Jean Nordlund of Peri Cattery was the breeder of GRC Peri Perizadah who was a Regional Winner in the 1981-1982 show season, and also the First Smoke Persian DM in 1986. Not only was the cat both a Regional Winner and a DM holder, she was also homozygous for Smokes! What more could a breeder ask for?????

Several more Catteries joined the Smoke Revival in the 1980's including Lea and Joe Costa of Pink Fantasy, Abigail Hand of Oxbow, Les and Nancy Hight of Hight, Lila and Bill Reach of Clermont, Renee and Marshall York of Shadyshacks, Melissa and Mike Palmer of Seando's, Renee and Marshall York Of Marees, and Betty Rasmussen of Rajobet who has the distinction of showing a Smoke for the longest amount of time. GRC/GRP Rambo's Tiffany of Rajobet (bred by Jim and Judy Rambo) she was shown for ten show seasons and was retired in 1994.

Joann and Larry Micksa also entered the Smoke World at this time and bred CFA's 2nd Smoke DM, CH KIKICAT Story Teller of Catnippity,DM. The interesting thing about this Smoke DM is that she was used specifically for Tabby breeding, and of her five Grands, only one is a smoke.

The Blue-Cream Smoke was finally accepted for Championship status in CFA May1,1982. In 1986 Melissa and Mike Palmer Of Seando Cattery had CFA's National Best Smoke, GRC Seaondo's Rhapsody in Blue, a blue-cream Smoke Persian.

As more breeders became interested in the smoke, the type began to improve dramatically. Today's smokes can compete with any of their Persian counterparts!

1986-87--brought the 1st National Breed win to Palmetto Cattery. He is GG,RW Palmetto"s The Circle Be Unbroken. "CB" was born in 1985 and still lives with us today. He received his name because he is from four generations of Palmetto's males.

The 1990's saw several more breeders joining the smoke revival including Sandy Rodriguez of Tallysans, Leslie Curtis of Sitara, Babe Gingerelli of Reaun, Pam Piveral of Jenjo, Jean Bassett of PaJean (breeder of GC Pajean's Shadow Doll, a black smoke and CFAs Best Smoke 1991-1992), Pat Hawk of Hapajo, Sue Bloomquist of Joleigh, June and Edgar Cole of Eloc, Bill, Margaret and Andrea Drake of Black Ice, Paul and Linda Russell of LeBordo, and Peggy Burch of Afi.

CFA's Best Cat in Hawaii in 1990 was a black smoke, GC Lincia's Dark Crystal, bred and owned by Linda Higman and Steve Garcia.

In 1992 CFA accepted the cream smoke for Championship status.

In February 1995 the CFA Board approved the transfer of the shaded cameo and shaded tortie into the Smoke Division as of the show season beginning May 1, 1995. We welcome our lighter brothers and sisters, hoping we will grow together resulting in a larger and more competitive smoke class.

The 1990's were banner years for Palmetto, which had four outstanding black smoke boys. GC Palmetto's On The Dark Side was a regional winner twice and national Best of Breed in 1989 and again in 1990. GC Palmetto's Sidney was a regional winner and national Best of Breed in 1991, and in 1994 the first national smoke kitten win in twenty-two years went to GC, NW Palmetto's Walking In High Cotton who was 2nd Best Kitten.

1995 brought Jeremiah into our lives another Palmetto's black smoke boy he was a Southern Region winner and best smoke National.

I have worked with the smokes for 27 years, and I love them as much today as I did in 1970, when I saw my first black smoke in a show hall. In all of my years of breeding and showing smokes, I have never made a solid color breeding. One of the pair has always been a smoke. In the last 12 years, most of my kittens have come from smoke to smoke breedings. Even with so many smokes on my pedigrees I still have solid color kittens occasionally. Over the years I have used solid color cats for out crossing, the two most notable being, GC Marhei's Light Up My Life of Palmetto and GC Purrlan Eclectic of Kiasik. All of their offspring that I kept always went back to one of my smoke males, however.

