Blue Alchemist The Alchemist diary The Alchemist diary 2019

The Alchemist diary 2019

The Alchemist diary 2020 ...

1. 2019
  Sunday was already in a relatively calm spirit. We had no more judging or other duties waiting for us and we could look around the exhibition and chat with other breeders of the Chartreux. Sunday was reserved only for judging and announcing the Best in Show. In the morning category 1 and 2 were judged and announced, and in the afternoon category 3 and 4 followed. It is necessary to slip off the hat in front of all cats that were in BIS. The screams of enthusiasm from the auditorium were sometimes too loud even for human ears, so it had to be even greater stress on the eardrums for cats. Sometimes we watched the announcement of the first two categories on a large screen. We went to the show area to see category 3. The list of winners in this category, however, was rather dull. Burmese won among small kittens, Burmese won among juniors, Burmese won again among cat castrates, and Burmese won among cat castrates for change. The change was not even brought about by the adult cat class so that it wouldn't be too confusing, that wasn't won by other than Burma. Somehow, we could not last that mentally and went out to fill our stomachs. As we learned later and it was a big surprise for us, the winner among adult males was not Burmese, but a golden shaded British. To be clear, we definitely have nothing against the Burmese cats, but here it was just somehow over Burmese.
  Overall, we have to say that we enjoyed the exhibition and we are very glad that we attended it. The Czech team was in a relaxed and friendly mood, with the support, butalso a lot of emotions. We met our good friends and acquaintances, and we were very happy that we could spend some time with them in a pleasant conversation.
  We also met with breeders of the Chartreux from abroad. We knew some of them from previous foreign exhibitions, some of them we promised together to meet in the world show because we had only been in written contact so far, with others we had our mutual premiere. An exhibition of this dimension was just another valuable and exciting experience which we are very happy. And we are very happy that Pirča got a beautiful and valuable achievement and managed everything excellently. She's our little French heroine.

1. 2019
  On Saturday we headed towards the Freiburg Exhibition Center, refreshed and with a good time reserve. In the hall, we walked past the queue of those who were, unfortunately , waiting for the medical check-in (and where we had to stand the previous evening) and entered the hall, where we had to register. The organizers had hanged flags of each participating country over their tables, so it was not difficult to steer in the right direction. After submitting the result of the health check and reporting our names we received a catalogue with our cat numbers and a series designation with cage location. Here we also reported Eros's absence.
  The cages were divided by country and two rows were reserved for the Czech Republic. We were glad we were surrounded by familiar faces and all our friends, as well as the good acquaintances, we had nearby. After preparing the cage and occupying Pirča, we finally looked into the catalogue to find out which breeders are present at the show and how many of the blue furs gathered here. From the number of registered Chartreux, we got a little breathless. Twenty-eightblue ones and many of them from kennels with a considerable reputation. In the end, it turned out that not just our Eros, but two more Chartreux did not arrive, but even so, the number of blue participants was breathtaking. We were assigned to Mr Karel Preiss for judging, and we did not arrive until late afternoon.
  When the assessment of the Chartreux began, we took Pirča and started towards the judging table. This was another weak point of the exhibition. Little space, little fresh air and sunshine shining strongly into the hall. All breeders crowded in a small, reserved area around the judging table, and the entire assessment of the Chartreux took a good two hours. Pirča was amazing, she was there with us all the time, and only occasionally protested. Although we reported Eros's absence early that morning, the judge had no information about this change. Fortunately, we clarified everything in a moment and waited for us to come, because Pirča was in the catalogue among the Chartreux to the very last. We were basically relatively calm because Piruetka had in her class kitten girls aged 4-7 months of heavy competition in the form of cats from the famous foreign catteries. We also did not know in what mood will Pirča wake up after a long wait for her "five minutes of fame". After we put her on the table and Pirča checked the situation, she decided to cast her sweet, playful face and left cat scoundrel in the carrier. She was very kind indeed, interested in the toy which the judge had shown her, and she was very much praised by him. Subsequently, it was the time of ranking decision within her class. Žumík was halfway between the other two girls, watching the situation curiously. The judge hesitated for a long time, he waved with his toy before each cat's paws and muzzle and then he awarded the third rank to the cat from the Swiss cattery. It was a surprise for us because it would be no shame to win third place in this competition. Then the judge returned to Pirča and the second cat and hesitated again. He was pondering , taking both cats in his hand, waving with the toy again and looking at the cats, how they reacted. He finally pointed at us and declared Piruetka first. For us, it was really a shock, not that we did not believe in Pirča, but in such a kind of competition, we did not give ourselves too much chance. We were very happy and Pirča got countless kisses from us. The judge still had to declare Best in Variety. At that time, Pirča was together with a male from class 4-7 months and older male from class 7-10 months. Best in Variety was awarded to the older male from the French cattery. Later this boy got a nomination for the Best in Show, where he really made difficulties to competitive rival, Burmese lady. On the cloud of enthusiasm, we sailed back to our home cage and Pirča received a tasty reward and fell into the arms of Morpheus. After the first day of the World exhibition, we returned to the hotel to recharge our batteries for the next day.

