Welcome to the homepage of Alyona Russian Blues.
My name is Maartje Schoenmaker and I've been involved with this beautiful breed since 2004, when I purchased my first Russian Blue cat.
I was looking for a cat with a special temperament; and I thought I'd find what I was looking for in the Russian Blue.
I did (and do) adore the appearance of many breeds, like for instance Thai, Chartreux and Abyssinians, but I didn't seem to match those cats' personalities and I wanted to be able to offer my cat what it needed from me.
All I had at this time were books to tell me about breeds and the Russian Blue drew my attention.
Apart from the character descriptions that seemed to describe exactly what I was looking for, the appearance of this breed really spoke to me as well.
I decided to visit a breeder of these cats and made an appointment with a breeder who had two queens with a total of 3 kittens at that time. Nowadays, I wouldn't recommend a first-time visit to a cattery  when they have kittens, as those tiny  soft fur balls can easily cloud your objectivity.
Obviously, the inevitable did happen and I fell in love with Jesse, as he was called at that time. Jesse, the single kitten in Dokus' litter, turned out to be available and the decision was quickly made; he would come live with me. I also let his breeder promise me to contact me when a new litter was born; I didn't think a cat should live alone and if my cat would turn out to be what I expected, I'd be very happy to welcome his sister.
Because this cat somehow marked a new start for me I renamed him "Noa".
And Noa would indeed mark a new beginning; the beginning of my love for the Russian Blue. This cat would spark a flame in me that isn't likely to ever die.
As promised, the breeder did call when a new litter was on the way and this time I had first choice of the litter. Luna joined our family.
I had never thought of becoming a breeder myself, but quickly after I got those cats I developed a sincere interest in everything involving this breed. I quickly learnt that what I thought breeders should be, wasn't always what they were.
I didn't understand why show results could be more important than health,  how breeders could breed without any actual understanding of genetics, or how they could be more proud of their kitten's looks than of what its companionship meant to its owners.
I wondered how breeders like these were supposed to preserve the Russian Blue for the future. That bothered me; why shouldn't future generations enjoy these cats as much as I was?
I had so many questions and often not even breeders could answer them. (I am happy that the ones who could and did, are still my breeder friends and contacts today.)
Anyhow, my interest was sparked and I started to bury myself in reading material on cat genetics and breeding.
Soon after that, I realized that criticizing others wouldn't get me or the breed any further. Maybe I should try doing it, the way I thought it should be done, myself, together with other breeders with the same goals. Maybe I could contribute to the breed by breeding my own Russian Blues.
As a starting breeder, you just can't do all your research on your own; pedigrees mean nothing without the knowledge on those cats on them, which other breeders who have been around longer might possess. So I asked a lot of advice and received the support I felt I needed.
I started to take my cats to shows to make sure I correctly judged their exterior flaws and beauties; I wasn't drawn in by the idea of winning; I just wanted to learn about my cat. After various health tests and positive show results I deemed Luna suitable to become the foundation of my cattery.
My cattery was registered by the end of 2005, almost a year after I first contemplated breeding, and by the end of 2006 I had bred my first Russian Blue litter.
From this litter I kept Yin, the first queen of my own breeding, with the idea that she would follow in her mother's footsteps, but eventually I decided to discontinue Luna's line for various reasons.
Instead, I decided to import girl from Australia to start over. This is Tyana Sileny Lilia, a very promising young cat. Meanwhile, renewed insight in pedigree registering made me change my affix to a prefix.
I hope you enjoy your visit to my website and getting to know more about the Russian Blue breed, my cattery and my cats.
I am located in Weesp, a small town close to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
For details on how to get in touch with me, please have a look at my "contact" page. Thank you for visiting.

Update: 27-07-2010: 3 great new books added under "Other" -> book reviews
Update: 04-07-2010: Galleries "Lilia","Kittens" and "Miscellaneous" renewed
Update: 20-06-2010: Pages "Kittens" and "B litter" updated!
Update: 03-06-2010: New pictures of Lilia added throughout the website
Update: 03-03-2010: New SimpleViewer galleries added under "gallery"