The
Aristocats Club

Breeders Profile

October 2008

Jehozacat Maine Coons

Name: Beryl McMillan
Location: Morden, Surrey
Breed(s): Maine Coons
Breeding since: 2005

All photos by Beryl McMillan except Jolene, which is from Vicki Tuik, and Joey, which is by Bob Fox.

Tell us a bit about you:
I'm divorced, tall and on the large side in person, and a computer programmer by trade, although I originally trained as a secretary - my mother said that way you'll always get a job and if you find something else you want to do you can move into it from there - and she was right, I did. I also play cornet in a brass band, create and maintain websites, used to be a professional puzzle compiler until other programmers wrote programs to do it for us, and write fiction on the rare occasions when I have time!

Why did you choose your breed(s)?
I've always loved and owned cats, but around the year 2000 I discovered Maine Coons on the internet, and fell in love. Needless to say, it was their size that originally drew me to them, but everything about them seemed perfect to me and I decided to find a breeder near me so I could meet some in person, although I didn't intend to get another cat just then.

I found Iris Parish of Davrica Maine Coons (no longer breeding, unfortunately) and we became friends; by this time I knew I wanted a black, or black and white MC, so when a year later just one was born at her cattery, it became obvious my two current moggies were going to get a companion and Jinks the Cat (for the high jinks he got up to as a kitten) aka EC Davrica Jaxom (above right) came to join us!

Why/how did you start breeding?
Iris imported Jinks' Dutch mother from the Netherlands already pregnant by his Dutch father, and both parents are F5 (part-foundation, fifth generation away from full foundation cats). This meant his pedigree was actually entirely Dutch (ie almost unknown here in the UK) and that, with the foundation ancestry, made him a great outcross to just about any other MC in the UK. Iris therefore got so much schtick from other breeders for letting him go as a pet that she asked me if I'd keep him entire so he could be used at stud when he was older, and I agreed.

However, it soon became obvious that he was such a spoiled 'mama's boy' that he wouldn't breed outside queens (he just saw intruders), and if I took him elsewhere to meet them he pined so badly he made himself ill .... so eventually I decided the only way to do it was if we had a girl living here with us - and it worked. I now have six Maine Coons: Jinks, of course; his neuter boy companion Jazzy (TICA DGCA and FIFe GIP Rumtumtugger Diarmuid Goon) (above left), the three girls, Julie (TICA GC & FIFe IC Mabalakat Jools, right), Jemma (TICA QGC and FIFe Ch Kagoza Glamour Puss, below left), new girl Josie (Beaverscove Josefine B, imported from Germany (middle of the three pictures below on the right)) and the baby of the family, my own-bred show neuter boy, 10 months old Joey (TICA QGCA (already!) Jehozacat Jovan).

Jinks and Julie became parents for the first time in June 2006 and Jinks has now had several litters with our own girls, plus he seems to have decided to relax his 'no outside queens' rule at last, and successfully 'entertained' a lady friend for the first time in April 2007 - so the original plan is finally coming together, after several years of trying!

Why did you choose your prefix?
You may have noticed a 'J' theme running through the cat names above (as if you could miss it!) - this started with pet-shop moggie siblings Jack and Jill many years ago, continued with rescue moggies Jaffa and Jessie and had therefore become a habit by the time Iris - without any prompting from me! - named Jinks with a J-name, Jaxom. Jehozacat, which is a play on 'Jehozaphat' (as in "Jumpin' Jehozaphat!") was therefore one of the list of J possibles I submitted to the GCCF - quite a way down the list, actually, but it was the one they accepted. Jehozacat is now registered to me in FIFe, TICA and the CFA as well, so hopefully I won't get any accidental (or otherwise) duplication of cattery names elsewhere!

At one year When were your most memorable occasions as a breeder?
I haven't been breeding very long, but obviously the day my first litter was born has to be one very special occasion - I was very lucky that my friend, Glenna Gillman of Navarri Maine Coons, was willing and able to come round and help with the birth, as I was terrified! That litter was a bit of a baptism by fire, actually - Julie fell ill when the kittens were just 2½ weeks old. It wasn't serious but she lost her milk and I had to hand-feed the kittens until I could wean them.

