Welcome to
Friskie's Feline Finishing School


  The Rescued Felines of Mannahatta
sponsored by
Mannahatta Maine Coons
Carla Maria & Gregory Süllwold
Brunswick, ME 04011
207-373-0470 (tel)  207-373-0471 (fax)
mannahattamainecoons@mac.com
carlamariasullwold@mac.com
 http://www.mannahatta.org


 A Manger for the Millenium

While living in North Bergen, NJ, we enjoyed the happiness of rescuing several homeless kitties.  Some lived with us in the main house, while a few others enjoyed Friskie's Feline Finishing School. the home we built for them in 2000.  The heated, cattery room was partitioned from our garage to house our four rescues, Friskie, Sappho, and Callista, and Ondine.   In Spring 2000 we added a secured, thermal sun porch with floor to ceiling window access and climbing perches for the cats.  On warm days Friskie loved to join us in his Port-a-Pet pram and take a stroll around the garden!  Now in Maine, these kitties romp through our home along with their Maine Coon companions.


friskie&callista


Charter Members
Dean of the Finishing School
AACE SUPERIOR 
NATIONAL & REGIONAL WINNER
Wotan of Mannahatta
(aka Friskie)
 Male Neuter 
Born ?1996 ~ Crossed The Rainbow Bridge
May 7, 2011
Brown Classic Tabby
Maine Coon Mix
Sappho
  Female Spay Born 1997
Brown Mackerel Tabby w/ White Shorthair
Callista
 Female Spay  Born 1999
Born ?1998 ~ Crossed The Rainbow Bridge
November 2, 2011

Brown Mackerel Tabby w/ White Shorthair
Ondine of Mannahatta
Oriental Shorthair or Egyptian Mau Mix
Female Spay Born 2002
Blue Mackerel Tabby
Shorthair


Honorary Members

Siegmund
Male Neuter  Born May 22, 1991
Brown Mackerel Tabby w/ White
Domestic Shorthair
Born May 22, 1991 ~ Crossed The Rainbow Bridge
November 23, 2006

Sieglinde
Female Spay  Born May 22, 1991
Blue Creme Mackerel Tabby
Domestic Shorthair
Born May 22, 1991 ~ Crossed The Rainbow Bridge
July 21, 2005
Salome
Female Spay  Born September 1997
Black with White
Domestic Shorthair
Born September 1997 ~ Crossed The Rainbow Bridge
July 5, 2009

Shalimar of Midnight(aka Minuit)
Female Spay  Born c. January 1996
Black with White
Domestic Shorthair
Born c. 1996 ~ Crossed The Rainbow Bridge November 12, 2004

We thought it only appropriate to make these, our original rescues, all of whom have now left us, honorary members of Friskie's Feline Finishing School.  Together with our first cat, Caxy, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 1991, they have served as an inspiration to us in both our rescue and breeder efforts.  Siegmund and Sieglinde were adopted from North Shore Animal League, while Minuit and Salome's story is intertwined with that of Friskie, Sappho, and Callista.


A Happy Ending to A Sad Tale
Though he has used up most of his nine lives, Friskie' story, and that of his mate, Sappho, and their daughter, Callista, does have a happy ending, and we hope the founding of Friskie's Feline Finishing School is a small step toward more such happy endings for the many homeless cats in our thoughtless, toss-away society.
Minuit & Salome
It all began twelve years ago when we moved to North Bergen and were cleaning out our backyard.  Greg, discovered a mother tending a litter of newborn kittens beneath some plastic in the rear of our garage.  We fed the Mom and slowly tried to socialize her, and my neighbor tried her best with some of the newborns.  All the kittens died except for one, which the Mom-cat moved beneath our deck and raised to eight weeks of age.  Then Mom, "Minuit," began to bring baby around to us, almost begging for her to be taken in.

When the cold set in, Greg managed to lure the baby girl into the house.  We tested her, cleared up the worms, vaccinated her, operated for a rare vaccine sarcoma which occurred when she got her first shots, and spayed her when she came of age.  She loved the warm indoors and our other cats from the very first and eventually became Starbuck's special girl, a love that peristed through all her flirtations with the other boys and into both their old ages.  She was named for the Biblical sirene with her seven veils.  Sally would seek out any fabric she could -- towels, bed spreads, throws;  seductively wrap herself in one; then slowly unravel the "robe" in a rolling dance.

