The first Snowshoes were bred in the 1960's in the USA by a breeder of Siamese, Dorothy Hinds-Daughtery. She developed the breed by crossing a Siamese and a bi-colour American Shorthair. In the UK a breeding programme was started in 1986. By 1998, when I joined the programme , there was only one breeder left, Maureen Shackell. Between us, we had five cats to save the breed, and the Coldenufforsnow Cattery was born. Aware of the need to widen the gene pool, I have used my stud males for one season only, replacing each in turn by his son or half brother. My senior male, Ferry Vom Friedewald, is an import from Germany and gave us a completely new bloodline. On the female side I introduced two queens, Emerisle Blue Cinders and Cotindale Talking Point as outcrosses. Coldenufforsnow kittens, male and female, have joined the programme, and my prefix Coldenufforsnow together with Emerisle and Cotindale is to be found in many of todays pedigrees. We have made great progress since 1998. Today we have recognition with Fife at Championship Level, and preliminary status with the GCCF.

Snowshoes are bred in the UK in all Siamese point colours, including the Tortie and Tabby varieties. The ‘Preferred’ Pattern, consisting of white inverted ‘vee’ on the face, mitts and boots is the most striking - but difficult to achieve. Other patterns include mitted, high-white, (bi-colour) harlequin and colourpointed. A lively, affectionate, often ‘chatty’ cat, the Snowshoe offers a cats lifetime of love and companionship

THE HISTORY OF THE COLDENUFFORSNOW CATTERY

When I joined Maureen Shackell, the last remaining UK breeder of Snowshoes in 1998, we had just five cats to save the breed. Maureens stud Linkret Jaywalker, her two queens Linkret Octopussy and Kalahari Cutie, and my two female kittens Arctic-Moon Balsara and her sister Arctic-Moon Bathsheba. These two kittens were by Jaywalker out of Kalahari Cutie. Maureen later bred Linkret Pussinboots for me, a half brother to my two girls who was to become my first stud male. 
Balsara (Belle) produced just one litter for me. However, this litter provided me with my first home bred stud male, Aspen.
Bathsheba (Biba) bred me three litters before retiring. Her first litter contained Claviere (Cassie) an outstanding brood queen who produced some super kittens for me  including Jasper and Livigno Silver Moon, both registered with the FIFe, and the GCCF registered Quidditch and Qetesh, Whistler and Wengen, Bannock and Kitzbuhel.

With such a small gene pool I determined to introduce new bloodlines. It proved impossible at this time to obtain either a male or a female  Snowshoe from the USA. I therefore looked to other breeds in the UK.
My first acquisitions were a blue tabby mitted female Emerisle Blue Cinders and a lilac tabby bi-colour Emerisle Snowitch. These girls were Ragdoll/Oriental cross and produced three litters for me, three of their daughters joining the programme.

Arctic-Moon Bathsheba		Emerisle Blue Cinders

On the male side I kept three homebred boys for stud duties, each standing down in turn for the next. Aspen, who was also the first Snowshoe kitten I had bred, was succeeded by Courcheval who was followed by Flaine.

Meanwhile I had made the acquaintance of German breeders Gunter and Renata Noetzig, who were to offer me a stunning preferred pattern  seal point male Ferry vom Friedewald. Although this boy came to me from Germany he was 100% USA bloodlines.This super boy soon made his mark in the UK, siring several champions and breeding cats. He was also to become the first FIFe Champion male Snowshoe , with his daughter Coldenufforsnow Pila becoming the first FIFe Champion female Snowshoe. What a great addition to our breeding programme. Ferry has remained my senior male sharing  duties with his son Whistler and my latest acquisition Bitzaglitz Cinderellaman who brings in new USA lines being by the latest import Snowcats my Blue Heaven.

