Valkyrie Maine Coons

After the complete and utter disheartening show results I've had over the weekend, I realised something today.

The reports changed.

Katia didn't.
She is still the same girl I carefully chose after consulting people whose knowledge and judgement I genuinely respect.
She's still the same cat who has received first places, BIS nominations, and glowing evaluations throughout her show career.

More importantly, she's still the same sweet, chatty girl who follows me around the house, steals my coffee whenever given half a chance, and somehow manages to wrap herself around my heart every single day.

And Dolce? Well, Dolce apparently needs more development.

At five months old. I should certainly hope so.

Perhaps that's the lesson...?
Not every opinion deserves equal weight.
Not every criticism deserves equal space in your mind.
And not every scorecard tells the whole story.

Erica Hanlon once said: "Never take criticism from someone you wouldn't go to for advice."

I think there's a great deal of wisdom in that.

The ribbons, certificates, placings and opinions will come and go.

But quality remains. Character remains.

As Professor Noel Fitzpatrick once said:
"Every success stands on the shoulders of failure."

Perhaps that's true in breeding, showing, and life itself. The difficult weekends teach us just as much as the successful ones.

And this afternoon, while I was still thinking about show results, one cat was cuddling up to her furry friends and the other was plotting to steal my coffee... again!

Maybe they're handling life better than the rest of us.

In any case, I'll leave the show reports behind and simply share some beautiful photos from the weekend.

A huge thank you to Lenka Hendriksz for capturing the cats so beautifully. ❤️

🏆 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 • 𝟑𝟎 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 • 𝐖𝐲𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠 🏆

This year's Western Province Cat Club Show was a particularly memorable one for me, not only because it fell on my birthday, but because it showcased something truly special about our hobby.

Out of 113 entries, an incredible 40 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘴. Let that sink in for a moment. That's more than a third of the entire show and one of the strongest Maine C**n turnouts I've seen in years.

The Maine C**n community is making a significant contribution to the South African cat fancy, and I believe that deserves to be recognised and celebrated. In fact, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘈𝘊𝘊 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦!

While the competition was fierce, one of the moments I'll remember most wasn't a win, certificate, or nomination. It was seeing an exhibitor who had placed second walk over to the winner, shake his hand, and congratulate him.

That is what good sportsmanship looks like.

Sadly, it is becoming increasingly rare. Two years ago, I sponsored a rosette for Cat of the Year, only to have it handed back to me because the recipient "already had another one". Thankfully, my friend Herlien was delighted to give that unwanted rosette a loving home.

The lesson? 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

This year's Cat of the Year logs have finally been released, revealing a number of exciting Best in Show nominations and one Cat of the Year qualification!

🏆 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄 – 𝟎𝟎𝟖
𝐒𝐩 𝐂𝐡 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚 𝐊𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐐
Bred by Bernice Venter | Owned by Carol Middleton
🥇 3 × Supreme Certificates
🌟 2 × BIS Nominations
🎉 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫

🏆 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 / 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 & 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 – 𝟎𝟏𝟑
𝐏𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐡’𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦
Bred by Bernice Venter | Owned by Herlien van Rooyen
🥇 2 × 1st
🥈 1 × 2nd
🏅 2 × Grand Premier Certificates
🌟 1 × BIS Nomination

🏆 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐃 & 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 – 𝟎𝟐𝟏
𝐀𝐬𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐥𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞
Bred by Georgina Greeff | Owned by Bernice Venter
✨ First SACC Show
🥇 2 × 1st
🌟 2 × BIS Nominations

🏆 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 / 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 & 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 – 𝟎𝟏𝟎
𝐂𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚 *𝐑𝐔 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞 (𝐈𝐦𝐩)
Bred by Юлия Вениаминовна Макарова and owned by Bernice Venter & Nicole Rawlins
🥇 2 × 1st
🥈 1 × 2nd
🌟 2 × BIS Nominations
🎉 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧

