| Welcome to Mentobe Birmans & Siberians the home of: Champion Lachmere Barbarella, Champion Advilo Mentobe Saffina & Grand Premier Snowwitch Mentobe Nkosi. + Alexandrite IllyanaMentobe (Our foundation Siberian Queen) |
| Our prefix - Mentobe (pro - meant to be) Sometimes, something wonderful happens out of tragedy. Elsa our first Birman female died unexpectedly, she was such a strong character, that her absence in our household of boys was very greatly missed. After a while, we decided to look for another female and bought Lachmere Barbarella (Rio). At that time we had no intention of showing, let alone breeding. However, Rio was such a beautiful kitten that we were persuaded to enter her into a show, she has now become a champion girl and has brought up her first litter of beautiful kittens. We feel that all this was "meant to be" hence our prefix Mentobe! Rio (Champion Lachmere Barbarella) our first show & Breeding Queen. We had Birmans before Rio came into our lives in 2003, but only as pets . Our first Birman, Simba (Laurant Apollo) is a wonderful seal boy, full of character and a very big attitude to match. Elsa (Laurant Elsa) a blue girl, sister to Simba with a 3 year age difference. Elsa was the life and soul of our large household of cats. It was a very sad day for us when she died in April 2003. (see Memory) In 2002 we adopted (Birmayne Finen Dandy) Sunny or Mr D as we called him, another Seal Point, Mr D came to us when her retired from stud. Unfortunately he passed away 2nd November 2004 at the age of 12. (see Memory) Mentobe kittens: On 12 September 2004, Rio gave birth to her first litter of beautiful kittens. Two boys and two girls, a male and female blue tabby point, and a male and female blue point. (see kittens) Mentobe Star (blue point female) and Mentobe Harvey Moondust (blue tabby point male) both now in wonderful loving homes since Christmas. Mentobe Sunrise (blue tabby point female) and Mentobe Gorgeous Louis (blue point male) . Susie and I decided to keep both these kittens - Sunrise as another breeding queen and Louis because he captured Susie's heart after the loss of Mr D. The rest of our household....... Gizmo - white with brown and black tabby spots, is 16 obviously not a Birman! Giz is top cat! 15th may 1989 - 15th May 2006 (see Memory) Jessie James - brown tabby, a rescue cat, is 14 and is very vocal. Arthur - black semi long hair is also 14 and was rescued with his brother Jessie. Aug 1991-Sept 2005 (see Memory) Chester (Jantur Nkosi Blue) a 12 year old British short hair - Our first pedigree cat - a wedding present from Susie to Mark.17/5/93 to 24/8/08 (See Memory) Felix - black and white Felix food cat look alike is 7 years old and is also a rescue cat. Arthur and Felix were both diagnosed diabetics approximately 3 years ago. With a great deal of hard work and determination, we have managed to stabilise Felix and Arthur is now off insulin and back to normal. This could not have been achieved without the help and advice of a fantastic website called Felinediabetes.com and our local vet. 28/8/06 Two new additions to the Mentobe Home: Champion Advilo Mentobe Saffina, a beautiful Blue Point girl & Grand Premier Snowwitch Mentobe Nkosi, a stunning Seal Point boy. Watch the show page for updates, as we will be showing both of them. We will also be breeding from Saffina in the future. Nkosi means KING in Zulu & Saffina means THE BEAUTIFUL ONE in Swahili. As you can now see by the slight name change Saffi has now become a Champion & Nkosi a Premier, we are very proud! Thanks to Claire Finch for her kind words in the summer 07 Birman Club magazine xx. 25/8/08 Another addition to the Mentobe Household: Mentobe Lil Miss Naughty stays to become our 4th breeding queen. 18/10/2008 Mentobe Siberians is born! After a lot of time effort & research we decided to take on another breed. We looked at Main coons, Norwegians, & even Sphinx. Mark wanted a Main coon, Susie wanted a Sphinx so we compromised and settled on the fantastic and relatively new breed to the UK & GCCF the Siberian. We just love the size of them, they are very similar to the Birman in temperament, but can be more dog like. (they play fetch!) the also come in a wide range of colours from various tabbys, selfs, Silvers & even Colour pointed like the Birmans. Susie and I should have our first litter from winter 2009, so please watch this site to keep track of our lovely girl: Alexandrite IllyanaMentobe. |
