Thanks to the following people who have been so kind to Abytopia cats and kittens with their much appreciated contributions along the way, through good and bad times.
Melanie, an Abytopia angel...and a friend for life... there is not enough thanks I can give her. This is Melanie with her beloved Samson, a cat extraordinaire, who waits for her on the other side... Melanie burned the midnight oil many a night for Abytopia cats, without any motivation but the goodness of her heart and her love for cats in general, and aby's in particular. Melanie has such a wonderful attitude towards life, and is a shining example of her faith in deed and word. Abytopia cats, kittens and I can never thank you enough!!!
Mel and Abytopia's Dot Dot Dot, aka Sweet Dot, best of friends
Sweet Melanie and her amazing part bobcat boy Samson, who was totally hamming it up for the camera.
Lynette and Jerry Coffey, who jump in and help when the chips are down, and cheer you on when times are better. They have been friends to Abytopia from the very beginning and will remain so forever... Not only did they give me my first start with my beautiful blue girl Cote D'Azure, but they have since entrusted their stunning Fin Bheara's Riverdancer to me as a future Abytopia stud. And, they are the sole reason for Abytopia's first and only Grand Champion, GC Abytopia's Titan, as they took him to the shows when due to family commitments I was unable to do so.... Heartfelt thanks to both for being my friends, through thick and thin! Two much appreciated Abytopia angels for whom we are so grateful!!!
Riverdancer, such a joy to have in the family!
Dreamily heavenly FinBheara Riverdancer of Abytopia... he is a splendor to behold and a wonderful soul to hold and to love.
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Not only is Riverdancer exceptionally beautiful, he has the world's sweetest dispostion.
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Alisa Gean, M.D. With more titles than you can pronouce in a day, Alisa is brilliant, loving, down to earth and socially very giving of all her talents. When Abytopia's cattery suffered illness in the aftermath of feeding the tainted food in '07, and the cattery was in dire need of outside medical help, Alisa was there to give it.... and give of her friendship to me, which has been so much appreciated. Just seeing a person like her in action with her busy schedule and important obligations sets a shinning example of someone the rest of us can aspire to be by sharing our own gifts... she helped me in times of deepest sorrow with my mother who was very ill at home with us, finding healthcare resources for her as well as coming to help save Abytopia cats and kittens.... Alisa is an Abytopia angel for whom we will always be thankful! And her Zest for life is absolutely infectious to the max!!!
Dr. Alisa Gean, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Adjunct Professor of Neurology and Neurological Surgery,
University of California, San Francisco
Brain and Spinal Injury Center (BASIC)
San Francisco General Hospital, and a crazy cat lady at heart but one disciplined and fulfilled enough to share her feline love with her totally awesome Bengal boy, Bentley.
The beautiful Alisa, striking Bentley and a wine cellar to dream of, what is more perfect than this?
Lynda James with whom an everlasting friendship was born from shared passions, our Abyssinians and our parents. Lynda is another Abytopia angel, talking me through many a difficult cat scenario and sharing her years of experience to help guide me to good decisions and share my trials and tribulations with both my mother's condition with its joys and disappointments, as well as that of Abytopia cats and kittens. Lynda and I have a deep understanding of each other's journeys through life, similar and dissimilar.. and I value her experience, her heart and her wisdom.
Lynda also has given me an opportunity to diversify Abytopia's lines by sharing her charming Katzenkats China Doll girl with me, a lovely statuesque girl who is related to my favorite cat of all time, my first aby T-Rex. Lynda has had extraordinary health in her cattery due to good living, hard knocks, disciplined cattery practices and a certain amount of well deserved help from "Above." Thank you, Abytopia angel and forever friend!!!
China Doll when she first came to Abytopia as a precious little kitten, my Dolly girl.
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China, like most aby's, loves to be Mom's little helper.
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Coragene Savio, DDS in San Francisco's Noe Valley and fantastic person and Abyssinian lover, I owe such a debt of gratitude for her understanding, patience, non judgmental nature, wit, conversation, and shared love of Abyssinians, of all colors... Some day I hope to try to repay her in kind, if she will allow me to try... she is, on top of everything else, a great dentist!!! She brought me out of my dental abyss and put me on the road to recovery, and did it so simply and painlessly, a real pro to one with a rip roaring dental phobia. Coragene is the perfect aby mom, and does everything under the sun to make sure her kitties have everything at their disposal... fun places to play, a suite of their own, a floor of their own, and more, fantastic viiews of Noe Valley, plenty of feline companionship, a great environment that any aby would be thrilled to be a part of.
Some day, in some way, Abytopia hopes to contribute to Coragene's well deserved happiness. In the meantime, there is a very lucky Abytopia girl named Isabelle who shares her home with Coragene's other happy aby's, her husband, other lucky cats, some very loved doggies, and a lot of ravens!!!
Thank you, Coragene, for all your help and friendship - you are so appreciated, a real Abytopia angel!!!
Coragene and Abytopia's sweet Peach.
Thanks too to a very special couple, Dave and Mindy Condon from Highgait Paws for their great job in raising beautiful, loving aby's and sharing their lines so others can enjoy them. They have worked tirelessly with Dr. Jody Gookin who is the expert on Trichamonas Foetus, a parasite that has reached at least a third or more of the cat population. Kudo's to them for aiding in this research so that the rest of us may benefit and so that some day there may be a real preventative cure for this condition.
They shared their lines with Abytopia by sending their dark, exotic girl Highgaitpaws Kalei (Hawaiian for "wreath of flowers; the beloved") to be a part of Abytopia's breeding program. We look forward to seeing her babies and her contribution to Abytopia's future cats and kittens. Thank you!!!
Kalei loves to sleep nuzzled under my chin...
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Lovely Kalei, a very dark ruddy girl
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Frisco Del Rosario, (brilliant chess author, girls' basketball fanatic and best smart aleck I've ever met)... and Abytopia Cats
Frisco has been THE cat fan extraordinaire and is the "father' of all the Abytopia Aby's he has known through the years. Next to me, he is the one who can name them all, no small feat, know their idiosyncracies, complicated relationships and especially what makes each and every one tick. He is an aby whisperer and when he comes to visit, they perk up as if he had taken them all to Disneyland. Whether he sits and carries on private conversations with them, runs about the room with them perched on his shoulder as he repeats endless singsong verses meant only for them, or brings them half of his Boston Market chicken dinner, it is a joy for them to be with him. However, if he decides he doesn't take a particular liking to a cat, as in the case of T, Moose and any upstarts that came into the picture after his beloved Warner, watch out, he can talk a mean game. But it is all for show, and they know that eventually he will be won over, though precious moments are sometimes lost doing it. It all works out in the end, and all Abytopia cats love Frisco and his visits. I thank him for that, for giving us fun adventures, hope, glimpses back in time to memorable, happy cat family events, and for being my friend, through thick and thin. The cats thank him for that too...
The world's best dad Frisco and our most beloved T-Rex who walked on water no less effortlessly than Chauncey Gardiner in Being There.
Thanks to all the Abytopia friends and angels I may have forgotten to mention by name- people who have been kind to us at the cat shows, the many vets including Dr. Sutter, Dr. Bower,Dr. Mesher, Dr. Ferro and Dr. Harpster, who have helped make Abytopia better and stronger... people who have decided that they want to share their lives with an Abytopia kitten who will grow with them, experience life's adventures with them and hopefully live long, healthy and happy lives. I cherish all of you, Abytopia angels and friends!!!
Watercolorized photo of Abytopia's Zeus, one of Abytopia's foundation studs, now retired... he has lent his wonderful personality and stunning good looks to Abytopia's family.