Before I fell in love with somalis I fell in love with maine coons, but before that I fell in love with cats. Our very first cat was a smoked with white girl that we took from the street. Even before we had this first cat we used to visit cat shows and there were two breeds that caught our eyes: first were maine coons and second were abyssinians.

Our smoky kitten joined us in 2005 and with her I quickly sank into the cat world. I started working as a steward at FIFe shows and did so for several years. Back then somalis were non existent on cat shows in Poland and abys were scarce or also none. I looked at many breeds but always went back to maine coons and so, those sweet giants, dressed in silky long coat, with a wild look but loving and gentle in nature, took my heart.

Our very first maine coons introduced us to cat showing and very successfully so – hooking us up onto the show world even more. Back then, we never considered breeding but showing was a real fun. As our coons’ show careers progressed and we traveled to many shows, abys started to be seen more often as well.

I love our coonies but couldn’t help to smile every time I saw an aby sitting on the arm of its owner or giving him or her a kiss. They were so affectionate and when I talked to their breeders they seemed so fun, energetic and bright and just made a wonderfully loving impression on me. A small thought slowly started in my mind about a little aby joining us and this time starting a cattery was considered.

And then this happened:

This photo was taken at the FIFe World Cat Show in Poland in 2011 and I’m the steward in the background. I could not go back after seeing and holding – for the first time – a longhair aby. Only then I learnt that my co-conspirator and co-breeder – my mum - was actually rooting for them all along. She saw this amazing foxy-cat draped like a beautiful autumn shawl around its owners neck at a show (I didn’t attend this one) and was dreaming of it ever since.

Half a year latter – my first time clerking at a TICA show – when a judge asked me which breed I wanted to breed the answer was already there: somalis!