| HISTORY OF THE BIRMAN CAT The scared cat of Burma? Yes actually. The word Birman is derived from the French spelling of Burma “Birmanie” , and it was the French who first introduced the Birman to the cat fancy. Legend? Before the time of Buddha, on the side of Mount Lugh in western Burma was the temple of Lao-Tsun. In this temple lived many sacred white cats with golden eyes. In the temple, was the statue of the blue-eyed goddess Tsun-Kyan- Kse, dressed in golden robes. Tsun-Kyan-Kse was responsible for the transformation of priestly souls from one life to another. One night, Sinh, the devoted cat of Mun-Ha, a priest, sat with his master while he prayed to the goddess. During the night the temple was attacked and Mun-Ha was killed. As Mun-Ha lay dying, Sinh lay on his masters body and gazed at the eyes of Tsun-Kyan-Kse, as he did so, his eyes took on the brilliant blue of the goddess’s eyes and his coat became like a golden mist. His ears, nose, tail and legs became dark brown, but where his paws touched his beloved masters body, they remained white as snow – a symbol of divine purity and the soul of Mun-Ha entered the body of Sinh. The other priests witnessing this transformation, drove the attackers out of the temple. The priests and the other temple cats prayed thankfully to Tsun-Kyan-Kse, and as they did so, the sacred cats coats turned the same colour as Sinh and their eyes took on the brilliant blue of the Goddess. There lies the legend of the Birman. One of the stories of the origin of the Birman, is that two cats were given to a Major Gordon Russell by temple monks as a gesture of thanks, while he was serving in Burma. The cats were shipped to France in 1919, en route the male cat died but the female Sita, then pregnant survived and her offspring is said to have started the Birman line in the West. Whether you believe the stories or not, Birmans were definitely introduced into France in the early part of the 20th century. The long haired bicoloured Angora and the Siamese are possibly responsible for the origin of the Birman as both breeds carry the genes for long hair, point colour and white spotting. The Siamese made an appearance in shows as early as 1871, however, the Birman did not appear at a show until 1926. |
| HISTORY OF THE SIBERIAN CAT Siberians have been around for at least 1000 years. They were recorded in Harrison Wier’s book of Cats and all about them, which had information of the earliest cat show in England in 1871. The Siberian is a natural breed that is the national cat of Russia. The Siberian cat, although a very ancient breed has only become known as a pedigree breed in recent times. This is because owning a pet was not allowed under the Russian Communist regime. The Siberian has some lovely stories regarding their history. Some believe that they were the protectors of the Monasteries dating back to the 13th century, walking along the high beams over seeing and guarding their loved owners. Others say they protected the granaries from rodents & thus well loved & protected by their owners. The Siberian developed exceptional survival qualities due to the harsh weather conditions; they developed longer coats that are water repellent with non matting under coat & thicker skins. They have big rounded paws with fur tuffs to help when walking in snow. They are also extremely agile, love to be high & can leap great distances & navigate without knocking things over (Unlike the Birmans!)Siberians are very intelligent and have a dog like quality about them, you can expect to be greeted at the door by your Siberian & spend many an hour playing fetch with it’s favorite toy. The Siberian is a heavy bodied cat whose overall appearance should be rounded. Semi- longhaired with a firm thick water repellent coat, and dense undercoat, which requires minimal grooming. SCALE OF POINTS Head: Including general shape and balance; profile; muzzle and chin 15 Cheeks: Cheekbones are the determining factor in head type 10 Eyes: 5 Ears: 5 Body: Including overall shape; size; substance; boning; legs; paws and tail length 35 Coat: Including undercoat; topcoat; ruff; breeches and coat texture and quality 25 Overall Condition: 5 Total: 100 |
| The above text was addapted from the following books: The Birman Cat-Worldwide, by Vivienne Smith Birman Cat, by Dennise Kelsey-Wood Birman Cats, Barrons The Guide To Owning A Birman Cat, Commings |
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