🏆 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 / 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 & 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 – 𝟎𝟏𝟒
𝐏𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐬
Bred and owned by Bernice Venter
🥉 3 × 3rd

🏆 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐃 & 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 – 𝟎𝟏𝟗
𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐧 *𝐔𝐀 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞 (𝐈𝐦𝐩)
Bred by Анна Жекова and owned by Bernice Venter & Nicole Rawlins
🥇 3 × 1st
🏅 3 × Champion Certificates
🌟 2 × BIS Nominations
🎉 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧

🏆 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 – 𝟎𝟐𝟒
𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧
Bred and owned by Bernice Venter
🥇 1 × 1st
🥈 1 × 2nd

🏆 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 – 𝟎𝟐𝟖
𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐨𝐡
Bred by Bernice Venter | Owned by Susan Mostert
🥇 1 × 1st
🥉 1 × 3rd

A heartfelt thank you to the wonderful owners who continue to show their Valkyrie babies and make achievements like these possible. ❤️

Thank you also to the sponsors, judges, organisers, stewards, exhibitors, photographers, and everyone working behind the scenes to keep our hobby thriving.

📸 Photo credits: Irene McCullagh | Ursula Van Der Riet Photography

Today marks 11 years since my beautiful Avra crossed the Rainbow Bridge 🌈🐾

She was my very first import, my heart cat, and one of the greatest gifts life ever gave me. Losing her shattered me in ways words still struggle to explain.

Even now, all these years later, I can still remember that terrible day so vividly. The ache never truly leaves; you simply learn to carry it.

Her legacy lives on through Illy, through the memories she gave me, and through every lesson, smile, and tear that came with loving her.

Forever loved. Forever missed. Forever a part of Valkyrie Maine C***s ❤️

Run free, sweet girl. Until we meet again 🌈🐾

To all the mums who:
• haven’t used the bathroom alone in years
• wake up instantly at the sound of “hurk hurk hurk”
• sleep in tiny corners of their own beds
• and still adore these furry little chaos goblins…

…this one’s for you 🐾

Happy Mother’s Day from Valkyrie Maine C***s! 🌸

💬 Which line on the card is the MOST relatable in your house? 😂👇

📌 Disclaimer: No Maine C***s were forced to write this card themselves.
The artwork was AI-generated, but the cat behaviour described is unfortunately based on real events 😆

𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈… ❄️

And somehow, the world slows down just enough
for moments like this 🤍🧡🩶

A warm blanket, a soft little kitten,
and no plans to move anytime soon 🛏️

Featuring: Kitten Champion Asgard Dolce of Valkyrie

💬 This kind of cosy… is unmatched. Agree? 👇

🏆 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐒 – 𝐌𝐔𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐆 (18 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 2026) 🏆

Out of 𝟭𝟱𝟲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 (including litters)…
✨ 𝟯𝟴 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗻𝘀... and the competition was fierce 🔥🐾

✨ 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘩, 𝘒𝘪𝘵 𝘗𝘳, 𝘋𝘣𝘭 𝘑𝘯𝘳 𝘗𝘳 & 𝘗𝘳 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘩’𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮
(Bred by Bernice Venter | Owned by Herlien van Rooyen)
• 3 × Ex1
• 3 × CAPI
• 1st in Neuter Ring
✨ 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫

✨ 𝘈𝘴𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘦 (Show debut!)
(Bred by Georgina Greeff | Owned by Bernice Venter)
• 3 × Ex1
• 3 × CACP
✨ 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧

✨ 𝘋𝘣𝘭 𝘑𝘯𝘳 𝘊𝘩 & 𝘚𝘈 𝘎𝘳 𝘊𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢 *𝘙𝘜 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘦 (𝘐𝘮𝘱)
(Bred by Юлия Вениаминовна Макарова | Owned by Bernice Venter & Nicole Rawlins)
• 3 × Ex1
• 3 × CAGCI
✨ 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐒𝐀 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧

✨ 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘩 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘯
(Bred & Owned by Bernice Venter)
• 3 × Ex1
• 3 × Kitten Certificates
✨ 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧

