Update - A Big Mac for Annie!

This pairing was based partly on our previous post (named Decisions Decisions).  Yep, we paired for 1 week Annie O x Big Mac the week before we went on holiday.  At that time I knew nothing of the changes that would happen that would take away spare time.  This was purely based on retention of lines, type and personality.... However this also works well with my change of circumstances too. 

I hope that this pairing will give me some very plush coated typey kittens, with good build and colour, sweet sweet loving temprements, with a bit of spunk thrown in for good measure.  Ultimately we hope for a keeper out of this that will allow both Annie O and Big Mac to retire in 2012/2013. 

Annie O has a fully articulate Hock tail, and Mac has a short of hock tail.  This brings together Ed X Dakota X Ollie X Shenona lines. Annie O is showing visable signs now of being pregnant, so we know that Big Mac will be a proud daddy by Spring.

Annie O (left) x Big Mac (right)

Update - Decisions, Decisions.

After having a bit of a rethink over Christmas we decided we need to guarantee lines with what we have already, and not edge bets on retaining them from future matings to converge lines.  Other first plans were scrapped because I now have additional commitments which means they became impractical.  Also these plans relied heavily on future line pairings, and I realised that if these didn't go according to plan then I'd be stuck and not be able to turn back the clock.

So we're not counting our chickens before they've hatched.  I cannot afford to be kicking myself in 18 months time when males and females have retired.  The rethink reduces any chance of this, but without having to keep duplicate siblings.  In addition, it also accounts for the time reduction. 

OK so the first things to address were securing Shenona, Dakota, Quinn and Ollies lines and type. 

Shenona is now 3 years old (4 in June) she has only ever gave us this one kitten, and last year she did not conceive at all. We mated a different female in place of her but ultimately we need to secure this line and type.  This girl is stunning, hardy and full of spunk.  She was our very first Pixiebob and show cat and I love her to bits.  I hope she can give us a second litter before retiring, but I cannot assume she will, nor if there will be any keepers within it.  Big Mac is her ONLY kitten and he is rather nice :oP, again I love him as much as his mum.  Mac was our first homebred kitten ever, and he is dear to my heart, he was sired by Ollie who produced very big chunky kittens for us.  We may have lost our only other connection to Ollies line again due to circumstances. 

Big Mac sired 1 litter of 3 for us last year with Nebraska (these were Joe, Oceana and Berry).  Nebraka also has retired, and she too has a line I want to heavily use going forward.  She arrive with her sister Dakota last year late in life.  We wanted to edge our bets and keep all 3 kittens.  However, now my circumstances change, it means I wont have as much time and this is no longer an option to have multiples.

Dakota followed suit of Shenona, has had only had 1 litter containing 1 kitten (Annie O).  We took the decision to retire her immediately (and not mate her again) due to her telling us that she didn't want to be mum anymore.   She also followed suit by giving us an equally stunning type kitten.

Annie O is awesome,and at that time she was the best female kitten we'd produced.   We kept her to continue Dakotas wonderful type and temprement.  She gave us a nice litter of 4 babies (of which we kept 2 to edge my bets again) last year to Quintus.

Quintus has already been placed, the male numbers were getting too high, and he really needed a settled environment in family home. We realised that if we were NOT to get babies from either Declan or Anika, we'd lose Quintus line straight off, and maybe we'd been a little too complacent in expecting Mother Nature to always play ball.  Especially as we've already experienced through Shenona that matings are not always fruitful, and curve balls happen to others too and not just us (that mean lines are cut).

Annie O is our only active cat currently that gave us a litter, but we again can't assume another.  If Anika and Declan were not relied on then Annie O is Our only connection to Dakota.  A lot hangs on lines continuing through Annie and her 2 offspring from 2011.

Declan and Anika were not due to be mated until end of 2012 and possibily 2013, and the clock would be ticking on Annie, Shenona and all my older cats.  As you can see a lots been going round in my head.

Therefore, I decided to try my Older cats and my "Only Connection" Cats in 2012.  This will hopefully put me in good sted to retire and also secure the lines with a staggered approach, rather than keeping siblings.

So pairings this year will involve the following cats:- Shenona, Alessi, Spud and Annie O.  All other matings will be defered and reviewed towards the second half of the year.

Update - Thrown a Curve Ball!

A bit of practical post I'm afraid.

Circumstances have come to pass that now mean I have to complete redesign my plan for 2012.  Anyway this post was purely a sanity check for you all.  No you were not imagining Published Plans, they were there. 

Rather than confuse matters, I have removed all 3 entries of my 2012 Pairing Plans I published in December and reissuing a new plan.  The reason for changing is nothing more drastic than logistics (timings and duplications).

 

The original submission (of 3 installments) while would have been perfect from a line and type perspective, wouldn't work well in practice with the numbers, space and time I could give. The time I can keep a cat in my program for and the lines I am using at any one time and how many combinations I have of it.

