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On this page my first pedigree cat Totti aka PR & GIC Exlibris Cosi Fan Tutti presents himself. Totti is born on January 26, 1999. His dam is Exlibris Antiqua and sire EC Hingstbackes Penny. He is a Somalicat. There were two kittens in the litter; the ruddy male Totti and a sorrel female IP Exlibris Carmina Burana aka Ninna. Both of them were lovely babies! Here is a picture of them at sex weeks. Totti is the one further away.

I had some trouble deciding which one to choose because I liked the sorrel colour (although I had dreamt about blue), but I thought a male might be easier. I exchanged a lot of mails with the breeder and went to look at the kittens several times. Finally I decided to take the wonderful ruddy boy, Totti! And then I just had to wait for Totti to reach the age of 12 weeks.

Finally the big day was here. Totti was almost 13 weeks at the time and I had a two week holiday to help Nippe adjust to the newcomer. Nippe did not give him a friendly welcome. Actually he both hissed and growled!!! I don´t think any of us slept the first night - Nippe kept an eye on Totti, I kept an eye on Nippe and Totti was afraid and turned to me for comfort.

But this only lasted this one night and after a week Nippe didn´t growl anymore. They still weren´t the best of friends, but Nippe could stand Totti as long as he didn´t come "too" near. But after less than three weeks the boys already slept in the same chair :-). What a relief.

The cats became great friends and Nippe got younger when he started to do a lot of fun things together with Totti. They ventured out in the garden, but I had to look after Totti a lot as he loves to jump.

Totti watched Nippe and did the same things as he did. They explored the garden and looked at people and the neighbour dogs under the fence.

In the summer we went to my parents´country cottage. Totti didn´t much like to be outside on a leash and a couple of times I let him run without it. He didn´t go far.

Totti has also been at shows. At Totti´s first show in August, 1999 he was Best in Show!

I was stunned and surprised by this success. His breeder thought he was a good cat, but neither she nor I had expected this. Well, it was back to earth next time because then Totti was EX 2. At the shows after this he has sometimes won and sometimes not, so it has been quite exciting!

Totti is also a father. In December, 1999 he had a female from Sweden coming over. The result was a ruddy boy S*Mojave´s Albin. Totti was very much in love with his bride - at least when he understood that she was a she!

Then Totti got himself a new mate when Veeti moved in after Christmas. Nippe had already moved away, so Totti was a bit lonely and I thought he would like to have someone to play with. And yes, Totti was very pleased. Well, at first he thought he got himself a new girlfriend, but after a while he learned that Veeti wasn´t a girl at all. In a week Totti and Veeti became best friends. Totti also found himself in a new role when he started mothering Veeti, who suckles his tummy :-).

The boys play a lot of wild and funny games and sometimes my potted plants are all over the floor. I find that I don´t have that many plants anymore :-). But there is nothing as wonderful as watching the boys having fun. Nothing boring in this house.

Totti was second best Somali kitten in the cat club Aby- ja somalikissat in the year 1999 and third best kitten in the club Somakiss. He also was 6th best kitten in the club SUROK, where he was the only Somali among Burmese, British Shorthairs and Rexes.

As you can see Totti had a very fine first year although he didn´t take part in more than four shows.

Totti became Champion in Porvoo on April 2nd, 2000. There were three male competitors and Totti was the one to get the certificate! He was also chosen Best in Variety and also won over a female in the same class. After this he has a break from shows and then he starts to compete for the CACIB certificates.

On October 21st - 22nd, 2000 Totti made his first trip abroad to Tallinn where he became International Champion (IC). He also got his first CAGCIB cert. On Sunday he also was Nominated for Best in Show.

Totti has always been a quiet traveller, but in the taxi home he told me in no uncertain words that he was tired of travelling and meowed almost all the way.

Totti was second best Somali adult in the cat club Aby- ja somalikissat in the year 2000 and third best adult in the club Somakiss.

Totti became Grand International Champion (GIC) in Riga on April 21st, 2001. On Sunday he got his first CACE.

Totti was neutered in October 2001. So he didn´t become an EC after all. My cats didn´t get on that well so I thought neutering Totti was probably for the best. Not many certificates to go, but peace at home is so much more important than any titles. Although I have to admit that I first was a bit disappointed. But now half an year after the neutering I´m sure it was the right decision by 110%. Totti is like a young cat again and very playful. He also seems more outgoing, so I think we´ll
try to show him as a neuter. Maybe he isn´t as shy as before. But all in all Totti is a Wonderful Cat!

Totti did very well during the year 2001. He gained the GIC title and was third best adult Somali in both our breed clubs. In the main club SUROK he was 9th best Adult cat.