Ferry vom Friedewald		Snowshoos Isadora

At the same time that Ferry joined me in the UK I was lucky enough to obtain a female kitten of unknown breeding that was, unbelievably, preferred pattern!  This little girl had been discovered in a rescue centre at just seven weeks old. I successfully applied to the FIFe UK member, the Cat Association, for her to be included in our breeding programme as an ‘experimental shorthair’ and subsequently included her in my programme under the name of Snowshoos Isadora (Izzy).  She bred me some beautiful kittens, including the stunning seal point girl Zsa Zsa who in turn joined the programme and was later to travel to Belgium together with  Coldenufforsnow Ylaipi and Coldenufforsnow Saas Fee, to found the breed there.

What a find! I now had cats from first to fifth generation plus an experimental shorthair. The gene pool was widening and the generations were being increased.

One evening I received a ‘phone call from a lady who wanted to ‘pick my brains’.  She wanted to know if she had bred a Snowshoe. As the kitten was by a British shorthair out of a British shorthair the answer was ‘no’. However, the kitten WAS  Snowshoe pattern being a pointed bicolour.  Although not recognised at that time by the GCCF this pattern is now being bred as a new variety.The breeder later offered this girl to me for the Snowshoe breeding programme and I was very happy to accept her. The girls name was Cotindale Talking Point (Pippa) She had two litters for me, and one of her sons, Kaprun, joined the UK breeding programme.

Cotindale Talking Point Seal pointed bicolour		Sodachicats Chandra Seal tabby mitted

With the acquisition of Cotindale Talking Point (Pippa) an idea was sparked in my mind.  As it had proved impossible to import a Snowshoe from the USA, why not breed my own ‘new line’? Having made the decision I started to look for a suitable Siamese male for ‘Pippa’ to visit.
I found one quite close by, a lovely chocolate point boy, Melinar Samsong.

The outcome of this liason were two colour pointed kittens, a seal point male and a chocolate point female. Neither kitten had any white markings! Coldenufforsnow Elmau Eyecatcher (Lili) the female, stayed with me for the programme.  On maturity she visited a Sealpoint  Ragdoll male Sylvannias Mister Marksbury. (there was already Ragdoll blood in our pedigrees brought in by the two queens Emerisle Blue Cinders and Emerisle Snowitch)  
From this breeding I kept a female, Coldenufforsnow Meirengen (Meri).
She was in due course put to my imported male, Ferry vom Friedewald, and subsequently produced seven kittens including  Coldenufforsnow Pila.
Meirengens sister, Mottaret, went to Gunter and Renata Noetzig in Germany to join their breeding programme, and her descendents are to be found in Germany, Holland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

When FIFe granted the Snowshoes championship status in 2004 Pila and  her sire, Ferry became the first Snowshoe champions in the UK and Europe.  

Two personal dreams fulfilled.       A new line and the first FIFe Champions.

Coldenufforsnow Pila at 8 months old Later to become first Fife Champion Snowshoe		Coldenufforsnow Pila at 8 months old Later to become first Fife Champion Snowshoe
Photo Alan Robinson		Photo Robert Fox
Coldenufforsnow Elmau Eyecatcher		Coldenufforsnow Mierengen

My last import was an adolescent female from the USA. This girl ‘Miracle’ a blue preferred pattern produced some very nice kittens for me. A lovely seal point daughter of hers, Irocroix, stayed with me and in her first litter gave me a stunning seal boy, Pawnee. This boy went to Ireland where he is currently gaining his merits as a show neuter with both the GCCF and GCCFI. Another of Miracles kittens, a blue male, Qanuck, made his debut on the show bench in 2007, one of  NINE  Coldenufforsnow kittens to do so in that year. ALL of these kittens gained their initial merit awards in 2007!     Quite a record.

I have always enjoyed showing my cats. Between them they have been awarded more than 100 merits, the most prized being the 10 presented to us at the Supreme Cat Shows.

The latest Snowshoe to join me is a seal tabby mitted female kitten, Chandra (Sasha) This girl traces back to my foundation queen Biba, and also includes Ferry, Isadora and Talking Point in her pedigree.

She is also the great, great, great grand-daughter of both Biba and my first kitten Aspen.