1. 2019
  Already during the last autumn, we started to think about attending the biggest annual cat festival, which is the World Cat Show. This year's the event took place in the German city of Freiburg, which lies in a short distance from the Swiss and French borders. We were hoping that thanks to such a beautifully geographically chosen venue of the world exhibition we could see the Chartreux cats of renowned foreign breeders. From our blue breeding all three blue ones qualified for the world show, but in the end, we decided to enter only with Eros and Piruetka. But as it happens, man proposes, but the Chartreux disposes. On Wednesday, our kitten-teen duo played its favourite game famously called - I grab you with my paws and then start kicking you ideally in the head. As a result of this harshly, but usually innocent and fruitless game, our Italian pubescent boy came out with a seductive look as Brother Žižka (famous Czech medieval one-eyed chieftain) of . After evaluating the condition of the eye, which fortunately did not receive any serious damage, we started treatment and hoped that the irritated eye would have quickly recovered. On Friday morning, before leaving, Brother Žižka was not bivouacking at home, only Aunt Squintine.But it was nothing we could present at the world-format exhibition. So the final decision was that only Pirča would travel to the World and the only bonus would be so far that she would have had a luxury double-cage, which she had originally inhabited with Erouš, just for herself.
  The journey to Freiburg was quite calm except that Pirča was showing off invading the Alien and bulged the Sturdi cage by all directions. So we finally let her out and Pirča spent the rest of her journey sprawled on my wife's lap or on the middle elbow pad between the front seats. As the organizers made it clear that the medical check-up won’t be just on Saturday morning, but also additionally on Friday afternoon, we went straight to the exhibition hall, where the cat show was supposed to take place. Then we could go straight to Saturday morning registration without having to undergo a medical check-up... And yes, it also meant that we could have a little sleep in the morning.
  Even before we arrived in Freiburg, we were told that the acceptance was for a long time and indeed it really was for a long time. With all respect to the organizers of the world exhibition, it was a complete debacle and the organization and preparation of the health checks really, really failed. At the time of our arrival and waiting in the queue, there were only two veterinarians at the end of the human snake. We had the impression that we came a few decades back in time and at the end of the queue, we would find Cuban oranges, colour TV or Škoda Favorit. The whole waiting took us two hours and some of those who arrived before waited almost three hours. We do not have to add that most of the waiting was sullen and it was no fun also for cats. Surprisingly, Pirča managed everything in peace and fell asleep after a short dissatisfied grunt. We passed a two-minute veterinary examination without any problems and then set off for a well-deserved rest in the hotel.

