Jaxom was John's boy. A traditional "applehead" Siamese, he was born on the Roseland Colony just north of the Trans-Canada highway, on the way to Beausejour, Manitoba. Jaxom was from a litter of 7. He came home with us in a feed bag in our car (he was, at least to begin with, terrified, and the folks who had him sure didn't clip claws!). We picked him up in the fall when he was just about 10 weeks old, as a partner and friend for our old, old furfriend Mietz, a white Siamese mix girl. Mietz had been with us since Shawn, our eldest son, was 2. We soon found out that Mietz would have nothing to do with this upstart. In order to make Jaxom feel less alone, we went back to Manitoba and obtained a brother from the litter. Our younger son Karl, who named this boy Cole Cash, had really wanted a kitten too. So Cole was his. The kittens had by that time, been moved from the farm into the city and Cole had, of course, absolutely no idea who this other kitten was. He also was terrified because he had been in a house in the city which was undergoing construction and was a very, noisy place. Thus, Cole hated Jaxom, and he sure let EVERYBODY know just how much he hated him! For the first 3 days and nights he did nothing but yowl, growl, hiss and smack at Jaxom whenever Jaxom tried a friendly overture! They did however get along after a while and were fast friends until Jaxom moved out.

After several years of having our cattery and breeding program up and running, John eventually began to feel that it would be in Jaxom's best interests to be placed into a home where he could be spoiled and have undivided attention and love every day. The right couple came along in the form of Val and Phil. They took Jaxom into their home and their hearts as a partner for their Emily, a Siamese girl they had brought with them along wth her brother, from the UK. Emily had lost her brother a year or two before and she was pining away from loneliness and sadness. Once again Jaxom endured the absolute disgust doled out from another cat in his life. After a week and some, we had a call from Phil asking us to come and take Jaxom back home as he was being so meanly treated by their Emily. We decided to drive to Winnipeg and bring him home that weekend. Amazingly, a day later, we received an email which let us know we were still welcome to come and visit but that Jaxom was staying as Emily had accepted him and they were now friends. Wahoo! We were ecstatic, as were Val and Phil (and no doubt also Jaxom, considering!) We visited several times and found that Jaxom was as ever the true gentleman. Jaxom had always been a gentleman even as a kitten and he still was. He was spoiled true, but he never took it for granted we thought. He was always a gentleman to Emily, never being pushy and always willing to give in to her. He belonged with Emily and with her humans Val and Phil.

In May of 2004, we had an alarming email telling us that Jaxom was not well. Val and Phil took him to our trusted vet, Dr Joan Stewart-Hay, at Dutch Hill Veterinary Clinic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to have her fix whatever was wrong. At first there was nothing much to be found, although antibiotics were indicated. However, after all was said and done, with all the effort put forth that was possible, there WAS nothing one could do. Val and Phil tried what they could but were helpless to cure this dear fur friend. The decision was made to spare Jaxom from the pain he had begun to endure and to help him to the Rainbow Bridge. Dr Joan was there for him as she has been for many fur friends and we are thankful for that. Val and Phil gave Jaxom a chance to love and be loved and to be special within the kingdom he shared with his dear fur friend Emily. Thanks go to this special couple who placed Jaxom into a deep place in their hearts and to Emily who gave Jaxom the chance to show just what a gentleman he could be.

