Free Web Hosting Provider - Web Hosting - E-commerce - High Speed Internet - Free Web Page
Search the Web

Welcome!

Close

Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...

Yes, Please make this my home page!

No Thanks

  Don't show this to me again.

Close

 
Leeside Abys still have gently contoured heads and profiles. Our ruddies look like ruddies. Even black ticking and black or dark chocolate paw pads with black hair between the pads insures they are never mistaken for reds.
 

The Abyssinian is a medium sized cat with a distinctly ticked coat. The color and ticking develop gradually over time, and kitten tabby marks on the legs and neck may blend in as color deepens. The intermediate build should be svelte and muscular. The wedge shaped head has slightly rounded contours, large ears, and large almond shaped eyes. Ideally, the coat should be thick and resilient. Adult females average 6 - 8 lbs., and males 7-9 lbs. The current commonly recognized colors in North America are ruddy, red (also known as sorrel), blue and fawn. TICA has also recognized the various silver colors, and most recently, chocolate and lilac Abys. The Abyssinian requires little grooming because of its short coat, but many will enjoy being groomed daily with a flea comb. Their nails should be trimmed twice a month. Their large ears require regular cleaning with a dry q-tip to remove waxy build-up. The Aby personality is not for everybody, but devotees find them intelligent, affectionate, and loyal. Mischievous and curious, they often follow their owners around from room to room. Because of these traits they are difficult to keep off of counters, coffee tables etc.; they want to be in the thick of everything. They are also a very active cat with a high energy level, and not suitable for small spaces. Most Abys have dog-like traits including a fondness for water, and a capacity for being leash trained. Of the shorthaired breeds, Abys have one of the softest voices.

Leeside Cattery has been involved with breeding Abys since 1989, and has been part of the cat fancy since the sixties. The cats are all kept in conditions as close to a normal home environment as possible so that they are well-socialized and out-going. Cats are limited to 6 or less adults at a time, and adults cats are placed as pets after we have produced what we need out of them. Breeding cats are selected for health and temperament, as well as their ability to meet the show standard. All incoming cats are tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodefiency virus, and quarantined for at least a month before being introduced to the resident cats. We do not use cats with luxating patellas for breeding and avoid cats with renal amyloidsis within 3 generations in their pedigrees. Kittens are sold at a minimum age of ten weeks, and after they have had at least two sets of vaccinations and a check up by our veterinarian. Female kittens are often older at the time of the sale because extra time is needed to assess their potential for the breeding program.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

As of December 2004, I am no longer breeding Abys. For more info on this, please scroll down to "New Beginnings" in the Announcement section of this Home Page. The website will continue to be updated.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANNOUNCEMENTS

____________________________________________________________ MARILYN JACKSON        It is with great regret that I need to announce that Marilyn, whom I had known for 15 years, was killed in a vehicle accident while on holidays in Mexico in March. At one time Marilyn was a paediatric nurse, but severe osteo-arthritis curbed her work career, and many of her hobbies too, as her hands were affected. Marilyn was vice president of CATSAVE, and supported CATSAVE in many ways, including the making of various cat toys and bedding that we sold. Marilyn's two Abys from me, Tamino (15), and Amber, aka Astra (10), have been re-homed with the kind-hearted Alex Kinnon in Burnaby.  Alex had lost her oldest Aby from me just 6 weeks before, and her other 9 year old Aby, Baby, was moping.  The cats adjustment to each other has been a bit erratic, with the two girls vying for top cat, and Tamino just trying to stay out of the way.  We are hoping for the best long term.  The cats have had check-ups and dentistry's, and aside from Tamino's teeth being unusually worn down, they appear healthy. Both have adapted to their new home, and I can't thank Alex enough for taking them, especially together, and given their age.  All of us who knew Marilyn, or met her through CATSAVE, send our best wishes to her daughter, Kemi Nordstrom.  The service for Marilyn was attended by the largest crowds I've seen in years, with many who worked with her, but had not seen her for years, going to pay their respects. Many of us got up to speak about her during the reception.  Marilyn will be missed. Anyone who knew her, and would like to talk about her, is welcome to call and share their remembrances with me.  My number is at the bottom of the page. Shelley - July 2009 ************************************************************************* ____________________________________________________________ HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!! Angel 2        and        Stormy (Bounder x Angel)        (Jordan x Tempest) Are 13 years old on October 6 and October 26 respectively. These ruddy and blue cats are owned by Diane and David Smith of Lexington, VA. Chiro (Bounder x Angel) This ruddy female is owned by Shelley Pye of Surrey ,BC. Chiro turns 13 on October 6. She lives with two other cats from me: Carmel, a red (10); and Honour (6), a ruddy female. Ishtar's Kiss (Bounder x Monkey - accidental breeding) Laurie Sheard of Burnaby BC phoned in August to say hello, and remind me that Ishtar had just turned 11 on August 7. Ishtar lives with a Siamese friend. Laurie told me that at the time I didn't have a second kitten for her, which I had forgotten. LET'S HEAR FROM MORE OF YOU ABOUT YOUR CATS. Shelley September 2009

____________________________________________________________ Adult Aby Wanted A person who purchased an Aby from me years ago is looking for a replacement adult Aby from my lines. If for some reason you have a cat from me and are going to be unable to keep it due to allergies, having to move, or whatever, would you please contact me. The cat will likely be an only cat, and, like all of my cats, will be an inside cat, though it may go out on a harness. Thank you. ____________________________________________________________

