ABOUT US
We are Ted and Michelle Kingsland and live on the lovely Island of Portland in Dorset.
This is the view from the front of our house early in the morning.
Michelle's love of cats started many many years ago when she owned and showed Persian cats. After 13 years showing Beagles it was decided that the time was right to start showing cats again. The Birman was chosen because of its beauty, its laid back and wonderful temperament and its gorgeous blue eyes.
The 'Sacred' Birman has a wonderful legend:
In the days before the coming of Buddha there lived an old and wise monk called Mun Hawho devoted his life to the sapphire-eyed Tsun-Kyan-Kse, the goddess of the migration of souls. The monk had a white male cat with orange eyes, whose name was Sinh. One day the temple was attacked and Mun Ha and the other monks found shelter in the santuary of the temple, but he died of shock there. As he lay dying, his faithful companion Sinh leapt upon his white head. At that moment the monks saw a miracle as the old mans soul entered the cat. The goddess granted the cat her own godly golden colour but the tips which rested on the old monk remained white. The cat's eyes became sapphire blue like those of the goddess. They shone brightly, facing one of the gates which the monks closed preventing the invaders capturing the temple. All the other cats in the temple took on the same colouring which has been passed on to all their descendents.
Then the 'Americans' came to stay! Anyone who has met a Maine Coon knows how you really must have one of these gentle giants to love after you have had a hug, and we were smitten at first sight.
There
are many myths as to the origin of the Maine Coon. Some believed that a
mating between a Raccoon and a Domestic cat produced what we have today, in truth
they are one of the oldest breeds of North America and generally thought to be
native to the state of Maine, probably as a result of a mating between domestic
and overseas longhairs.
