First of all, I would like to thank each and every one who has contributed to the recognition of our Somali cat in ICF, NCFA, CROWN, CFF (second generation Somali only) and finally CCA. The CCA recognition was a challenge for us all. We still have CFA, ACFA, ACA, and UCF to go. If any one wishes to start working with UCF, they should let us know as we have not registered any Somalis with this association.

The purpose of this letter is to try to get our Somali club on an equally productive basis. For those new members and recipients of the newsletter,the dues are $5.00 per year payable to the treasurer and made out to THE SOMALI CAT CLUB OF AMERICA. This year a stricter view will be taken as to whether dues are paid or not and the newsletter will not be continued next year if your dues do not come in this year. Please pick out the month of this year that is easiest for you to send your dues in and send them in at that time. Thereafter, your dues will fall due the following year in the same month and the treasurer will notify you either via the newsletter or by personal note. Example, my husband and I are paying our dues in January 1976. Our dues for 1977 will fall due in January.

Another Somali club policy is our kitten referral service. We do our best to place all females in breeding homes and to date NO females have gone as a pet thus wasting a valuable breeding animal. We also try to place all males in breeding homes if at all possible. We have had to place a few males in pet homes from time to time since more males are born and most breeders prefer females.It is wise to check first even on your males since breeding homes do crop up from time to time when no kittens are available. Our female waiting list still has not been filled to date. Always check with your Somali club when your kittens are ready to go to see if a home is available that will further your bloodlines rather than wasting your time and endeavor as a pet kitten. In return for this service, as a fund raising venture, a small donation of $5.00 per kitten placed is requested. (paid by the breeder).

As many of you have probably not been aware of, our club has been operating mostly as a charity for some of us. Mr. and Mrs. Negrycz have been footing the bill for the newlsetter (which will be up to approximately $15.00 per month this year). This is a deplorable situation when we all enjoy receiving the newsletter. Our Somali Cat Club ad, which we all benefit from, has also up to now been a charity on my part. The new ad will start in May of this year with the Somali Club paying the bill. All personal information (Lynn-Lee Cattery and cats) will, of course, be deleted. The cost of the ad for all of us will be $20.00 per month as long as we take a yearly ad. This ad is a means of contact with new members who are interested in your club and kittens. We do have some personal referrals from members who attend shows with their Somalis, but the majority of interested parties do come from the ad - so we must continue it at all costs. It is also our best publicity to the cat fancy - a sign that we are doing well and prospering. The new ad will feature the award winning top Somali cat for the preceding year. If there should be a tie, we would feature the top two cats. The cat will not necessarily be the top Cats Magazine Award winning Somali since the Cats Magazine counts only Championship show wins. The Somali Cat Club counts all points, whether Championship or non-championship shows. In order to have your cat in the running, please don't neglect to send in your points. If your cat competes with another Somali and should defeat that Somali, even if only by a BOC ribbon, please let us know so that we can score your cat with a point. Remember we can't score your cat if you don't let us know that your cat is a winner. This year our ad will feature and honor June's Dancing Moon, Somali male (ruddy) bred and owned by Mr. And Mrs. Stephen Negrycz. "Moon" has the honor of being our first Best Somali in the Somali Cat Club. He also has the combined honor of being the first All American Somali cat ever. No other cat will ever be able to take that record away - he is the first forever. Congratulations June and Stephen on your beautiful male!

