Kings

Kings

“The Creator… has shown plainly enough that he considered cats the highest form of life, by placing them above all material cares. This enables cats to live in contemplative leisure, leading what one of the greatest human philosophers, Aristotle, holds up

as the ‘good life’.

But although Aristotle expounded the good life, even the noblest born among his countrymen did not lead such a good life as a cat!”

—Artaxerxes, the cat of writer T.O. Beachcroft

And Cats as well as Kings like flattery.

One day, when Mark Twain was about to enter a room, two kittens came running up. Twain opened the door, bowed to the cats and said, “ Walk in, gentlemen, I always give precedence to royalty.” —Robert Southey

“Count Blackula” at 7 months old

2009 International Cat Show, Orlando, FL

OUTSTANDING SIRE, REGIONAL WINNER!!!

SUPREME GRAND CHAMPION

Tanstaafl “Beauregard”

Owner/Breeder: Beth Hicks

Sire: Outstanding Sire, Regional Winner, Supreme Grand Champion Calicoon “Sherman”

Dam: Regional Winner, Quad Grand Champion Hoosiercoon “Kari” of Tanstaafl

Red Classic Tabby

DNA Tested Negative

For HCM

P EDIGREE

“Your back is my Throne!”

7 months

Refusing to be Ignored

4 months

“Whadaya mean, you can’t breathe?!”

6 months (the 1st time Count met our niece )

“Smoozhing the Guest” @ 5 months

“I am a-okay with air travel, where’s the nuts?”

on U.S. Air @ 7 months

“ I couldn’t fit under the tree!”

11 months

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL WINNER!!!

SUPREME GRAND CHAMPION

CascadeMtn “Love Shack” of RoyalLions

Sire: INTERNATIONAL WINNER,

Supreme Grand Champion

CascadeMtn “McKenzie”

Dam: Champion WhataTrill “Sierra” of CascadeMtn

Red Mackerel Tabby - Born January 6th, 2010

Screened 2/18/2011 for HCM via Echocardiogram at UF Veterinarian Medical Center—heart “normal” . DNA Negative for HCM

PEDIGREE

On January 19, 2009, on MLK Day, six baby Maine Coon kittens were born to CinderPaw and Beauregard. As they arrived we named the 6 boys: Martin, Luther, King, Junior, Brach, and Oreo in honor of the day. It was purely coincidental after their post birth weigh-in Junior was the runt and King led the litter by almost a whole ounce, this is a considerable lead for a newborn. As the babies grew King, a solid black Maine Coon, dominated the pack, pushing his way through the crowd to get to the food first, hogging the trough by laying in it, sitting on the highest perch of the cat tree, rough housing with his siblings despite their disinterest, and not cooperating during photo sessions. He was a “king” not to be ignored. As he matured none of the other kittens caught up with him in size, it was clear s his chest broadened he was possibly sneaking to the local gym at night! He had exceptional boning and structure for his age. His muzzle stood out nice and square, the curve to his profile was dramatically defined, and he sported beautiful lynx tips! We knew when he started body slamming the kitten room door to get out we had a baby Napoleon on our hands. King was difficult to disregard as he became very vocal in trilling his dissatisfaction with closed doors and seeing carbon copies of himself in mirrors. He also knew just where to lay his “bigness” to get attention . It’s quite difficult to ignore a cat lying in the walkway with his paws up in the air!

