A little more about us
JD and Renee in picture at left accept regional award for GP, RW Sarmicel's Lucky for me of Catizen, and on right they accept a regional win for GP, RW Ansata Mousse of Catizen. Photos above by Preston Smith, all rights reserved.
About Us
Articles and Links
Cats
Contact info
Home
We are a husband and wife team, J.D. Blythin and Renee Blythin. Both of us grew up with cats, Renee, with domestic shorthairs of mixed ancestry, and JD also had some mixed ancestry cats and also pedigreed Persians. Before our marriage, Renee had a rather loyal but somewhat jealous domestic shorthair named, Pharaoh, (he's still with us). He rather disliked JD and fiercely guarded Renee. JD wanted his own cat, "A cat that will love me!" He insisted on getting a purebred cat, one that he could be sure of the temperament, oh how Renee tried to dissuade him!
Working together, their research led them to the Burmese breed, known for their unconditional love of humans and easy to care for coats. We contacted a few breeders looking for that perfect kitten, and we found Annie Slawik, Ansata Burmese, in Minnesota; she had a beautiful little sable female kitten, whom we named Mousse. For some reason, and we can't remember why, we decided to take her to a show, we had not bought her to show, nor had either of us ever shown an animal before. Well, she did pretty good at 5 months old! So, we came back to a few shows and she became a Grand Premier. She was besotted with us, chirping and talking with us, stealing food, and otherwise, ruling the house. She crawled under the covers, and stole half the pillows, her shoulders tucked under the blanket like a human's! She was the prize.
Annie gave us another cat to show, this time a sable neuter, named Luke. Boys have a slightly different personality than the girls, and while Mousse was inclined to take an active role, Luke was much happier parked on JD's lap snoozing and watching TV. Burmese boys are a lot like little slackers, slouching through life looking for free love and free food with as little effort as possible on their part! Luke tore up the show hall and became a Grand Premier and a regional winner in the Midwest. He was a joy to show, he loved the ring and strutted on the tables and figured out the mechanics of scoring and even tried a few times to cheat, by stealing ribbons during judging (he was caught the purloined ribbons were removed from his grasping jaws)! Burmese are very smart under their dog-like personalities. They figure out some fairly complicated things.
JD with Luke
We decided, at that point, that we would like to breed, we had these two fabulous Burmese, in temperament and type. And at that point, we couldn't picture life without them, yep we are very addicted! Luke's breeder, is Michael England, Sarmicel Cattery, in Nebraska, and he eagerly encouraged us in our showing of Luke and became a friend of ours. He lent us Luke's full brother to begin breeding. Bronco Nagurski was Luke's full brother, and very much like Luke in temperament though highly motivated by his hormones, he was a loving boy with a large frame. We showed him to Grand Champion and bred him to a girl, Brenwood Fig Newton, who was generously leased to us by Donna Stewart.
That began our breeding career. We learned that breeding is very stressful and very expensive. But we endure, in spite of the odds. The challenges are great but the task is worthwhile. We have been rewarded with friendships with other breeders and exhibitors and enjoyed the kittens that have been born. Annie retired from breeding after some 20 + years of devotion to the Burmese breed, but remains our mentor helping us make decisions. Another one of our good friends is Jane McGregor, a seasoned breeder, exhibitor, and rescuer-she has had a great deal of experience too with the breed. We breed in conjunction with other breeders who share similar goals and philosophy as us.
We are members of the national Burmese breed club, National Alliance of Burmese Breeders, it has an open membership and the newsletter is a wonderful periodical that arrives in the mail quarterly. To learn more about NABB, the code of ethics, the club activities, and the breed, click here, www.burmesecat.org. We are involved also in the NABB Burmese rescue program, for none of these special cats should be homeless!
Sable, champagne, and platinum Burmese
We try to provide the best care to our cats as we can, by keeping a very small number of cats for breeding in addition to the 3 permanent resident cats. Additionally we make sure our cats are current on their veterinary visits and with their vaccinations. Kittens that are not going into a breeding program are sold as pets to buyers who we can rely on to take extra special care of these wonderful beings we've helped into the world. These pet kittens, will be neutered and spayed prior to going to their new homes, because a neutered and spayed cat makes a better, and happier pet. Also, they will have received kitten vaccinations and have been examined by our vet.
Because of our small size, we do not have kittens available often, and if you are interested, please send us an email, but know that you might be asked to wait for a kitten to become available, Curiamagna@yahoo.com
Achievements
Here are some of our notable achievements in breeding and working with the Burmese breed
We have shown 5 cats to a regional win: GP, RW Sarmicel's Lucky For Me of Catizen, GP, RW Ansata Mousse of Catizen, GP, RW Catizen Buried Treasure, GC, RW Sarmicel's OMG! of Catizen, and GC, BW, RW Catizen Everywhere You Want To Be.
We have bred 3 regional winners: GP, RW Catizen Buried Treasure, 13th best cat in the gulf shore region, GC, BW, RW Catizen Everywhere You Want To Be, 11th best cat in the midwest region, and GC, RW Catizen Made From Sugar of Acrocats, 21st best cat in the southern region.
We have shown 2 cats to National Best of breed-Dilute Division, GC, BW Sarmicel's Walter Payton, and his son, GC, BW, RW Catizen Everywhere You Want to Be.
GC, BW, RW Catizen Everywhere You Want To Be
However, the son, surpassed his father's career by not only being a regional winner, but being the highest scoring Burmese, both divisions in the country. His brother, GC, RW Catizen Made From Sugar of Acrocats was second best of breed/division, and also second best Burmese in the country!
GC, BW, RW Catizen Everywhere You Want to Be
and his brother,
GC, RW Catizen Made From Sugar of Acrocats
Our Girl Dora, GC Catizen Foot in the Door, is a very special girl. Not only is she beautiful, and was the 3rd best of breed-dilute division, but she produces lovely kittens. To date, she has produced 4 grands: GC, BW, RW Catizen Everywhere You Want to be, GC, RW Catizen Made From Sugar of Acrocats, GP Catizen My Puma of Santiago, and GC Catizen Change We Need. She was the Cat Fancy Centerfold in June 2008. She is a daughter of the extraordinary male, GC, GP Burmkitteer Sky King Justice Reigns. He had an incredible ability to stamp his offspring with his look. Dora seems to have a similar quality. Dora is a highly outcrossed cat by today's standards. Some would argue that such an out-bred cat could not reproduce herself. We beg to differ. Aside from the color difference, it's clear that her son on the left is her spitting image.
Just recently, JD, had a brief appearance on ABC's morning show, "The View," discussing Burmese cats. He took GP, RW Sarmicel's Lucky For Me of Catizen, "Luke," to the "Meet The Breeds" event in New York City. 
Whoopi Goldberg holding Luke
