby that I asked myself: How does this cat have 3 litters a year and still have enough milk and energy to raise healthy kids? Where does she take this from ? So weird! </div> <bR> <div> Well, all went well and we raised all four boys. And we raised another four 6 months later. All turned out to be shorhaired. We were wrong with the daddy :-)) Foundation is such fun!!! We'll keep you posted :-))))))))))))))). </div> <bR> <div> Find out how things are going on our link <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>Update</U></FONT></div> <div> I would like to take this opportunity to thank Whonda and Sheldon in Brandon for her great contribution to the Maine coon breed and also for putting up with me for months on end. </div> <bR> <div> We will write more stories about our <U>other lines</U> when we find the time!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="canadian foundation"><U>Current Foundation Projects</U></A> </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="completed projects"><U>Previous Foundation Projects</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Foundation Update"><U>Foundation Update</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="the story behind it"><U>How healthy are these lines?</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="healthstatistic"><U>PrairieBaby Health Statistics</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="stories"><U>The Story behind it</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="tentative foundation breedings"><U>Full Foundation Breedings in 2004</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="planned foundation breedings"><U>PLanned Full Foundation breedings for 2005/2006</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>General Information:</U></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="general questions"><U>1. General Questions about Outcross- and Foundation Breeding</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="becoming a foundation breeder"><U>2. Becoming a Foundation Breeder</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="inbreeding tests in foundation cats"><U>3. Inbreeding Tests in Foundation Cats</U></A></div> <div> revised on May 04, 2003!</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="pictures of foundations"><U>4. Pictures of Cats from Newer Foundation Lines</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="foundation breeders"><U>5. Links to Foundation Catteries</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="joining a foundation breeder list"><U>6. Joining a Foundation Breeder List</U></A></div> <div> This is a private list for people working with foundation and part foundation. We are presently only accepting members who are actively working with newer foundation lines and who test for HCM and HD. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mailto:MCfoundationphotos-subscribe@yahoogroups.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:MCfoundationphotos-subscribe@yaho"><U>7. Joining the MCFoundationphoto list</U></A></div> <div> (This is a public list where people can post and view pictures of foundation/part foundation cats)</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id86.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="book foundatino breeding"><U>8. Book on Outcross and Foundation Breeding</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>