Breeding smoke kittens is nothing more than a series of "moments." The day they are born you rush to dry them to see, "are they or aren't they a smoke?" When smoke kittens are born they have gray/white markings around each eye, and a splash of the same coloring above that. Some have a little of this color on their muzzles.

You then spend the next six to twelve weeks waiting for the undercoat to start coming in. Smoke kittens go though some very dramatic color changes. Some kittens, because of a very dense undercoat, will have a silver body with only a black spine line for several months. If you just sit back and wait some more, gradually you will see the black top coat come in and cover first the shoulders and gradually the body almost like a mantle. On the other hand, some days you will look at a kitten that looked dense black yesterday, and find that today it looks splotched with brown; again you play the "waiting game." Before you know it, they are four months old and in "reverse coat with the white on the ends and black at the roots.

I have often been told that judges do not understand smokes, especially the kittens which are in "reverse coat." I personally do not find this to be true, and have never been penalized for this in the show ring. In all my years of breeding smokes I have never found a judge that would not put a good smoke up in the finals. It might not be my smoke, but judges do final good smokes. I have made many Best Cat and Best Kitten wins both with and without competition in my class.

My first regional winner was a cameo tabby. Since then I have stayed away from TABBY in my pedigrees. I find that the smokes would love to be tabbies, and will show stripes and bars extremely easily. Many tabby breeders use smokes in their tabby breeding programs to intensify the tabby patterns. Two prime examples of this are Jean Bassett of PaJean, and Joanne and Lawrence Miksa of Kikicat. As much as the smokes help the tabbies, it is my opinion that this type of breeding does nothing to improve the smoke color.

Smokes require more care than most Persians. Their coats are as fragile as cobwebs, and must be treated as such. To see a smoke in show condition presented to perfection is the result of year-round care. Grooming and nutrition are essential to keep your smokes in top show condition. The cat should never be allowed to mat because when you pull out the knot, you pull out the white undercoat, and the hair that grows in will be dark. I'm sure on my tombstone it will say "Don't pull out the undercoat You must take care to prevent the top coat from becoming rusty by keeping the smoke out of direct sunlight.

Daily grooming and absolute cleanliness are a must. I give baths often, at least l a week in older kittens and adults and twice a week when the kittens are six weeks to four months of age. I blow the kittens dry with a high power dryer (I prefer the Met Air Force Dryer-2 speed), and like the low speed for the kittens and around the face the adult cats. I use Dawn dish soap (a little Dawn and lots of water) for the first shampoo and then a good cat shampoo like Wonder Fluff or Ring 5. I use a comb as little as possible, especially when the cat is wet, and I fluff the coat with my fingers as I dry. I go over my show smokes many times a day with my fingers making sure they have no knots or mats. If they do work them out with my fingers, and never; ever pull a knot out.

I think every cat's hair is basically different, and what works for one does not necessarily work as well for another. I always try more than one shampoo on a kitten until I have figured out which one works best for that particular kitten. Some kittens (or cats) can be show-bathed on Thursday for an upcoming show, and for others I get up in the A.M. to bathe them the morning of the show.

That "Moment in Time" finally comes when you are ready to take out the beautiful Smoke Persian that you have spent so many months nurturing. The judge pulls your cat from its cage, parts the hair so you can see the dramatic white undercoat, the audience gasps and murmurs in appreciation, and you know IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!

Breeding smokes is not for everyone. If you must be a winner first time out, stay away from smokes. If you are willing to work hard, face disappointment and keep on going until you do finally produce that winner then "Welcome to the world of smokes!" To those of you who choose not to join us, please try to understand us. Next time you see a smoke up in the finals, remember it was no overnight success but the result of a carefully nurtured breeding program, and to us, it is the greatest feeling of accomplishment imaginable to have someone who knows, recognize our efforts in preserving this most stunning of Persian Cats!*

Occasionally  Palmetto Cattery will place a Smoke Kitty in an approved show or pet home.