✨ 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘩 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩
(Bred by Bernice Venter | Owned by Susan Mostert)
• 3 × Ex1
• 3 × Kitten Certificates
✨ 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫

✨ 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘯 *𝘜𝘈 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘦 (𝘐𝘮𝘱) (Show debut!)
(Bred by Anna Zhekova | Owned by Bernice Venter & Nicole Rawlins)
• 3 × Ex1
• 3 × CAC
✨ 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧

💛 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬:
• Royal Canin (main show sponsor) 🏆
• All the other generous show sponsors
• ABCC, CdC & CLASA
• The judges for their time and invaluable feedback
• All exhibitors for the incredible spirit of competition

This is what happens when type, temperament, and health come together —𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

✨ With love and science.

📸 Photo credits: Irene McCullagh | Christy McCullagh | Lenka Hendriksz | Susan Mostert

💬 Tell me your favourite 👇

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞… 🐾💔

On 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘝𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘺, we’re not just celebrating the happy moments.

We’re honouring the vets who:
• Sit with us during uncertainty
• Guide us through difficult decisions
• Carry the weight of responsibility with quiet strength

Breeding comes with incredible highs…
but also moments that test your heart in ways you never expect.
And in those moments,
your vet becomes more than a professional.
They become your support system.

💛 To every veterinarian who has stood beside us: Thank you for your compassion, your honesty, and your strength!

A special thank you to the incredible teams who have supported Valkyrie Maine C***s:
✨ Vetworld Somerset West (our primary care & HCM screening veterinary clinic)
✨ Cape Animal Fertility Clinic (our reproductive specialist)

✨ And to those who have been part of our journey over the years:
• Rant en Dal Animal Hospital
• Cottage Veterinary Clinic
• Hartenbos Animal Hospital
• Strand Animal Hospital
• Croft Veterinary Clinic
• Ebervet Pet Clinic

Your dedication does not go unnoticed. Ever.

👇 Drop a 💛 if your vet has ever been there when you needed them most.

𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘐-𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Some plans unfold exactly as intended.
Others… find their way back to you in a different form.

𝘼𝙨𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝘿𝙤𝙡𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙚 was never part of the original blueprint.

I bred her mother, 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘴𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥, alongside her sister, my beloved 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘴 ("𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪"), with the quiet expectation that Sushi would one day carry this line forward.

But breeding has a way of humbling even the most carefully considered plans.

Following a closed pyometra and an emergency spay, Sushi’s journey as a breeding queen came to an end, and with it, what I believed was the future of this line.

Or so I thought.

Because sometimes, legacy doesn’t disappear.
It simply waits.

Dolce is that return.

A daughter of the late 𝘚𝘱 𝘊𝘩 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢 *𝘗𝘓 𝘗𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘴𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥 (𝘐𝘮𝘱), a boy whose passing left a silence far louder than words, she carries both continuation and remembrance in equal measure.

She is not a replacement.
She is not a second attempt.

She is something far more meaningful:
a line that chose to continue, despite everything.

I spayed my last silver girl in 2018, and for eight years, I searched for the 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 silver to bring back into my programme, never willing to sacrifice type for colour.

And then, almost all at once, it found its way back to me.

Not one… but two.

𝙔𝙪𝙠𝙞, and now 𝘿𝙤𝙡𝙘𝙚, each arriving in their own time, for their own reason.

It’s funny how life works sometimes...

Dolce represents the return of something I was not willing to compromise on.
And for that, I am incredibly grateful.

Balanced and well-made, she is the very definition of a busy kitten: quick, curious, and moving like a tiny whirlwind from one discovery to the next.

Her debut in Muizenberg saw her awarded Kitten Champion; a small but promising beginning.
Not because she demanded it.
But because she earned it.

I would like to sincerely thank 𝙂𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙨𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙨 for entrusting me with this little "silver lining". 🤍

Dolce is not here by chance.
She is here by design… 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 🐾