How everything began
It all began more than 20 years ago when an ad in a Cats Magazine caught my eyes: Three ruddy Abyssinian males for sale! By then, I knew the breed only from a few pictures I have seen in cat books and I sure was fascinated. Now, I wanted to see some for real and an appointment was arranged. Of course I fell head over heels and one of these boys went home with me.
This was the beginning of a very special love and dedication and to cut a long story short: After some initial breedings in an Independent Cat Club I registered my cattery name with Fifé in 1988 and some years later also with CFA, TICA and ACFA. In 1989 I became a member of ACCA (Abyssinian Cat Club America). They publish a quarterly newsletter where I have written a few articles and reported for the 
International column. I joined other Breed Clubs throughout the world and became a member of the CFA Breed Council in 2004.
I had to learn rather quickly, that my first Abyssinians were neither show nor breeder quality. Of course, I still loved them but I became aware, that - if I wanted to continue breeding - I had to start with something else and so the current ones were neutered/spayed. Through the various newsletters I got in contact with some reputable and knowledgeable breeders. Long distance calls increased my phone bill dramatically and I wrote many letters - the Internet was not yet available at that time. I was extremely lucky when I was offered two proven GC males in 1991 from two different breeders in the USA.
A little later I also imported two females from the USA and along with two other females from Europe these were my foundation cats. The combo seemed to click and Fifé GIC Baton Rouge's Whoopie, a red female, became Best Swiss Shorthair Kitten of the Year in 1992!
Only one year later Fifé Ch. WW93 Baton Rouge's Zensation 
was Best Shorthair Kitten 6-10 at the World Winner Show in Copenhagen! The Fifé World Winner Show is held once a year, always in a different country. It can be compared with the CFA International Show. All cats that want to participate have to qualify first. Entries can range from 700 to over 1'000 cats, depending the country.
Many additional awards followed and my friends in Italy, Chiara Stella Tessara, showed Fifè EC Baton Rouge's Endless Chances, a ruddy male, very successful, too!
Between 1999 - 2003 I took a break from breeding. Since 2003 I am registering and showing exclusively CFA.
All this wouldn't have been possible without the help of a few knowledgeable breeders who were willing to share their precious breeding lines with me. Thank you for your trust and honesty!