To get back to the more somber problem at hand - finances - in the past, the club used most of its money for Somali Cat Club Rosettes for shows. We feel that ribbons are a "frill" at this point, which are nice to receive and award, but, never the less, an expense that we can do without at this time. When our bank statement shows a balance that says we can have ribbons again, we will renew our show rosettes. In short, the Somali Cat Club needs money if we are to survive as a club supported by all, and not just a club charity supported by a few. Please pay your dues this year. Please, if kittens are placed for you, make your donation in return to help the Somali Club help others as well as yourself. Please support our fund raising efforts. At the present time, your treasurer, Sharon Mathers, has Somali Cat Club bumper stickers, which she paid for out of her own pocket, to raise money for the club. They are for sale ($2.00) all money goes into the club treasury. We also have ready a complete set to date of pedigrees on all cats available for stud service for your females. The list also gives a background for those of you looking for a female for your male Somali. The pedigrees are strictly sketch, of course. Please support this latest fund raising effort by donating $5.00 for the set which will prove invaluable for those of you interested in the Somali background cats (Abyssinians). I am sure our club can become financially independent if we all pitch in to make it so even though times are tough for all of us.

Good luck to all Somalis and their owners this year. May all the females bless us with many more little Somali cats. May all our show cats be winners.

Sincerely,

Evelyn Mague

President

Barbara Truitt, Salem VA

Cindy Foster, Westbury, NY

EXPERIMENTAL STATUS FOR THE SOMALI IN ACFA
(written by Evelyn Mague)

I am happy to report that we finally achieved the long awaited Experimental Breed Status of the Somali with ACFA. I am not so happy to report the terms under which the name change has been granted however.

The following is from ACFA Bulletin for January/February 1976.

To recognize as an experimental breed, the breed named Somali to include

1 the longhaired specimens born to two registered Abyssinian parents, and all kittens of the same litter, regardless of coat length.

My personal feeling on this part of the terms is that this is necessary as you can't split a litter of kittens in a litter registration into two different breeds. I know several of our shorthair Aby breeders are unhappy about this, but please don't forget I am a shorthair Aby breeder too and well aware of the consequences. This would be a mandatory thing to do in a litter registering in any association that I know of.

2 The progeny of registered Somali parents, regardless of coat length.

This ruling doesn't hurt the Somali at all since all kittens in a longhair to longhair breeding would only produce a longhair. The Somali does breed true.

3 In the event a registered Somali is mated with a registered Abyssinian, the resulting litter will be registered as hybrids.

This is the most ludicrous statement ever made against the Somali cat. What ACFA and the parties responsible for making this ruling would have us believe is that by breeding a longhair Aby to a shorthair Aby we would have a hybrid. For those of you who may not know, a hybrid is two different breeds mated together which produce still a third breed. There is no way that a different name from longhair Aby actually changes the genes or background of the cat in question - it is still an Aby and always will be. Of course, on the pedigree we will have two different breeds (Somali and Aby) so unfortunately for the Somali this ruling wouldn't stand up in court I am sure. This whole ruling "smacks" of discrimination.

4 The litter resulting from a registered Somali mated to any breed except a registered Abyssinian will not be eligible for ACFA registration.

Again we have prejudice against the Somali. A shorthair Aby mated with a Siamese produces an Ocicat. I do know this since I have an ACFA registered Ocicat (Aby - Siamese) cat. Why is this allowed for the shorthair but not for the longhair? I really think someone in ACFA must not like the Somali cat.

The real purpose of this memo is not to stir up the Somali breeders to fight for their rights since they have already been taken away, and we do want recognition for our cats. I just don't want any Somali breeders to become confused and think that their Somali cat or anyone else's is a hybrid. Please don't refer to any Somali as a hybrid. If ACFA wants to think of a longhair Aby to a shorthair Aby breeding as a hybrid, let them, but just don't ever start thinking this way yourself and always be quick to correct anyone who has been misinformed. In short, even though you have a name change on your cat always remember it is a purebred Abyssinian. If you have a longhair Aby resulting from the breeding of two shorthair Abyssinians by all means register it as a Somali with ACFA. If you breed longhair Aby to Shorthair Aby DO NOT waste your time and money in registering this cat with ACFA (they will register it as a hybrid). DO register it in other associations who will accept it as the same breed as its parents - not as a hybrid. The kittens could be registered as Somalis with all championship associations to date.

