This Summer's Most Wanted Captures!

Summer is often slow for sellers, and busy for everyone as people work extra hours, move, go on vacation, and use the break in starter/collection releases to clean up the cattery. It has definitely been a busy summer for the SagaKitty KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! Contest! We've had 3 new captures and quite a few tips that helped us narrow down the location of some of our most wanted traits!

Let's start with this summer's captures!

On May 30th JuniperJazz, who often goes by the name Junie, captures the placement of Domino 3 and Flame 3, proving that Domino 3 is dominant to Flame 3. Don't let those genesis furs fool you into thinking they're innocent: This capture helps us place the entire range of Genesis 3 furs! Since Smokey 2 (the most dominant of the Genesis 2 furs) is recessive to Flame 3 (now known as the most recessive of the Genesis 3 furs), this means that the entire range of Genesis 2 furs is recessive to the entire range of Genesis 3 furs. If we keep at it, we'll have an entire list of all the Genesis furs in their proper locations!

August 20th was a very busy day for Fabioazevedo Oh (no relation to Charles' better half, Poppy Oh). Fabio captured the location of the elusive Ocicat Black and Pandie Flame.

Junie and Fabio won Epic Prize Boxes for their hard work.

We also had a number of tips that helped us narrow down some of our most wanted traits:

• On May 23rd, Draco Nacht narrowed down the Ocicat Black fur, proving it was recessive to the Australian Mist Lilac Marble.
• On May 26th, Junie narrowed down Odyssey Slush as being recessive to Gerbera Purple. She further narrowed it down on June 14th when she proved it was dominant to the retired Mercury.
• On July 28th, Aramis Gontineac proved that Tapestry Harvest is recessive to Midnight Sky. Aramis is working hard to hunt down the exact location of the Tapestry Harvest!
• On August 1st, Rheaven Tussaud and Marishka Moody found out that Odyssey Crystal Rose is dominant to Lucky Irish Clover. Rheaven and Marishka have also been working hard on a number of captures!

Draco's kitty (Pilgrim) with a SagaKitty hat
Click to open in a new window.

Junie's kitty (Ginny) with her SagaKitty hat

If you have pictures of you and/or your kitty with the prizes you've won, send full perm textures to SagaKitty in SL or email them to SagaKittySL at gmail.com, and we'll post them! :)

There are still many more traits to go! Also, since all of the non-genesis furs on the list have been captured, we've added four more to the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Proofs list:

• Pandie Ebony & Ivory
• Foxie Argyle
• Foxie Red Mask
• Chateau Slate & White No. 1

We want to thank the community for continuing to work with diligence and patience to clean up those charts. We know we'll see more results from you all very soon! :)

Remember that anyone who captures a proof wins an epic prize box containing:

• A $L500 Gift Card for Somnia by Sanura Snowpaw
• A 1 week rental of 100 prim Pergola at FelineS KittyCatS
• A Gift card for one KittyCatS collar of your choice made by Julia Merosi of FelineS KittyCatS
• A 2-week Love Shack Rental at Too Adorable
• A super cute one-of-a-kind multi-pose “Me and My Kitty” pillow by Beloved Ruby of ScratchN Post – this item can only be obtained by contest winners and is not available to anyone else on the grid!
• A beautiful one-of-a-kind hearts collar hand crafted by Nino Heartsdale, the Mad Cat Lady - this item can only be obtained by contest winners and is not available to anyone else on the grid!
• A $L200/$K500 KittyCatS!™ gift certificate, usable in the KittyCatS!™ main store or the KittyCatS!™ Cattery

Also remember that anyone who narrows down a trait wins a one-of-a-kind knitted hat lovingly made by Bree Ann, specifically for this contest!

If you haven't yet heard of the contest or need more info, please see the blog post KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! Contest.

Until then, thanks for reading and may all your dream kitties come true! :)

Info About Confetti Cats!

