Below please find my blog--random posts about whatever is on my mind, or what I am up to in my cat life :)  If you have a question for me, or something you would like to see me comment on here, please email me at michelle@mewznewz.com !

Belated Little Update

December 22, 2011

Hey, I can see I have a couple people checking in to my blog regularly--Hi!  And I apologize for not keeping up a little better :)  I DID post some updates to each kitties page in a timely manner, just slow on getting a blog post out.


Had a fantastic show here in Phoenix Dec 10-11th!  I took too many kitties (6), and didn't get to spend as much time enjoying the show--but it was GREAT!


  

First, my Persian boy Rockstar (above) is now a Grand Champion!  It was perfect-- judge Betty White gave him his first final at his first show (and said so many nice things about him, even in his short coat), and was also the judge to award him the points to finish his grand!  He also made several finals over the weekend, so he finished with many points to spare.


Second, Mewz Pretty, Pretty Paisley --one of Rockstar's Exotic daughters -- did especially well, and made 2 kitten finals!  She was only a couple days over 4 months, but handled herself like a pro!  She beat several campaigner kittens to make the finals--Phoenix was a huge kitten show, and the Exotic class was enormous!  So that was very exciting for me :) Judges had very many nice and encouraging things to say about my litter (I entered all 4, LOL)--the kittens were a hit!   Pat and Promise were both crowd pleasers with their playful antics, and Penny was her usual super cute self.  Each of them had some good wins, but Paisley was the overall favorite. I am anxious to continue bring them out and see if that holds--Paisley is indeed a gorgeous baby, but I think the others are also pretty special--and am curious to see how they challenge her.  Fun!


I had the good fortune of meeting and chatting with several very nice people at this show, as well as getting to spend a little time with my mentors--who I do not get to see enough of.  It was a great experience all around.

 

Pictures of Patti

December 3, 2011

I am STILL trying to get some pictures of my younger exotic shorthair kittens from Luna.  We were planning on taking some this weekend, but the weather is very gray, and predicted to stay so.  Sooo... that will make it more challenging. Next weekend is a big show, tho, so I REALLY need to get some nice pictures to take with me--both to show off Rockstar's ability, and also because there may well be buyers there.  I think at least a couple of those babies may be for sale.


I DID manage to get so...


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Litter Advice

November 25, 2011

te Litter Advice!  Exotic shorthair kitties are pretty straight forward to take care of.  Persians and Exotic longhairs take a bit more thinking--their very hairy feet and sometimes long, long coats cat require a little accommodation.  Also, there are lots of products on the market these days, and it gets expensive trying everything.  Having a house full of cats, I do some experimenting with, especially with products I am hearing a lot of great things about.

 

v  I use and strongly recommen...


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Luna's kittens

November 12, 2011

Luna, my bluecream Exotic, had a litter of three last month.  Two boys, 1 girl.  The boys are both shorthairs--one cream tabby with white, and one blue tabby who has high white.  The little girl is a cream and white longhair.


The blue tabby and white shorthair--Gus, although Stephen keeps calling him Elvis--has gorgeous markings, and beautiful eyes.  The cream tabby and white shorthair guy--Scooter--is uber compact, and very, very outgoing.  He has the shortest tail I've seen, in fact a short ...


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Quick post about cleanup products I really like!

October 29, 2011

I will be making a more inclusive list of things I really like, and why--and posting them to my "new owners" page, coming soon!

 Today, though, I just wanted to recommend some clean-up products after my last entry. 

For cleaning up stains in carpet and upholstery, I cannot say enough about Bissell Eww! It is an enzyme based cleaner, so it actually eats what is causing the stain, and nothing else.  This means you can use it on most surfaces without damaging them, and the WHOLE stain goes awa...


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Cleaning up after kitties... what rescue taught me.

October 25, 2011
Sometimes I find myself worrying about kitties--the ones that end up in the pound, put to sleep, or thrown out of homes because of behavioral problems.  Yesterday (and today) was one of those times.

For... well... as long as I can remember, I've been involved one way or another with rescue cats.  And dogs.  Be it the kitty someone dumped on the block and I brought home, or spending time in the Humane Society or animal control, or being a foster or organizer for a breed or general animal rescue...

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Exotic Shorthair vs Exotic vs Persian

October 22, 2011
I had someone ask me the other day, "what is the difference between an Exotic and an Exotic Shorthair ?"  

Exotics are a relatively new cat breed.  The goal was to create shorthaired Persians--inspired, at least in part, by cats that came out of some American Shorthair breeders attempts to use Silver Persians to enhance their AS's coloring.  To achieve this goal Persians were crossed with shorthaired breeds having a similar type (cobby, compact bodies and round heads)--Burmese, British and Ame...
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Meat!

October 18, 2011
Persian and Exotic cats look best with a nice layer of fat over some good muscle tone.  My cats tend to do the muscle tone just fine.  It's the extra fat I never seem to be able to pack on them.  Don't get me wrong--you don't want them to be obese or FAT, per se, but very round--it just goes with the look.  Everything on them is supposed to be rounded.  Persian and Exotic kittens, in particular, look especially appealing a little plump.  My kitties are by no means thin, but I always feel like...
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October's Superstition Show

October 17, 2011
We survived :)  He was a tired boy--I got him up at 3:30am for his bath, and I think he had gone to sleep late, too.  He was pretty good for it tho.  I rushed it just a bit, and it showed--his coat was ever so slightly off in texture, and I didn't leave products on his feet and chest quite long enough to remove the bit of yellowing he gets from his food.

That said, I had 3 judges tell the audience about what a great job someone had done with him and his presentation while they were handling th...
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Getting ready for the show tomorrow

October 15, 2011
Rockstar is looking nice.  He is really enjoying all the attention I've been giving him :)  He loves grooming and one on one time.

I wish I was a better Persian groomer.  I have come a long way, but there are still things I really need to learn.  No matter what I do, I still kind of feel like he is unfinished.  It's his face.  He is in kind of an in-between stage--his coat is much bigger than it was, but it still isn't enough to support a whole lot of face and head sculpting.  So while I have ...
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About Me


Michelle Merkel Proud Proprietor of Mewz Precious Persians and Exotics Cattery. Originally from Montana, have lived all over the west and midwest, but finally found "home" in the valley of the sun. My degree is in Anthropology, with minors in Japanese and History. I am working on getting a dual Masters in Social Work and Public Admin. All of that is a long way from where I started--which was Pre-Vet. :) Besides grooming, breeding and showing my Persian and Exotic cats, I enjoy photography, writing, DIY projects, and computer gaming.

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