McCoy at 11 months
Merindalee the Real McCoy - an import from Australia
Ruddy male born March 6,2002. Out of GC Merindalee Field of Dreams & Merindalee Magic Flute
I'd like to thank Eileen and Karel Pittaway for letting me have McCoy even if he wasn't
as perfect as they would have liked him to be. McCoy is a sweetheart.
McCoy's kittens out of Love were outstanding, and the last litter of five had three show kittens.
Sadly, this was at the time I decided both for health and financial reasons I could no longer
breed cats. However, one of my friends has a show kitten from this litter, Honour, and she is
one sassy little six pound female, naturally slim even at 4 years of age.
McCoy retired at three years of age and went to live in the US with a couple and their dog.
They have asked that their names not be listed on my website. However, they stay in touch, and
McCoy is doing well.
March 6, 2002 to March 21, 2019
Tobias (AKA McCoy) has passed away at the age of 17, in his forever home in the US.
His owners kindly sent me a lovely card, which was very touching, and I know that he will
always be in their hearts. Like most of my boys, he got to retire early, and I had them bring
the Border Collie they had then, up to Canada, so we'd know that he wouldn't be an issue.
My own Abys had been raised with Labs, and visited by other dogs, over the years.
Other people would have liked to have had him, but I wanted him to go where he could be king,
and he was.
To quote one of his owners:
"He purred and cuddled with both of us until the very end, and his passing was very gentle
and so peaceful---outside by our waterfall, with birdsong, and spring flowers everywhere."
Thank you for taking such good care of our boy, and godspeed Tobias, til we meet again.
Shelley Hlady April 5, 2019
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Love
Ch. Leeside Love on the Run
Ruddy female born February 1999, carries red/blue.
Out of Leeside Gone with the Wind aka "Rhett" (a GC Cougar Rock 'n Roll song) &
Ch. Leeside Stolen Harmony
Love lives with me in retirement. As a very intelligent
cat, I think she finds her current life in an apartment a
little dull, although they can go out safely on the third
floor balcony. I think Love also misses having kittens.
When she was younger I offered two rescue groups and
several vets, Love, and possibly her dam, as foster moms,
but I was never taken up on the offer.
Something was wrong, although she had lost only a few ounces, and was not showing signs of anemia, dehydration, or increased thirst,
nor had she quit eating. I'd been watching her for two weeks. Then I couldn't get into the vet, who I'd seen previously locally,
all day on a Saturday; they kept putting me off, despite my telling them I thought she had become diabetic. They were not open Sundays.
At 5 PM I gave up, and rushed her to another vet I'd never met, and was open another hour. He tested her, and I was correct in my assumption,
but whether he just wanted to go home or not, he discouraged me from keeping and treating her, and said it would cost me another $100 a month
to treat her for the rest of her life. (Another example of drug companies greediness.) I was rushed and anxious, and we don't have
a local emergency vet, so I finally agreed to euthanize her, against my wishes. Of course he had no background on me, nor would he know
I could give IV fluids, shots, pills, and knew the signs to look for for anemia, dehydration etc, after 40 years of this.
If I had to do it over again, I would have told him to save her, no matter what the cost. I can't discuss this, as it still upsets me.
I miss her dearly, and this was so unnecessary; I wish I could go back in time. She was quietly euthanized on September 16, 2013, at 13 1/2 years of age.
Shelley Hlady June 2015
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Miss Dove
Leeside Good Morning Miss Dove
Ruddy female born April 18, 2001. Out of SGC Highstepper's Scout of Leeside
& Ch. Leeside Love on the Run
Owned by Walter Nussbaumer of Calgary
Regretfully, Dove died at only 9 1/2 years of age, after a short but puzzling illness. At the end, and only
after neurological signs appeared, the acute care cat clinic discovered that she in fact had a brain tumour.
My heart goes out to Wally and Sharon, who were with her at the end.
April 28,2001 to September 23,2010
Dove's owners, the Nussbaumers, phoned me from Calgary in April, and said they had concerns about her,
but couldn't pin it down, and blood panels, and exams, showed nothing. Then I got another call later on,
that they woke up one morning, and she was crying. When she started to walk across the floor, she was unsteady.
She was rushed to Animal Critical Care in Calgary, and on a neurologist seeing her, with the tests already done,
he knew immediately what was going on. Dove had a benign tumour, known as a meningioma, in her brain.
There is no such things as a truly "benign" tumour in the brain; it just isn't cancerous. As it spreads,
the major mental and physical functions, and even the personality of any mammal having them, are affected.
In cats, it occurs usually from 9 years on, and appears just as frequently in any domestic shorthair cat
as any specific breed. It is idiopathic, and nothing can really be done. (Keep in mind, people with household pets
are less apt to spend the time and money to research and try to save such idiosyncratic diseases.)
I felt helpless; and it is taking me this long to put it on the site, because their family had other issues to deal with too, as did I.
