From Thailand, in CFA’s International Division, Issariya Rattanaweerawong (Istzy) is pictured with his son, Piman, and GC, BWI, NW Sherona Kwan of Sri-Sawasdee, a blue point Siamese male that he imported from the USA. Ever since he was 8 months old, young Piman has been fortunate enough to travel with his parents to cat shows around the world … quite the young age to start a stockpile of fantastic memories.
Istzy’s cat fancy journey began in 2005 when he started showing a Korat, a breed native to Thailand. Thai Traditional Cat Shows were held by the Fine Arts Department in Pimai, Korat Province of Thailand and for five years in a row, 2008-2012, Istzy’s Korat was Best in Show winning the Thailand Queen’s Cup. His experience with the Korat breed led to him being invited by the Veterinary University and the private sector to be a lecturer on the Thai cat breed and how to establish and manage a cattery and breeding program.
In 2011, he took his prize-winning Korat to a CFA cat show, with disappointing results. CFA was very new to Thailand at that time and he did not realize that while the Korat was an original Thai breed, the CFA standard for the breed had developed over the years since they had been imported to the USA, and it called for a different “style” of Korat. He came to realize that if he wanted to successfully show in CFA, he would have to have cats that met the CFA breed standards. He and his wife decided that the British Shorthair was a breed they would like to work with in CFA, and they imported a kitten from Michael Schleissner in Europe. That kitten, Atzelhof’s Blue Berlin, a British Shorthair male, became a National Winner as Best Cat in the International Division at the end of the 2015-2016 show season. After showing him for three years, Blue Berlin attained the title of Grand Champion of Distinction.
Istzy’s breeding program began in 2016 when he registered his Sri-Sawasdee cattery name with CFA. He has had success with the showing of a British Shorthair male of his own breeding, GCD BWI NW Sri-Sawasdee Atlantic. After several years of participating at CFA shows, learning all about show mechanics and breed standards, Istzy entered CFA’s newly established Associate Judge Program in 2021. Interest in applying to the regular CFA Judging Program led Istzy to realize that he needed breeding experience with cats from the “oriental style” breed group, and he imported his Siamese, Kwan, from the United States. Kwan is the son of CFA’s Best Kitten 2021-2022, so Istzy has a solid foundation for his breeding program and already has five Siamese litters to his cattery name. Cindy Yanez, Kwan’s breeder, has been a tremendous support to Istzy along the way.
A graduate of law school, Istzy has chosen not to work as an attorney. His family’s business is in the import and export of seafood in Thailand. He and his wife have their own cat food business - BB BARF (named after their British Shorthair “Blue Berlin” and “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food”), which was developed through work with a pet food nutritionist and is a popular choice among cat lovers and breeders in Thailand.
Istzy is thankful for the advice, mentoring, and friendship he has received from breeders around the world, and is thoroughly enjoying his time spent behind the table in CFA judging rings