Sometimes called Jai, this girl was Carine's foundation Korat queen! Carine's very first pedigreed cat, her first Korat, Jai Dee was a very special girl. She came to us from Doreen Walker (Cher Dawn Korats) in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada as a young independent Korat kitten. Jai came to be family with us and our two traditional Siamese neuters, Jaxom and Cole. Although the two boys were here first and were older than Jai Dee by a year,she took over our space and theirs and eventually trained us all to be her constant companions and faithful slaves. Jai came to our cattery in August of 1994. She was too young to take to any shows when she came, but after a long winter we set off with her to her first show in April of 1995. She quickly attained her Grand Champion status in both ACFA and CFA and blessed Klahz with several beautiful litters of kittens. Jai Dee had her 10th birthday in June 2004 and we were looking forward to many more, when she became ill with asthma. Medicating Jai Dee was a trial for her and for us, and after several months of misery Jai Dee, in her old and own, independent way, told us she had had enough. On January 21, 2005, GrCh Cher Dawn's Jai Dee of Klahz, was peacefully helped on her way to the Rainbow Bridge, with Carine at her side. We thank Dr. Joan Stewart-Hay of Dutch Hill Veterinary Clinic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jai Dee's vet since her birth, for helping Jai Dee whenever it was needed and especially on that her last journey. Today, Jai Dee rules the computer room where she was never allowed to roam while she was the queen of Klahz, from her resting place overlooking Carine and the computer. We thank Doreen Walker of Cher Dawn cattery in Winnipeg, MB for entrusting this lovely young Korat to us, neophyte breeders at the time, and for being there for us when we had to make that last trip with Jai Dee.

Piemur was Shawn's fur friend. A red and white Domestic Shorthair, we assume he was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, somewhere in the city center. He arrived on Shawn's back door step and would not leave. Shawn called home to let Carine and John know that there was this cute little kitten on his door step and he was keeping himself from bringing him into the house even though it was getting colder in the night and the kitten seemed to WANT to come in to be with him. Carine and John, being concerned parents of a young adult who was not ready to settle down had advised Shawn NOT to have any pets since they require a good deal of time and effort AND can be expensive! Of course after 10 days of steady waiting for Shawn, and consistently being there EVERY day and night, Shawn called home again in desperation and said, "Mom, I know what you said about getting a pet. And I haven't. It seems like the pet got ME! This red and white cat, household pet, ah....Domestic Shorthair guy (I think he is a boy...?) is STILL here and I can't STAND seing his sad face and he NEEDS to eat. This is NOT right. So I brought him in today." So this stray red and white DSH became Shawn's companion and Shawn was his. Shawn gave the boy the name Piemur, after a red haired character in an Ann McCaffrey novel about a place called Pern. Eventually, Piemur was neutered and over time he came to trust Shawn enough that he could clip is claws and anything else he needed to have done.

Piemur became a traveler as Shawn moved to Dryden ON, back to Winnipeg MB, where Lena got to be another friend of Piemur's and where Dolce, the Tuxedo kitten, also born in Winnipeg, became the second feline part of the family, then to Lethbridge AB, and then to Toronto. During his stays in Dryden and Winnipeg Piemur was shown in ACFA and he did well enough. It is a tough class that HHP class in ANY ACFA show. And if you are a red and white kid with a gentle, shy nature it can be even tougher! Despite the fact that Piemur was NOT an outgoing clown, and he did not draw much attention to himself, Piemur managed to be 1997 Eastern Canada Best HHP. Shawn was always proud of his red and white boy but THAT year he was especially so!

In the summer of 2004, Piemur had a few sessions of "not being well" with some gastric difficulties related to digestion. Shawn was relieved when it appeared to go away. Then in the fall it returned and Piemur became ill again. The changes in Piemur, were slow and so insidious that it was not apparent immediately that there was anything seriously wrong with him. In early April, Shawn called and said that Piemur was very, very sick adn that there was nothing more that the vet could do. Shawn and Lena sadly watched Piemur slip farther and farther towards the Rainbow Bridge and on April 15, 2005 they gently helped him cross. Piemur will always be fondly remembered for his quiet unassuming ways and totally gentle, shy disposition. Piemuer "the cute" will always there for us.

