Bombay-Breizh

BOMBAY IN GERMANY : INTERVIEW WITH HILDE FRANK (CATTERY VON HEIDEBERGEN) MINIBOMBAYMAG: Can you tell us how the first BOMBAYS arrived in Germany? HILDE FRANK: In 1985 I imported my first Bombay from USA. The Bombay female was Elroyale's Elegance, daughter of Elroyale's Adam Bomb, 1981 TICA Bombay of the Year. You may understand my feelings getting "such a famous cat". Four weeks later (I wondered all the time why she became so fat!) I found 4 kittens on her cushion. At that moment, all my enthusiasm faded away seeing 2 monsters and 2 healthy looking kittens, on sable and one black. On my request, Mrs Sabol, the American breeder, answered that Elegance's father, Adam Bomb, must have "played" with her without her knowledge. From that time, I began to inform me about the Burmese head syndrom. Mrs Sabol denied that this was the known defect: Bombays could not have it! Of course, she was wrong. But I did not know and had no information from any breeder. I kept the two healthy looking kittens and bred them to my British Burmese, with the result of getting healthy looking kittens. Then, a very exciting, nerving and expensive testing period followed with the result, to make it short, that all proved defect carriers: that means the whole line was neutered. In the meantime, I had been introduced to another Bombay breeder in California: Mrs Belle Nau with "Furrfayar Cattery". Because I had to wait such a long time, she sent me two kittens I was so anxious to look at. When they arrived at the airport, I was deeply disappointed seeing that they looked like house cats with yellow-green eyes and a not-at-all close-lying coat. Well "good for beginning" said the judges, and the female became International Champion, and the male Champion. At this stage, I stopped showing. I learned that it was my fault to have ordered them, because I wanted a breeder having Bombays with 4 generations black, not knowning that they degenerate to "house cats". The Burmese generations, responsible for coat quality and type, were lacking. My tenant above in the house took both, and they still enjoy running through the garden. My real quality cat period beagan with a recommandation by an allround judge spending a short time in the States, when she surrended to me a card showing the Fejuko's Cattery. I wrote at once and got my first Fejuko's Bombay after a long time of writing and discussing. I knew that Judy Kovic was serious and belonged to the breeders who did not want to have anything to do with the head defect and recommanded to remain in the traditional lines. So did the Burmese breeder I met later, who sent me two Burmese, a male and a female, only traditional lines. I was fed up with genetic problems. Gr. Int. Ch. Fejuko's Shining Light, often Best in Show and Best of Best, son of Fejuko's Brandy Alexander, TICA International Best Cat 1987-88, produced many beautiful kittens, but at the age of 5 he had to be done away after uncountable efforts by vets within my country and from abroad. His chronical nasal problem could not be cured. Shiny's picture is still hanging on a wall, with a dried bunch of flowers above. This male will not come again with his fantastic head and coat, and his extremely smooth character. Now, my Bombay stud is Fejuko's Ashes to Ashes, Europe Champion, and Best of Best male on many shows, same as Shiny. Ashes is very healthy and affectionate. He is homozigous for black (I never get sable Bombays!) My Burmese stud is Stagelight's I'm Pepper, a sable Burmese homozigous for sable (I never get other colours). The daughter of Pepper is my Lilli Black Beauty, who gave birth this year to 3 Bombay kittens (Ashes is the father of the babies) MBM: So, in Germany, you work hard to solve the genetic problems of the Bombays. The head defect problem is associated with the contemporary type of the Burmese. Yet, when this subject is discussed, we often hear that the same defect may happen with traditional type. HILDE FRANK: Who by the hell has spread this nonsense that the head defect is also in the traditionals. Please make the difference between traditional lines and contemporary lines instead of a traditional type and a contemporary type. Type and line are completely different things! You can have a traditional type in a litter of a contemporary part of the parents or grandparents. This cat can of course carry the head defect! Traditional lines are free from the head defect. Excellent American Bombay cats of traditional lines have a round head too, if you are lucky in importing the right cat. These were the Fejukos. MBM: In our previous newsletter, we published Wendy Klamm's proposal to bring new blood to Bombays, using American Shorthair as it is done in CFA. Do you agree? HILDE FRANK: Very interesting and extremely actual news written by Wendy. All the time I have been angry with TICA accepting the sable Bombay as pure Burmese in a pedigree. For a longer time I have been aware of the diminishing number of Bombay breeders, so more so as we have to put American Shorthair again in the breed. I completely agree with Wendy making this proposal. From the beginning of my breeding Bombays I had paid attention to the fact that a healthy breed could be uphold only with much more different blood lines than those I found with the famous cattery "Fejuko". We now have the disaster that everywhere in the world all the (traditional) Bombay breeders have the same lines. TOP