1. 2019
  On the first weekend in October, we took a part in the International cat show in Kutna Hora. The exhibition was held in KD Lorec and it was organised very well. The premises were quite comfortable, as well as the facilities for visitors and exhibitors. There were, of course, small problems which were caused by the side of the cultural house equipment mostly.
  On Saturday our Blue trio was presented to the Spanish judge. All three blue ones exhibited themselves very nicely, Eros won Best in Variety and also received the Best in Show nomination. Tamiko got her next CAGCIB certificate and the little Pirouette also liked the judge very much. Although the great presenting kitten occasionally turned into the kitty fleabag in our hands. In the shoot-offs, the rivals finally advanced to the nomination of both of our girls. In the afternoon Eros won his first BIS victory. Unfortunately, his sensitivity to overly noisy and distorting loudspeakers was again apparent. In addition, the stewardess completely misunderstood his attempt to elegantly vaporize and kept Eros quite indiscriminately on the table. Therefore, Eros returned to us with a cup and a cockade, but completely broken out of which we were annoyed, disgruntled and unhappy.
  On Sunday we attended the table of French judge. Tamča received her last CAGCIB certificate and became the International Grand Champion. One of the rivals won the shootout. Piruetka was liked very much and finally, in the shootout to the nomination for the Best in Show, she won over a Bengali kitten and a little blue British, which surprised us and we were very pleased. There was a bit of a problem with Eros, as he probably hadn't forgotten the experience of the previous day. Instead of the relaxed cat as he had always been during the judging, he was not feeling well on the table at all, and it was obvious that he was not in his skin. Eros was awarded Best in Variety and BIS nomination despite his disagreement. In her own BIS, Piruetka was in the company of kittens of Kurill bobtail and Egyptian Mau, which one eventually won BIS. Eros won BIS on Sunday. For us, however, the main thing was that Eros got a very attentive steward, who, despite Eros’ obvious discomfort, managed to calm him down and show off nicely. We were very happy for that and we really hope that the bad experience will not sign on Eros and he will manage other exhibitions as it has been so far, ie. playful, inquisitive and relaxed male youngster cat.

1. 2019
  On the last Saturday in September we decided to attend the cat show held in the Austrian town Tulln an der Donau. The exhibition was held at the local Messe Tulln exhibition centre as a part of the big exhibition holiday "Du & das Tier", which was mainly devoted to the exhibition of dogs of all breeds.
  We arrived in Tulln on Friday, because some of us are not fans of morning long-distance rides (or to be precise getting up early in the morning) completely. We stayed in the amazing family hotel in Stockerau. Our show matador Tamiko decided to liven up the morning despite almost for us generous time reserve necessary for quiet packing and departure to the show. She wrapped herself under the bed and refused to go out. The problem was that we couldn't even get under the bed. Between the bed and the ground was space just enough to enter the cat's body or human hand. Of course, Tamča chose the strategic placement of her show skin right in the middle of the beds for sure, so any effort to pull a boycotting blueish cat out was useless. Because the favourite food treats had already been packed in the suitcase and stored in the car, it was the toy that finally lured Tamča out after a few long minutes.
  Fortunately, the journey to the exhibition centre took about fifteen minutes, so we arrived later than we originally intended, but still in time. We struggled a little to find the right parking lot, which we got a link in the propositions to and which surprisingly was not marked at all and even there was a barred entrance to this area. However, we were lucky enough and the patrol member of the organizational team that was defending the roadblock, allowed us to enter and we arrived at the parking lot at our exhibition hall number 8. Even though this hall was reserved for the cat show, regrettably only a half of the hall was able in real. Therefore there was not enough splace in the end. In addition to several kiosks focused on cats, in the second part of the hall an exhibition ring for dogs was placed. Moreover, other halls were full of dog hair of various breeds. It was interesting to look at our favourite dog breedsnearby. Unfortunately, the halls were passable and accessible for everyone, so around the cages with cats dog owners went with their pets and some cats. Of course, we all weren't very happy about this.
  All our three blue members participated in the show. Tamiko, Eros and Pirouette, who was at her first show. Tamiko was the first to judge. She and Mr. judge understood each other well and Tamča even left in her cage her expression bulging little owl, which sometimes appears on her face by all these things around her and she was absolutely cool. She got her second foreign (and fourth overall) CAGCIB certificate and nomination for BIS. In the afternoon Bengali cat finally won BIS.
  Eros came the second. He was annoyed for a little by the sounds coming from the rattling loudspeaker, which was located in a short distance from our review table. Yet he managed his presentation well, although sometimes the judging table seemed too small for him. Eros was awarded by the Best in Variety award.
  Pirouette came as the last one. It was her first show and first judging experience. The judge liked her very much and praised her very well. Pirča was nice, not afraid, but she considered all sorts of happenings around as a waste of time, and she would rather go to play with Eros. Piruetka was also nominated for BIS. The BIS was then won by the older British kitten.
  We enjoyed the show, but we were glad we went only for one day. We liked to talk to other breeders and visitors interested in the breed of Carthusian cat. It has to be admitted that some visitors have been traditionally confused by the blue fur of Chartreux instead of British or Russian blue ones. Simply also the Chartreux had also the blue fur and it is only for good that they are exhibited on shows and people have the opportunity to learn about the differences of individual breeds of blue cats.