Unless you've been away from SL for a while, you've heard of the new Confetti KittyCatS!™ that you can buy with your Menagerie $K. These cute little fur-balls of rainbow cuteness have caused a bit of confusion for many breeders. I had a chat with Kitten Longmeadow and was able to get some answers to a lot of questions and to clarify some facts about Confetti KittyCatS!™ Thanks, Kitten, for your eternal patience. :)

The fur that the Confetti Starter cats show (this is not a costume fur!) is called Cocoberry. Here is a summary of what can be confirmed about the Cocoberry fur:

Cocoberry is a genesis fur and is passable: if you breed Cocoberry onto another cat, you can pass that fur to other cats via breeding.

Other Confetti furs are passable: if you breed 2 Confetti Starter cats and get a special Confetti fur, you can pass that fur to other cats via breeding.

Can a Confetti Starter cat hide the Cocoberry fur? They have chosen not to give us the answer to this question and prefer that we figure it out for ourselves.

FYI: Chance of Confetti Furs

Unlike other "special" cats, you have a chance of breeding out a Confetti fur from your Confetti Starter KittyCatS!™ on every breeding, not just the first breeding.

But there's more! What really happens when you breed two Confetti Starter KittyCatS!™ cats together?

Review of Starter Breeding:

When 2 Starters breed, they each throw their shown or hidden traits. For example, let's say we have:
Starter Mom: showing Domino V and hiding Bengal Black
Starter Dad: showing Diamond V and hiding Snowshoe Red
When Mom and Dad breed, there are four possible outcomes:
1. Mom's shown Domino V + Dad's shown Diamond V
- this will give you a kitten showing Domino V and hiding Diamond V, because Domino V is more dominant (or Diamond V is more recessive) - the Diamond V will hide behind the Domino V.
2. Mom's shown Domino V + Dad's hidden Snowshoe Red
- this will give you a kitten showing Domino V and hiding Snowshoe Red, since Domino V is more dominant than Snowshoe Red.
3. Mom's hidden Bengal Black + Dad's shown Diamond V
- this will give you a kitten showing Diamond V and hiding Bengal Black, since Bengal black is recessive to Diamond V.
4. Mom's hidden Bengal Black + Dad's hidden Snowshoe Red
- this will give you a kitten showing Snowshoe Red and hiding Bengal Black, because Bengal Black is recessive to Snowshoe Red.

Breeeding Confetti Starter KittyCatS!™:

With Confetti Starter cats, it's more complicated. Each Confetti Starter cat shows the white Cocoberry fur and hides a Confetti fur (at the time this post was last updated, the Appleberry, Blueberry, and Cherryberry have been discovered). Each cat also has a normal genesis fur and hides a non-genesis fur.

So when a Confetti Starter cat breeds to another Confetti Starter cat, they first have to randomly decide if they're going to pass a Confetti fur. There are two possible outcomes:
1. Yes, let's pass our Confetti furs!
2. No, let's not pass our Confetti furs.

If the result is 1. Yes, let's pass our Confetti furs! Then one of the following things will happen:

a) Mom's shown Cocoberry + Dad's shown Cocoberry gives a kitten showing Cocoberry
b) Mom's shown Cocoberry + Dad's hidden Confetti fur gives a kitten showing Cocoberry and hiding a Confetti fur from Dad.
c) Mom's hidden Confetti fur + Dad's shown Cocoberry gives a kitten showing Cocoberry and hiding a Confetti fur from Mom.
d) Mom's hidden Confetti fur + Dad's hidden Confetti fur gives a kitten showing the more dominant Confetti fur and hiding the more recessive Confetti fur.

FYI: Dominant Cocoberry

Note that if a Confetti Starter KittyCatS!™ (which shows Cocoberry fur) can hide a Confetti fur (e.g. Appleberry), then the Cocoberry must be more dominant than any other Confetti fur.

If the result is 2. Let's not pass our Confetti furs, then breeding proceeds as it will with two normal starter cats.

Confetti Starter KittyCatS!™ are otherwise like regular starters: they are guaranteed to hide 6 non-genesis traits (fur, eye colour, tail, ears, whisker shape, whisker colour).

