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GC, GP, NW Toy Tricksy Sweet Eyes BY LEE HARPER Published June 2013
Photos copyrighted by the individual photographers
CFA's Second Best Cat In Premiership for 2012-2013 is a magnificent dilute calico Persian spay from Russia named GC, GP, NW Toy Tricksy Sweet Eyes. Shown in both Europe and the United States, this is the story of a co-operative effort between friends on two different continents who believed that this wonderful cat deserved to be a national winner in CFA. This is their story . . .
Toy Tricksy Galina Gurieva and her husband live in the picturesque city of St. Petersburg in Russia. Galina began breeding and showing Persians in 1991 under the Toy Tricksy cattery name. After breeding traditional-style Persians for more than 20 years, Galina was delighted when she was able to use the internet to see many photos of the modern Persian type. She fell in love with their huge eyes and flat faces, stunning coats and incredible substance. GC Rhamjoge Lady Di Of Toy Tricksy, DM Determined to introduce the typey look into her breeding program, Galina began searching for a special kitten. While surfing the internet she visited the website of Rhonda Fox, Rhamjoge. Although Galina had always bred solid colored Persians, it was the photo of a dilute calico kitten on Rhonda's website that stole her heart. The kitten has huge eyes, tiny ears, and the sweetest expression. Galina immediately contacted Rhonda and was delighted when Rhonda agreed to let her have the kitten. It was the beginning of a friendship between the two women that would grow over time. That was how the kitten that would be GC Rhamjoge Lady Di Of Toy Tricksy, DM came to live in Russia.
GC Catillak Yo Vinnie Of Toy Tricksy Next Galina began looking for a male to compliment her new girl. After much searching, she found a high white kitten at the Catillak cattery of Lisa Smith. It took a little convincing but Lisa finally agreed to let Galina import the kitten. He was GC Catillak Yo Vinnie Of Toy Tricksy.
Two Sisters It is not easy to import cats into Russia, but after much effort and with the generosity of two American breeders, Galina had acquired two incredible cats that would be the foundation of her new bloodlines. She bred them together and waited with great anticipation for the first litter. In the spring of 2008, Lady Di gave birth to two kittens, both females—one a dilute calico and the other a high white blue and white. As the kittens took their first breaths, Galina could not have imagined that the two sisters were destined to become future National Winners in CFA. Sweet Eyes Galina named the blue and white girl Toy Tricksy Little Diva, for she was exactly that, a precious little bundle of attitude. It was even easier for Galina to choose a name for the dilute calico. The kitten had the most incredible eyes—huge, brown, mesmerizing, bewitching. Galina felt she could drown in those eyes. Galina named her Toy Tricksy Sweet Eyes, nickname Asya.
Asya was a very special girl, not only stunningly beautiful but with a charming personality. She loved people and demanded attention. She became very adept at sitting up on her hind legs, staring at Galina or her husband until they picked her up. Who could resist her?
At The Shows 2008-2009 There were not many shows in Galina's country, and without a visa to enter the other countries of Europe, it was only possible for her to show the sisters in Russia and Ukraine. At their first show as adults, both girls easily earned the title of Grand Champion. Asya went to four shows and was Best In Show in three of them, charming all the judges. Even with such limited showing, Asya was able to garner enough points to earn the title DW (equivalent to an RW) and was the 11th Best Cat in the International Division / Europe for 2008-2009. Galina was so proud!
A Russian Cover Girl Asya was a feline star! Galina received a call from the premier Russian magazine for cat lovers, "Friend". They were interested in writing an article about Asya and her career as a show cat. A writer and a photographer visited Galina in her home and a six page spread was published featuring Asya.
Diva's Turn While Asya rested on her well-deserved laurels, it was Diva's turn to be campaigned. This time Galina was able to travel to shows throughout Europe. Galina showed GC, NW Toy Tricksy Little Diva to CFA's 14th Best Cat in Championship nationally and 2nd Best Cat in the International Division / Europe 2010-2011. Diva was Toy Tricksy's first national winner!