It was not an attempt to cover up the death of any cat. They still have two cats from me over ten, but with all the issues in cat foods,
and other things that can arise, of which I have no control, I can not predict that they will live to be 15-18.
I am so devasted for both of them, and yet another loss in their lives.
I remember visiting their house, and watching Dove jump from the top of the wooden step rail, vertically 6-7 feet, to the top
of the entrance hall closet. I remember her hanging over the top of the kitchen cabinet, like Snoopy.
She was a sweet , loving little cat, and is indeed sorely missed.
Shelley Hlady, June 2015
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Harmony
Ch. Leeside Stolen Harmony
Ruddy female born May 1997, carries red. Out of Seawind Spellbound, our UK import
& Ch. Leeside Rebel Angel
Harmony is out of Rebel Angel's last litter, and of the litter of 4 females and 2 males,
she was kept because although her color was not as good as some of her littermates, she was clearer.
She has her father Bounder's long English head, and unfortunately, her dam Angel's higher ear set. She has produced
some lovely kittens (see pics of Love and Penny), but with the UK lines behind them, they tend to color up a little later
than cats with the N.A. lines we've used. Like all the ruddies we've had, Harmony has so far only produced the
black-ticked ruddies we prefer.
Harmony loves to retrieve fur mice and other toys when she can get some time alone away from the other cats.
Harmony was euthanized in April 2012, after Easter, and just before she would have turned 16.
Although she appeared healthy, she was having just a bit of rectal discharge, but had lost no weight,
nor were there any other abnormalities, i.e. coat etc. She'd gone deaf at 15, and would screech at night
when she couldn't locate me. It had taken me awhile to realize that the reason I wasn't getting greeted
at the front door anymore, was because she couldn't hear me coming! As I was never able to replace my vets in 5 years,
who sold out, after 16 years of seeing them,and due to an illness of one of the partners, I could not see an alternative.
I'd tried several vets, and they either couldn't handle cats, or seemed liked they were going to charge as much as the market
would bear ie up to $1600 for a dentistry. Cats from the same breeding, or the same litter, are still alive, as of this writing. I miss her still.
Shelley Hlady , June 2015
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TICA SGC. Highstepper's Scout of Leeside
Ruddy male born January 1990, carries red and blue.
Out of GC Wil-O-Glen’s Jackson, DM & QGC Highstepper’s Donna
Scout is the smallest Aby stud that we've owned, weighing in at 7 lbs.
He had lovely clear color and black ticking. Despite having been a stud, he was outgoing and had a
loving personality which he passed on to his kittens.
Scout's sister Leetah and their mother Donna still live with his breeder, Sandra Thompson, in Texas.
Scout was regretfully euthanized on February 19, 2001. A complete necropsy, including a red congo stain,
was performed. No amyloids or other signs of any type of kidney disease were found. A copy of this report is available
to anyone who has a kitten from Scout.
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Ch. Leeside the Innocent Traveller aka "Monkey"
Ruddy female born April 1995, carries blue.
Out of Ch. Leeside Winner Take Nothing & Ch. Leeside Rebel Angel (A Rabble Rouser daughter)
This gregarious cat is the cat everyone wanted to take home. She has now retired to
a pet home in Burnaby with A. Kinnon
It is with great regret, that I report that Monkey passed away in her owners home, on February 17,2009,
with Alex beside her.
Monkey was one of the unfortunate animals fed a cat food, later recalled in the
2006-2007, Menu Foods melamine scandal. In her case, it was not one of her regular mature cat foods,
but one substituted as a brief replacement for her regular foods. Because of this, kidney damage was
not reversible, but allowed her to live on, with bouts of therapy, for another two years.
(See pet foods, and the FDA recall for further info on this website, and on other web sites.)
Monkey was one of those special cats that tug on your heart strings. She was the kitten I could
never forget, even after she was placed with Alex at 5 years of age, when her breeding career was over.
I know that she will always be with me, as she will be with Alex and her family.
A blue topaz pendant,
heart-shaped and set in a gold basket, was given to me by Alex after she obtained Monkey. It joins us
in the memories of a cat sweeter than any other that has lived with me.
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Rhett
Leeside Gone with the Wind aka "Rhett"
Ruddy male born January 31, 1998, carries red and blue. Never shown as an adult.
Out of GC Cougar Rock'n Roll of Dearada & Ch. Leeside The Innocent Traveller
Rhett retired to live with Jeanne and Chet Chard in Victoria, BC. Jeanne Chard and Rhett relocated
outside of Syracuse New York in July 2003.
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Winnie in the Window
Winnie in retirement
Ch. Leeside Winner Take Nothing
Ruddy male born October 16, 1993, carries blue.
Out of GC Wil-O-Glen's Tennessee Whiskey & Ch. Leeside Rebel Angel
Winnie was born at a time when the Canadian dollar was a little higher and
we could show more in the US. Winnie managed to pick up 127 points in his first show as a champion (you
need 200 points to obtain a CFA grand) but then became too difficult in the show to continue. Despite this
he still managed to obtain 2nd best Aby of color in his region for the year.