I will check with ACFA to see if our already registered longhaired Abys will be transferred or if they will have to be re-registered as Somalis by their owners and will advise all of you in the next newsletter. If you have any questions concerning what has happened in ACFA, please do contact me and I will do my best to answer them or if I cannot to find out the answers for you.
Evelyn Mague, President

* Evelyn had a discussion with ACFA officials last weekend and was informed of the following.
The information in the memo above applies to the ACFA Aby breed section. It is first going to be voted on by ACFA (all breeds). Even though the terms for the name change seems unfair, they are the only ones that lead towards recognition. So we now urge all of you involved in ACFA to support the Somali and vote YES for the name change.

Georgeanne Wood, Goleta CA
Margaret Barrie, Brooklyn NY
Betty Schlichting, Brooklyn NY

Suzanne Tyndall, Wilmington DEL
Lilli-Pet Taurus, ruddy male
BR. Lillian Mitchell

Deborah Miller, New York, NY
Lynn-Lee's Christopher, ruddy male
BR. Evelyn Mague

Louis Beckhoff, Philadelphia PA
ruddy female bred by Jane Ippoloti

All SCCA members are cordially invited to attend our second annual awards dinner. The top five Somalis for the 1975-76 show season will receive their awards. This dinner coincides with the Lancaster PA, CFA show, on the May 8-9 weekend. Our dinner will be held at show headquarters. (Howard Johnson's, Lancaster PA)

This show falls right before the CFA annual, and we are trying to get CFA to change our breed name from "longhaired Abyssinian" to "Somali". So it would be good if we had as many Somalis in this show as possible.

A Somali breed club has been formed in CFA. It is called the International Somali Cat Club (ISCC). Anyone wishing to join is welcome. Dues are $2.50 per person. We need volunteers to serve on the breed committee. Anyone who is interested can contact Evelyn Mague, who is the ISCC Secretary.

As many of you already know, CFF is now accepting only 3rd generation Somalis for Championships. First and second generation Somalis may be registered with CFF, of course, but they can't be shown CFF and aren't eligible for Championships.

ACFA Name Change

ACFA has recognized the name Somali. So please register all new kittens and cats as Somalis, with this association. We are checking to see if cats already registered ACFA (ie. as longhair Abys) will automatically be changed or if they must be re-registered. We'll let you know as soon as we find out.

New Kittens

Marge Hoff has a new kitten
Margus Omega, ruddy female
BR/OW. Marge Hoff

Lisa and Rick Piera have
Margus Pal Joey
BR.Marge Hoff

Pat Warren has two new kittens
J.R.R. Prairie Rose
BR. Kathleen Jones
and
Pala's Gillian
BR. Amy Porosky

Lets Welcome New Members

We just found out that all Somalis registered as longhair Abyssinians must be re-registered as Somalis. Cats registered as LH Abys will not be automatically changed. So you must re-register them. Below is a copy of the letter from Cora Swan, Secretary ACFA:

I am enclosing the page from the Bulletin that presented this to the Aby breeders, and perhaps you will want to publish this information in your newsletter so that all Aby breeders will have the rule at hand at all times.

The balloting passed as follows:

delete "L" to denote longhair. Yes 66. No 8.

ADD SOM-(SOMALI EXP) to breed codes.Yes 61. No 7.

On the membership vote to accept this into our rules the ballot on deleting the "l" was Yes 313, No 29. And on the breed code Yes 328, No 32.

Again please accept my apology for the delay in getting this information to you.
Sincerely,
Cora Swan, Secretary

This spring the Somali Cat Society (our ACA club) submitted a resolution to be voted on at the ACA annual. We requested that they change the requirement of fifty different cats shown ACA to fifty different cats registered ACA. The reason we wanted the change was it's a lot harder to get fifty different cats into the show hall than fifty cats registered. Well, our resolution was defeated. So now we ask you to get to at least one ACA show if at all possible. Lucy Kwasiborski has generously offered to keep track of the fifty different cats needed. Next time you show ACA please notify Lucy so she can include your cat or if you have already shown ACA drop Lucy a note informing her of the show and your cat's name.

