I first became fascinated with pointed cats when I was about 8 or 9 years old. New neighbors moved in next door with a Siamese cat and I could not leave it alone, nor could I stop asking why it had a darker color just on it’s feet, tail, face and ears. I must have driven everyone crazy, then the thought occurred to me that it would be even better with a flat face and long hair like a Persian. Little did I know that cat already existed.

I bought my first Himalayan many years later, a seal point female I named CoCo Puff. And that is where it all started. In 1990 I decided it was time for me to have my own male so I called a friend and asked her to be on the look-out. She told me about a chocolate male for sale. I bought him for a $100.00 and had no idea what I was getting into, and I had no idea that both of my females carried chocolate until that first litter.

My first two litters out of that chocolate cat gave me all kinds of colors I had never seen before so I called that same friend and asked her what she thought they might be, she had never seen either chocolate or lilac so she didn’t know. When I looked them up in my book, I was shocked to realize that I might have chocolate points and lilac points! I had been hearing about a lady in Bellflower, Ca that sold lilac points, and lilac being my favorite color, I wanted one but didn’t know then how to go about finding this person, who I later learned was Toni Renzacci, Cactusway…now I had one. I was hooked.

I started going to cat shows to learn more and became upset to discover that my cats were no way near show quality, so my next quest became to make show quality chocolates and lilacs and it has taken me many years to realize that goal. The first for me was CH Lollimops Mr. Stuff a lilac point, but he hated the show ring even though he did finally grow into those ears. It was not easy to type up this color and back in the early ‘90’s no reputable Persian breeder wanted anything to do with the color because of the suspected genetic faults. I had also had some problems when breeding too close on the chocolate so I started to out cross, out cross, out cross. I also prayed and lo and behold the lines I wanted to work with started magically coming to me.

I got a call one day from a lady who said I did not know her but she wanted to let me know about some beautiful cats that were for sale. These cats had the Demiara and Heavensent behind them that I wanted, and that is how I got Jewelee’s Madonna. Same thing happened again with Barbicats Kahlua and Cream, I had wanted the Catsafrats line and there it was. These two cats were a great help to me. Then another friend was going out of breeding and I got CH Rainforest Bellisima who is the mother of my chocolate male Lollimops Yum …Chocolate! and CH Lollimops Beautiful Baby. Then along came a cream male with a great pedigree and he did the rest for me with all that South Paw behind him, thanks Debi.

I spent years with out any chocolates and lilacs at all while searching for out crossed lines and out crossing the chocolate line I already had for better health and type. All my friends that bred chocolate and lilac had lots of these wonderful colors and I had none, the rest of my friends were constantly winning in the show ring with the other colors. I felt deprived but never lost sight of my goal. Now I am producing the cats I always wanted, I just wish that I was not so bad about taking them out and showing them.