Retired as a stud at 2 1/2 years of age, he is fondly known to his friends as Winnie-the-Pooh.
He expects most people who visit regularly to give him a hug, and if he is ignored, he meows at them till they do.
Like most Abys, he loves his food, and his likes include acorn squash and the odd fresh date. He
thinks retrieving is for dogs.
On February 5, 2007, at 9:45 AM, Winnie was quietly euthanized while I cradled his head and
stroked him. For the first time, he did not scream all the way to the vet in the carrier. I believe he sensed,
and was glad, that we were helping him in this final way. There will always be a hollow in the space that
Winnie filled in my life for over thirteen years.
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Bounder
Seawind Spellbound aka "Bounder"
Ruddy male born April 11, 1995, carries red.
Out of Seawind Soopalugs & Adkrish Frederica Joctan of Seawind
After a year of researching UK and Australian Aby blood lines, we settled
on several lines in the UK where we could verify the ongoing health of the cats and obtain a true outcross
at the same time. The next step was persuading the Aby breeder, Anne Rose of Seawind Cattery, that she
could entrust a cat, especially a stud cat, to me. UK and Australian breeders tend to have smaller catteries
than their US counterparts, and if caged at all, tend to have large inside/outside runs. Anne's concern was
that the cat should not end up in a tiny pen and get passed from breeder to breeder because of his unique lines.
It took many long distance calls to persuade her that she wanted to deal with me, and risk sending me a cat
on what is a long overseas journey. Finally, in April '95, Anne had a litter of three males and one female that
she was willing to sell me a cat from.
After jumping many hoops to arrange for his export with the authorities, Bounder was finally
shipped from Manchester on August 21, 1995, and after a stop over in Toronto, he arrived in Vancouver
some 22 hours later. Unlike North American Abys, UK Abys do not all have soft voices, and Bounder
was very upset when we arrived home. Although all my cats are tested for various diseases
before being shipped, I normally isolate them a month and then retest
them. Bounder was so distraught I made an exception and introduced him
to a young ruddy female, Monkey, who was born two days before he was. They
lived together until he started to spray at 7 1/2 months, and during the
time they were together, they managed to get into more trouble than just
about any Abys I've owned. To be fair, I imagine Monkey was for the most
part the instigator of their pranks.
Bounder was neutered in May '98, and went to live with Jan Harder in Vancouver in the summer
of '99. It is unfortunate that other breeders were not willing to take advantage of his outcrossed and very
healthy lines while he was whole, simply because there might be no show kittens in the first generation
out of him. Bounder unfortunately had to be rehomed due to a change in Jan Harder's circumstances.
He has lived with Joanna Robinson since December 2002.
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Angel at 3 years
Ch. Leeside Rebel Angel
Ruddy female born January 23, 1992, carries blue.
Out of GC/RW Featherhill's Rabble Rouser, DM & Ch. Leeside Stardust
Angel was in her dam's first litter and was delivered normally
before the fourth kitten refused to enter the birth canal. An
x-ray at an emergency clinic showed this kitten was far too large
to be born naturally, and a C-section took place. The large kitten
was dead but Angel's sister Tempest-Tost, the smallest kitten, was
very much alive and squawking. Unfortunately, the newly graduated vet
made his incision rather to one side of the midline, and the two kits
nursing on that side died when their dam developed mastitis. This
left me with Angel and Tempest and $1400 in fees for the stud and the
veterinarian. Thankfully, the two girls' lives have been less eventful since then.
Rebel Angel's name has suited her very well. She was head of the
household as soon as her dam retired, and has gone on to be head
cat in her retirement home too. During the five years she was bred,
she had eight litters and never lost a kitten or had a stillborn kitten.
One of her litters was out of a black and white neighbourhood cat
dubbed "Mr. X". She escaped for an hour one night as my labrador was
coming in, and until they were born I wasn't sure if they were Bounder's
kittens or not. At birth it was obvious that all six kittens had that
hybrid vigour to go with the white patches and barring.
The house has been a little quieter since Angel went to live with
Jeanie and Peter Duffey of Delta, B.C. in February of 1998. Jeanie tells me
she has a constant companion in Angel, who helps with just about everything.
Angel's sister, Tempest, was euthanized by her owner, M. Brandy, at
14 years of age.
Angel died at 15 years of age, on March 31, 2007. She was greatly missed by both
Jeanne and Peter Duffey, but Jeanne especially. Angel helped Jeanne both with her own art
work, and in editing International Artist magazine. Angel lived with the Duffeys, and their Korat,
Thai, for nine years. I am happy that Angel shared their lives after she was retired from my
breeding program. Only someone who had one of her offspring, with Angel's personality, could truly
understand the gap her passing would leave.
Sadly, Jeanne Duffey herself passed away on December 4, 2008. I would like to believe Jeanne
has joined Angel, Amber, and her other friends from the past.
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