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Curl Essence Kitties in the News
Dr. Leslie Lyons and her Staff at the University of California, Davis have undertaken the task of researching the origins of the Domestic Cat by having hundreds of breeds brought to the Campus of the Research Center on June 14, 2008. Genetic (DNA) Testing was initiated as swabs were taken from all of the known breeds present at that time, as well as from ferile cat populations in some of the remotest areas of the world, including the area known as the "Fertile Crescent" of the Middle East where it has been widely believed the first cats were domesticated as pets.
The National Geographic Channel recorded this event as one of their specials, "The Science of the Cat" and has aired this on their Channel several times since. Cat breeders for all different breeds of cats were invited to the UC Davis campus to participate in the photo shoot for the making of this special. There were literally hundreds of cats and breeders camped in the lobby and different rooms while the photographers brought kitties in breeder by breeder. The American Curl Kittens were represented by the 4 major California breeders all bringing their best cats hoping for a their kitties to make the cut. Curl Essence was one of the four.
We are extremely pleased and honored that our cats made it into the TV Special and survived the cutting room floor. Not only did our kitties make it into the show, but we had 4 spots on the special... We didn't see any other breed or breeders other than the several new breeds that were featured that received as much air time. Three of us had packed an SUV filling the car from corner to corner and ceiling to floor to make the drive from Southern California to Northern California for the opportunity to participate. We had to bring all our cages for the cats for the day, grooming supplies for the kitties (not knowing how long we would have to wait to be requested into the room with the camera crews), and our own personal items. Grace Ruga, the founder of the breed was part of the group bringing her favored kitty. We were literally sitting on top of suitcases with our faces "smushed" against the car windows. It was a long drive, and an even longer day. By the time, the Curls were brought into the room, our kitties were tired and not too excited about the program. (It's really amazing when you think about it what our kitties will put up from us because they love us. They would so much rather be at home in their familiar surroundings and cozy beds. Oh, and to make our babies more comfortable, we play soft instrumental music 24/7 throughout our house for our kids.)
Then came the long wait for the special to air to see if our kitties made it into the video. The editors were obviously impressed with our kids, because we recognized our kitties in 4 separate shots, and in fact the special closed with our babies.... how cool was that!
If you see this special aired on any of the discovery channels in the future... check out the Curls. Those are Curl Essence kitties. They're short 1-2 second blips for the most part, but that's all most of the breeds got.... but we got 4 of them. (Yeah us!)
The National Geographic Channel recorded this event as one of their specials, "The Science of the Cat" and has aired this on their Channel several times since. Cat breeders for all different breeds of cats were invited to the UC Davis campus to participate in the photo shoot for the making of this special. There were literally hundreds of cats and breeders camped in the lobby and different rooms while the photographers brought kitties in breeder by breeder. The American Curl Kittens were represented by the 4 major California breeders all bringing their best cats hoping for a their kitties to make the cut. Curl Essence was one of the four.
We are extremely pleased and honored that our cats made it into the TV Special and survived the cutting room floor. Not only did our kitties make it into the show, but we had 4 spots on the special... We didn't see any other breed or breeders other than the several new breeds that were featured that received as much air time. Three of us had packed an SUV filling the car from corner to corner and ceiling to floor to make the drive from Southern California to Northern California for the opportunity to participate. We had to bring all our cages for the cats for the day, grooming supplies for the kitties (not knowing how long we would have to wait to be requested into the room with the camera crews), and our own personal items. Grace Ruga, the founder of the breed was part of the group bringing her favored kitty. We were literally sitting on top of suitcases with our faces "smushed" against the car windows. It was a long drive, and an even longer day. By the time, the Curls were brought into the room, our kitties were tired and not too excited about the program. (It's really amazing when you think about it what our kitties will put up from us because they love us. They would so much rather be at home in their familiar surroundings and cozy beds. Oh, and to make our babies more comfortable, we play soft instrumental music 24/7 throughout our house for our kids.)
Then came the long wait for the special to air to see if our kitties made it into the video. The editors were obviously impressed with our kids, because we recognized our kitties in 4 separate shots, and in fact the special closed with our babies.... how cool was that!
If you see this special aired on any of the discovery channels in the future... check out the Curls. Those are Curl Essence kitties. They're short 1-2 second blips for the most part, but that's all most of the breeds got.... but we got 4 of them. (Yeah us!)
