About Amicus Siamese

In 1967 I got my first Siamese cat, an apple head blue point female named Kissy.  In 1968 I moved to Salem OR, and the following year rescued my second Siamese, a modified head, chocolate point male named Aaron.  He lived until 1981 when he died of complications from diabetes.  At that time there were few veterinarians in the area who understood that cats did in fact get diabetes. He was one of the great loves of my life.

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In 1981 I visited a local breeder in Bend, OR and watched a top show chocolate point female kitten sashay across the room and I thought that she was the most elegant thing I had ever seen. I attended my first cat show shortly after that and I was hooked!

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Amicus Siamese Cattery was established with CFA (Cat Fanciers Association), ACFA (American Cat Fanciers Association) and TICA (The International Cat Association) in 1982.  My first show cat was a blue point male from Tularensia Cattery in Texas. The girls followed, it was then I realized I was on a fast track to learning about breeding, raising kittens, medical issues and genetics.  I wanted to know more and be more educated in cat health issues and physiology. The seeds were planted to started the journey toward becoming a veterinarian.

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In 1982 met Lois Koblizek when she bought her first show cat from me. We became good friends and showed together for years after that. We became very close and I was unofficially ‘adopted’ as their third daughter by her and her husband Frank a few years later. More about this later.

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In 1984 I flew to New York to pick up my new male from Jeanie Singer, Singa Blacque and had a successful show season with him. More females came it stay.

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Two years later, cats and all moved to Pullman, Washington so I could pursue an additional undergraduate degree in hopes of attaining the ultimate goal of a becoming a veterinarian. As I worked toward the goal, I continued to show and successfully breed lovely Siamese cats and was able to “Grand” many of my babies in CFA and ACFA. Long story short 9 years later, I had attained 2 undergraduate degrees, and Master’s degree AND graduated with as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

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Needless to say, due to the demands of vet school and being an older returning student the stressors of keeping up with the breeding program had slowed and I wasn’t able to show much, but was able to ended with a bang when Amicus Concord was a 2 show CFA grand. After graduation I landed a job working in a small animal practice in Gig Harbor, WA. Joining a veterinary practice as a new grad is a daunting task and the learning curve is no curve, but a straight line that went straight up. While I was able to breed a few litters, my work schedule made it impossible to show.

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The following Christmas family came to visit and begged me to come home. Just after Christmas I got a job offer to interview at Anderson Veterinary Clinic in CA.  I came for the interview, took the California boards, moved once again joining that practice.  Two years later I became the managing veterinarian and the following year purchased the practice lock, stock and barrel. My practice management obligations and 24/7 work schedule curtailed any breeding or showing. I just didn’t have the time or energy to keep up with the cattery demands, so I spayed and neutered all the cats, placing most in new forever homes while the rest lived it out at my home.  When they all had crossed the Rainbow Bridge, I was cat-less for a several years when a brown ticked tabby kitten wiggled his way into my life and became our ‘clinic cat’.  I thought he looked very aristocratic and named him Plato, unfortunately the staff started calling him Playdough and the name stuck. 2010 we tore down the old clinic to build the new one and had to move into a temporary facility where there just wasn’t room for him so he came home to live with me….forever. He became the second great love of my life.

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Now back to Lois. While I was in vet school, Lois and Frank, who had lived in Oregon the entire time I knew them, decided to move back to the family farm in Wisconsin. We had corresponded and called each other for years and I would fly or drive back to visit every year or so. In the spring of 2018, I had planned a flight out to visit when Lois asked if I could drive out as she had some things, she wanted to give me and I wouldn’t be able to get them on the plane. Lois turned 96 that year and had decided it was time for her to retire from showing and breeding her beloved Siamese AND it was time for me to carry on the tradition. The things she was giving me were the few cats she had left…what a surprise. She had become a mother figure to me so how could I deny her as she sat crying that she was giving me her most prized and precious possessions, her cats.

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So totally unprepared, I came home with 3 pregnant females, one kitten and one grouchy seal point male. Once home I scrambled to build a new cattery to get everyone settled.  The girls had their kittens and I was able showed 2 of them. I then purchased another male from June Colewell of Velpaws' Cattery. An elegant chocolate point named Dreamer. He became a TICA Supreme Grand Champion later that year.

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After practicing for over 20 years I retired to my small farm, breeding my lovely Brangus cows, keeping chickens, growing a garden and raising Siamese cats. Well that lasted about 18 months when a veterinarian friend asked if I could cover for her when she had surgery. That led to practicing 2 days a week in semi-retirement for the last 3 years.

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Currently I am still breeding Brangus cows, growing a garden, keeping chickens, ducks and goats along with breeding and showing my beautiful Siamese Cats.