I am in the throws of creating a new plan and will be issuing this shortly.  Some of the original pairings are still intended, some are changing altogether, while other are being defered to next year.  In addition to this, I am also going to increase the working relationship I have already with other Pixiebob breeders and some new too.

Update - Prized in Our Collection

This girl is very overdue in having a photoshoot, Celia (Handale Seashell Collection) is one of those cats that is hard to take photos of...she is either too close or too quick.  

A fun loving girl, thats always looking for attention or a toy to play with.  She is very alert, smart and a bit of a livewire.  Celia stayed here at Totallycoastal because of her very nice profile mainly.  She also has good pattern, colour and and head shape.  

We know there are bits we'd like to improve on this girl, and we have just the boy to do it.  Our intention is to pair Celia to Joe (Totallycoastal Jolly Roger), from this we hope we get some kittens with all the best bits from both these homebred cats.  Celias profile, round face, gorgeous whisker pads, lynx tips and leg length.  In addition to that her fun loving spirit and rufus tones.  From Joe we want his gorgeous eyes and chin, and his gentle nature and his overall build.  We are certain this pairing will be a winning combination.

Update - Spud U Like shoot.

It's been an age since we posted any pictures of the huge Spud (Ansonroad Kartafla Muffindottir).  So we felt it was time we did.  Back to her former pre-pregnancy weight of 16lbs, Spud is the biggest female we have here at Totallycoastal, and in fact she's bigger than a lot of our boys.  These lines are renowned for their size.  We hope to blend them with some of our very typey, but smaller cats to get some nice kittens with good overall look.  Spud is a 3/4 length tail, straight-footed long haired female, with nice long legs and a very loving temperament.

Update - Anchors Aweigh

There was something about this girl I loved when she hit 12 weeks old, and I decided to keep her in my program.  That something was her strong brow, profile and eye type.  Since then her muzzle has also began to take a nice shape to it, and we are very pleased with this girls overall look.  Totallycoastal Anchors Aweigh is full sister to Declan, but they are quite different.  I would say the Anika leans much more toward her mothers look (Annie O), where as Declan is more like his father Quintus. 

This girl has a 3/4 length tail and straight footed.  Her coat is shaggy short and I always wonder if it will grow just a bit more to become long (we'll have to wait and see).  She has a cool toned coat with large spots and really nice ticking.  We are likely to breed her late 2012 early 2013 for an early 2013 litter.  The intention at the moment is to pair her with our homebred boy Joe (Totallycoastal Jolly Roger).  Depending on how this girl continues to mature we may switch her mate, she currently is just over 5.5 months old but I see her look will only get better as she grows.

Anika

Anika 5.5m (right) is pictured here with Lottie at 6m.

Update - Our Little Treasure

Homebred girl Berry (Totallycoastal Buried Treasure) hasn't had a photo shoot for almost 4.5m now.  We think she has filled out a lot since her last posted pictures, and is looking more like her mother everyday. 

Berry is a real treasure for us, and even at a week old we knew she would stay here at Totallycoastal.  We particularly love this girls muzzle, she is now 8.5m old and looking more like Nebraska everyday.

Update - Life on the Ocean Waves

It's also been a long time since Oceana (Totallycoastal Ocean Waves) has had any photos.  She still has retained her love for the camera, and is easy to get photos of.  Here are a few of this girls face, to show you those excellent eyes and nice whisker pads... that we are looking forward to carrying on here in our program.

Update - Can't Get Enough of Declan

Declan is such a personality which is just super news for us.... Showable temperament by the bucket load.  He has the face, the colour, the spots, the paws the eyes, the legs... This chap has got it all literally, including a tail.  However, this has not deterred us from keeping Declan as a future Stud Boy in our program.  He is the son of the divine Annie O and the typey Quintus. 

We're contemplating putting this boy to Linsey in July - August 2012.  I think they would compliment each other very well.    Linsey is very particular, and has a very select circle of friends.  Anyone that is NOT part of her crowd is definately given the cold shoulder and a paw full of claws (such a minx).  Fortunately, they get along well too and are often grooming one another, which is a bonus.

I am constantly wishing my life away these days, as we have some really exciting pairing lined up for this year.  Linsey and Declan are one of four we are very much looking forward too. The second pairing of my top 4 for 2012, is King to Annie O, thirdly Ed and Shenona and finally Bobby (A2N) to Berry. 

I'll leave you now with these latest pictures of Declan, so you can start imagining too what a Declan x Linsey litter might be like.

Update - Extended (Royal) Family

We currently have no available kittens here at Totallycoastal.  However, we know somebody that does.  If you love Our two new arrivals King and Princess, then you may be interested to know there are still Royal Kittens available @ Beyondwild Pixiebobs.  At time of publishing this post Prince, Lil Prince and Queenie are up for grabs and they are all super. 

To give you some idea of what this trio are like, Lottie kindly sent me some pictures.  I can 100% guarantee that these kittens have excellent temperaments, and would make ideal pets (some possibly breeders). 