Angel came to Klahz from Judy and Dennis Ganoe (Gentlegift Cattery). Carine and John made a long trip to Kansas City in November of 2000, to meet with other Korat breeders from around the world at the CFA International Show. We had arranged to pick Angel up there and that we did. Well, Angel was NOT impressed with the 21 hour drive home! By the time Angel had arrived in Dryden she had decided that anyone who would MAKE her stay in a car for that long HAD to be someone to be avoided and she wanted NOTHING to do with either Carine OR John! She hid under the bed and refused to come out. When Carine tried to stop Angel from jumping off a bureau and hurting herself, Angel bit Carine badly enough that there was nothing for it but a trip to the local hospital emergency and IV for the bite! Nothing would convince her that we were only trying to be nice! Angel had already attained her Grand Champion status in CFA and seeing as how she was not a happy camper with regard to us, we allowed her to jsut be. Eventually Angel became one of the nicest , quietest and gentlest Korats at Klahz and loved to sit on John's lap whenever she got the opportunity. Angel blessed Klahz with several beautiful litters of kittens.One of her sons, Dee Mark went to Chalerm cattery in Argentina.A daughter, Angelgirl has a forever home in Kingston Ontario with a retired Tonkinese breeder and close friends, Karen and Doug. Eventually Angel developed gingivitis and we treated her for it several times. The last time we really thought she had it licked and we had planned to spay her. Suddenly she had it MUCH worse. We tried to treat it again but sadly the repeated attempts were to no avail. Head shy and in constant and extreme pain, Angel refused to have anything more to do with any meds. She started to lose weight and we could not convince her to eat anything with her constant and extreme pain. It was with deep heartache that we decided to give Angel a better life across the Rainbow Bridge on December 16th, 2005. Thanks to Dr. Pat Roberts at Dutch Hill Veterniary Clinic in Winnipeg Manitoba, who, just like Dr Joan was there to comfort Angel as well as Carine and John when the time came.Thank you to Judy and Dennis of Gentlegift who allowed us to adopt Angel and thanks Angel for being such a sweet Korat. We KNOW you will be there when we get there and once again we shall be able to hear your purrs which were so comforting to us.

CJ came to Klahz from JoAnn Payfer (Payfurpurrs Cattery). Carine and John met up with another friend and breeder, Karen Clarke at JoAnn's home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in July of 1999, to pick up one kitten each. We both were looking to add a Natural Tonk to our catteries. JoAnn gave CJ her name because Carine and John just couldn't come up with a name. So since JoAnn felt sorry for the "no-name" kid she was waiting for us to pick up, she gave her the initials of the two peple who she was going to go to! CeeJay had somewhat subdued eye colour as a kitten but after some discussion, we all agreed that it would come along as she matured. It became a standing joke that CJ was absolutely purr-fect with the exception of the eye colour. Poor JoAnn took more than her fair share of ribbing about CJ's eye colour (or as we often would say, "Lack thereof!"). However, eye colour "does not a great mom-cat make" and so we were graced with a wonderful mother cat who had several beautiful litters of babies, without any help from her humans and then spend the next 6 to 8 weeks, taking such very good care of them! She mothered all the other litters around here too whenever she had the chance.

CJ loved to sit on anyone's lap whenever she got the opportunity. She was an "in your face" kind of Tonk. She could find a spot no matter how small, where she would dig in for as long as you would let her. She became the expert in wiggling her way into the heap and often there would be 3 or 4 cats in one spot already and CJ would add one more body to the pile! She had gorgeous very rich dark lustrous coat colour and deep, dark, rich points. Sadly because of her lack of good eye colour, CJ never went to shows as an adult. She more than made up for her lack of being aqua-eyed by being such a love bug and a great queen. Eventually, CJ was spayed in order that she could enjoy being a pet and not be into the mood swings that seem to take over many female cats when they are in heat. CJ became the terror of the cattery, whenever she was in heat, giving every other cat and kitten a really hard time. So spaying seemed the best solution after 5 years of having babies. She came through the spay with flying colours and seemed to be truly enjoying the relaxed time of being a pet. Suddenly, about 2 weeks after the spay, we noticed that CJ's coat was not very nice. It had become very dull and lifeless looking. She did not seem to be grooming much. So of we went with her to the vet. There we found to our horror, that CJ too, had developed severe gingivitis. She was beyond treatment with raw painful sores. One look at her throat and mouth and one could see why she was in the state she was in. It was the opinion of our vet, that she could only be in constant and extreme pain, in the condition we were seeing her. We could only agree. Once again, with heartwrenching sadness, that we decided to give CJ a better life across the Rainbow Bridge, on March 21st, 2006.

Thanks to Dr. Joan Stewart-Hay, who was there to comfort CJ, and Carine and John as well, when the time came.

