Sharbo

Oriental Shorthair Cats

About Sharbo

Bob and I have been married forever; we have two wonderful Daughters and one quite exceptional Grandson. (Not that we are prejudiced). Over the years, we have lived on both Coasts and several states in between. Bob and I, (under the Sharbo prefix) have been privileged to have successfully raised and shown Chow Chows, Irish Wolfhounds, three American Saddlebred foals, one of which made it to the Nationals in Louisville, as well as numerous lambs and 4-H Nubians ( click on their buttons for further information and photos) and of course always our magnificent cats.

Our first purebred cats were beautiful littermate Siamese, sadly, both died of heart problems before the age of 6.

A few years later while attending a Chicago area Cat Show, we saw a gorgeous Torti Persian (Candi) and contracted to buy her. This magnificent “Diva” in a fur coat was owned and bred by Mary Moore. Terms of Candi’s sale included our agreeing to allow Mary to complete the current show season with Candi, of course, we tagged along. Thus we were introduced to the world of showing cats. Candi was never bred but did attempt to “Mother” puppies from time to time

While exhibiting at a Dog Show in Pennsylvania we also visited the nearby Cat Show and were fortunate to meet Mrs. Elizabeth Muller of Bel Canto Cattery then located in Charleston, SC. We bought a young adult from her and consequently were introduced to the incredible and delightful world of living life with Oriental Shorthairs.

Elizabeth was a remarkable Lady with very diverse interests. We became telephone friends and when Bob was transferred to the Charlotte, North Carolina area we were able to visit Elizabeth and the cats frequently.

Elizabeth was a wonderful mentor as well as friend and the first OSH’s we exhibited were actually her cats and we were listed agents. A couple of years later we bred our first OSH litter and were hooked. Originally, all of our OSH’s came from Bel Canto lines. We were transferred once more back to the Chicago area and Elizabeth and I were reduced to just a couple of home and cattery visits yearly

My friend Elizabeth Muller has since passed; she lived a long full life and is greatly missed.

Elizabeth always spoke highly of the beautiful OSH’s and Siamese cats bred and shown by Dick and Barbara Levitan at Felitan Cattery and she encouraged me to contact them. Barbara too has been exceptionally gracious in allowing us access to OSH of her Felitan lines and has become an invaluable mentor to us and our breeding program as well. Barbara has been instrumental in helping us import males representing what we think are the finest OSH bloodlines available in the world. Thanks to Barbara we were able to form our valued friendship with Dr. Lora Pigott-Garcia of Hypnotique Cattery. Lora is the best of friends, no matter how busy; she is always there.

Without the help and generosity of Elizabeth, Barbara and Lora we would still be years from any of our goals.

We have long range plans on new bloodlines we wish to incorporate and the OSH physical characteristics we want to continue to enhance in our lines. As far as our Cats and Kittens temperaments and livability traits go, I feel that we have met our goals. We are proud to have produced Certified Therapy OSH, children and senior companions, cats living as companions to children and young adults with autism, and of course our OSH that are just doing what they do best in everyday life, filling their owners lives with companionship, joy and laughter.

Sharbo has been a registered Cattery with CFA and ACFA since the late 1970’s.