Poly Maine Coon congress, 28th April

This weekend the poly Maine Coon congress was held during the Cats and Tulips (TICA) show in Asperen (NL). There were 5 rings in New Traits, one of them was the poly Maine Coon congress judged by Kurt Vlach (he did the last 3 poly congresses; in 2008, 2009 and now in 2012).

He pointed out that the 3 important things he judges the poly Maine Coons on are:
1. Type, 2. Grooming, 3. Temperament. He told us that through the years he has seen the polys improve in type. And this was the first time he said out loud, that he loves the polys! We love you too Kurt.

The final was between Dynamicats Lets Get PP Loud (left) and Galaxy P de Redland (right).
Kurt asked their owners to present their cats, and tell the public why the other cat should win?
So they did, and.......he almost changed his mind ;-) But at that moment he decided...

From left to right: Nicole Brixhe, her daughter Lola with Lets get PP Loud, Kurt Vlach and Sandra Hummel with Galaxy.

Best Cat - Galaxy P de Redland - owner Sandra Hummel

2nd Best Cat - Dynamicats Lets Get PP Loud - owner Nicole Brixhe

3rd Best Cat - WakpalaLuta's LamPawghini - owner Michaela Bolk

4th Best Cat - Fishingtigers JasPPer - owner Christiane Duentzer

5th Best Cat - Leather and Lace Dim all the Lights P - owner John Monster 

6th Best Cat - Bogycat SoPPhy - owner Martina Roth

7th Best Cat - Gulinka PP NicNac of Jalhay - owner Mireille Hotchamps

8th Best Cat - WakpalaLuta's LapTop - owner Michaela Bolk

9th Best Cat - Dynamicats PP Fireworks - owner Rianna Hof

10th Best Cat - TLC Polycoon's Butch P Cassidy - owner Sharon Otten Boult

A big congratulations to their owners and breeders.

And a big THANK YOU to all that made this poly Maine Coon congress possible. Thank you for taking this opportunity to promote the poly Maine Coons for the cats they really are!
Hope to see you all again very soon!

Pictures by: Maryline Compagnon Rault

Poly Maine Coon congress is ON!

We are very excited to announce that the poly Maine Coon Congress is ON!
It will be held at the Cats & Tulips show in Asperen (NL), Saturday 28th of April.
In total 22 poly Maine Coons entered the show for Saturday. We are so happy!
Thank you all for taking this opportunity to show your polys!

Don’t forget to give them showbaths and groom them properly.
The judge, Kurt Vlach, specifically asked for that.
The key is Rinse, Rinse, Rinse….and if you think you’re done……….
Rinse again! :-))

See you all on Saturday, also if you have not entered a poly yourself.
If you have the opportunity, you can be there to show them your support.
Let’s have a Poly Party! 

 

Polydactyl Study - Bern Switzerland

A new study about polydactyly has started in Switzerland today.
This study shall demonstrate that the Maine Coon polys don't have the semilethaldefect.
This defect is the reason why in Germany breeders are not allowed to breed with polys.

Please send bloodsamples from your Maine Coon polys to the clinic in Bern /Switzerland.

Click here for the link

Maine Coon polydactyl for Championship status

In September of 2009 twenty five members of PolyStandard submitted an Application to TICA for Advancement of a New Trait (polydactylism) to Championship Status. This Application will be voted on by the members of the TICA Maine Coon Breed section in December of 2009. Should the vote be favourable, Breeders and Fanciers of TICA will be able to show the Maine Coon polydactyl for Titles and Points beginning May 1st 2010, thus becoming the second major Cat Association in the World to accept the MC poly for Championship Status. This will follow the New Zealand Cat Fancy's approval of the MC poly in the Show Ring at the beginning of 2009. PolyStandard encourages you, if you are a TICA member, to make your voice be heard by voting on this proposal. Of course we invite you to Vote YES. We thank you in advance! A copy of our Rationale for submitting the Application with supporting documentation can be viewed by clicking HERE!

Bronze Double Grand Champion

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Jazz (Mainelymagic The Jazzman P) is now a Bronze Double Grand Champion. He got the requisite number of points at the last show but one and now we are plugging away aiming for silver and possibly gold (the top award possible)

I am very proud of my pink and white boy. He has been a great cat to show, he has an unflappable nature and takes the whole thing in his stride. It is wonderful that a poly, and a Gen 3 cat (in NZ we call F1, F2 etc Gen1 and Gen2) who is not even on the full register yet has done so well. The first year for showing polys has been a success. I never thought this time last year that I would be writing this, just goes to show what dogged perseverance can do (that and a hard head LOL)



hugs

--
Soozn =^.^=
Mainelymagic Maine Coons
www.mainecoon.co.nz

NZ Nationals - and a new Double Grand Champion

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Hi all,
The NZ Nationals have just been held over the weekend.