Thank you to JoAnn Payfer of Payfurpurrs cattery who provided us with CJ and also to CJ, for being such a lovebug of a Tonk. We know CJ too, will be there when we go across that Rainbow Bridge and then again, we will hear your purrs, and you will give us those head butts, and that "wiggle into the pile", which were your trademarks.

ACFA Royal HHP RW Cole Cash of Klahz (July 3, 1993 - April 2, 2006)

Cole was Karl's boy. A traditional "applehead" Siamese, he was also born on the Roseland Colony, just north of the Trans-Canada highway, on the road to Beausejour, Manitoba. Cole, a brother of Jaxom, was from a litter of 7 wild and scrappy kittens. He came home with us in a feed bag in our car too (he was, at least to begin with, terrified). The folks who had him, by the time we went back to get him, were renovating their house, making dreadful noise, leaving walls open allowing kittens to hiding BIG TIME! We were told that Cole was the ONLY one they could find when we came to get another kitten related to Jaxom. We picked him up, about two weeks after we picked up Jaxom, in the fall around Thanksgiving. BY then Cole was just about 12 weeks old. We got him as a partner and friend for his brother since the old Mietz would have nothing to do with Jaxom the entire two weeks he was in his new home. Our younger son Karl, named his boy, Cole Cash. He had really wanted a kitten too and so Cole was his. Of course, COle had absolutely no idea who the other kitten was nor did he appreciate ANOTHER new pace to call home. To begin with it appeared that Cole hated Jaxom, and he sure let EVERYBODY know just how much he hated him! For the first 3 days and nights, he did nothing but yowl, growl, hiss and smack at Jaxom, whenever Jaxom tried a friendly overture! Finally, after that first three day ordeal, they began to get along well and became fast friends, most of the time, until Jaxom moved out.

Karl loved his cat, showed him to Royal, in the Household Pet class at several ACFA shows and then decided that Cole could just stay home and be his special pet. They spent much tme together until Karl became too busy with school and work and his creative activities. Eventually, after 7 years of living in the same house with Cole, Karl moved to Toronto to continue his education at Ontario College of Art and Design. It was left to us to continue loving Cole, knowing that until Karl was settled in his own place, living a stable, comfortable life, Cole was better off here at Klahz with his other cat friends, although his best buddy Jaxom, had left to live with Val and Phil in Winnipeg some years before. Cole continued to be the special guy here, the only cat without a pedigree, but with a very, big heart and no complaining ever. He was the easiest cat to live with and was well behaved and gentle.

In the fall of 2005, we took Cole to see the vet as a lump appeared to be growing just inside and at the base of his right ear. The suggestion was to remove it to make sure as to what it was and as he would "be under" already, to do someting about his teeth, which were "in bad shape". However, because Karl was not at home, we put it off until we were sure that Karl was okay with the procedure, so that Karl could visit at Christmas to be with his boy before we went ahead to have it done. One never knows about surgery, does one? So, finally, with Karl's okay, we opted to have the surgery done on March 13th, 2006. The growth was removed and it turned out to be nothing to worry about. Cole also had all his teeth removed with the exception of his upper incisors. He came home from the clinic in fine form and did not seem phased by the surgery at all. We watched in disbelief, as he went right to the food dish and proceeded to munch away at the dry kibble there. We did offer him canned food, as the vet thought we should and we even took the kibble away, thinking it HAD to hurt him to eat that. Cole would have nothing to do with that idea at all! So all seemed well. A couple of days later though, we were advised that we were supposed to be giving Cole some antibiotics to counter any bacteria he could have picked up from the bad teeth, during the surgery. So the second day after Cole came home, we began giving him the pills. Within a few days, Cole did not seem to be very doing well. We thought he had become depressed, as he suddenly realized he did not have his teeth. We continued the medication.