Trapping her Mom was another story!  My neighbor caught her in a kindness cage one Friday night.  I took her to be spayed (she was already working on her second pregnancy) and set about trying to find her a home. We tried all the local rescue groups for placement help; most did not even bother to return our calls.  It rapidly became clear to us that she was here to stay as well!  Since she was feral and older, it took us almost three years to make her a full part of our indoor feline colony, but she became very affectionate at home and counted us and the rest of the Mannahatta tribe as her friends.  Her crossing in November 2004 after an almost two and one-half-year battle with liver disease deeply saddened us all.  She had rebounded so many times in the past, but this time her body betrayed her.  It was painful to watch her fight the losing battle, to see the fear and incomprehension set in as she knew she was losing, and then finally, it was a relief on the last day to feel that she had made her peace with the inevitable.  She gave us a sign that it was time; we lay down together and "talked" for a long while, and then we let our wonderful vet help her finish her journey.  Salome made it to Maine with us and with her irrepressible exuberance settled happily into her new home as the official greeter.  Two months after we had moved in July 2009, she was suddenly taken ill and and became critical in a matter of days.  Misdiagnosed at first and later rushed to emergency, she was in septic shock, likely from a ruptured intestinal lymphoma that had been silently and insidiously present for some time.  The vet wrapped her in warm towels, and we hugged and held her as she crossed.  We hope she fell asleep dreaming she was wearing one of her favorite robes, young and alluring again.

Sappho & Callista
Not long after we had found that first litter, another was born and found its way  to our back door once again.  The father of all these kittens was a beautiful Maine Coon mix whom my neighbor had named Friskie and had cared for out-of-doors.  We convinced the neighbors to neuter Friskie, and they helped find homes for all but one of the girls., Callista, whom we spayed along with her mother, Sappho.

Again, no luck with the local rescue organizations in finding homes.  We even tried all our friends in the cat fancy; those who rescue were full, as our cattery was with both our Maine Coons and our household pets.

Though they made a touching trio romping together in the summer grass, we knew that statistically outdoor cats live half the years that indoor ones do.  They are prone to disease and accidents, which is, unhappily, what happened to Friskie.

Friskie
One day he limped into my neighbor's yard, his eye gouged, his teeth and mouth abscessed, clearly very ill.  (The absence of scratches and other wounds did not suggest an encounter with another animal; rather, as the vet later concluded, he was most likely the victim of a sling-shot or beebee-gun!)  Our neighbor brought him to her vet who released Friskie without even trauma treatment because my neighbor was unable to commit to the cost of the surgery required.  This vet sent him home with the feline equivalent of an aspirin-clavamox!

When we learned of this from  our neighbor, we knew we had to get him help.  We took Friskie to our veterinary hospital where they removed his eye, did dentistry to clear up his infected mouth, put him on IV and antibiotics to combat secondary infection.  His blood serology and all other tests indicated he was in otherwise good health.  We set him up in our garage and with my neighbor's help, nursed him back to health.  Two more operations later, groomed, and dipped and looking almost as impressive as his younger self, Friskie moved temporarily into our indoor cattery.

We knew he could never negotiate the streets again, nor did we want him to.  Of all the individuals and organizations we contacted, only BEST FRIENDS SANCTUARY in Kanab , Utah, responded and generously offered Friskie a home.  We considered flying him there, but several twists of the heart--fate, perhaps?--decided otherwise.

Once the trauma of flying was over, we knew he would have good care at BEST FRIENDS, but we worried about Sappho and Callista, who could easily meet a similar fate on the streets.  How could we help Friskie and turn our backs on his family?

Friskie's Feline Finishing School

Another of our friends sponsored Sappho and Callista's serologies, vaccinations, and additional veterinary care, and they moved in with Friskie.  Since Mannahatta's cattery was not a permanent option, as we had a litter of kittens due, who would need the space, Greg devised the plan to transform half the garage into a heated, sunlit shelter for the three. To the indoor room, we would add an outdoor thermal sunporch in the Spring, giving them safe access to  the sensory pleasures of the garden.  Armed with our hard hats and a month of do-it-yourself construction, phase one and two of our project are now complete. Indoors they have a cat tree, perches and ramps,  heated beds, and jazzy toys, with a floor-to-ceiling window access to the thermal porch and its view of the garden.  Friskie and his family were happily installed in the rooms we had named for him.

