Tag Archives: John G. smithson

Er det noen som husker det digitale tidsskriftet Felis Historica? Det kom ut med flere nummer fra og med 2020, og var redigert av en kattedommer fra New Zealand, John G. Smithson. Tidsskriftet ble borte etter noen få år.

Jeg ble invitert til å delta som fast skribent, og med mulighet til å fortelle om «the Norwegian Cat Fancy». Jeg hadde én artikkel der jeg fortalte om NRR og hvordan vi var påvirket av covid 2020.

Her er hele teksten til artikkelen om NRR og Covid som ble skrevet i juli 2020:

The Cat Fancy in Norway during Covid-19

Text and photo Lisbeth Falling

It is low numbers of Covid-19 in Norway. Cat shows are cancelled, but demands for kittens are high. The most popular breed in Norway is Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cat is the fifth most popular breed. 

It was a very scary situation in March when the authorities in Norway shut down the country. All those who could work from home, had to be at home, children couldn’t go to school. All businesses that had personal contact with people had to close, you couldn’t go to the hairdresser any longer, or the dentist, or the vet…

We had heard about the virus – in China at the end of 2019, but that was so far away…

26 cat clubs in NRR/FIFe
In Norway we have 26 cat clubs affiliated to FIFe. The Norwegian FIFe member is Norske Rasekattklubbers Riksforbund (NRR). We also have one WCF-club: Oslo Rasekattklubb (ORRK). 

It is usually many shows all over Norway, also for 2020 it was planned 19 shows, on of them Scandinavian Winner Show. Only two shows were completed, in January and February. All shows were subsequently cancelled.  I doubt any ordinary cat shows will take place in 2020. 

One virtual show
We have one virtual show though. Real judges will judge only fresh pictures of our cats – I am very curious, I have attended three cats. It was difficult to take the required pictures… The cat should see into the camera and show all the body.

Only 253 died of Covid-19
The situation in Norway at this times the 11. July is very good. We have very few infected (8974), and the total number of deaths is 253, but we are only about 5,368 million people in Norway. But this good situation is due to our authorities that took precautions very soon.

Now the society is re opening again, it is newly decided to open the border against Schengen countries with the same infection level as Norway. But it is not recommended to travel though. But we cannot go to Sweden! Our nearest neighbours, and the country we most often go to cat show and also cooperate in breeding cats. I it is really a pity, and some places near the Norwegian border have been in economic ruin because the Norwegians cannot come and shop in their stores! For years we have shopped cheaper, meat, tobacco and alcohol in Sweden. But most of all we miss our cat friends!

The situation in Sweden is worse
In Sweden the numbers of victims of Covid-19 is 75061 infected, and 5526 dead. They have had a different strategy than Norway. They have tried to obtain group immunity, but unfortunately they lost very many old people. 

Demands for kittens
A consequence of the corona situation is that demands for kittens have risen! I had a litter of Somali kittens born 7. April, I could have sold them several times! This is also the situation for many other breeders I have spoken with. It seems as because people have to stay more at home they now can buy the cat they have thought and dreamt about – now they have time for it. This is good for the Cat Fancy and the economy to NRR. 

Last meeting before closed down
We managed to hold our general assembly in NRR before Norway was closed down. We had a lovely meeting the last weekend in February at a very nice hotel. That was the last time the Norwegian Cat fancy met in person – a very nice memory now. Hopefully we’ll meet again at shows in 2021. May be, or just may be, it will be possible to have some small shows in the autumn of 2020. 

Top ten breeds
NRR has an online system for registering kittens and registration for exhibitions, a new system from Finland. All members of NRR clubs can control they’re breeding and showing via this system. The club secretary has been given a much easier job.

The ten most popular breeds in NRR, according to registered kittens in 2019:

1. Maine Coon
2. Siberian
3. Ragdoll
4. Sacred Birman
5. Norwegian Forest Cat
6. British Shorthair
7. Neva Masquerade
8. Persian
9. Bengal
10. Devon Rex

Det var fast bilde og informasjon om meg i utgavene:
Lisbeth Falling has been in love with cats all her life. The first pedigreed cat, a blue pointed Siamese, came to her in 1975. In 1976 she got her pedigree name, Rubicon, registered in NRR/FIFe. Since then she has bred Siamese, Burmese, Persians, British Shorthair and Somali – since 1995 mostly Somali (and few Abyssinians). And today the Burmese again is introduced in her cattery. She lives with her husband and six cats in her home and has about one or two litter a year. She loves to show cats, but the breeding and life with cats is the foremost important for her. 

Lisbeth Falling has been active in club boards in the early years, and sat in the board of NRR 2001 – 2004, as vice president from 2002. Nowadays she is member of the Breed Council and the Appeal Committee in NRR.

Since 2000 she has been the editor of Aristokatt, NRRs official magazine about cats.  Also in the early years she wrote articles about cats, and was editor of KATTEN VÅR, a subscription magazine from 1976 to 1981. She loves to write and has a special interest in the history of cat breeds, but also the history of cats in the society, and the history of the cat fancy. She is also a hobby photographer and likes to take pictures of cats in shows and also in a natural environment. 

In her university degree, she has the subject social geography, public law and journalism. In her professional life she is an advisor at Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training. 

Seriøst og ambisiøst prosjekt
Felis Historica var et seriøst og ambisiøst prosjekt med hovedvekt på kattesakens historie. John G. Smithson er spesielt interessert i eldre rasekatthistorie, og tidsskriftet var nok delvis finansiert og støttet gjennom «The Harrison Weir Collection». Tidsskriftet inneholdt mange interessante tema om katter og om kattesake i ulike land. Man måtte betale for å abonnere på tidsskriftet på nettet.

Det kan se ut til at prosjektet ble for stort og at man ikke greide å opprettholde utgivelsene med 12 utgaver hvert år – altså en gang i måneden. Det ser ut til at tidsskriftets siste utgave var i juni 2022.