1. 2019
  For the second time this year, we are pleased to announce that our private alchemist club has grown by another member. Our blueish family was enriched this time by the amazing cat with great pedigree and very promising premise for breeding.
  We imported our little Pirouette de Juma from France from a cattery, which takes care of a responsible approach to breeding and strives for the best development of this amazing breed.
  Thank you for the opportunity to get such a great cat and for the trust that we had gained by entrusting her to our breeding.
  We would also like to thank our friends abroad who gave us their huge help, trust and support. And a big thanks goesalso to the friends who supported us here with their presence, their advice and optimism. Thank you all very much. We really appreciate that kind of real friendships and we are grateful to all of you.
  Pirouette passed all of health tests, which we considered important for our breeding cats with negative results. After the necessary quarantine, she absolutely flawlessly integrated into the blue-beige cat gang.

and 28. 7. 2019
Last weekend in July we attended the international cat show, organized by our home organization. The exhibition was held in a calm environment of the racecourse in Velká Chuchle. Both days were hot and sultry. The cats received a small mobile fan, which we occasionally scattered around the still air and whose services we also occasionally used. As a live TV bonus, Tamiko and Eros had a view to the racetrack, where beautiful horses walked or ran several times during the day. However, it was a great pity that there were not many visitors to the exhibition on Saturday or Sunday. It was probably caused by a combination of holidays, weather and due to Saturday’s triathlon , which also led around the racetrack and reduced the throughput in this part of Prague.
On Saturday Tamiko got her second CAGCIB certificate and although it was hot and we got for the judging around noon, she was relaxed and worked nicely with the judge. Eros had its premiere in the Czech Republic, he liked it very much and was nominated for BIS. In BIS, Eros was in the company of Burmese kitten and Egyptian mau kitten, who eventually won the BIS.
On Sunday we went to the judging quite early. Tamiko got her third CAGCIB certificate and the judge praised her eye colour, body structure and uniform coat colour. As usual, Eros was direct and he was interested much more in the toy which he could play with than what the judge said. Judge rated Eros very nice, she liked the quality and length of hair, colour and shape of the eye and also the overall appearance of our musculature boy. Eros was invited to the shortlist for the BIS nomination, where eventually kitten of the British cat got through.
For the rest of the exhibition, Tamiko and Eros were inspired by the behaviour of their wild, distant relatives from the African plains. They decided to fall asleep over the hot conditions, save energy and strenght, so then we had two stretched and motionless cat skins at Sturdi during rest of the exhibition.

