Shadowlea

My name is Diane Oates and I breed Abyssinian Cats in Tawny, Cinnamon, Blue, Fawn, Silver & Cinnamon Silver. My prefix is Shadowlea. My partner Ron Arbuthnott used to be part of this until he discovered Roses! Ron's prefix was Ra, being the Egyptian Sun God and Ron's initials.

BUT NOW, MY BREEDING AND SHOWING CAREER IS COMING TO AN END.

I'm still hanging on by a thread - am reluctant to give up 21 years doing something I love.

I don't have any kittens now and none planned at the moment.

I concentrate on loving personalities as I believe this is the most important thing in both pets and show cats.

I started breeding silvers in 1992 and branched out into tawnys and cinnamons in 1995 and now have blues and the occasional fawn. I am a member and secretary of The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy Victoria, and exhibit at all those shows as well as the specialist Aby shows in Canberra and Sydney. I guess you could say I am addicted!

Our major achievements for 2001:

GCCFV Group 3 Breeder of the Year;

Runner-up to Breeder of the Year in The Abyssinian Breeder magazine for most of the year, but knocked into 3rd place by a whisker for the final standings;

Breeder of 1st & 4th Stud Cat; 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th Brood Queen of the Year in the Aby Breeder.

Showing is a great hobby and I also get a great deal of satisfaction from being able to start other breeders off, especially when they do as well as Sue Jentsch (Osiris (V))has done, but the most rewarding part of breeding cats is the phone calls,letters, and photos received from people who have bought a kitten which has brought so much love into their lives. There is absolutely nothing like being owned by an Aby!

On this site you will find some information about Aby's in general, details and some photos of the cats that got us started, those that are currently ruling our lives, those that have retired from breeding and are looking for a new home and litters for sale. There is a link to GCCFV's site where you can check out how we are doing in Group 3 Cat of the Year and also to Nile Abys where results for Abys & Somalis are collected from all over Australia for The Abyssinian Breeder Magazine and the cats are listed according to the points earned.