Well today was the end of an era here. Furtuosity's Serge Veetovich of Kender passed the Rainbow Bridge just days shy of his 16th birthday. "Serge" had been a fixture of this cattery since he was 4 months old. Neutered at that age - never sired a single kitten for me - but was the Siberian ambassador in multiple associations when I was asked to give talks about the breed. He went to schools for grooming and care lessons - and never met a camera he didn't like.
Serge was from Audrey Olivers very first litter of Siberians born to Furtuosity cattery. Out of our shared import female Karoline Abakan of Furtuosity/Kender. Karoline only ever gave us this single litter of 3 boys. A red & white classic boy that over time we lost track of - he was placed with a lady in Ny by Audrey. Illya was a red classic boy who was used extensively by both our cattieries over the years - with great success as told by our strong look, good health and winning cats. Illya preceeded Serge to the Rainbow Bridge by many years - dying ast the age of 7 from a sudden onset liver failure never fully identified. And Serge. Who was technically the runt of the litter. Another solid red classic boy. I decided to keep him, neutering him as a baby and the rest as they say is history. He was shown over the years to literally over 150 different judges at events and training for the Siberian breed. He was the model spokes-kitty. ACA, UFO, AACE and a few ACFA schools all benefitted from him being present.
At home he was the one who kept everyone in line - including we humans. If a food bowl was too low, or a kitten was stuck in a closet - you could count on Serge to harrass you until the problem was resolved.
The big red boy is gone. Peace.
Almost 16 years. Wow. He had to be from one of the earliest litters of Siberians ever born in the US. Amazing! Sad to see him go, but what a life.
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