Educating the Public Whenever We Can
We've found that going to cats shows and pet EXPOs have been one of the ways we can expose the public to our breed. We've gone from a time when we would frequently be surrounded by literally 10-20 people all day long wanting to get their first glimpse of an American Curl saying they had never seen or heard of the breed to people now telling us that they've seen them on TV specials but they've never had an opportunity to see one in real life.
One of these opportunities came our way at a recent Orange County Pet EXPO. The OC Pet Expo used to be one of the larger annual cat shows for CFA, but in recent years, the EXPO management has demanded so much money for the use of their building, that cat clubs couldn't afford to rent the hall. However, in an effort to fill the EXPO, TICA secured a small section of one of the halls for "exhibition on" for cats. That means, no cat sales and no competition. Even though (at this time) we have rarely participated in TICA shows, we were invited to setup a booth to educate the public on our breed. It was a lot of work, but between Grace Ruga (founder of the breed) and Curl Essence, we provided an impressive exhibition.
Since this first show several years ago, TICA has been held a cat show at the OC Pet EXPO every year. You will always find us there educating the public on this breed.
One of these opportunities came our way at a recent Orange County Pet EXPO. The OC Pet Expo used to be one of the larger annual cat shows for CFA, but in recent years, the EXPO management has demanded so much money for the use of their building, that cat clubs couldn't afford to rent the hall. However, in an effort to fill the EXPO, TICA secured a small section of one of the halls for "exhibition on" for cats. That means, no cat sales and no competition. Even though (at this time) we have rarely participated in TICA shows, we were invited to setup a booth to educate the public on our breed. It was a lot of work, but between Grace Ruga (founder of the breed) and Curl Essence, we provided an impressive exhibition.
Since this first show several years ago, TICA has been held a cat show at the OC Pet EXPO every year. You will always find us there educating the public on this breed.
Grace was requested to provide several educational training sessions on the breed throughout the 3 days at the OC Pet Expo.
This is a photograph of Grace explaining features of an American Curl. She is holding Curl Essence Morning Star ("Star"). Star is a silver mack tabby. ("mack" meaning mackerel pattern... she has a striped pattern vs. spots or classic which has a target on her side.) In this photo, Star is about 4 months old.
In the cages behind Grace is one of Grace's kitties (behind her hip with the microphone on it) and a Birman (on her other side).
Grace is stretching Star to show color and length of body.
Star had a ball at this exhibit. Not only was she still in that playful kitten stage, but Star absolutely loved the crowds. She's a born performer. She played from morning to night with everyone that would stop and give her the opportunity. At one point, we actually had to cover the cage she was in so she would take a break and nap a little. Cats need about 18 hrs of naptime a day. The babies need more. Someone forgot to tell Star about her need for sleep at the EXPO. She was having way too much fun.
In the cages behind Grace is one of Grace's kitties (behind her hip with the microphone on it) and a Birman (on her other side).
Grace is stretching Star to show color and length of body.
Star had a ball at this exhibit. Not only was she still in that playful kitten stage, but Star absolutely loved the crowds. She's a born performer. She played from morning to night with everyone that would stop and give her the opportunity. At one point, we actually had to cover the cage she was in so she would take a break and nap a little. Cats need about 18 hrs of naptime a day. The babies need more. Someone forgot to tell Star about her need for sleep at the EXPO. She was having way too much fun.
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There's another photo of a young special needs girl that we sit in our blue chair to hold one of our kitties. Sitting with the kitty in her lap gave her the confidence that she needed to handle the kitty.
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In the slideshow on the right you will see Linda letting some of the different young girls holding our kitties.
Two young girls in the white Tshirts stopped by our displays several times a day. They were in love with our babies. Grace's display next to our cages showed several large color photos of features we look for in our breed. One of the kitties we took was Joel. He's the white cat with the slight color on his nose, ears and tail. He was absolutely GORGEOUS! Grace also used Joel in her training sessions to show size, coat and color. Please email us if you are interested in adopting a Curl. The best way to email address us is [email protected]. In one photo, you will see a little girl who was strapped into her wheelchair. Linda placed a little 4 month old kitten in her lap and held the kitty and showed the young girls how to pet the kitty. The little girl was hesitant at first, but Linda placed her left hand on the kitty's chest so the little girl could feel the kitty purring which brought an immediate smile to the child's face knowing that the kitty was happy being held and petted by her. |