In fact all 3 kittens were at one time or another being considered for my breeding program, and I am sure Lottie will tell you there was much debate and evaluation before I made my final choice.  So which ever kitten you may be interested in, I can assure you they are ALL good choices. 

I would have choosen Lil Prince last week if he hadn't been the smallest (because that face is simply stunning), and his brother Prince was indeed my first choice from all the kittens before I settled on King.  I indeed even considered taking Queenie instead of Lil Princess.

Lil Prince is the smallest, but by no means least.
I simply love this kittens face. 

This gorgeous girl is Queenie, and I think she is
very much like King, she's the largest Girl of the litter.

This Red boy is Prince!  He is identical to Lil Princess (who we have here), and so we choose
King brings us a slight better profile, and different coat shade... so this boy is still available.

If you want to know more about this litter visit Beyondwild or contact Lottie to discuss.

CHARLOTTE@BEYONDWILDPIXIEBOBS.COM

TEL: 07515773157

ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN BE ADDED TO

TOTALLYCOASTALS WAITING LIST

for Short and Long haired, Poly and Straight footed Pixiebobs.

Update - Royal Arrival!

The 2 Royals (Beyondwilds, Lil Flower Princess and The King Is Calling) arrived last Wednesday, and have settled in well.  Both love their raw food dinners, their toys, quilted beds, but most of all a vacant lap and some pampering. 

I have to admit that these two kittens, have lead me a merry dance when trying to take any pictures... they just never stop long enough to get any decent shots and they're so fast!!  However, I did promise I would post some as soon as I could, so here is what I have taken so far.

First up, Princess, she is just adorable in every way... she has a lovely muzzle and chin, and most importantly a personality as gentle and sweet as sugar.

Next Up, King.  The bigger of the two and just a little more calm than his sister.  We love his muzzle as well but more importantly this boy has a great profile.

Owners Update - Flippin' Lovely Videos

We received these Flip movieclips from one of our Mums!  Totallycoastal Margate Sands (aka Tufa) and Totallycoastal Summer Sunset (aka Scarlet).

Tufu Tricks

Scarlet Sunset Captured

Update - Finally Our Kidd!

Poor Bobby has had little exposure, but his been quietly maturing in the background.  Here are few snaps of the keeper A2N (Totallycoastal Captain Kidd), that we'll be mating to a girl in 2012... we have yet to decide which one.... Other than she'll have to have a strong eye.

Update - A2N Kitties Go Wild in the Country!

There's no snakes in the grass, but Our A2N pair, Go Wild In The Country (and Indoors).. If the Eighties was your era, you'll know the connection ;oP.  If not, then you'll think I'm mad... but I'll explain.  It's a tenuous link on two levels.... Firstly to a track named Go Wild In The Country by pop group Bow, Wow, Wow.  Which brings my second connection, of dog-like behaviour of a Pixiebob.   This post is all about the new founded looks that our 5m old A2N babies have developed... Yes, I am referring only to looks and not their behaviour :oD, thankfully.

Pixiebobs are not meant to look cute and fluffy for very long. They should look quite predatory in fact, like a real wild cat.  We wondered if mum Sophie may have been a little too polished to achieve this, but it seems that somewhere within her she mustered up some roughness.  We absolutely couldn't have wished for a better, exactly what we hoped for.  Sweet and innocent kittens Poppy and Buster, have replaced ALL their cuteness with ruggedness. They have also grown really big too, which completes the overall look.  Wrapped up in this exterior, are of course gentle, loving sweet natured kittens.  Yes, I know it's hard believe when they are big and moody looking, but they are both only 5 months old, and still babies.  This in itself is quite a prospect.  If they look like this when they're babies, what will they look like fully matured.  Well I sure hope whoever gives these two kittens a home, will continue to send us photos of their progress, so we can find out.

Now before we go any further, I've asked for some photos that are not forced wide eyed stares like these are (caused by squeaky toys to get them to look at the camera), and I'm promised these soon.  However for now, you're gonna have to trust me on the eye front... The faces are really nice in these photos, so were posting them as is, Eyes and All.  As soon as I get the relaxed eye shots, they'll be added to this post.

This is the girl kitten Poppet, just 5m old. How rugged is that face?

Next up the big boy Buster, again only 5m here... Not so close-up but... Check out those muzzles.

These are A2N kittens, an equivalent to an O2T, if their mother has been judged and registered as PB O1T.  Sophie was registered as an unjudged foundation O1T (based on photos and her reg form), and therefore retained her Found Cat Of Unknown Origin status, without being branded a Found PB.  This makes her kittens carry A,B,C prefixes instead of O; and a Suffix of N instead of T/V. Other than that it is exactly the same.

Both of these kittens are now placed.  We have retained Bobby (Totallycoastal Captain Kidd), as part of a breed program experiment. 

If you want to know more about this experiment, please click on the TAB at the top of the page.

As promised some relaxed eye shots mainly of Buster (the first 4 pictures).  In fact theres only 1 of his sister, very relaxed and purry (at the end), after she'd eatten her chicken dinner.