Vassiliy,
what can I say about
our wonderful boy from
Russia, he needs no
real introduction as
everyone who ever met
him or knew him will
always remember him
as a real soppy Siberian
and a real showman and
character at shows.
I have had so much fun
with him and I would
trade all of his wins
to have him back again,
even for a short while.
How
it all started
: Well it all started
back in 2000 with a
book called "Cool
Cats, The 100 Cat Breeds
of the World" by
Desmond Morris - and
a photo of a good-looking
cat called the Siberian.
After reading the article
and trying to find out
a bit more about the
breed - and then discovering
that there were no Siberians
in the UK - my dream
of owning one slowly
ebbed away, as I had
no idea of how to go
about getting one of
these lovely-looking
cats into the UK.
Then
in 2002, in an article
in Cat World the breed
appeared again as three
breeders were importing
some cats, so the spark
had ignited again and
I contacted the breeder
that was nearest to
me. Her name was Sue
Bellew and she also
had Ragdolls and Maine
Coons. After a long
conversation with Sue
I booked my very first
Siberian. Neva, or should
I say "Tiggytykes
Annaneva" was born
on 17 March 2003 and
we finally got to collect
her in June 2003.
Neva was a lovely seal
colourpoint with the
most beautiful pair
of stunning blue eyes
and a fantastic quality
coat along with all
her other attributes.
I planned to breed from
her and have my own
Lyndongraey Siberian
kitten the following
year, unfortunately
it was not to be. She
developed acute liver
failure and we had to
have her put to sleep
on 24 July 2004 at just
16 months old (you can
see a picture of Neva
on our Rainbow Bridge
page). However, I have
to thank Sue - and Neva
- for introducing me
to this wonderful breed.
In
the meantime I had spoken
to other people about
how to go about importing
my very own cat. That
is how it all started
with my truly wonderful
boy Taurus Goloubchik.
I had seen lots of web
sites with some wonderful-looking
cats and contacted some
breeders. I wanted to
import my first cat
from their homeland,
so I contacted Tamara
Sorokina from the Taurus
Cattery. She had two
blue silver boys available
and sent me some photos,
of them and their parents,
Lapushka and Ruslan.
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 |
 |
Vassiliy
with Dad |
Lapushka
his Mum |
Ruslan
his Dad |
It
was all a bit rushed
as Tamara was sending
his sister to a breeder
in Holland the following
week, so I desperately
got in contact with
this breeder, Brenda
Pellekooren of the Vesna
Sibirskaya cattery,
to ask if she would
be willing to look after
my boy for the six months
pet passport scheme
- and thankfully Brenda
agreed! With everything
sorted the two kittens
left Russia and arrived
in Holland in the October
of 2003 - and then began
the long wait for him
to arrive in the UK.
I can’t thank Tamara
enough for this lovely
boy, or Brenda and her
family for looking after
him so wonderfully.
I
wanted a true Russian
name for my Russian
boy and after watching
a film about the Russian
sniper, Vassili Zaitsev;
we decided to call him
Vassiliy. We had updates
and photos of him regularly,
which was lovely (that
is the only part I truly
missed, not seeing him
grow up from a 13 weeks
old kitten). The six
months couldn’t go quickly
enough, but finally
in April 2004 Ray and
I traveled to Holland
to collect him.
 |
 |
 |
Vassiliy
still in Holland |
Making
himself at Home |
Vassiliy
with Chester &
Darcey |
When we got him home
he came out of the carrier
and immediately made
himself quite at home,
with our other cats
and of course the dogs.
He was lovely, with
such a sweet temperament
... but not the colour
I thought we had bought!
In our opinion he looked
a golden colour, but
being a novice I had
no idea about that and
continued to call him
a blue silver. After
a period of time to
get him used to our
family, including our
five dogs, and of course
to learn English, we
decided to show him,
and this is where his
show career started.
We had him colour assessed
three times and he turned
out to be a 'blue golden'
which is one of the
rarer colour's. To the
best of my knowledge,
Vassiliy was the first
Siberian to be shown
regularly within FB
in the UK, although
there are a few more
now on the show scene
- including two of his
own offspring, International
Premier Lyndongraey
Borya, and now Lyndongraey
Erazm owned by Heather
Clayson.
 |
.jpg) |
Lyndongraey
Borya |
Lyndongraey
Erazm |
His
Show Career
: Vassiliy achieved
his first title in three
'straight' shows and
his first BIS at Swanley
in November 2005. It
was in 2006 that I found
out about the points
system within Felis
Britannica - and when
I discovered that Vassiliy
was top male in Category
II! In fact he finished
second overall in the
category, behind Ron
& Jean Brown’s lovely
Maine Coon girl Peg,
Lunaris Peg o' my Heart
(so still top male!),
whom Vassiliy vied with
for Best in Category
II at shows throughout
that year.
