A few words about Balinesis cattery & Me

(last updated in April, 2012)

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Hello Kiddy of Noah's Ark ("Kit"), my foundation queen ♥♥♥

(variant siamese, blue tortie tabby point)

July 2011 (2 years & 2 months old)

Who am I?

Emilie Vo

July 2012

Hi I am Lily,

I was born near Paris in France and both my parents come from Vietnam. I've been there only once (Summer 2006 - would love to go again!) for the moment.

By the way our last name which is Võ means "Martial Arts" ;-) I am a girl but I can fight very well! One day when I was in Paris taking the RER (an express train connecting Paris city center to the surrounding suburbs) a guy tried to steal my smartphone... well actually he snatched it out of my hands while I was texting my boyfriend who just left on a business trip. As soon as I realized what had just happened I ran after (wearing stilettos doesn't prevent from running!) that b******d and made him give me back MY phone. Yes I MADE HIM... You are warned now... don't mess with me!

Now back to the breeding thing... As an Asian girl it only seems natural to choose the siamese and oriental breeds: they come from "Siam" ("Siam" was the official name of Thailand in the past...) and I am quite often told my cats and me look quite similar and alike, what do you say? :-P

Actually nothing was so to speak "planned" and I only discovered by chance the siamese cats during a sleepless night... Well insomnia do have positive sides ;-) I was surfing the Internet and came across the website of a siamese/balinese cattery. I contacted the breeder and quickly fell in love with the sweet young kittens she had when I came and visited her cats.

At that time I didn't know my love for cats would grow more and more day after day... ;-)

I then looked for my very first cat (I named him Daïsuki, "Suki") and since I soon learned that siameses don't like to be alone I then found a friend for him: that's how Kiddy (Tounette) joined us a couple of months later...

I speak French, English, Vietnamese... and a little bit of German (actually I almost forgot everything because I never had opportunities to practise the language) and tiny bit of Russian (I only remember some words... and can read in Russian without understanding anything lol) so you can write to me in French or in English... or in German but I will probably answer in English (Birgit knows that!).

Originally from Paris I moved to Thonon-Les-Bains in 2009 by the lakeside of Lake Leman and 35 kilometers from Geneva - I still regularly go back to Paris to visit family and friends but it becomes harder and harder as the number of my cats grow and I have quite a busy life. I should find a "cat-sitter" to take care of my darlings while I'm away but I'm very complicated in trustring people especially when it comes to my babies!

The living environment in Thonon was very pleasant not to say idyllic with the lake and the surrounding mountains: I was holiday all year long :-) But last October 2010 I moved and have been living with the cats near Geneva where I work.

The apartment in only 300 meters from the border in a small city called Gaillard. I moved near to the city and gave up on the beautiful lakeview because I used to "lose" lots of time with transportation, and what's more during Winter the functionnal problems with the trains are really annoying.

In the new apartment (90sqm + the veranda) there is more space for the cats who have their own room that I nicely decorated for them, and of course as "family members" they aren't locked in small cages but are free to stay wherever they want. Which often is where I might be :-)

Galak loves to sit with me when I play the piano :-) He seems to like my playing. Only Flint used to run and hide as soon as he heard the sound of music before realizing nothing was "dangerous".

>> I've been single since last Summer 2011 but still live with JF - yes we're friends, click here if you want to know more
(to get to know me you can read the articles in the categorie labelled "Some thinking & About me")

>> Click here to read more about the kind of music I like

Breeding and Me

In June 2010 Kiddy gave birth to her first litter of 6 beautiful kittens (read more: here)

I love all cats from Group IV (Fifé standards - Fédération Internationale Féline), i.e., Siameses, Orientals, Balineses and Javaneses (Mandarins) - but my favorites are the blue-eyed ones.

My goal is to breed Balinese cats.