*******************************************************************************************     This has been an extremely sad and stressful time for me and many of my pet owners. Many changes I'd like to have made in my own life have not happened this year. As some of my pet people friends have dropped off the radar in recent years, I'd like you to know, I would like to still hear from you. The following cats have passed away since the last website update: Ch Leeside The Innocent Traveller AKA, Monkey, died on February 17, 2009, at her owners home, of renal failiure. In February 2007, just before the pet food recall hit the news, Monkey was briefly fed one of the foods that were later recalled. This was not part of her normal mature cat diet, and had been subststituted in. Because the crystals are insoluable, even a cat who does not die after eating melamine tainted foods, will have their lives changed and shortened. My heart goes out to her owners, the Kinnons, especially Alex who is struggling with other things at this time. Monkey would have turned 14 in April. I loved Monkey, and her parents, Winnie and Angel, more than any other Abys I have owned or bred, and this loss has affected me deeply too. FOOD RECALL - please be aware that foods sold only in Canada, even if they were recalled, like the MediCal line of vet products now owned by RCIF, do not go on the FDA pet recall list. Leeside Serephim AKA, Sere, died on December 10, 2008, at 18 years of age of cancer. She leaves behind her owners, Debbie and Art Ammeter of Manitoba, who have one other Aby from me. Leeside April and Eric Were littermates who died early in 2008, just before they would have turned 14. The cats were being fed solely on one of the Iams dry, which I had advised all pet people in a letter to no longer feed 10 years ago, as the product was declining in meat contact and lacked taurine. Because the pet owner's husband was very ill at the time things probably would have been done differently if their lives had not been so difficult. I do know that April was taken to a vet and a blood panel showed nothing abnormal. After a week she was sent home, and then dropped dead a week later. Too make things sadder, her brother died right after that. Could the vet have missed cardiomyopathy in April? It was rampant in inside cats in the 1980's and first taurine, which occurs in meat was added, and then many better lines of meatier foods were produced. When RCIF and Proctor and Gamble bought out other companies producing foods, they bought their reputations, but very sadly, they have not maintained the more expensive formulas that the brands were known for. Because of the circumstances surrounding these cats' deaths, I am not going to give the names of their owners. They have had enough to deal with this year. I was only sorry I could not provide them with another cat, or refer them to another Aby breeder I trusted. ******************************************************************************************* *********************************************************** FDA PET FOOD RECALLS The pet food recalls, and the lies told by Menu Foods, have affected many people and their pets. Even though Menu Foods only publicly admitted to problems, and started recalls of foods in late March 2007, we later found out that production lots going back to at least early December 2006 were known to be tainted with melamine. The CFO of Menu foods sold out half of his shares in the company a month before Menu Foods started recalls. In addition, having used MediCal Mature tinned food with Winnie, I did have contact with RCIF, who now owns the previously Canadian vet food company. According to RCIF, Menu Foods originally told them that none of the tainted wheat gluten went to Canada. They later admitted this was not true. (More on the RCIF website.) So if this was not true, what else was not true? How can you test foods when all of specific products lots are gone? Or when the pets have died months before? None of us will ever know the entire truth about this matter. I know vet clinics in the US were trying to track the increase in pet deaths from renal failure, especially cats, from the fall of 2006 on. Obviously, if an animal died suddenly and unexpectedly, before we knew what was happening, no tests would be run. For more info check out the USA FDA recall site, which stores info from the most recent backward. The FDA has news conference info, as well as the listed recall info. You can go to the Cornell University website and see their research about the melamine/cyanuric acid tainting of pet foods. Cornell also did the test feeding of some Menu products on cats. Cats were found to be more dramatically affected than dogs, because the PH level of their urine promoted rapid crystal formation. As of this writing, it is my understanding that animals may still have insoluble crystals on their kidneys because of foods that were fed. Individual animals may not have died because they were being fed a variety of dry and wet products, most of which were not affected. Some of my pet owners, both in the US and Canada, did use tainted/recalled foods. The Menu Food scandal is just one link in the chain. The degradation of pet foods in the last ten years has occurred as conglomerates have bought out smaller companies who have a strong consumer base. Because the formulae of products have changed as this has happened, I have removed all of my cat food recommendations from my website. One more thing. PLEASE do not feed the Iam's dry cat foods. P & G removed the taurine from it, with the exception of one hairball formula, about ten years ago. This is not a meat based food. You might as well feed the dry Fancy Feast. You are not getting the product you were getting ten years ago, and we will be back with the death of cats from cardiomyopathy, as we were in the late 80's again. Buy the product, not the hype. Shelley Hlady August 2007 NEW BEGINNINGS All of our breeding cats have now been altered so the animals we have now will be the last ones that we have for sale. We will not be recommending other Aby breeders for those who are still looking to buy them. We have enjoyed meeting many friends through our sale of pet Abys over the last 15 years, but it is time to move on to other ventures in our lives. Thank you for your support and feedback over the years and please continue to stay in touch. ANNOUNCEMENT: CAT OR DOG EXPECTING? I am now available to help new breeders or private pet-owners with the whelping of litters. The area I can service includes Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey and White Rock in BC. Rates charged will depend on general circumstances, location, time of day etc. Call and discuss this with me. My veterinarian would be willing to give a reference to anyone considering using this service and references from long-time owners of cats from me are available too. Please check out my page on Cat Care Counselling for more info on other areas I may be able to help with. Producing healthy litters starts long before the actual birthing process and the more you know and can plan ahead the easier your pets whelping experience will be. If you have a cat from us, we'd love to hear from you and see recent photos of your cat.

 

      

The International Cat Association: www.tica.org

Cat Fanciers' Association: www.cfainc.org