We had entered some of Cole's fur friendsin a cat show in Fargo N.D. on the April 1st weekend. As it had been 3 weeks since his surgery, we felt it was fine to leave Cole in the care of our eldest son for the weekend, along with the others in the cattery, so we could go to the show. Shawn was fine with the pilling and the other cat chores. He was living at the house and doing the cat chores twice a day so he was with the cats a lot that weekend. He n oticed that Cole seemed somewhat shy and not into being around him, but put it down to Cole still feeling sore and because Shawn was a relative newcomer to Cole's world again, after being other places over the years. Shawn came down to be with the cats and to do the chores on Friday night, Saturday morning and night and did not really feel anything was really wrong. However, on Sunday morning, when Shawn arrived downstairs and he found Cole dead on the floor. Shawn was shocked to say the least. When we arrived home late that night, we found Shawn's note with a sad apology, for the death of his brother's cat. Cole had apparently been suffering from something worse than we knew. But what was it? Upon doing some research, we believe that the antibiotic Cole was being given, was building in his body and he became overloaded on it. The symptoms we could remember when we thought back on the 3 weeks following his surgery, all pointed to an overdose on the medication, which happens in a minute section of the cat population, according to the information we found.

We miss Cole terribly and Karl has had to come to terms with the loss of his pet, who was a part of his life for almost 13 years. Cole died too young and for reasons which we could not hope to know before it happened. We will never forget you Cole with your sweet disposition and loving ways.

ACFA IA Best Alter 2004 GrCh Klahz Reja Misty Too (March 24, 2002 - October 3, 2006)

Misty, a Platinum Mink Tonkinese, was born into a litter of 4 beautiful kittens on May 24th, 2002.

She was perfect, as were her two brothers and one sister. We decided that we did not wish to keep any more kittens to show at that time and so we determined that Misty and her siblings would be placed as pets. Misty was chosen by a couple in Winnipeg.

On the day we were to place Misty with them, we took her for her health certificate and were told she had a hole in her heart. The vet said she would maybe live 1 to 2 years. We were stunned at this news. So Misty came back home to live with us. We decided that she would stay with us as long as we were allowed to have her.