That's why I looked for a Balinese stud for my little Kiddy but LH (Longhair) breeders know how hard it is to find a nice LH stud. That's how I finally considered mating her with a very nice variant: it was a very interesting first litter and even though it was a variant mating I got a balinese kitten: a foreign white (Flint Eastwood 06.11.2010 - 08.25.2011 - Flint tragically died last Summer, to read more about his story click here)

My favorite colours: foreign white, red/cream and tortie points cats.

I am totally fan of the "oriental look" and my cats and me have definitely something in common, we both come from Asia and have almond eyes, right? :-)

Siamese and oriental cats have a very well-balanced and refined body, the most elegant are high on legs and it gives them that noble and elegant look.

Ears are very important in the standard of the modern siamese (they have to be low-placed on the head and wide at the base) but not only the ears matter of course. I try to breed nice cats and bring in as different lines as possible to avoid inbreeding.

The most important thing shall remain the health and well-being of the cats.

You can read several articles I wrote about my cats and their health issues. I always talk very openly about those subjects because I think it can help others and breeding is not only about breeding the best cats according to the standards, it's up and foremost raising up healthy kittens.

Here are some links to articles I wrote about some of my cats:

- about Flint

- about Garry

- about Galvin

etc. -->> cf blog section

I also do my best to socialize my cats as much as I can and up to now all people who adopted kittens from me have been thrilled with their little pieces of heaven:-) That's the best reward you can get while breeding...

I think that Variants (SH cats carrying a copy of the LH gene) can help every balinese (or OLH) breeding programme because this is how the type of the longhaired cats (siameses and OSH are better-typed than the balineses and the OLH) can be improved faster and also it is a good way to renew the gene pool.

Variants are often considered as intermediates in a breeding program but they are much more than "intermediates" for me.

I don't really prefer balinese cats over siamese cats but like both breed for many different reasons. I only found more challenging to try my hand at a LH breeding experience.

I regularly have siamese in my litters and breeding LH is more a dream for the moment lol :-) And I really hope I will have the chance to breed again a wonderful cat like Flint... The white balinese is my dream-cat!

At first as a beginner I didn't want to advance in leaps and bounds.

I was very aware that there were mistakes to avoid, lots of things to learn and that breeding requires strong nerves. Cats are and will remain for me a true passion - a hobby - and if my first year as a breeder I only experienced the happy and easy sides I soon learned that painful and hard times can also occur.

2011 was a terrible year as I lost many kittens and my beloved Flint Eastwood...

Skills

Early 2009 I attended a three-day training course about breeding (it's called CETAC in France: Certificat d'Etudes Techniques de l'Animal de Compagnie) and it helped me get ready for my first litter a couple of months later.

Since the beginning I have also been in touch with more experienced breeders and particularly with Angelika Kneifel (Kiddy's breeder).

Btw I chose to buy this female (Kiddy) instead and rather than another (at this time I was hesitating between Kiddy and a balinese baby girl) mostly because I knew Angelika would "teach" me well and take me under her wing. I look up to her very much, she does a great work as a breeder (and is a fantastic woman also!) and has been breeding Balinese cats for more than 20 years, a breed that isn't enough familiar to most people. Angelika has contributed to better the type of her cats over the years.

I can tell her cats are healthy and have a long life as I visited her many times already.

I also share and discuss a lot with my dear friend Céline (Dreamlands) whom I share the passion for cats with :-) Céline used to breed LH but she's been breeding SH for 2-3 years now. I'm still waiting for her to breed again LH with me.

updates (Nov. 2011): I attended a seminar about Animal Communication

Where to find me

Of course you are always very welcome to visit me and my cats. Feel free to contact me (balinesis@gmail.com) I always answer all the mails I receive. If not just try and resend me the email.

I also try to attend some shows especially the big ones which are the most interesting.

I usually go to the France Winner Show in Paris (I did in 2009 and in 2010, but not in 2011) and I attended every World Winner Show since I started breeding (2009: St Gallen, Switzerland / 2010: St Etienne, France). And I went to Poznan this year also, with Galvin who made me proud when he got his nomination for the Best in Show!!