The early American Shorthair

Here's an advertisement showing the 'Domestic Shorthairs' of Mrs. Bryna Shine of Detroit, MI. These Domestic Shorthairs were winners at the Detroit Persian Society show in 1943. Domestic Shorthairs were the early version of the American Shorthair (and CFA did change the name officially from Domestic Shorthair to American Shorthair).

Mrs. Shine's prize winning Domestic Shorthairs, 1943
From All-Pets Magazine, March, 1944
Courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc. 

Skyway Cattery

A successful mid-20th century breeder was Vi Schuh of SKYWAY cattery. Based in the Buffalo, NY area, Mrs. Schuh had a collection of some very interesting and exciting lines in her Persians.

If the SKYWAY cattery name sounds familiar to you, Mrs. Schuh was the mother-in-law of CFA Judge Don Williams, who inherited the use of her cattery name and continued to use it in his breeding program.

An advertisement for Vi Schuh's SKYWAY cattery
From All-Pets Magazine, April, 1957
Courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.

An early 1900's cattery

In 1905, Gowanda, NY was the home of Mrs. James Conlisk, and her cats. In the early 20th century, it wasn't uncommon for cats to be housed in buildings separate from the home.

 Two of the buildings housing cats belonging to Mrs. James Conlisk
From The Cat Journal, May, 1905
Courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.

Rosecrest Cattery, Alliance, OH

Rosecrest Cattery of Alliance, OH had cats featured on the cover of several issues of The Cat Gazette during 1936 and 1937. Owned by Mrs. Chester G. Naylor, the cattery specialized in silver and solid color Persians. Little has been learned about Mrs. Naylor, although we have discovered that she had a daughter, Mary Jane, and that her husband was tragically killed in a train accident while working for the railroad.

The following, printed in the June, 1939 issue of The Cat Gazette gives us a glimpse into one of the early catteries in Ohio:
 
"The editor had the pleasure of a week's visit with Mr. and Mrs. C.G. Naylor. The Rose Crest farm is a beautiful place and we had a wondrful time every moment of our stay there. The Naylor home is a true garden spot. It covers one acre filled with fruits and flowers of every kind. There is a fine cozy heated cat house in which two families of young ones were just opening their eyes on a very comfortable world. Besides the cats, there is a gorgeous collie, a collection of prized Bostons and a hundred baby chicks."

The Royal Canadian Cat Club

Until its resignation in February 2019, the Royal Canadian Cat Club, established in 1902, was the oldest active club in the CFA Great Lakes Region. It was located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and for many years managed the cat shows held at the Canadian National Exhibition.

Mrs. J.R. Reynolds, pictured left, was President of the club for several years. This photo was published in The Cat Courier of August 9 and 16, 1913. The results of the 1913 Toronto show includes the following statement by Miss Elizabeth Brace, publisher of The Cat Courier, who attended the show:

"The entries were not quite as numerous as last year, but they were of far better quality as a whole. The entries from the U.S. were many and will no doubt increase as they find out the fineness of the Exhibition Shows.

"There never was a show at which everyone seemed so contented with the awards, and Mrs. Hewitt said there was not one complaint, which is certainly marvelous."

Major Edwin Sydney Woodiwiss

Major Edwin Sydney Woodiwiss (1871-1942) was a driving force in both the very early cat and dog fancy in England.  He had a profound effect on the development of both the Siamese and Abyssinian breed under the WOODROOFFE cattery name, plus he also bred English (British) Shorthairs and Manx.  He was well-known for his winning dogs - Dachshund and Schipperke.

You can read all about his fascinating history at http://cat-o-pedia.org/docs/ESWoodiwiss.pdf

Major Edwin Sydney Woodiwiss, with one of his prize Dachshunds (1897)

The Creation of CFA Regional Representation

At the CFA Annual Meeting in 1950, the The Mo-Kan Club proposed an constitutional amendment to allow for regional representation, and a committee was appointed to make recommendations to the board regarding the proposal. The office of Regional Vice-President was established in 1952, when the Constitution change called for the election of regional representatives. The results of that first election for the (then) six regions were: Miss Elsie Hydon, North Atlantic; Mrs. Lawrence Pelton, Great Lakes; Mrs. Matil Rotter, Middle West; Mrs. Garvin, Southern; Mrs. Bess Morse, Southwest; and, Mrs. Denning, Northwest.

Mrs. Pelton, of Hubbard, OH, continued as Regional Vice-President for several years. She was also a judge, and served as CFA Recorder from August 1957 to August 1958. She bred solid color and parti-color Persians under the cattery name 'Wycliffe'.

Advertisement from All-Pets Magazine, December 1945
Courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.