INTERNATIONAL SOMALI CAT CLUB

Our CFA Somali club has been accepted by CFA. If you would like to join please notify Evelyn Mague. Dues are $2.50.

Now that the past show season is history and we are all going to sit back and rest on our laurels, it is a good time for all of us to give a little thought to the task of catching up on our paperwork for the Somalis.

There are three current associations that we are still working with to attain championship status, and this is the purpose of our Somali cat club as you all know. Please use your spare time and money this summer to do the necessary ground work in these clubs to work for this championship status.

In ACA all Somalis must be registered ACA in order to be entered in an ACA show. To achieve championship status in this association, we must show 50 DIFFERENT CATS. If your cat is already registered ACA, fine, if not, please do get that registration in. The next step is to watch CATS MAGAZINE for an upcoming ACA show in your area that is convenient for you. All our cats must be entered in at least one show in order to count for recognition. After you have entered and attended that show, please inform Lucy Kwasiborski of Candi-Lu Cattery, AZ, as she has kindly volunteered to keep a count of the cats shown. Please do not disappoint her by never showing your Somali in ACA.

In ACFA, we still have another problem. We now have a name change to Somali and this means that ALL cats already registered as Longhair Abys must be re-registered as Somalis. This means that you must send your old registration with $3.00 and ask to be transferred to the Somali Experimental Class. Only transferred cats will be counted in the number of cats we have registered with ACFA. Please send me a list of your cats that have been transferred as well as a notation as to whether your cattery is registered with ACFA. We must have a certain number of catteries and Somalis registered in order to apply for championship status. Although we are not especially happy with ACFA rules regarding the Somali, these are the only rules we are going to get, so doing nothing helps none - especially our Somalis.

Finally, but far from least, we need LARGE NUMBERS of everything with CFA. We need large NUMBERS OF SOMALIS registered. Please register all Somalis - even those that might go as pets. We need as many members of SCCA as possible to join the International Somali Cat Club. These members in turn should join the breed section of CFA for the Somali ($2.50 membership in the ISCC and $5.00 to join the Somali Breed Section after you become a member of International). We need NUMBERS, NUMBERS AND MORE NUMBERS we have been told of everything from Somalis to members. Don't forget to show as this counts also even though you will be EXHIBITION ONLY at present. We must start over as a new breed since we finally have a breed name for our cat. Be aware that our A.O.V. status in CFA, although it stood for Any Other Variety, and we could show AOV, in reality it meant ANY OTHER NOTHING.

In closing, I wish to urge you all to show your cats in these associations which give your cats no AA Cats Magazine points. Please don't forget that SCCA does score all of these shows as well as the AA shows providing you send in the results. The top cats (Somalis) in the country are really the top 5 in the SCCA since this means that these cats have defeated more cats of their BREED than any other Somali cats. To be in the top 5 highest scoring Somalis in SCCA is the highest honor that your Somali can achieve - at least until we have recognition in all associations and they are scored by CATS MAGAZINE. Let's see your cat there to achieve this honor next year.

A good summer to all of you and a successful show season to your Somalis when we all start showing again next fall.

Evelyn Mague

CFA is automatically transferring our cats from Longhair Abys to Somalis.

Effective immediately - you can no longer split litters (entire litter must be Somali).

100 registered cats are needed for Provisional status - 150 for Championship status.

NUMBERS ARE IMPORTANT - PLEASE JOIN ISCC AND THE CFA SOMALI BREED COMMITTEE.

Congratulations to Carol and Ed Harrison. Winery's Pathetique is our first International Champ and Lili-Pet's Caruso is the first CCA Red Champ. Both are owned by the Harrisons.