Though very independent in spirit, King was very sensitive and loving; head butting us the minute we picked him up, following us around the house like a puppy, begging for treats on his hind legs, and trilling when we left his sight. His worst habit became the inspiration for his formal show name. King loved to snuggle at night but often in his quest for intimacy he would nibble our necks, also known as play biting. This obsession with generously sharing his affection, notably around midnight, gave him his show name “Count Blackula”. Count loves the show hall and winning ribbons, but his demanding performance mainly consists of showing the judges the fine art of sleeping. As they attempt to fully display him in front of the spectators, Count being the King he is, ignores the effort a judge must make to stretch a solid 20 pound lethargic cat It is his thought that their privilege to admire him is their own burden. Several times he almost fell off the judge’s stand due to rolling over in complete relaxation while his lead bottom dragged him off. Usually at this point the judges kindly remarked on his gentle laid back disposition! Count’s favorite pastimes include watching TV on the kitchen counter; his favorite channels being Food Network and the Weather, waiting for a handout from the refrigerator, patting the window with just a tad of effort as he watches giant squirrels steal the food from our birdfeeders (he’d never make it in the wild), and traveling to shows. When he does finally choose to exercise he finds it most satisfying to jump on our backs while we are squatting down, burying his face into our necks (of course), and laying spread eagle as if we are his throne!

In November 2009, Count Blackula earned his Supreme Grand Champion title at only 10 months old, this is very difficult to do in the Championship (Adult) class where often more mature Maine Coons easily outsize the kittens who just enter the class at 8 months old. In 2010 Count Blackula became a TICA International Winner and #1 / Best Maine Coon Cat in the Southeast proving his superb breed conformation, gentle disposition, and showmanship!

A Very Stressful Ride in the Car

(playing with the mirror ornament)

Previous King

Poor Table Posture

INTERNATIONAL WINNER !

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL WINNER & SUPREME GRAND CHAMPION

RoyalLions “Count Blackula”

Sire: Southeast Regional Winner, Supreme Grand Champion , Outstanding Sire Tanstaafl “Beauregard”

Dam: Grand Champion Broadsway “CinderPaw” of RoyalLions

Solid Black Maine Coon—Born January 19, 2009 (MLK Day)

PEDIGREE

Screened 5/21/2010 for HCM via Echocardiogram at UF Veterinarian Medical Center—heart “normal”

DNA Negative for HCM , Hips Radiographed : Good

It was our great fortune that this little red mackeral boy found his way to RoyalLions thanks to our very special Northwestern friends Blair and Susan Milburn of CascadeMtn (Ridgefield, WA) , but it wasn’t an easy journey. At just under 14 weeks old “Love Shack” bravely traveled all the way from Washington state to a cat show in Calgary, Canada. He endured the long weekend in a show shelter and unfamiliar hotels, then was handed off to a cat show judge who flew him cross country to Florida where we met him at the Tampa International Airport. The judge commented on Shack’s incredible social nature and his subsequent voluntary change of seats to the back of the plane since Shackie may have been disturbing those around him with all his storytelling. Still, he had a 5 hour trip north in our vehicle before he reached his final destination, his new home. His transition was instant, he made himself comfortable on our laps the very first time we picked him up and told us all about his adventure. Since his arrival he has been nothing but a big love not to mention a chatter box! The name “Love Shack” came quite naturally as he constantly licked us like a puppy. He has a sweet gentle nature and enjoys being petted, cuddled, and listened to! He in known to give “Shack Attacks”; this is when he meows very loudly in our face, as if to kindly warn us, and then proceeds to cover our cheeks in kisses. Because of this very dog-like behavior, for a while, one of his nicknames was Chili Dog!

Our red headed step child will be an outstanding outcross in our breeding program by bringing a very nice head with an exaggerated curve to the profile, a deep strong chin, proportionately well sized ears, and solid boning. Shack will also contribute an exceptionally long tail to our already lengthy tails. Although near perfect in his typing, Shack only has one silly habit, he frequently sucks on his toes like a pacifier and he won’t trade his foot for anything! And, he must be cuddled while doing it! We aren’t sure if his future girlfriends will find this very attractive for a stud muffin. In addition, he will be valuable asset in the social arena of our cattery by being a useful tattle-tail among his peers and bringing constant conversation when his foot isn’t in his mouth!

