23/08/2026
๐๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ *๐ฅ๐จ ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ผ๐๐๐ผ๐บ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐ธ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ (๐๐บ๐ฝ) ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ โ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฎโ
๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
โ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ.โ ๐ค๐ธ
It has taken me weeks to find the strength to write this...
On 21 July 2026, we said goodbye to one of the most extraordinary cats ever to grace our home.
Katia was family. She was my companion, my pride, an exceptional mother, and an irreplaceable part of the dreams I had for the future of Valkyrie Maine C***s.
Titles, pedigrees and show achievements tell only a very small part of Katiaโs story. Because what made Katia truly extraordinary was simply... Katia.
She had the sweetest, gentlest nature imaginable. At two different cat shows, under two different judges, Katia received a Judgeโs Favourite award because of her lovely personality. Those awards meant more to me than almost any title she earned because they recognised something that could never be measured against a breed standard. They recognised the beautiful little soul behind the beautiful Maine C**n. Within minutes of meeting her, people fell in love with her. She didnโt just win ribbons. She won hearts.
At home, the elegant Grand Champion disappeared and our wonderfully quirky Katia took her place. She talked constantly, always convinced that every conversation required her opinion.
She believed coffee was meant to be shared, especially if it belonged to me.
Tea towels somehow never stayed in the kitchen because she delighted in carrying them around the house.
She even managed to โmurderโ our flat-screen television by chewing its corner.
Every visit to the litter tray began with an enthusiastic nose-first excavation, earning herself the affectionate nickname โDrol Mol.โ
And then there were her springs... Katia absolutely adored her little plastic springs. Whenever we moved the coffee table or wall unit, she would come running from wherever she was because she knew some of her precious springs were โhidingโ underneath.
To us, we were simply moving furniture. To Katia, it was a treasure hunt, and a sure sign that a game of fetch was about to begin.
She loved bird-watching through the screened security gate and could sit there for ages, completely captivated by everything happening outside. We will never forget the first time she laid eyes on a Guinea fowl. She simply stared at it with complete fascination, trying to make sense of this enormous, peculiar bird that had suddenly appeared in her world.
She loved sleeping along the back of the couch, sometimes dreaming so deeply that her little paws and whiskers would twitch while she slept.
She had her own wonderfully unique ways of showing affection. One of her favourites was giving us face and scalp โexfoliationsโ, with the same determined enthusiasm she seemed to bring to everything she loved. It was such a small, funny ritual, but one we would give anything to experience just once more.
She filled our home with conversation. With mischief. With laughter. With love. She made ordinary days extraordinary simply by being part of them.
Perhaps the greatest testament to Katiaโs beautiful nature came during the final weeks of her life.
Throughout countless blood tests, intravenous catheters, examinations, scans and blood transfusions, she never bit. She never scratched. She never stopped trusting the people trying to help her. Even when she was frightened. Even when she was hurting. She remained our sweet Katia.
In July 2026, Katia became critically ill with profound anaemia.
We fought for her with everything we had.
Veterinarians and specialists searched for answers. Advice was sought from across the world. Blood transfusions were arranged. Friends offered their own beloved cats as potential donors. And so many people prayed for our girl.
Every small improvement gave us hope. Every setback broke our hearts all over again.
We kept fighting because Katia kept fighting. Until eventually, her little body simply couldnโt anymore.
Despite every treatment, every transfusion, every effort and every prayer, there came a point when there was no reasonable treatment left that could save her without prolonging her suffering.
On 21 July 2026, surrounded by love, we made the heartbreaking decision to let our beautiful girl cross the Rainbow Bridge.
Her time with us was heartbreakingly short. Her legacy will not be.
Katia leaves behind her beautiful offspring, each carrying a little piece of the remarkable girl who came before them. Through them, a part of our Apple Blossom continues.
But her legacy reaches far beyond her offspring. It lives in the people she charmed at shows, in the judges who fell in love with her, in the friends who rallied around her, in the people who prayed for a cat they had never met. And of course, in the home that will never feel quite the same without her.
No tribute to Katia would be complete without acknowledging the extraordinary people and cats who stood beside us during those impossible weeks.
๐๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ด๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ...
Thank you for your unwavering strength, love and support, and for carrying both your own heartbreak and mine when I could no longer carry it myself.
๐๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ...
Katia wasnโt only my little girl. She was yours too.
We celebrated every milestone together, dreamed about her future together, rejoiced in every success, worried over every setback, cried over every blood result and ultimately had our hearts broken together.
Thank you for loving her so completely.