However, 2007 was his
year! He achieved the
top spot and was declared
Best Adult in Category
II, Best Overall Adult
and then Cat of the
Year 2007, the first
ever Siberian to do
this in the UK, and
I believe a great achievement
from a cat which has
only been in the UK
for just under 4 years!
TICA
Supreme Grand
Champion &
Fife European
Champion Taurus
Goloubchik, DSM
FB (Fife) Overall
Cat of the Year
2007 |
Photo
by Bob Fox
|
Vassiliy
achieved 1 Best
in Variety, 24
Nominations &
14 Best in Shows
in his show career.
He
is the only Siberian
to be awarded
Fife Cat of the
Year, European
Champion title
with DSM (Distinguished
Show Merit) in
the UK and we
are so proud of
this purrfect
gentleman |
In 2008 Vassiliy achieved
two more titles, in
TICA he achieved his
Supreme Grand Champion
title and in Fife the
title of DSM (Distinguished
Show Merit, for 10 BIS
wins over a minimum
of two years and a day
- he got his wins too
fast!). Vassiliy achieved
1 Best in Variety, 24
Nominations and 14 Best
In Show wins. He is
the only Siberian to
have the following titles:
TICA Supreme Grand Champion
& FIFe European
Champion Taurus Goloubchik,
DSM, all attained in
the UK.
Vassiliy
also achieved BEST BLUE
SPOTTED TABBY Siberian
in the TICA show seasons
for 2004 / 2005 / 2006
/ 2007 / 2008 / 2009.
I would like to thank
all the judges who have
thought so highly of
him, all my friends
who have supported us
throughout and of course,
Vassiliy my dream boy!!
FB
Show Highlights - Hope
you enjoy the photos,
official shots are by
Bob Fox,
 |
 |
 |
Swanley BIS
@ 2005 |
Well
done my boy |
Lightwater
BIS
@ 2006 |
 |
 |
 |
Typical
show pose |
Bognor
BIS
@ 2006 |
Worcester
BIS
@ 2006 |
 |
 |
 |
Tonbridge
BIS
@ 2006 |
Maidstone
BIS
@ 2006 |
Maidstone
BIS
@ 2006 |
 |
 |
 |
Lincoln
BIS
@ 2006 |
World
Show 2006 |
Bognor
BIS
@ 2007 |
 |
 |
 |
Thornbury
BIS
@ 2007 |
Thornbury
BIS
@ 2007 |
Worthing
BIS
@ 2007 |
 |
 |
 |
CAT
OF THE YEAR 2007
|
Worthing
BIS
@ 2008 - Achieved
his DSM |
Worthing
BIS
@ 2008 |
TICA
Highlight, achieving
his Supreme Grand Champion
Title - Photos by Beryl
McMilan
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
Usual
pose |
Being
Judged |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
Being
awarded Best Cat |
TWICE
!! |
His
Legacy : Vassiliy
died in my arms on Friday
30 January 2009, that
day he took a piece
of my heart which is
going to take such a
long time to heal. He
was a truely wonderful
boy who just made us
and people laugh and
I really thank him for
that. Both Ray and I
have been totally blown
away by the amount of
messages and cards of
sympathy we have received
from our friends, from
people that we don't
even know and from people
as far away as Australia,
Russia, Europe and the
USA, (we have kept everyone
of them). Most of these
people never even met
our boy but we are really
honored and proud that
they knew of him and
I thank each and everyone
of you who contacted
us at this really difficult
time. We also want to
thank Belinda &
Laura and my sister
Plum, for the special
plants that are on our
patio, Vassiliy's heart
is still here.
I
would also like to say
a big thank you to all
the people who have
given homes to Vassiliy's,
Anya's and Annie's babies,
please look after them,
they are even more precious
now. My boy, Vassiliy
has given us just one
more gift which I am
truly thankful for as
Annie is expecting his
last kittens on 30 March
2009 (2 months to the
day after losing him).
Some
photos of our special
boy.
God
bless you Vassiliy and
thank you for being
my best friend.