Shackie became a Supreme Grand Champion after only 3 & 1/2 shows! He received a “Best Cat” Allbreed award by judge Rob Seliskar at the Nov. 2010 Largo, FL show and only needed a few more points to formalize his title. We are very proud of this boy and knew he had what it took even though he resembled a baby porcupine in the very beginning (see above at 13 weeks). In his show finals, the judges consistently complimented Shack on his wonderful head, strong profile, expressive eyes, length of body, and his extremely long tail . At the Destin, FL show in January 2011, Love Shack earned 8 Best Maine Coon Awards and Finaled 7 times, earning 7 AllBreed Awards in the Adult Championship Class driving him to a 2011 Southeast Regional win while earning “Best Maine Coon Cat in the Southeast Region”!

RoyalLions is tremendously grateful to Beth Hicks (Tanstaafl) and Lynne Sherer (Calicoon) for allowing us the great honor of using their beautiful big boy Beauregard. Locating an exemplary Maine Coon outcross is very difficult and we tremendously thank our indispensable mentors Jennifer Sable & Jean Thompson of Broadsway for facilitating this opportunity and friendship with Lynne & Beth. Without our mentors we’d still be searching! We also appreciate Ginger McFaddin (BrerCoon) for executing our first two breedings with Beauregard and being a co-mentor in many ways with her constant encouragement and support. Beauregard is a shining example of the Maine Coon breed, not just in type but disposition. We were so thrilled with the absolutely loving temperaments of his kittens from our first two litters we decided to repeat the breeding with Broadsway “BlueElla” of RoyalLions. We are so very proud to have Beau as one of our most valuable foundation cats to our breeding program!

Much like a puppy dog, Beauregard knows no stranger! Having been entrusted to temporarily house Beauregard, we were privileged to witness his loving personality and sociable nature despite being new faces. After a few hours of his arrival he was in our laps upside down wanting a belly rub and head butting us during his grooming! Beauregard loves people and prefers to be in close proximity at all times, he favors sleeping with a human, and doesn’t mind playing house. He allowed our 3 daughters to dress him up, stroll him around in doll carriages, and rock him like a baby! It was easy to fall in love with this amazing boy and we have received nothing but wonderful feedback from parents who now own his babies and his grandbabies! Beauregard has truly earned his special distinction in TICA as “Outstanding Sire” by producing many championship offspring in the show world but also for his loving nature and natural ability to steal hearts! Beau sired kittens for 9 years, this speaks volumes regarding successful health histories of his offspring and consistent quality in breed conformation and disposition!

Beauregard is the father of International Winner “Count Blackula”, notice the similar disposition, proven that personality is a trait that is definitely inherited!

Beauregard’s Fan Club

“A Giant Baby Doll that won’t fit in my dolls stroller!”

“I’m catching up!”

Beach Buddy

Playing Dress– Up

~Best of Show ~

2009 Northeast Regional's

Fitchburg, MA

Baby Porcupine – Shack @ 13 weeks

Southeast Regional Awards

Best Maine Coon Cat

Best Maine Coon Kitten

2nd Best Allbreed Kitten

5th Best Allbreed Cat

2nd Best Longhair Cat

Best Black Maine Coon

International Awards

23rd Best Allbreed Intl. Kitten of the Year

11th Best Maine Coon Cat

5th Best Maine Coon Kitten

2nd Best Black Maine Coon

Best Black Maine Coon Kitten

Chosen as one of only 5 Cats to Promote the International Cat Show in California 2010

and 2011 in Pennsylvania

I’m Feeling A Lil’ Devilish”

Southern Man

2 years old

Photos by Helmi Flick @ 7 months

It’s always a goal to perpetuate the better assets each cat can bring to a breeding program. However we have discovered that not just physical qualities can be passed down. The 3 week old baby to the right, named Winchester, is actually sucking his paw. Shack sucks his toes so it was shocking to see this very rare habit inherited by his son, and by the only red mackeral kitten in the litter who looks just like Dad! We now affectionately call Winchester, Chester the Molester!

“Chester the Molester” Shack’s son

Maine Coon Cats,

Reputable Florida Maine Coon Breeder