TAILSEND SATCHEL was a super kitten from the moment he was born. He was almost black, which is a sure indication of good ticking, but still had that wonderful depth of ruddy color on his face. He showed potential then - and has certainly exceeded our expectations!
A surprise email from Markus Collin in Finland inquiring about a Ruddy Abyssinian male arrived shortly after Satch was born - and the perfect home for Satch was found!Markus' parents, Bjorn and Tuula, came from Finland to visit with us in Canada to see the kitten, and we were delighted that they were happy with him and wanted to buy him.
He was too young to leave, so we got to keep him until he was old enough for the trip to Finland, and even managed to enter him in a couple of kitten shows here, where he did exceptionally well - culminating in Highest Scoring Kitten in Show in his last CFA show at the tender age of 4 months and 29 days!
Off he went to Finland with Markus and Bjorn who had come to Canada just to hand carry him to his new home. Roger, who was judging in Holland a few weeks later, took a side trip to Helsinki to visit Satch in his new home. He had settled in well, and didn't even miss us!
Satch was going to be shown in FIFe, and we weren't sure how his type and color would hold up to their breed standards and whether their judges would like this "imported" cat. We needn't have worried! Satch took high honors and Best in Category wins at his kitten shows.
At his first show as an adult, he was tied for BEST IN SHOW as an Open! During the summer, Satch became an Champion at a show in Tampere, and an International Champion at one in Estonia. He is now a Grand International Champion after having been shown in Austria and Germany in September.
He has sired a litter of kittens and his offspring are also following his winning ways! At a recent show near Helsinki, a ruddy male son was best of category kitten, another ruddy son was selected the audiences favorite, and Satch - who was Best in Category adult - also won for best breeding male in his category. Wow! Talk about a family affair :-)
Satch now has 11 Best in Category trophies to his credit - 3 as a kitten and 8 as an adult. Here's a list of his show results:
As a kitten:
21/01/96 Helsinki, Finland; Ex1, BoV, BoJ, BiS
03/02/96 Tampere, Finland; Ex1, BoJ, BiS
03/03/96 Lahti, Finland; Ex1, BoV, BoJ, BiS
As an adult
20/04/96 Turku, Finland; CAC, BoV
11/05/96 Helsinki, Finland; CAC, BoV, BoJ, BiS, BoB
29/06/96 Tampere, Finland; CAC (=Champion), BoV, BoJ, BiS
30/09/96 Tampere, Finland; CACIB
13/07/96 Tallinn, Estonia; CACIB, BoV, BoJ, BiS
14/07/96 Tallinn, Estonia; CACIB(=International Champion), BoV, BoJ, BiS
27/07/96 Vantaa, Finland; CAGCIB, BoV, BoJ, BiS, Best Breeding Male
24/08/96 Vantaa, Finland; CAGCIB, BoV
25/08/96 Vantaa, Finland; CAGCIB, BoV, BoJ, BiS
21/09/96 Saalfelden, Austria; CAGCIB, BoV, BoJ, BiS
22/09/96 Bad Aibling, Germany; CAGCIB, BoV
13/10/96 Jarvenpaa, Finland; CAGCIB (= Grand Int. Ch.), BoV, BoJ, BiS
BoV=Best of Variety | BoJ=Best of Judge | BiS=Best in Show (=of Category) | BoB=Best of Best
Our thanks have to go to Bjorn, Tuula and Markus Collin for loving Satch and for
keeping him in such wonderful condition. He has certainly grown up beautifully, as this photo received from Finland shows!
WE'RE EVEN PROUDER OF OUR GUY NOW! Confirmation has just been received that Satchel is Cat of the Year in Finland (sharing the honor with 4 other cats because of the scoring system)! He was also recently Best of Best both days at a show in Prague and will be attending the FIFe World Show in Budapest on March 22-23.
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