FOXY CATTERY
Chocolate/Lilac Persians and Himalayans
A PKD DNA-tested cattery
Home of GC RW Foxy Lucy Brown, highest-scoring Chocolate Persian in CFA
history!
Chocolate/Lilac Persians and Himalayans
A PKD DNA-tested cattery
Home of GC RW Foxy Lucy Brown, highest-scoring Chocolate Persian in CFA
history!
Foxy Cattery • 12 Church St. • Greenbrier, AR USA • 72058 • Phone: 1.501.679.3690 • email: bjfox2005@windstream.net Copyright 2009 Foxy Cattery Webmaster: Himalayan Consulting All photographs on this website are the copyrighted property of their photographers and may not be copied, distributed, displayed, or otherwise used without the express, advance, and written permission of each photographer. |
FOXY CATTERY
Chocolate/Lilac Persians and Himalayans
A PKD/DNA-negative cattery
Home of GC RW Foxy Lucy Brown, highest-scoring Chocolate Persian in CFA history!
Chocolate/Lilac Persians and Himalayans
A PKD/DNA-negative cattery
Home of GC RW Foxy Lucy Brown, highest-scoring Chocolate Persian in CFA history!
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Foxy Cattery History
Was I ever excited when I brought my first kitten home — a “top show” seal point girl that I bought for $125 from a
Chicago newspaper ad more than 30 years ago! Thankfully, I never embarrassed her, me, or the judges by entering
Nutmeg in a show, but I was hooked on cats. Being a dog breeder/trainer/groomer for 20 years, the purchase of a
cat was a big deal. I started going to CFA shows and realized my little “top show” girl did not look anything like what I
was seeing on the benches. I set out to educate myself and buy something better. My first show purchase was a
chocolate point kitten, CH Metoo’s Foxy Little Guy. Little did I know that chocolate on a pedigree was considered a
“lethal gene” -- the armpit of the Persians in those early days -- and no one wanted anything to do with chocolate on
a pedigree. I sat alone for many years in the show rings with the only chocolate point or lilac point in the show… and
often only one or two Himalayans in a show hall. Those were the early days, with very few Himalayans and not of the
quality we see today.
Jump ahead to 1987, twelve years later, when I met the Grande Dame of Himalayan breeding, Noel Newton. I had
called top breeders in the country to try to buy something better, but the minute they heard I had a chocolate point
to work with, some even hung up on me! I drove from Chicago to Madame Nu’s Cattery in New York to purchase a
kitten of quality and returned home with not just one kitten, but two. More importantly, I made one of the best
friends of my life, as well as acquired a mentor. Noel not only loaned me one of her best males later on, but insisted a
few years later that I purchase GRC Homerkits Moosesloose of Foxy, a fabulous blue point boy who carried choco-
late and lilac -- but no one realized that. His head was so large that one hand could barely hold it. He put that beau-
tiful high, smooth top head on every single one of his kittens. He was a pre-potent, patient, kind, and loving boy who
always got his woman! His grandson, GRC Gotabkitn Ashley Wilkes of Foxy, is still padding around my house and
has the same sweet, loving nature and beautiful head type.
Finally, after 17 years of sheer tenacity and heartbreak, along came GRC, RW, GP Foxy Lucy Brown. She was a sen-
sational cat out of Moose and a Madame Nu line, and she loved the shows. Out-crossing to non-chocolate cats was
the secret to a recessive breeding program. In order to produce visible chocolates and lilacs, the gene must be on
both sides of a pedigree -- and therein was the problem for most breeders who wanted a "quick win." No one had
ever seen a chocolate of Lucy's quality. She racked up an astonishing 4,453 points during her show year, 1995-1996.
She was the 7th Best All-breed Cat, Midwest Region; Best Chocolate Persian, National; and Best Solid Color Persian
in the Midwest. Although there have only been a couple more solid chocolate Grands in CFA since then, Lucy’s
record still stands. It would make me very happy to see someone beat that record today. More than seven reputable
chocolate/lilac breeders in America and Canada began to emerge, and we cheered every time we saw a new chocolate
or lilac in the rings. After Lucy Brown’s year, came GRC, RW Foxy Lavender Lucy, a lilac girl; then GRC, RW Foxy I
Lav Lucy!, another lilac girl; then CH Foxy Grape Expectations!, a lilac boy. Not only were Himalayans becoming
more recognized, but the judges were learning there was substance and quality in chocolates and lilacs.
Lucy died in 2001 of PKD, right after breeders around the world were losing half their breeding programs due to pos-
itive findings from massive ultrasound tests being conducted everywhere. I was one of the responsible breeders who
helped set up scanning clinics, and cried as I also cut my breeding program in half — an awful blow to a chocolate-and
-lilac program. Other irresponsible breeders were pooh-poohing the scans. Today, thanks to a simple DNA test, all
Foxy adults are PKD-negative. I continue to always support breeding “for the betterment of the breed” in every way.
Was I ever excited when I brought my first kitten home — a “top show” seal point girl that I bought for $125 from a
Chicago newspaper ad more than 30 years ago! Thankfully, I never embarrassed her, me, or the judges by entering
Nutmeg in a show, but I was hooked on cats. Being a dog breeder/trainer/groomer for 20 years, the purchase of a
cat was a big deal. I started going to CFA shows and realized my little “top show” girl did not look anything like what I
was seeing on the benches. I set out to educate myself and buy something better. My first show purchase was a
chocolate point kitten, CH Metoo’s Foxy Little Guy. Little did I know that chocolate on a pedigree was considered a
“lethal gene” -- the armpit of the Persians in those early days -- and no one wanted anything to do with chocolate on
a pedigree. I sat alone for many years in the show rings with the only chocolate point or lilac point in the show… and
often only one or two Himalayans in a show hall. Those were the early days, with very few Himalayans and not of the
quality we see today.