When will the Confetti furs be added to the SagaCharts?

As soon as we start receiving solid and indisputable proofs of the dominance and recessiveness of the Confetti furs :D

I hope that answers everyone's questions about the Confetti KittyCats!™ Good luck with your kitties, and may all your kitty dreams come true!

The Proof is in the Pussy 2 - Finding a New Most Recessive Trait

I was going to talk about something else for our second issue but I had a bit of an interesting discovery this week: finding out that Exotic Journey is the new most recessive eye. I was going to talk about finding a "new most recessive" trait at a later date, but we might as well cover it now.

Finding a "new most recessive" trait can be difficult! We often breed our starter cats with the most recessive things we have because it helps to draw out more dominant traits. However, when you breed a starter with a cat with a most recessive trait and get that same trait back, is it because your cat is hiding that trait, or is it hiding something new and more recessive? I had this issue when I bred a starter with a Dry Olive eyed kitty and got a kitten with Dry Olive eyes back. Was the starter hiding Dry Olive, or was it hiding something that was more recessive to Dry Olive that we didn't know about? It turned out that the starter was hiding Exotic Journey, a newer eye discovered in May but not yet on the Saga Charts. Here's how I found it in the starter. :)

Exotic Journey pedigree:

Click to open in a new window.

If you look at the above pedigree, you'll see the grand-dad on both sides is the same Easter Starter kitty, Tija.

The starter kitty Tija was bred with an Odyssey Bellini kitty first, and they passed Odyssey Bellini, so I figured that the resulting kitten, Nugget, was hiding Tija's hidden, which was unknown to me at the time. It was also possible that the Ody Bellini mom (Patience) was hiding something more recessive than Ody Bellini (in fact, she could have been hiding Exotic Journey! I'll talk about that later.) In that case, the starter's hidden could have gone up against the more recessive eye behind the Ody Bellini, making the same Ody Bellini kitten, except that this kitten's shown would be the starter's hidden, and the kitten's hidden would be the partner's hidden. In order to find out, I had to breed Tija with a more recessive eye and see if it would draw out Ody Bellini, or something else.

I then bred Tija with a Dry Olive kitty and got Dry Olive on Rufford. At this point I knew Tija was hiding at least Dry Olive, and perhaps something more recessive. If the latter, then I knew Rufford was hiding that more recessive eye, also. Now I also knew that Nugget got her shown eye from her mom's shown Ody Bellini and her hidden from Tija - if Tija was hiding Dry Olive or more recessive, then Nugget's Ody Bellini must have come from her mom. This also meant Nugget was also hiding Tija's hidden.

Was Tija just hiding Dry Olive, or something new and more recessive?? There are a couple of ways to find out - back breed Nugget to Tija or breed Nugget and Rufford together.

Which option would be better? Let's look at the possible outcomes of each:

A. Breeding Nugget to Tija:

• Nugget Ody Bellini + Tija Genesis Meadow = Genesis Meadow (Ody Bellini)
• Nugget Ody Bellini + Tija hidden = Ody Bellini (Tija hidden)
• Nugget/Tija hidden + Tija Genesis Meadow = Genesis Meadow (Tija hidden)
• Nugget/Tija hidden + Tija hidden = Tija hidden (Tija hidden)

Breeding Nugget and Tija gives a 25% chance of getting that hidden eye out, but 50% of the kittens will show Genesis Meadow. Of those Genesis Meadow kittens, I'd have no way of knowing which ones hid Ody Bellini and which ones hid Tija's hidden eye. There's also a 25% chance of getting an Ody Bellini kitten hiding Tija's hidden. This cat could also be used to breed out that hidden eye.

