Sunday July 2nd was a great success - organised by Lynda Ashmore with over 30 cats and even more Aby addicts.  Caroline Macaulay produced an excellent lunch.  Then Shirley Bullock, Carole Jones and Mary Kalal gave their expert opinion on the Abys who, without exception, were beautifully behaved and seemed to enjoy their day as much as the Aby addicts.
The day began with an update on the Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKDef) Project from Andrea Harvey, FAB Clinical Associate.  This leads to a report on the success of an auction held at the Somali Cat Club's Summer Party, when the wonderful sum of £1,000 was raised and presented to Andrea for the PKDeficiency project.  As Anne Gregory says "This really does reflect the determination we have to eradicate this disease from our beloved breed.  Anyone who owns a Somali, Abyssinian or a breed that uses either for outcrossing and would like to know more information about the disease and the help we are receiving from Andrea, please visit the Club's website, www.somalicatclub.com.  By agreeing to have your cat tested for this project you can really support this scheme."  Anne's reply to our request to quote her was "Yes, of course, the ACC have been very supportive and it was an excellent article by Mike Shammas we were permitted to use in our Somali Journal to inform our members how to move forward in a positive way."
It would be great to get ALL our Abys and Somalis tested so we know exactly where we are.  Let's hope more will be encouraged to take part and help with funding.
If you would like any further information regarding the study, or if you would like to make a donation towards this study please contact Andrea Harvey at the Feline Centre, University of Bristol Veterinary School, tel. 0117 9289558, fax 0117 9289559, email a.m.harvey@bristol.ac.uk

Abyssinian Seminar 2002

The Abyssinian Breed Advisory Committee (ABAC) held their last wholly Abyssinian seminar on Sunday 10 November 2002, efficiently co-ordinated by Mrs Ruth Hopkins.  It was well attended by 50 Aby devotees, who were treated to an excellent roast lunch before getting down to the main business of the day - admiring the many splendid Abys present.   There were 20 Abyssinians of various colours, including usual, sorrel, blue, lilac and silver.  The theme was "Abyssinian Type and Expression", which was covered most ably by four experienced GCCF judges who are all Abyssinian breeders - Mrs Shirley Bullock, Mrs Carole Jones, Dr. Vicky Hakin Smith, and Mrs Ruth Hopkins.  


Many thanks to everyone who participated in such an enjoyable day.


Seminars since that date have been jointly run with other foreign breeds.