Then the two consecutive shows when, as a baby, Julie got her two Best in Show Kitten awards were probably a joint most memorable occasion (and her more recent Best in Show Adult Female!) - and Jemma getting a Best in Show Adult Female at Worthing this year, and two 'Best Cat' awards (the rough equivalent in TICA of the FIFe Best in Show).

And of course the day I heard that one of the kittens from my first litter, Jehozacat Jolene (right - now living with Vicki Tuik at Coonhaven Maine Coons cattery in Australia and a mother herself) made Champion at her first adult show was definitely another one! Come to that, Joey becoming a TICA Double Grand Champion Alter at his first adult show, at the grand old age of 8 months and 2 days, should be added to that list now, too!

Who were/are the most memorable cats you've had?
Jinks, of course - he's my 'soul-cat' and I love him to pieces! He is also very intelligent and athletic - and if I have to work out a way to stop a cat from doing something it was almost always him I had to do it for! Mind you, once I got Jemma, who's a true naughty tortie, the honours were probably equally divided on that score - until I made the fatal mistake of deciding to keep Joey, a Jinks x Jemma son ... help! He's got his father's intelligence and athleticism, his mother's curiosity and dexterity, and, at 10 months, an overgrown kitten energy all his own - and the combination makes him an absolute menace! An adorable, affectionate menace, but definitely a menace!

Jinks is also very laid back, polite and a gentleman - as can be seen by the fact that he lives in the house with me and the other cats and, apart from the odd occasion when he's been stressed, he doesn't make life difficult for me at all.

I must admit that all my MCs are real characters, though - Julie with her love of tummy rubs, and her conviction that if something's easier to understand with your head on the side, it must be even better if your head's upside down (see above left!); Jazzy (top left), the lovable big pink teddy bear without two brain cells to rub together who's never quite sure where his feet are at any given time; Jemma, the MC with the Siamese voice that she doesn't hesitate to use when she considers it necessary, who is into, under, over, around and on absolutely everything, from removing and hiding the sink plug (because she can), through unrolling the loo roll into a pile on the floor, and picking up and carrying off anything that is movable (eg half-full shopping bags, pens, coasters and empty soft drinks cans), to pouncing on the other cats when she wants to play - and they let her, even Jinks!!

Then there's Josie (above right), who sits behind me and meows at me in a tiny but penetrating voice until I turn around, then skits out of reach and starts meowing again, until I move fast enough to catch her and then she purrs while I cuddle her - and of course Joey (left), the most affectionate but menacical cat I have ever had!

What are your hopes for the future of your breed/your breeding programme?
My original reason for breeding was simply to 'spread around' Jinks' genes a bit and thereby help the UK MC gene pool, but through all the reading and research I've done into all the aspects of breeding, showing, genetics, etc I've become interested in developing an ongoing program, so I don't think my breeding career is going to be as short-term as perhaps I originally planned!

Is there anything else you'd like to mention?
Just a massive thank you to all those who helped me get as far as I have today, particularly Iris Parish (Davrica, Jinks' breeder), Lynnette Cannell (Mabalakat, Julie's breeder), Kaeren Daunt-Jones (Kagoza, Jemma's breeder) and Christine Schoneis (Beaverscove, Josie's breeder), the first couple of which in particular trusted a new and untried breeder with active cats.

Also a special thank you to Glenna Gillman (Navarri), Mary Stuart (Rumtumtugger, Jazzy's breeder) and Laura Whitmarsh (Coonflakes), my friends who have put up with endless questions, phone calls and cries for help with great cheerfulness to keep me going in the right direction! It's a much nicer world when you have friends!

(right - the two current litters of Jehozakittens, Julie's three at six weeks and Josie's five at five weeks, sharing the kitten pen!)

Beryl McMillan

www.jehozacat.co.uk

October 2008

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All photographs are shown with the kind permission of Robert Fox at www.photopaws.co.uk
(unless labelled otherwise). All comments on the site to the webmaster, Beryl McMillan, please.

The Aristocats Club