B. Breeding Nugget to Rufford:

• Nugget Ody Bellini + Rufford Dry Olive = Ody Bellini (Dry Olive)
• Nugget Ody Bellini + Rufford/Tija hidden = Ody Bellini (Tija hidden)
• Nugget/Tija hidden + Rufford Dry Olive = Dry Olive (Tija hidden)
• Nugget/Tija hidden + Rufford/Tija hidden = Tija hidden (Tija hidden)

Breeding Nugget to Rufford also gives a 25% chance of getting that hidden eye. We also have a 50% chance of getting Ody Bellini, and of those, we wouldn't know which hid Dry Olive and which hid Tija's hidden eye. There's also a 25% chance of getting a Dry Olive kitty which hides Tija's hidden eye.

The odds are the same but I usually go with option B because:

the "duds" that result in option B are prettier cats showing a nice eye and could be used for other things, or sold

option B keeps Tija available for further breeding

However, there's a big disadvantage:

if option B keeps giving Dry Olive kittens, is it because Tija is hiding Dry Olive or just because my luck is terrible and I'm not making the 25% chance of getting the hidden out (I have a history of such horrible luck!) I could breed these 2 cats forever and never really know!

at least with option A if I get a bunch of Ody Bellini cats, I know they're all hiding Tija's hidden eye. I could breed those together and get the hidden eye that way, and there would be absolutely no doubt that this was Tija's hidden eye. If they give Dry Olive, Tija is hiding Dry Olive. If they give something else, that's Tija's hidden eye.

I decided to go with option B for a while, and if that didn't produce results in a few breedings, I would back breed Nugget with Tija. I still don't know Tija's hidden tail or whisker shape so I want to breed Tija with other cats for a while and draw those out.

So we know what happened: I bred Nugget and Rufford together and out came the Exotic Journey! This eye must be recessive to Dry Olive because it was hiding behind Rufford's shown Dry Olive eye. Recall the four options that could have resulted:

a. Nugget's shown Ody Bellini + Rufford's shown Dry Olive: This gives us a kitten showing Odyssey Bellini and hiding Dry Olive. This is not what I got.

b. Nugget's shown Ody Bellini + Rufford's hidden eye: This gives us a kitten showing Odyssey Bellini and hiding Tija's/Rufford's hidden eye. This is also not what I got.

Note that if you get a kitten from a. or b. you won't be able to tell which it is: Ody Bellini hiding Dry Olive or Ody Bellini hiding Tija's hidden? You'd have to breed it to find out.

c. Nugget's hidden eye + Rufford's Dry Olive: This gives us a kitten showing the more dominant eye of the two. Both Nugget and Rufford are hiding the same eye. If that hidden eye + Dry Olive gave us Dry Olive, that would make sense. If that hidden eye + Dry Olive gave us the hidden eye, that would make no sense: how could the hidden eye of Nugget be dominant to Dry Olive if Rufford is also hiding that same eye behind his Dry Olive? Therefore, this would produce a Dry Olive kitten, which is not what I got. Note to Recall: A kitten with Nugget's shown eye is hiding Tija's hidden eye!

d. Nugget's hidden eye + Rufford's hidden eye: This would give us a kitten showing the more dominant of the two eyes. I know Nugget and Rufford are both hiding Tija's hidden, but I figured it was just Dry Olive. If that was the case, then this would produce a kitten showing Dry Olive. But that's not what I got: I got Exotic Journey. There's only one place for that Exotic Journey eye to have come from: from Nugget's and Rufford's hidden eye, which is also Tija's hidden eye!

So option D is the only option that would produce the Exotic Journey kitten. This therefore proves:
Exotic Journey is Tija's hidden eye, therefore:
Rufford hides Exotic Journey, making Exotic Journey recessive to Dry Olive, therefore:
Exotic Journey is the new most recessive eye.