A Crisis While her sister was being campaigned, Galina made plans to breed Asya. Before that could happen, Asya developed closed pyometra, a life-threatening infection of the uterus. To save her life, Asya was spayed. It was a devastating loss to Galina's breeding program, but she was simply grateful that Asya survived. Once the crisis had passed, and Asya was fully recovered from her operation, Galina looked at her gorgeous girl and made a decision. Asya would return to the shows. Perhaps she could be a national winner like her sister? The 2012-2013 Show Season In 2012, Galina traveled to Finland to grand Asya in Premiership. While Asya was not yet in full coat following her surgery, the judges still appreciated her quality. Asya was a one show Grand for the second time. Galina began showing Asya throughout Europe. She did very well at the shows, but the premiership counts were so small, that even when Asya was Best Cat In Show, the points she earned were not high enough for a national win. If Asya was to follow in her sister's footsteps and add the NW title to her name, she would need to compete in shows with bigger entries in Premiership—and that meant showing in the United States.
The Plan Rhonda Fox had visited with Galina in St. Petersburg in 2011 and was very taken with Asya's beauty. When Galina asked her about showing Asya in the US, Rhonda volunteered to help. She would show Asya in the US. There was one big concern, however. While Asya was fully recovered from her surgery, her coat was still growing back. Was she in condition for a national campaign? Together, Galina and Rhonda came up with a plan. Galina would fly to the US to show Asya in the CFA "World Show". If she did well, Asya would then remain in the US and Rhonda would campaign her in Premiership. CFA World Show The prestigious World Show is the biggest show in CFA. In 2012, it was held in Columbus, Ohio at the end of November. It has an unusual format. There are actually two separate shows running concurrently on the weekend, one designated the Red Show, the other the Purple Show. A cat can only compete in one of the shows. In 2012, a total of 787 cats competed over the weekend representing 41 breeds. The top cats were all entered. Galina and Asya traveled to the US, meeting up with Rhonda in Columbus. Together they showed "their girl" against the best cats CFA had to offer. By the end of the weekend, Asya was the Best Longhair in Premiership at the Red Show! Asya had proven she could hold her own against the top cats in premiership. The decision was made—Asya would campaign for a national win.
The Challenge One problem. It was already December. With only five months left in the season, it would be difficult to launch a successful national campaign in Premiership. Rhonda and Galina both believed it was probably too late in the season to aim for the top of the standings, so their goal for Asya was to break into the top 25, aiming for a low national win. The other challenge Rhonda faced was Asya's grooming. Asya had a little quirk. In all ways Asya was easy to bathe, comb, and groom . . . except for the dreaded hair dryer. Perhaps Rhonda's dryer was noisier or being in a new home made her skittish, but every time Rhonda turned on the dryer Asya would struggle to get away. With Asya's huge coat, the drying process was extremely time consuming and it left both of them exhausted.
The Rest Is History From the start, the judges loved Asya. Asya would show off and flirt with the judges when she was on the table. It seemed like she was Best In Show every weekend. Rhonda joked that all she had to do was be Asya's chauffeur and hair dresser . . . Asya did the rest. Rhonda and Asya hit the campaign road going to the biggest shows they could find. By the first week of January, Asya had already nudged her way into the National standings. And kept moving higher . . . and higher. In just five months of showing, Asya was Best In Show 29 times out of the 33 shows she entered. She was Best Cat 173 times. By the season's end, GC, GP, NW Toy Tricksy Sweet Eyes was CFA's Second Best Cat In Premiership . . . higher than Rhonda and Galina could ever have dreamed . . . :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Below are photos from the show career of GC, GP, NW Toy Tricksy Sweet Eyes Dilute Calico Persian Spay CFA's 2nd Best Cat In Premiership 2012-2013 & as a Grand Champion: CFA's 11th Best Cat International Division / Europe 2008-2009 Born: March 14, 2008
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