1. 2019
  On the first weekend in July, we decided to take part in the exhibition in Dachau, Germany. Originally, we wanted to go on both days, but unfortunately, we missed the original date and when we registered during the extended registration, the free place was only for Sunday. But we did not mind, we left our homefor the journey to Dachau on Friday and on Saturday we enjoyed a beautiful and hot summer weather and made trips to the surroundings.
  Sunday morning welcomed us with overcast skies, a rain and temperature drop, but since we had to spend the whole day in the exhibition hall, it did not bother us so much. Ten Chartreux were at the show and such abundant participation was quite a surprise for us. However, we were veryhappy that we had the opportunity to see the Chartreux exhibitors from Germany and Italy and could talk with many of them. The judge for Chartreux on Sunday was Mr Eric Reijers.
  Tamiko was again showing off beautifully, she even reincarnated into a meerkat for a while and stood on its hind legs on the judge's table. Mr Reijers praised her significant and uniform coat and eyes, muscular body, and character, Then, Tamiko got her first CAGCIB certificate.
  Eros had his premiere in Germany. Tamiko probably gave him the instructions and explained to him that there was nothing to worry about and Eros was absolutely calm, enjoyed the show and behaved naturally. He even wanted to be the magician while judging and tried to make disappear one of the judge's toys. That made us laugh as well as all of the onlookers. Eros liked it very much, the judge praised his appearance , character and behaviour very much.
  Due to the large number of exhibited Chartreux, there was also BIV (Best in Variety) declared. Mr. Reijers said something about each of the seven cats that were in the selection and then he declared the winner. And the winner was our little tomcat Eros. We were incredibly excited and happy. In such a big competition, we were really surprised and so much more was our joy. Eros was also invited to the shortlist for a BIS nomination, where he met an older Burmese cat kitten, who eventually advanced to the nomination.
  We liked the whole weekend so much, the exhibition was in a relaxed and quiet spirit. All were pleasant , tried to help and make it more pleasant for both exhibitors and their cat wards. We were very happy that we participated in this show and we will remember it gladly.

1. 2019
  We are pleased to announce that our alchemical cat club has grown by a new member. We brought a reinforcement from Italy in the form of Chartreux male Eros della Francigena coming from high-quality foreign lines. We are happy that we could get a tomcat from such a great, quality cattery.
  Eros has already passed health tests with negative results and of course the necessary quarantine. If everything goes as we hope and believe, Eros will become the first breeding boy of our cattery.
  We would like to thank our Italian friends for the trust that we have received from them. At the same time, we would also like to thank to all our friends who supported us and helped us on this journey.
  Thank you again and we appreciate it.

1. 2019
  Today we received the results of laboratory tests from the German laboratory LABOKLIN. Tamiko was preventively tested for Calicivirus, Herpes-PCR, Chlamydia-PCR, Mycoplasma felis-PCR and Bordetella bronchiseptica. The results of all performed tests are with negative result.

and 21. 4. 2019
We spent the Easter weekend with Tamiko at the cat show in Liberec. The combination of beautiful weather, meeting friends and well-known breeders together with a well-organized exhibition has left us an indelible experience. DuringSaturday and Sunday many visitors stopped for a moment and we had the opportunity to have a pleasant chat with many of them.
Tamiko got nice judgment and her second CACIB on Saturday. She was invited to a shortlist for a BIS nomination, where the beautiful Burmese cat Bella Ambra has won.
On Sunday, four Chartreux presented themselves at the show. Tamiko really enjoyed the judging on Sunday and we just stared in disbelief. She cooperated very well with the judge and on the judge's desk she felt like being at home. Tamiko got very nice judgment again and third CACIB. By obtaining the third CACIB certificate, Tamiko became the International Champion and we are very proud of her. Whereas four uncastrated Chartreux came together at the show, Best in Variety was also judged and announced, which Tamiko won and we were absolutely thrilled. Tamiko was also invited on Sunday to a shortlist for a BIS nomination, where she met British cat and Burmese cat Bella Ambra, who came out as a winner again.