NEW KITTENS

Foxtail Mimosa, ruddy female
Ow. Karen and Walter Del Pellegrino
BR. Pat Warren

Natchez Trina, ruddy female
BR/OW. The Mathers

Junee Lobo of Foxtail, ruddy male
OW. Pat Warren
BR. Mr & Mrs S. Negrycz

Du-Ro-Al Georgous George of Nephrani, ruddy male
OW. Ruth and Bob Morris
BR. Alma Cowell

Mem-Marti's Mitzi II, ruddy female
OW. Ruth and Bob Morris
BR. Bev Reilly

Lili-Pet's Caruso, red male
OW. Carol & Ed Harrison
BR. Mrs. L. Mitchell

Du-Ro-Al's Pipette of Winery, ruddy female
OW. Carol and Ed Harrison
BR. Alma Cowell

Ann Kimball, Salt Lake City, UT
Ann has Margus Raynard, ruddy male
BR. Marge Hoff

Welcome New Members

Ellen Wexler, Royal Oak, MN
Mr & Mrs V. Girol, Bethleham. PA
Russell W. Harrison, Philadelphia PA
Mary Ellen Ameika, Groton CT

Attention Prospective Red Breeders

This summer an interesting event occurred in Baltimore. Catherine Link's Catfish (a ruddy) sired two red kittens with a ruddy female. There were no reds recorded in the pedigree back for many generations. Upon questioning this she learned that Catfish's father, Lord Dublin, was a carrier of the red color, only it has never proven before despite many breedings.

Lord Dublin figures prominently in about half of the Somali pedigrees. This provides an invaluable means of outcrossing for red breeders, particularly those with Don-Al lines. These ruddy cats theoretically should produce some red kittens when bred to a red mate. When looking through the pedigrees pay attention to Ch. Penn Ill Wis Amenhotep of Pat-An as he is the Abyssinian carrying the red color, present in Dublin.

I hope this will stimulate interest and result in more red kittens of superior quality. I would like to hear from anyone who tries a breeding from one of Dublin's descendants to a red.
Dennis Taylor, Lansdale, PA

PROPOSALS

I Resolution: I propose that the SCCA limits its placement to two litters per year from the same female to discourage the over breeding of Somalis.
Submitted by Sheila and Fritz Bos

II Resolution: That for the purpose of SCCA scoring of show wins, in addition to SCCA Best Somali there be divisional awards for both color classes - Ruddy and Red. This would bring the awards more closely in line with those awards offered by other associations, clubs, etc. It would also offer a comparison of our Somalis within their own distinct class of color.
Submitted by Dennis Taylor.

Somali Buttons

The Harrisons kindly donated Somali buttons. They are about 2 1/2 inches wide and come in a variety of colors. They cost a dollar (and 25 cents postage). All proceeds go to SCCA. If you're a true Somali lover purchase one soon and tell the world "I Love A Somali".

Message for International Somali Cat Club

The North Atlantic Region is sponsoring a show (Congress) to be held in York PA in April. Muriel Slodden (CFA Judge) is chairman and has requested involvement by all CFA clubs in the Northeast.

Since we are very close to provisional status in CFA it would be judicious to involve Somalis heavily in the show. Some of the things already planned by ISCC are a display, entering cats of each sex and color, and a contribution to the trophy fund. Anyone having further ideas or wanting additional information contact:
Baraka Cattery, Ambler, PA

NEW KITTENS

Don MacKellar has ruddy female,
Mem-Marti's Lollipop
BR.Bev Reilly

Mary Ellen Ameika has ruddy female
Natchez Running Fawn
BR.Sharon and Bruce Mathers

Pat Warren has red female
Lili-Pet's Forever Amber of Foxtail
BR. Lillian Mitchell

Betty Schlichting has red Aby male
Gr.Ch. Companion Cat AD II of Overland
(available at stud to Somalis)

Two New CCA Champs!

Don-Al Segeema of Dekater
(ow. Sheila Bos)

Don-Al Juba Rue-Puss of Baraka
(ow. Dennis Taylor)