She was named Klahz Raja Misty Too because the pet owner in Winnipeg had wanted the name Misty due to her pale colours and we had had another Misty before...hence the Too. Reja is an identifier we use to id the mother (Rena) and the father (Jacen). John and I showed a few times during that year and by the last one, we were finding that Misty was lying by the door awaiting our return every time. So we decided to take her with us to the Minn-Kota show in Fargo for the April show there. Misty had a great time. We had a great time. She was not stressed it seemed. And so we felt we could take her to one more to try for her GrCh. Off we went to Cat Tales in May. Thus 6 to 7 weeks after Fargo Misty was a GrCh and had done better than she had at Fargo. We were happy. Misty appeared happy to us as well. She was going with us when we were away and she was enjoying the experience thoroughly apparently. Once we returned home, John said, so should we show here again? We checked out the shows that were coming up at the time. There were three which were very close to one another, and after some discussion we decided to enter the three of them with Misty. As Carine was working full time John was the one to go. Off the two of them went, to one of the shows after the other and Misty did very well...finaling in 7 of 8 rings in each show and most of those finals in the top 5 each time. Eventually someone asked John, "Are you campaigning that cat?" We decided that we would show Misty as often as we could as long as she wanted to and it did not appear that it was putting any real pressure on her. The summer and the fall went along with one show after another. John put a LOT of miles on the diesel Jetta he used for the traveling. He and Misty never flew to one show, because we felt flying would tax Misty's heart too much and besides, we could not afford flying to shows out of Canada. So John and Misty would often leave at around 3 or 4 a.m. on a Friday or even a Thursday morning in order to get to the show in time to get set up upon their arrival at the hall. They would usually take a motel room for the Saturday night. Then after the show was finished on the Sunday they would get back in that Jetta to head home again, sleeping in a rest area along the way. Misty was John's steady companion and John was her best buddy. They would return and take a nap together in our Lazy Boy chair after arriving to catch up on the sleep that John had missed on the trip. In December Misty had a really bad one day show. She did NOT like the smell of the cleaner that was being used. A judging stand broke under her and she fell onto the floor. She seemed out of sorts in another ring and ended up on the floor again later in the day. It was not a good show for Misty. John said she had seemed a bit out of sorts at at least one show in November as well. December 27th and 28th Carine was to train at a show in Wisconsin so Misty was entered as we were going to be there anyway. Carine put Misty into MOST of the rings and Misty was okay. She was not her happy go lucky self but she did okay. However, on the advice of many of our exhibitor friends as well as judges who were there, we made the decision to NOT show Misty again for at least 6 weeks. She was entered in a show in February because we thought that she just needed a bit of a break. She did not appear stressed at home at all and she STILL wanted to go with John when he was going out that door! Well it was NOT a good show. Misty blew on Don Finger's table and to the floor she went trying to claw John in the process. She really did not do well at this show on the first day so John left her at the hotel on Sunday while he visited with their friends at the show hall and then they came home. Another 6 week rest and one more try in March really pointed out the fact that Misty was done her showing career. She wanted nothing to do with a show hall and THAT Saturday John was in the hall for about one hour when he packed it up, and he and Misty were back home again the Saturday night! The reality was that Misty was telling us that she was no longer interested in being away from home. After that Misty was quite content to watch and listen for John to come back to the house and she would find other things to do than wait by the door for him while he was gone. There was much anxiety as we awaited the year's results. Misty's many friends told us that SHE would have the Alter of the Year. Of course as you all know she did in fact have it. We don't think it phased her in the least to know that she had done that. We were ecstatic because SHE did it. John just helped her achieve that success. Had Misty NEVER been Alter of the Year she would STILL have been a special cat here. We thank everyone who met her for being her friend and for being there for her and for John while they made their trips to and through the show halls. Misty was the cat she was, on her own merit. We are pretty sure you all know that. She went to the Rainbow Bridge on her own terms as well. She wanted to stay here and was breathing, albeit with difficulty, on her own until she left us. We are convinced she did that because she did NOT want to go to the Rainbow Bridge EXCEPT on her own. She did NOT want to end her life anywhere but here. Our vets were both on stand by on Monday. They BOTH were of the opinion that if she was okay with being picked up and held, and she was not complaining because of being in any pain, that the breathing difficulty did not warrant euthanasia. She would be in discomfort they said but not in pain. She was on John's lap and held by Carine on and off when she wanted to be, until about midnight. Then she was with a couple of her cat friends in a cat bed near the bathroom door as we were going to bed. We both kissed her good night and petted her a bit. At 3 a.m. both John and Carine woke up briefly. That in itself is very strange, because we generally do NOT awake in the wee hours. However, we both went back to sleep. In the morning, John awoke around 6 30 and found Misty had passed away sometime earlier and was on the floor near the bathroom door with several friends around her. After John had been outside briefly that same morning, he found upon his return, the remaining 12 cats who live in the same part of the house as we do and where Misty had lived with us too, ALL sitting in a group and ALL looking at him with that intense cat stare that cats have on occasion. There was no NEED for that. They HAD food. He made no unusual noise, nor was there anything different except that Misty had gone. It was eerie. And comforting at the same time. They knew and in their way we think they were "there for John" and consoling him. Misty was a gift to us all here. She was without rancor. She was graceful. She was pretty. She was intelligent. She was always there for us. She will be missed very, very much. Misty gave us the opportunity to realize that there was a problem in our Tonk lines. Thanks to Misty we had the opportunity to find it and to get rid of it. When we found out that Misty had been born with the heart condition, the information connected to several less clearly defined health problems, in other pet Tonks we had placed. That led to neutering her father Jacen, who as the ONLY common factor in ALL cases, was most likley the reason she had the condition in the first place. Misty will be cremated in Winnipeg. Her ashes will reside thereafter in a special urn in our home, along with another urn belonging to her friend and Carine's first Korat queen, Jai Dee. If you have thoughts of remembering Misty in any way, please buy a memorial to her through the ACFA Rainbow Bridge Memorial Program, by emailing Connie Vandrie at Central Office and asking her for the appropriate information. This is one way to honour Misty AND help ACFA. Once again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the friendship, the companionship, the competitiveness and the empathy, our ACFA family has shown to us, and especially to Misty. She is gone from our home but never forgotten in our hearts.