CH R P Cathouse Wld Thng of Moosecoons

"Willy"

Solid White

April 20, 2007

His parents are:

I am majorly thrilled to announce Grand Champion R P Cathouse Wld Thng of Moosecoons (applause, happy dance :-). Call name Willy, or Wild Man Willy, and of course he has his two songs I sing to him ... (Little Willy by the Sweet and Wild Thing by the Trogs).

I fell in love with this little guy when he was 7 weeks old. I kept telling Stella and Rose, I don't do whites, I don't WANT a White Maine Coon, but I want this kitten... Everyone told me I was crazy <lol> "Judges don't see white unless it's a Persian or a Turk" was one of the comments I heard, and in too many cases that's probably true enough, but this boy has such phenomenal type I wouldn't rest until he titled. It's a particular joy for me to present Stella Gaylor of R P Cathouse with the first Grand of her breeding (and Willy is co-owned by myself, Stella and Rose Spillman of Mysti-Isle whose gorgeous white lines are behind him).

Willy showed well as a kitten and on into adulthood, keeping a pleasant demeanor in the show ring. He has been such a trouper, allowing great indignities done to him in order to keep him actually white (some of the more private areas needing particular attention!) The judges who supported him were consistant and truly appreciative and I thank each and every one of them. One judge said in her final "this cat could be purple and he'd still be an excellent example of the breed" I couldn't agree more :-)

Now our quest is to get a half-decent photo of the Wild Man! He does such weird twisty things with his head when in quest of a toy!

Huge thanks to Stella and Rose and also to Becky Lovall of Coonwyck (who bred his dad and had to approve his coming to me as well ;-) These three are dear friends and wonderful breeders and I count myself lucky to have them in my life along with the great compliment they gave me by allowing me this very handsome boy with his sweet sweet personality.

All white cats "mask" another color - Willy is masking some kind of blue, could be solid, smoke or tabby, can't say until we do some breedings and see how the kittens show up. It's interesting if you look at his kitten picture with his mom, that he also is masking the white spotting gene, as you can see the different shade of white in the inverted V up his face. He still has his "kitten cap" of blue on the crown of his head - usually solid whites with a kitten cap of color aren't deaf, and he certainly isn't! The white masking gene inhibits color from the hair during the development of the fetus, starting from the bottom which is why often white cats have a dab of color on the crown of their heads. A very simplified explanation: when the masking expression crosses the eyes, they usually turn blue and sometimes it crosses the ears as well and somehow turns them off, which is why blue-eyed whites with no color cap are more likely to be deaf. There are of course exceptions to every rule though!

This boy is gorgeous and silly and sweet and I feel very blessed to have him in my house.