and 7. 4. 2019
This weekend we and our little traveller Tamiko visited a two-day international cat show in the German town Hof. It was a classic cage premiere for us and for Tamiko because the German organization did not allow to exhibit cats in Sturdi cages. However, we knew that in advanced and we had enough time to prepare and arrange the necessary equipment to the cage and for decoration. The exhibition was well organized, the exhibition spaces in Freiheitshalle were large enough with excellent facilities, and helpful and smiling organizers. In addition to a large numbers of exhibitors, many visitors came to see the exhibition.
On Saturday, Tamiko received a very good report in open class and a third CAC and she reached the title Champion. Tami was invited to a shortlist for a BIS nomination on Saturday. There were six cats in total. In competition with the British shorthairs, Bengals and one Burma the Burmese cat finally wonTami was very nice all the time, even though we waited for about fifteen minutes than all the exhibitors invited for the shortlist for nomination came to judgment. Partial annoyance was visible at all attendants, after all, the long-standing and waiting for the exhibitors took a very long time.
Tamiko competed in champion class on Sunday. Mrs Pahl liked her, and she received a very nice judgment and first CACIB. Also, on Sunday Tami was invited to the shortlist for the nomination. This time she had a competition against two British cats and two Burmas. The Burmese cat got a nomination. Tami was very skilful for both days, and, as always, she was interested in everything around. She was restocking her energy with deep and contented sleep when she lay in a cage in a very relaxed position.

1. 2019
  The French version is officially launched.

1. 2019
  We spent Sunday in the exhibition in Eisenstadt, a small town with a charming old centre near Vienna. For us and Tamiko, it was the first foreign exhibition. And what’s more, one-day and double-certificated, so in one day (in this case, in the morning) we were judged twice. The organizers have prepared the show very well, and they even solved the fact that they had prepaired a classic cage for Sturdi instead of a free table, although we had advised it several times in advance. Hovewer, in the endwe arraged all, everything cleared up and with a smile and calmness there was a correction.
  In the open class, three Chartreux met. Even though judges liked Tamiko, they finally preferred cats with lighter fur and more mature expression. We were so glad that we also had the chance to see a pretty Chartreux from a Hungarian cattery and talk to her accompaniment.
  Tamiko managed the show perfectly, as well as a four-hour trip to Austria and then back again. She looked at the other cats at the show and we felt that she was really enjoyed it. Especially that there was still something new happening around her. At home, she surely told Arcik and Elinka what kind of world she had seen.

1. 2019
  Today we received a negative result of the genetic test for PKD (polycystic kidney disease) from the Genomia Laboratory.
  Although Chartreux do not suffer from this hereditary disease, we decided that Tamiko should have pass this test. We wanted to have 100% confidence and thanks to the negative result we also have assurance that Tamiko does not suffer from this disease and can not be a potential carrier of this disease for the next generation. We are very happy to have the negative test result, although we expected it.

1. 2019
  On Sunday, Tamiko also received a beautiful report with CAC certificate from Mr. de Bruijn. The situation was repeated again, Tamiko went into the shortlist for a BIS nomination, which was subsequently won by a beautiful young British cat.
  The exhibition was held in a pleasant environment, and well organized.
  Tamiko enjoyed the spotlight on the judges tables. In the meantime, she had been watching the passing visitors inside her cosy environment of her habitat or she had happily snoozed.
  The results were added in the table and you can also find pictures from the exhibition in the gallery.

1. 2019
  For the very first time Tamiko entered open class at the International Cat Show held in Beroun. Mr. Vladimir Isakov (judge) liked her very much and she received a beautiful report with CAC certificate. She was chosen to be in a shortlist for a BIS nomination, and in this shootout the British cat won a nomination.

1. 2019
  We added a photo gallery to the Exhibitions section, which will be continuously updated.

The Alchemist diary 2018 ...