We have officially renamed Friskie "Wotan of Mannahatta," after the Norse chief god, who gave up his eye to gain knowledge of the mysteries of the world, and we have appointed him Dean of the Finishing School, a role which he has assumed with an authoritative air. Because he is so outgoing and affectionate, we have begun to show him as a Household Pet in AACE.  Friskie loved being spoiled at his first show in July 2000 and came home to brag to his "ladies" about his two BEST CATs and one SECOND BEST!  At his second in August 2000, he finaled five more times, won two more BEST CATs, and earned the title of REGAL!  At his third in September 2000, The AACE Cat Olympics, he won a Gold and Silver medal, as well as several other finals, and at his fourth and fifth in November/December he finaled in thirteen rings with four more BEST CAT's to his credit!  In his sixth he was hailed as SECOND BEST LONG HAIRED HOUSEHOLD PET IN SHOW with three more BEST CATs to his credit, and at his seventh, the AACE Annual Awards, he was designated 12th BEST HOUSHOLD PET of the Mid Atlantic Region and finished 2nd BEST HHP in SHOW (two more BEST CATs)!  On January 17, 2002, he achieved the highest Household Pet title: SUPERIOR, and at the March 2002 AACE Annual he was awarded National and Regional Awards for SECOND BEST ALLBREED HOUSEHOLD PET and BEST LONG HAIR HOUSEHOLD PET!  In April he won the Friskies Cup as BEST HOUSEHOLD PET IN SHOW, again was BEST OF THE BEST LH HOUSEHOLD PET. In May, and BEST LH HOUSEHOLD PET IN SHOW in November!   He greeted his fans at the first Cheshire Cat Club Show in Edgewater, NJ, finaling seven times and winning SECOND BEST SENIOR in the special congress!  In March 2003 he again received the NATIONAL and REGIONAL WINNER titles of SECOND BEST ALLBREED HOUSEHOLD PET AND BEST LH HOUSEHOLD PET and was THIRD BEST HHP IN SHOW!  He completed the 2002-2003 season with a BEST CAT and was again awarded AACE titles of NATIONAL and REGIONAL WINNER (Best Longhair, 2nd Best Allbreed Household Pet) for 2004.  At the third annual Cheshire Cat Club Show in 2004, he was awarded BEST LH HOUSEHOLD PET and received an antique Morris Trophy as one of his prizes!  He received his fourth AACE NATIONAL and REGIONAL WINNER in March 2005 (5th Best Allbreed Household Pet).  In March 2006 he received his fifth AACE NATIONAL (3rd BEST ALLBREED HOUSEHOLD PET) and REGIONAL WIN (SECOND BEST ALLBREED HOUSEHOLD PET), again in March 2007 he earned his sixth AACE NATIONAL (8th BEST ALLBREED HOUSEHOLD PET) and REGIONAL (7th BEST ALLBREED HOUSEHOLD PET), and again in March 2008 (9th BEST NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD PET, 8th BEST REGIONAL HOUSEHOLD PET!  Because he is such a favorite and because he enjoys it so much, he continued to make guest appearances in the coming seasons. Once in Maine, Friskie enjoyed retirement from the ring, but spent his days with his ladies and us in comfort.  He passed away of kidney failure at the ripe old age of sixteen, proud and loving to the last.  Callista, at the age of fourteen,  followed across the bridge in November 2011 after suffering acute kidney failure.

Ondine
In March 2003 a blue mackerel tabby girl with decided Oriental origins arrived in our garden.  Streetwise and sure of her purpose, she began to hang out alongside our glassed-in porch and talk to Friskie and his girls.  Friskie was delighted; Sappho and Callista a little less so!  Friskie, no doubt, suggested she discuss it with us, so for eight months, she sweet-talked Greg into feeding and socializing her and repeatedly asked to come inside.  With cold weather approaching, Greg was able to lure her into a carrier and take her to our vet, Dr. Mecheal, for all the necessary testing, vaccinations, and treatments.  Happily she is Feline Leukemia and Aids negative and a healthy girl.  We have nicknamed her "Ondine" for the water sprite who seduced a prince, (Greg, of course!).  She is our newest "scholar."

What Next?

Safely ensconced in their new home in Brunswick, Maine, Friskie and Callista (until their crossings) and Sappho and Ondine now live out their days in tranquility, fellowship, and love.

Friskie's Feline Finishing School has been a very small response to a very large issue of animal welfare.  Feelings of anger, frustration, and helplessness have given way to those of joy and empowerment.  As Henry David Thoreau testified, individual acts do help to change and define one's world.  For us, this was a way of offering a few homeless felines a manger, a place to be sheltered and safe and loved.


 What Needs to Be Done
Friskie's, Sappho's, Callista's, Minuit's, Salome's, and Ondine's stories are, alas, not unique.  The statistics on animal overpopulation, homelessness, and abuse are devastating.  So much needs to be done!

  Join us in helping to make this new millennium an age of active compassion for all living creatures.  Help us realize the above goals in any and every way
--small and large-- that you can!

Friskie's Friends
 We gratefully acknowledge the kind and generous donations  for Friskie's, Callista's, Sappho's, and Ondine's care:
Ms. Barbara Ben David
Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Michael Gaiser
Mr. & Mrs. Roger Hicks
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Van Wettering
Ms. Anne Wood


 Link to: Mannahatta Maine Coons