Jump ahead to 1987, twelve years later, when I met the Grande Dame of Himalayan breeding, Noel Newton. I had
called top breeders in the country to try to buy something better, but the minute they heard I had a chocolate point
to work with, some even hung up on me! I drove from Chicago to Madame Nu’s Cattery in New York to purchase a
kitten of quality and returned home with not just one kitten, but two. More importantly, I made one of the best
friends of my life, as well as acquired a mentor. Noel not only loaned me one of her best males later on, but insisted a
few years later that I purchase GRC Homerkits Moosesloose of Foxy, a fabulous blue point boy who carried choco-
late and lilac -- but no one realized that. His head was so large that one hand could barely hold it. He put that beau-
tiful high, smooth top head on every single one of his kittens. He was a pre-potent, patient, kind, and loving boy who
always got his woman! His grandson, GRC Gotabkitn Ashley Wilkes of Foxy, is still padding around my house and
has the same sweet, loving nature and beautiful head type.
Finally, after 17 years of sheer tenacity and heartbreak, along came GRC, RW, GP Foxy Lucy Brown. She was a sen-
sational cat out of Moose and a Madame Nu line, and she loved the shows. Out-crossing to non-chocolate cats was
the secret to a recessive breeding program. In order to produce visible chocolates and lilacs, the gene must be on
both sides of a pedigree -- and therein was the problem for most breeders who wanted a "quick win." No one had
ever seen a chocolate of Lucy's quality. She racked up an astonishing 4,453 points during her show year, 1995-1996.
She was the 7th Best All-breed Cat, Midwest Region; Best Chocolate Persian, National; and Best Solid Color Persian
in the Midwest. Although there have only been a couple more solid chocolate Grands in CFA since then, Lucy’s
record still stands. It would make me very happy to see someone beat that record today. More than seven reputable
chocolate/lilac breeders in America and Canada began to emerge, and we cheered every time we saw a new chocolate
or lilac in the rings. After Lucy Brown’s year, came GRC, RW Foxy Lavender Lucy, a lilac girl; then GRC, RW Foxy I
Lav Lucy!, another lilac girl; then CH Foxy Grape Expectations!, a lilac boy. Not only were Himalayans becoming
more recognized, but the judges were learning there was substance and quality in chocolates and lilacs.
Lucy died in 2001 of PKD, right after breeders around the world were losing half their breeding programs due to pos-
itive findings from massive ultrasound tests being conducted everywhere. I was one of the responsible breeders who
helped set up scanning clinics, and cried as I also cut my breeding program in half — an awful blow to a chocolate-and
-lilac program. Other irresponsible breeders were pooh-poohing the scans. Today, thanks to a simple DNA test, all
Foxy adults are PKD-negative. I continue to always support breeding “for the betterment of the breed” in every way.
In helping Noel Newton write The Himalayan Breeders Manual, BJ Fox continued researching the ori-
gins of chocolate Persians. With the advent of abundance of Internet data and five-generation pedi-
grees, she tracked thousands of pedigrees back to the beginning of the breed in England. In order to
produce visible chocolates and lilacs, the gene must be on both sides of a pedigree — and therein lay
the problem for most breeders. She learned the secret needed to produce quality chocolates and lilacs
and wrote about it. CFA then published her 14-page, color article in the 1994 CFA Yearbook, complete
with some of those pedigrees of major cats who contributed to our chocolates and lilacs of today. This
ground-breaking article illuminated the struggle breeders had with the recessive chocolate gene and
why.
gins of chocolate Persians. With the advent of abundance of Internet data and five-generation pedi-
grees, she tracked thousands of pedigrees back to the beginning of the breed in England. In order to
produce visible chocolates and lilacs, the gene must be on both sides of a pedigree — and therein lay
the problem for most breeders. She learned the secret needed to produce quality chocolates and lilacs
and wrote about it. CFA then published her 14-page, color article in the 1994 CFA Yearbook, complete
with some of those pedigrees of major cats who contributed to our chocolates and lilacs of today. This
ground-breaking article illuminated the struggle breeders had with the recessive chocolate gene and
why.
| Please enjoy your viewing of Foxy cats and kittens! |
BJ Fox
Foxy kitties now live in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, Canada, Brazil, and many states of USA. BJ Fox is known for her
honesty, cleanliness, and integrity in all her dealings with cats, breeders, judges, and spectators at the many shows she attended
over the years. She is recognized around the world as an authority in the breeding of these very rare colors and is a champion for
ethical and healthy breeding practices. She has operated a veterinarian-inspected cattery since CFA started the program. She has
earned the highest merits for quality with many “CFA Cattery of Excellence” awards. BJ currently writes, and is Assistant Editor
of, Cat Tracks, the quarterly publication of The Atlantic Himalayan Club. She is also Editor of the Himalayan World Directory that
circulates in over 25 countries. Please enjoy this small memory of the good and bad times involved in cat breeding of recessive
colors. It is her fun and everlasting adventure.
honesty, cleanliness, and integrity in all her dealings with cats, breeders, judges, and spectators at the many shows she attended
over the years. She is recognized around the world as an authority in the breeding of these very rare colors and is a champion for
ethical and healthy breeding practices. She has operated a veterinarian-inspected cattery since CFA started the program. She has
earned the highest merits for quality with many “CFA Cattery of Excellence” awards. BJ currently writes, and is Assistant Editor
of, Cat Tracks, the quarterly publication of The Atlantic Himalayan Club. She is also Editor of the Himalayan World Directory that
circulates in over 25 countries. Please enjoy this small memory of the good and bad times involved in cat breeding of recessive
colors. It is her fun and everlasting adventure.