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GP, RW Luvely BringMeTheHorizon BY TASHIA LYONS Published August 2013
Photos copyrighted by the individual photographers
GP, RW Luvely BringMeTheHorizon (call name Oli) was born on July 3rd, 2012. Boy, was he a surprise! He is the first (and still is the only) Shell Cameo born here at Luvely Persians.
Oli is a repeat breeding of a pairing that produced my first homebred regional winner, GC, RW Luvely Atom. The two full siblings were produced by breeding my silver McTabby male, Midas Twilight of Luvely, to my tortoiseshell smoke female, Joleigh EarthWind&Fire of Luvely.
Whereas Atom is a silver McTabby like his papa, Oli was obviously red-factored at birth. I immediately suspected he was a Cameo — a shaded red Persian. It was only over time that I realized he was the much more unusual color, a Shell Cameo.
The Cameo Cat In CFA, the color Cameo is part of the Smoke and Shaded Division of Persians. The Cameo Persian has a visually white coat with a varying degree of red color on the tips of the hair. The tipping creates a mantle of red shading down the sides, face and tail. The face and legs may be a deeper shading. While it is permissible for a Cameo to have color on its face, the less the better and the main color should run from the top of the head, over the back and on the flanks, to the legs, feet and the top of the tail. The ear tufts, chest, frill, tummy and underside of the tail should appear white. The nose leather, rim of the eyes and paw pads are rose pink while the eye color is a brilliant copper. The Shaded Cameo has about one third of the hair shaft tipped with red. The Shell Cameo is a much rarer and more delicate color with red tipping on only an eighth of the hair shaft. The Shell Cameo appears lighter than the Shaded Cameo — in fact a good Shell Cameo appears almost pink in color. A New Horizon As the weeks went by, Oli got lighter and lighter, and literally looked like a white kitten for a very long time. This was when I realized he was a Shell Cameo! I am a huge music fanatic, so when the time came to name this unusually colored kitten I decided he would be named after one of my very favorite rock bands, Bring Me The Horizon. Oli Sykes is the lead vocalist of the band, so the kitten's call name became Oli. I knew Oli was special from the beginning. His teardrop-shaped sweet eyes captured not only my heart, but everyone who saw him. As he continued to mature very nicely, I knew I had a show baby in the making. Once Oli turned 4 months old, he entered the show hall for the first time. He took to showing like a rock star!
The CFA World Show Oli's second show was the CFA World Championship show in Columbus, Ohio. Campaigning is often filled with travel adventures, especially when you live in the northwest corner of the US. Flying from Oregon to Ohio meant changing planes more than once. We ended up delayed at two different airports and completely missed our flight connections. Oli and I were stuck in the Washington, DC airport the night before the show. The following morning we landed in Columbus more than two hours after the show had already started. When we finally arrived at the hotel, I scrambled to get Oli bathed and blown dry. I am sure he was probably thinking "what on earth" was happening? Despite having been marooned in an airport all day and night, bathed and groomed at warp speed, scooped into a carrier with a rush trip to the show hall, Oli was a real trooper. He was still making his trade-mark biscuits for the judges as he was hurried to his first ring. It was a very long three days for my sweet boy. He did very well making three finals at such a huge show, and was Best Kitten in the Smoke & Shaded division of Persians for the "Red" show. I was very proud of how well he did at that show despite all of our obstacles. I decided to run him for a regional kitten win just like I had with his brother, Atom.
The Muffin-Maker If there is one thing I remember most about showing Oli, it was how much he just loved "making muffins" — that adorable kitty behavior that describes when a cat "kneads" its paws on something, such as a blanket or your lap. Oli would make muffins in mid-air when he was held up by a judge. One time, when he was being judged in Brian Moser's ring, Oli was having a ball laying on the judging table making muffins in the air, and then he rolled off the table and landed amongst the rosettes on the table. He just laid there still making muffins. The spectators laughed hysterically at his antics. He loved all the attention, and loved being in the show ring.
Best Kitten A kitten only has four months to campaign. With only a few shows within driving distance from my home in Oregon, campaigning Oli meant flying to many different states. He continued to do very well, even earning several Best AB Kitten awards. He quickly started moving up the regional kitten standings. He was definitely on track to earn his RW!
Being such a rare and unique color, Horizon caught the attention of many spectators, judges, and fellow breeders and exhibitors. Most people didn't even know what color he was. Judges gave him nicknames such as "the pink cat," and "sorbet ice cream," in reference to the slight pink color that a shell cameo resembles. Not only was Oli doing terrifically well at the shows, he was a total (but charming) goof ball on the judges table, making many of the spectators and judges chuckle. He is hands down the most playful and fun cat I have ever shown, and that is what made it so enjoyable for me traveling all over during his kitten campaign. Premiership Inevitably, the time came when Oli turned 8 months old and aged out of the kitten class. He was neutered and started his short journey into Premiership. After earning his Grand Premier title in only two shows, I decided to retire him.
By season's end, GP, RW Luvely BringMeTheHorizon was CFA Northwest Region's 12 Best Kitten. Oli was the perfect show cat with regard to personality and "spunk." He truly loved to be at the shows and on the judge's table showing himself off. I could not have been blessed with a better cat to travel with and show. He was an absolute joy for me, and it made me very proud when people would ask, "Wow, is that your cat up there?" Retired from showing, Oli now lives the life of a happy house cat, including sleeping on my head every night. Did I mention he weighs 13 pounds? Although my cattery is small, my program is exactly what I have always dreamed and wanted — and I am delighted that I have now produced two homebred Regional winners of my own. I look forward to the future. Who knows, perhaps there will be another shell cameo born at Luvely.
Shell Cameo Persian Neuter 12th Best Kitten, Northwest Region, 2012-13 Born July 3, 2012
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