I took Jazz only, as Diggie does not travel as well. I thought I'd spare him the plane trip.

There were 5 Maine Coons in the entire cat section. The other 4 were full showlines and included imports from Europe and others from US lines. Jazz is still on our provisional register as he is part foundation - from Maine.

I was going to post on the list before I went, but I didn't think Jazz would do that well being a foundation poly. He proved me wrong! His results, which I am bursting with pride to announce, were:
First day (a bit stressed) 3rd best Maine Coon in 2 rings, 4th best Maine Coon in the other. No Top 10 placings
Second day (more relaxed) Best Maine Coon in one ring, 2nd and 3rd in the other two rings. He finalled in 2 rings, 5th Best in Show and 10th Best in Show.

The best of all was that the judge who gave him first Maine Coon (and 5th best in show over all longhair breeds) was the US judge! We had all international judges, the others were from Australia. A group of Maine Coon breeders spoke to him later to ask his opinion of the cats and how they compared to those in the US. He said he hadn't noticed that Jazz was a poly until he was taken out for the finals. He liked his boning and musculature and said he had the best head of the cats. He liked his ear set and the length of muzzle. He was asked if he would have placed him as well if he had noticed he was a poly, and he said it would have made no difference as it is allowed in the NZ standard.

Jazz won enough points at the show (which added to his other points from the other 3 shows) to bring him up to a Double Grand Champion (at least if my math is correct!)

So a momentous weekend for us, Jazz and the polys.

--
Soozn =^.^=
Mainelymagic Maine Coons
www.mainecoon.co.nz

Published Study

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For a number of years, some members of the TICA Breed Section list have been in favour of acceptance for the Maine Coon polydactyl. To further this endeavour they have shown in the New Traits classes in TICA shows. One of the major obstacles to this was the lack of scientific data concerning the Maine Coon Polydactyl and the request that studies be presented.

In the past a study brought forth from November 12, 1998 using domestic cats, but it was not specific to cat breed.

For the last five years +, Dr. Leslie Lyons, UC Davis, California, has been receiving DNA swabs from breeders and fanciers around the world from Maine Coon polydactyl sires, dams and kittens. This collected data from UC Davis was submitted to MRC-Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Crewe Rd, Edinburgh, to be used in the study referenced below.
There has also been ambassadors for the Maine Coon polydactyl present at the World Cat Congress, as well as other shows in Europe. Dr. Lyons stated emphatically on each and every occasion during the discussion of the Maine Coon polydactyl that there were NO issues with polydactyly even when homozygous.

The latest study is:

Human Molecular Genetics, 2008, Vol. 17, No. 7 978–985
doi:10.1093/hmg/ddm370
Advance Access published on December 21, 2007


MRC-Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Crewe Rd, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK

There is a wealth of information and a number of mediums used in the study. When asked, Dr. Lyons stated specifically that the dna swabs she received for the Maine Coon polydactyl community and Pixie Bob community were used in this study. The discussion of this article summarizes:

DISCUSSION

Analysis of polydactylous cats identified three new mutations associated with preaxial polydactyly. As found for human and mouse (8), the cat mutations reside within the ZRS suggesting that the nature of preaxial polydactyly in cats is equivalent to other mammals. Since these mutations produce a limb-specific phenotype in human with no other discernible physiological defects, we submit that this type of polydactyly has no further detrimental affect on the cat’s health.

The full report can be seen at:

http://www.polytrak.net

On the left side click on INFO/ARTICLES
click on EDINBURGH STUDY

Setting personal preference aside, genetically and health wise the Maine Coon polydactyl is as sound as its regular footed counterparts and consideration should be made for acceptance for Championship Status.
Thanks

Deb Brown

TO IGNORE THE FACTS DOESN'T CHANGE THEM

A Maine Coon Polydactyl is a Maine Coon.
Support for Champion Status - http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/polystandard
Promote the Polys...get your cats listed in PolyTrak!
http://www.polytrak.net
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A momentous day

February 28th, the NZCF held the first show of the 2009 show season. It's hard to believe that the day I have been praying and hoping for and waiting for so many years for, has finally happened :-)).

It was a small show held in a provincial town on the West Coast of the South Island, but a big one as far as polys are concerned and one that will take its place in the history of Maine Coons.