Thank you for trusting me through every impossible decision, every glimmer of hope and every devastating moment.
I couldnโt have asked for a better co-owner or friend to walk this heartbreaking journey with me. I know a piece of your heart crossed the Rainbow Bridge with her too.
She was so deeply loved by all of us, and that is a gift I will always be grateful for.
๐๐ฐ Herlien, ๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ Carol...
There are acts of friendship we will never forget, and what you did for Katia is among them.
Herlien volunteered Maya, Allegro and Leo, and Georgina volunteered Yellow, without hesitation, so that they could be tested as potential blood donors for our girl. Carol was also ready to bring Casanova Kid if another donor was needed, even though it would have meant he had to be shaved just days before Cat of the Year.
But you didnโt only offer your cats. Herlien and Georgina, thank you for keeping me company while I waited to visit Katia. Those hours were frightening, exhausting and seemingly endless, and simply having friends beside me meant more than you probably realised. Georgina, thank you for bringing chocolates. It was one of those quiet little gestures of kindness that meant so much in the middle of everything I was going through.
And Herlien, after we lost our girl, thank you for the beautiful orchid, chocolates and bracelet. At a time when there were no words that could make anything better, the beautiful gestures said everything words couldnโt.
Every cat brought for testing, every kilometre driven, every hour spent waiting beside us, every offer made, every gesture and every drop of blood represented someone saying:
โYour little girl matters to me too.โ
We will never forget that.
๐๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด...
Thank you for every prayer, message, phone call, hug, tear and act of kindness. Thank you for checking on us, and for carrying us when we couldnโt carry ourselves.
๐๐ฐ ๐ ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ช ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ช๐ฆ...
Our two brave blood donors. ๐ค
You had no idea what was happening or why we were asking this of you. You simply trusted us and gave a little piece of yourselves to try to save our girl.
Yuki, your transfusion gave Katia precious extra time with us and another chance to fight. Chewie, when Katia desperately needed a second transfusion, you were there for her too. You bravely donated your blood, although heartbreakingly, Katia suffered a transfusion reaction and it had to be stopped.
Neither of you will ever understand what you did for Katia, or what your gift meant to all of us. You gave part of yourselves to try to save her, and we will be grateful to you for the rest of our lives.
๐๐ฐ ๐๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ...
Thank you for caring so deeply about a little girl you had never even met. You went far beyond what anyone could have expected, phoning colleagues, searching for practices that could perform blood transfusions, offering advice and helping us explore every possible avenue. At a time when we felt desperately helpless, you quietly fought alongside us. Your kindness, compassion and generosity meant more than words can ever express.
๐๐ฐ ๐๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ...
Thank you for treating Katia with such compassion, gentleness and dedication. You cared for her throughout her illness, listened to our concerns, explained her results and continued searching for answers. Even when our journey became one of heartbreak instead of healing, you continued to care for Katia, and for us, with extraordinary kindness. We will always be grateful for everything you did for our beautiful girl.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ข'๐ด ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ ๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐บ๐ข...
Thank you for entrusting us with one of the most extraordinary little girls we have ever known. I hope you know that she was cherished beyond measure every single day of her life.
She was never merely part of a breeding programme. She was part of our family. Part of our home. Part of the heart and soul of Valkyrie Maine C***s.
Looking back, I realise just how many hearts Katia touched during her heartbreakingly short life:
Family, friends, veterinarians, breeders, and people who had never even met her all rallied around one little cat, hoping for a miracle.
Although Katia was ours, the love and kindness she inspired belonged to everyone whose heart she touched. Her legacy reaches far beyond ribbons, titles or pedigrees. It lives on in every life she touched, and in every heart she quietly changed.
She left this world exactly as she lived in it: surrounded by love.
People often remember champions for their titles. We will remember something more.
The little voice that joined every conversation.
The coffee thief.
The tea-towel hunter.
Our determined little โDrol Mol.โ
The girl who came running whenever furniture was moved.
The dreamer sleeping along the back of the couch.
The scalp exfoliation expert.
The gentle patient who endured so much without ever losing her trust in people.
The beautiful soul who filled our home with more love than we ever thought possible.
That is the Katia we will remember.
Not for the way she died, but for the beautiful way she lived.
Our sweet, sweet Katia...
Your life was far too short, but what you left behind is immeasurable. And we were so incredibly lucky to have you.
If love alone could have saved you, you would have lived forever.
You will always be our beautiful Apple Blossom.
Forever loved.
Forever missed.
Forever unforgettable.
Forever in bloom.
