Recently I have been going through my breeding stock carefully, looking at pedigrees, and cats, deciding which cats could be desexed and petted out, or might go as vasectomised studs. I was assessing which lines have features worth conserving, and which it might be better not to breed from any longer.
Of course, I found that there are many cats from the lines introducing the marbled pattern which in themselves could do with improvement, particularly in head type (too long), but a bonus with the Ussi/Roundel marbled line is a superb short, dense coat texture rather like silk velvet to the touch, and a truly grass green eye colour.
When I considered the other main source of marbled, I made a very interesting discovery - Nintu Abagail Silk (Silkia), it turns out, is a very important lady. Not only is she the mother of the 1999 Exhibit of the Year (Nintu Marmor Bezique), but she has a huge number of breeding descendants, including both studs and queens. In addition to carrying the marbled pattern, she has a truly lovely head - rounded on top, nice nose break and well set eyes and ears. She also has green eyes. Her weaknesses are lack of much breadth in the muzzle, smallish ears, lack of warmth in the coat and very delicate markings on her single coat.

Nintu Marmor Dandy with Jemima in the background,  just on maturity, January 2000

 
Orana, lilac marbled kitten (indoors)

Alyxia  herself has a Silkia great grand daughter, a delicate coloured, very pretty lilac marbled, Nintu Marmor Orana, who is staying as a show and breeding girl. Orana has had one of the new line foundation litters ( x Pan) and on lease, the only  litter for the Burrgan cattery.
BEE BALM . While with me, Bee Balm had 2 litters, from the first of which 3 marbled girls, Eirene, Essyllt and Eunomia were kept.  Eirene and Eunomia both have future studs in their first litters.

Nintu Marmor Essyllt with half of her litter to Nintu Marmor Dandy - note the lovely marbled pattern and good muzzle but very wrong gold eyes which some of these grand daughters have!
From Bee Balm’s second litter ( X DAEMON, doubling up the Silkia characteristics), Harmon Fame, a delicious peach spotted boy was kept, and Holly Flower went to Victoria to join Pat Leane's  new cattery. Jeanette’s first litter (from Nintu Family Idol) also had a male worthy of being a stud (SATU TALIESIN), and he is staying  with her. The BEAUTIFUL BEZIQUE (also to be seen on the brown colours page) has sired a couple of litters from Nintu Marmor Aline, including the very well used Vavra Marmor Kai, who himself has breeding children. Bezique, Kai and Seurat, his neuter brother, took the top three places in the 1999 Exhibit of the year Awards. Bezique has not only the lovely rounded Silkia head, but also a marbled pattern so far unsurpassed by any other cat or kitten.

Silkia shows no signs of wanting to give up breeding, so I expect that there will be more opportunities to try her with studs new and old. At the same time, her breeding descendants both spotted and marbled have opened up a whole new range of vigorous, good type cats, each, it is true, with features which need improvement - but then, that is what breeding is all about!

Silkia did give up breeding, finally, after a litter of just 2 male kittens to  Nintu Family Idol, in November 2003. One,   Nintu  Justinus Nestor, was kept as a stud.  Silkia was spayed in the middle of the next  year, and joined the life of leisure keeping the oldies in order.  In early 2008 she became very slow in her movements, and was obviously suffering from a heart condition, so  on the  29th April she made her final journey. She now rests  in the garden, which she so much enjoyed.  A truly wonderful queen.