History of Magnoliachat

I grew up loving all animals. There were times when my Mother and Dad would just grin and hold their tongues when I would bring home turtles, birds, rabbits (boy that got out of hand quickly), guinea pigs, and hamsters. We had enough space in the backyard for me to make my little zoo. Through all this, though, there was ALWAYS a dog - never a cat. I loved dogs - any dogs. I would ride my bike all around my neighborhood at a very young age and have a bag of dog cookies to throw into the yards and give to stray dogs. Needless to say, dogs loved me as well. By age 13, I was in the show ring with a Miniature Schnauzer. Thankfully, I had a cousin that mentored me and showed me how to groom and show. By 18, I had graduated to Giant Schnauzers, along with my older cousin. I bred and showed giants until i was around 35. There were many many championships during those years, especially from the offspring of my giant program - that was together with my cousin's program. The best I can remember is one winning group at Westminster. Wow! What a thrill. Along with continuing to show dogs, I became interested in the cat. I started by getting a stray Siamese and worked my way up to acquiring two awsome show Siamese. I loved the look of them and the personalities. Of course all things change. I soon was interested in the Sphynx. The thought of a hairless cat was too unique for me to pass up. I have always been attracted to something different than the "norm".  I found a very reputable show breeder and purchased a neutered male and a spayed female. They were the love of my life. One day while surfing the net, I found another VERY interesting cat called the Peterbald that was being bred in Russia. A different hairless gene from the Sphinx, the Peterbald had a dominant gene for hairlessness. That coupled with the allowable outcross being the Siamese and the Oriental Shorthair. I was HOOKED. A beautiful hairless cat, with the long lines and elegance of the Oriental. It was my perfect breed. I started talking and emailing to people in St. Petersburg. I soon found out that there were a handful of breeders that were already starting to work  with the breed in the United States. Thrilled, I started making calls. I found the first Peterbald in the United States (Fanya) and did what I needed to do to acquire her. She was daughter of the very first Peterbald ever - Nocturn Iz Murino - in Russia. I pruchased her with the full breeding rights and was ready to go. That marked the end of my dog years and started my "cat years". After all, these years, Fanya still resides here at Magnoliachat as the Grand Dame. You can find pictures of her in the gallery. She is still just as strong as the day she arrived. Magnoliachat Cattery was founded on the day that I got her. I purchased two more Peterbalds and an Oriental Shorthair to get started. I am from Louisiana and grew up with Magnolia trees all around. Even though I am in Texas now, I think I have the largest magnolia tree in my backyard that you could find in this area. 'Chat' is French for Cat - remember i am from Louisiana. The name was set as Magnoliachat. It was perfect. No more showing dogs for me. In fact, my last Giant Schnauzer died from complications of old age in early 2005. I bought a neutered Wire Fox Terrier during this last year - just because I have to have one dog around. He is from great lines and is top show quality, but he is neutered and my loved pet. His Sire even won Crufts Best of Show in England.  Nigel is sort of like the mascot for my cattery now. Going back through the years, there are only a couple of us original breeders of the Peterbald in the United States left standing. There are a lot of new ones, though.  I believe that there is only one other Peterbald breeder in the US that has as long a continuous program as Magnoliachat. During the years there have been ups and downs. I have learned a lot. I believe I have seen every type coat that could possibly come out of a Peterbald - believe me, there are many different coat types and they can change from when the cat is a kitten until they are about 3 years old.  

Magnoliachat, also, became the first program to breed Brambles a few years ago (in 2006). More on that later. As for the cattery, I have a wonderful home and kittens are raised with great socialization. Magnoliachat has an attached cattery room with a cat door that cats can go in and out, a great large enclosed outside patio that is all for the cats on the side of my home (not visible from the street), along with one isolation room for new cats until I know that they are disease free and ready to be introduced to the rest of the crew. Then, there is the nursery - my favorite room. The nursery room is a dual purpose room. It is my office and is divided up for privacy for each female and kittens, until they are at least 3 months old. Who could ask for a better office than one filled with kittens and the sound of purring mothers?   This summer (2009) holds plans for converting a very large side yard into a full scale outside area for the cats (completely enclosed).  It will have water features for the Brambles (the Bramble's still have wild blood in them and LOVE the water) and a place where they can truly run and play in a safe environment.  While the Peterbald is my main breed, the recent development of a completely new breed of cats has come to fruition with the Bramble. The Bramble is almost the exact opposite of the Peterbald. Please go to the Bramble page for more information on this absolutely crowd stopping cat. Both these breeds are shockingly beautiful and Magnoliachat is proud to say that they offer something for everyone with these two. Please feel free to contact me for more information on either of these wonderful breeds. Also, look around this site and learn why I am so proud of my program.