Wendy Klamm

An Interview with TICA All Breed Judge Wendy Klamm

by Jay Lehman

Jay: Tell us how you became interested in cats.

Wendy: While growing up, I was a “dog person.” I was owned by a couple of Shetland Sheepdogs and never had a cat until Ron and I got married. We lived in an apartment which didn’t allow dogs, so we adopted a couple of household pets from an animal shelter in the Chicago area. We were later given a tortoiseshell “Persian” when our neighbor’s cat had kittens. However, Ron had been fascinated by Russian Blues. After moving to the Houston, Texas area in 1978, we purchased our first pedigreed cat, a breeder quality Russian Blue, at the CFA Houston Charity Cat show. While she was a beautiful cat, Ron was the only one who could touch her. The only time I could get near her was when she was pregnant. We bred her twice and she had lovely kittens, but they seemed to inherit their mother’s less than amiable disposition. We regretfully returned her to her breeder after three years. After moving to Houston, I had become involved in showing Shetland Sheepdogs. This was a very cuthroat experience and I did not pursue it very long! Ron still wanted to become involved in pedigreed cats, so because he had been so patient and understanding about going to dog shows with me, I supported him in it

We researched several different breeds and after about a year, decided upon the Bombay because it was a relatively new breed and we hoped we could help contribute towards the breed. We obtained our first show quality cat, Gotagato Fifth Generation of Miraj, in August 1982. He was 8 months old at the time and had already had a successful show career as a kitten. He became our foundation male. Our first show was the 1982 TICA Annual show in Dallas, Texas (were we ever babes in the woods!) Everyone was so helpful and friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Besides, “Bouncer” finaled in 5 of 10 rings and we were hooked! We also went to a CFA show a few weeks later, but found there were more TICA shows in our area so we concentrated on showing predominantly in TICA.

Through trial and error, we improved our lines. In the 1988-1989 show season, SGC Kats’n’Klamms Gengi was TICA’s 2nd Best International Cat.

Through all of this, Ron had retained his love of Russian Blues. By this time, we had learned a lot more about the breed. .The most important thing to us was temperment. We also wanted a female with a pale coat and deep green eyes. We connected with Lucille Westbrook and she sold us a beautiful lady, Chayat’s Casseopia of Kats’n’Klamms, in 1986. Along with her sweet disposition, she had the pale coat we wanted and eyes that were deep, dark green. We bred Cassie to GRC Mirra’s Whispurr of Blue Sands, bred by Linda Lindsey and owned by Geri Bischoff, and they produced SGC Kats’n’Klamms Marya. Marya produced TICA SGC/CFA GRC Kats’n’Klamms Valentina and SGC Kats’n’Klamms Misha of StarCats. Because we were still working with our Bombays and our daughter, Sara, was starting up her own breeding program with Norwegian Forest Cats, we backed off on the Russian Blues.

Before I go any furhter, I want to thank both Lucille and Geri for being our mentors and guiding us. It was only with their help that we were able to produce these lovely cats.

Jay: Why did you become a judge?

Wendy: For me, becoming a judge was more an evolution than a decision. When we first started going to shows, Ron did most of the showing because he really enjoyed it. I usually stayed by the cage, reading, or walked around talking with people. A few months after we began showing, Frances Young, who was a new judge at the time, asked me to assist as a clerk in her ring. I really enjoyed it and found that I could see every cat in the show! I took to clerking like a duck takes to water. After becoming a Master Clerk, it just seemed natural that I should just keep going and become a judge! My first judging assignment was on May 20, 1989 for the Chimneyville Cat Fanciers in Jackson, Mississippi. What makes all of this rather strange is the fact that, as I mentioned before, I was originally a “dog person.” I had never had a cat and didn’t really like them until Ron and I got married! I guess it’s true that those who “convert” to something are the most enthusiastic!

Jay: What makes a Russian Blue stand out?

Wendy: First of all, it is an elegant, refined breed. It should be graceful, like a ballerina, and easy to handle. The coat should be thick, pale blue and it should shimmer. The eyes should be a deep green. Too often I see dark, flat, steel grey coats and watered down eye color. One of the disappointing things that I sometimes see is a cat that has all the right stuff, but it is either too nervous to shine or is difficult to handle. It breaks my heart to place the cat lower in my finals, or not use it at all, because I can’t judge it properly. As you know, a good Russian Blue with show presence can knock the socks off the competition!

Jay: Do you have any advice on showing a Russian Blue?

Wendy: I know I’m “preaching to the choir”, but start handling your kittens frequently from the time they’re born. Once they are six to eight weeks old, let anyone who comes over (with the exception of small children) handle them. By the time they go to a show, they will be so use to being handled that it won’t bother them. Once our kittens were eight weeks old, we moved them into a walk-in cage in the living room. There they were exposed to the TV, the stereo, the vacuum cleaner, the dogs, company and Sara’s friends (Cassie’s first litter was born when Sara was 7). One thing we found very helpful was to have a litter of Bombays at the same time. We’d put the two litters together when they were eight weeks old. Bombays are very friendly and aren’t afraid of anyone. This seemed to rub off on the Russian Blue kittens and they weren’t as reserved around company or in the show ring! While this may not be something most people can do, it worked for us. Anyway, the key word is SOCIALIZE your kittens as much as possible. They will do much better in the show ring!

As I mentioned, we have cut back on our Russian Blues. Valentina (Tina or T-Nuts) is our only remaining Russian Blue. She’s altered and looks as beautiful now at 9 1/2 years as she did when she was being shown! She has always been Ron’s cat and Gengi, now 10, has always been mine. They share our bedroom (and our hearts), and take turns (or work together) in stealing our blankets! We also currently have a Shetland Sheepdog who thinks she’s a cat, except when she’s trying to herd the kittens