I had 2 polys, Diggie (Mainelymagic Digitally Enhanced) and Jazz (Mainelymagic The Jazzman P) entered in the entire section. This was the very first time in the entire world that a polydactyl was to be legitimately judged as a Maine Coon and eyes were on us :-))). Everyone was waiting to see how they fared, particularly as I was told that 2 of the 4 judges were against polys.

I am very proud to announce that both cats did extremely well. They were the only 2 Maine Coon entire cats there (other breeders brought kittens and neuters), but they were judged against the other breeds for overall placings.

Diggie was favoured over Jazz by 2 of the 4 judges. He went on to receive 2 Runner Up Best in Show awards from these judges, beaten both times only by a Persian who last year won the National Points Award for Best Longhair kitten (All Breeds). Diggie also received 2 awards for Best Groomed.

The other 2 judges picked Jazz over Diggie for Best of Breed (an even split LOL). He was placed by one as 3rd overall and by the other as Best in Show!!!!! He also won a Breeders Award of Merit for us. This is a special award given at the judge's discretion, they are highly prized by breeders and mean more to most than the placing awards. Needless to say, we were over the moon. Jazz also won 2 awards for Best Temperament and one for Best Groomed.

The night after the show we were having a celebratory party with the other Maine Coon breeders at the show, we were all excited at how the polys had done and also one of the MCO entire kittens who did extremely well. The others had received many texts and phone calls asking how the polys had done at the show. There was evidently a lot of interest in how they had fared being judged for the first time. I was happy that even the judges who did not personally like polys judged them well and fairly. Only one judge seemed to be influenced by their feet, the others judged them according to their heads (ears, muzzles, profiles etc), body, boning and tail length and didn't bother with the feet other than to remark that the cat was a poly.

So many set backs and disappointments but now it has happened. Polydactyls judged as Maine Coons, Polydactyl Maine Coons taking out Best In Show, Polydactyl Maine Coon Champions (both Diggie and Jazz now have the title of Champion!) Woo hoo!

Photos from the show:

CH Mainelymagic The Jazzman P (1 year old):




CH Mainelymagic Digitally Enhanced (4 years old);




regards from an exhausted but elated
Soozn =^.^=
Mainelymagic Maine Coons
www.mainecoon.co.nz

Polydactyls accepted for showing in New Zealand YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Copy of the post sent to the TICA list, January 6, 2009

I am proud to tell you all that the New Zealand Cat Fancy has accepted polydactyly in the Maine Coon breed and 2009 will see the polys on the show bench, taking their rightful place (in my opinion of course LOL) alongside their straight footed brothers and sisters.

New Zealand has long been a country that embraces fairness and equality. We are made up of people who are not afraid to do something different to the rest of the world if we think it is right. NZ was the first country in the world to allow votes for women and I hope that, as with equality for women, the rest of the world will slowly follow our lead and treat polys equally.

I hope you will all see over time that nothing has changed, some people will continue breeding polys because they like them and others won't because they don't.....just as it is now. The cats will look the same, the breed won't deteriorate because a previously ignored section of it is ignored no longer...just maybe the breed will improve as the disenfranchised poly breeders come back into the fold and improve the quality of their cats because of the showing exposure. My big wish for the New Year is that other registries including TICA will follow suit.

I would like to thank all the Maine Coon breeders in NZ who did not allow prejudice to overcome their sense of fairness, and who voted three times over the years to accept polydactyly. In particular I'd like to thank my friend Zena for her unswerving support of the poly cause.

regards
Soozn =^.^=
Mainelymagic Maine Coons
www.mainecoon.co.nz

Recognition

At the Annual Board meeting of TICA in Arlington Texas, August 2008, the following addition to standing rule 216.12.2 was accepted: Polydactyls, in any breed authorized by a Board approved standard, shall be limited to no more than 7 toes on any foot.

The cats founding the Maine Coon breed included polydactyls and were originally considered for the Maine Coon breed standard. When applying for Championship Status the polydactyl trait was dropped due to aesthetics only, but was and is still registered and accepted for breeding. TICA recognizes Polydactyl as a valid trait. The Maine Coon polydactyl should be judged and conform to the Maine Coon breed standard and compete against their same color counterparts. No points given or any taken away concerning digits. Just following the Maine Coon standard stating Feet: large, rounded and well tufted, and with the addition, polydactyl allowed.

Maine Coon polydactyls are Maine Coons, regardless of digits, and our intent is to have them recognized for Championship status as Maine Coons in the show ring. Let us finally show this great cat the recognition and support it really deserves!

To find out more go to: www.polytrak.net or join us at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/polystandard