Note About New Most Recessive Traits:

Because they have such a huge effect on pricing and breeding decisions, we require two solid, independent proofs of any "new most recessive" trait. This is only the first proof. We need a second proof from a different breeder (even the SagaKitty team members are not exempt from the rules! :D )
If you have any further proof that Exotic Journey is recessive to Dry Olive, please pass them on to SagaKitty Resident, or SagaKittySL@gmail.com :)

Another Possibility

It's also possible, but extremely unlikely, that the cats bred to Tija had been hiding Exotic Journey or something more recessive - traits that seem "new" aren't necessarily from the latest release: they could have been hiding undiscovered for a while, as was the case with the Ocicat Chocolate back in 2011 (it was found in the Halloween kitties but turned out to be from a release much earlier in the year and had been hanging around hidden in my July starter cats all that time - I told you I had horrible luck! ;) ) So when we're evaluating proofs for brand new traits that we don't have information for, we always take into account, "What if the starter's PARTNER was hiding this new trait?"

What if Rufford's mom hid Exotic Journey (or something more recessive we don't know about, yet)?
Then Exotic Journey would have to be recessive to Dry Olive, because Rufford's mom is showing Dry Olive. We'd end up with the same proof that Exotic Journey is recessive to Dry Olive.
What would that say about Tija? Tija could be hiding Dry Olive, Exotic Journey, or something new and more recessive that we don't even know about, yet.

What if Nugget's mom hid Exotic Journey (or something recessive to Ody Bellini, including something recessive to Exotic Journey that we don't know about, yet)?

Assuming we didn't know how dominant/recessive Exotic Journey is, that would mean that it's at least recessive to Ody Bellini (remember Nugget's mom shows Ody Bellini). Therefore, Nugget would have to be:
1. Mom's shown Ody Bellini + Tija's hidden = Ody Bellini, meaning Tija is hiding Ody Bellini or more recessive.
2. Mom's hidden + Tija's hidden = Ody Bellini, meaning Tija is hiding Ody Bellini and Nugget's mom (and Nugget) is hiding something more recessive, which could be anything from Grotto to Dry Olive, or Exotic Journey, or something more recessive that we don't know about, yet.

If #1, then we're back at the beginning: Rufford proves that Tija is hiding Dry Olive or more recessive, therefore Nugget is also hiding Dry Olive or more recessive. Breeding Nugget and Rufford gives us a 25% chance to find out what this hidden eye is. And that's what I did, and I got Exotic Journey. So we end up with the same proof.
What would this say about Tija? That Tija is hiding Dry Olive, Exotic Journey, or something more recessive to Exotic Journey that we don't even know about, yet. I'm going on the more likely assumption that Tija is hiding Exotic Journey, but to be sure, I'm breeding out all of his offspring that I know are hiding his hidden eye.

If #2, then Rufford would not make any sense: how could a Dry Olive cat + a starter hiding Ody Bellini produce a Dry Olive kitten like Rufford? That's impossible, so this can't be the case.

What if BOTH Nugget's mom and Rufford's mom are hiding Exotic Journey, or something more recessive that we don't know about, yet? Very unlikely, but is it possible? We can't assume anything :P so let's examin this possibility:

If both Nugget's mom (Patience) and Rufford's Mom (Junie) are hiding Exotic Journey or something more recessive, this means that:

Rufford would be
a. Dry Olive (from Tija's hidden) hiding Exotic Journey or something more recessive from mom
or
b. Dry Olive (from mom's shown) hiding Dry Olive or something more recessive from Tija

Nugget would be
c. Ody Bellini (from mom's shown) hiding something more recessive from Tija
or
d. Ody Bellini (Tija's hidden) and hiding Exotic Journey or something more recessive from mom

This gives us combinations that make no sense and are therefore impossible:

a + d is not a valid combination: Nugget can't be showing Ody Bellini from Tija if Rufford is showing Dry Olive from Tija - that would mean that Tija is hiding both Ody Bellini and Dry Olive, which is impossible.

b + d is not a valid combination: if d is true, then Tija is hiding Ody Bellini, which makes Rufford impossible - he can't be Dry Olive from mom hiding Ody Bellini from Tija.

a + c is not a valid combination: if a is true, then Nugget is Ody Bellini (mom's shown) hiding Dry Olive (a says that Rufford shows Tija's hidden Dry Olive). This leads to no valid combinations that would give an Exotic Journey eye:

• Nugget's Ody Bellini + Rufford's Dry Olive would give Ody Bellini
• Nugget's Ody Bellini + Rufford's hidden Exotic Journey+ would give Ody Bellini
• Nugget's hidden Dry Olive + Rufford's Dry Olive would give Dry Olive
• Nugget's hidden Dry Olive + Rufford's hidden Exotic Journey+ would give Dry Olive

None of these gives the Exotic Journey kitten we received from Nugget and Rufford

This leaves us with the combination of b + c
Rufford: Dry Olive (from mom) hiding Tija's hidden
Nugget: Ody Bellini (from mom) hiding Tija's hidden
This is what we started with and we used this to prove that Tija is hiding Exotic Journey and that Exotic Journey is recessive to Dry Olive.

That's it for this issue! Feel free to ask questions or make comments and suggestions. Until next time, may all your kitty dreams come true!

KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Captures!!

The KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! Contest have their first two captures!!

On May 12th AstridSolace, more famously known as Bunny NomNom, captured the first proof on our KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Proofs List! Bunny had recently heard about the reward for some of the missing proofs and was walking through her cattery when she saw some suspicious activity. She investigated, and found proof that Genesis Flame III is dominant to Genesis Smokey II! She copied down the cats' information and brought it to the SagaKitty team, where we added it to our database. This will help the team work towards finding the order of all those Genesis furs that are running wild in the Saga Charts! Congratulations to Bunny for her keen eye and we thank her for this important catch! Bunny has won an Epic Prize Box full of goodies for her capture!

In the early hours of May 13th, we received a communication from the famous duo Rheaven and Marishka Tussaud. Rheaven and Mariskha have been on the lookout for proof of the Tonkinese Blue Mink and Maine Coon Plush Calico for quite a long time. When they heard about the reward being offered for this proof, they quickly dove into action and worked at capturing this proof that has been bugging many breeders for quite some time. Their hard work was rewarded when they produced a Maine Coon kitten from two Tonkinese Blue Mink parents, proving that Tonkinese Blue Mink Tortie is dominant to Maine Coon Plush Calico! They have also been rewarded with an Epic Prize Box for their hard work and persistence with this capture! We congratulate Rheaven and Marishka and thank them for their diligence in tracking down this very important proof!

There are still many more proofs to narrow down and capture so keep on working hard! We want to thank the community for continuing to work with diligence and patience to clean up those charts. We know we'll see more results from you all very soon! :)

Remember that anyone who captures a proof wins an epic prize box containing:

• A $L500 Gift Card for Somnia by Sanura Snowpaw
• A 1 week rental of 100 prim Pergola at FelineS KittyCatS
• A Gift card for one KittyCatS collar of your choice made by Julia Merosi of FelineS KittyCatS
• A 2-week Love Shack Rental at Too Adorable
• A super cute one-of-a-kind multi-pose “Me and My Kitty” pillow by Beloved Ruby of ScratchN Post – this item can only be obtained by contest winners and is not available to anyone else on the grid!
• A beautiful one-of-a-kind hearts collar hand crafted by Nino Heartsdale, the Mad Cat Lady - this item can only be obtained by contest winners and is not available to anyone else on the grid!
• A $L200/$K500 KittyCatS!™ gift certificate, usable in the KittyCatS!™ main store or the KittyCatS!™ Cattery

Also remember that anyone who narrows down a trait wins a one-of-a-kind knitted hat lovingly made by Bree Ann, specifically for this contest!

If you haven't yet heard of the contest or need more info, please see the blog post KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! Contest.

In a future article coming soon, I'll show you the proofs that were submitted and we'll go over how they work! Until then, thanks for reading and may all your dream kitties come true! :)

KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! Contest

The Saga Trait Charts are looking for missing proofs!!
Rewards are being offered for missing proofs and for information that leads to the capture of missing proofs!

How it Works:

Find proof of any of the traits listed in the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Proofs List: narrow down a trait by at least one spot or place a trait in its correct position in the charts.  You could win a reward for narrowing down a trait, or you could win an Epic Prize Box for placing a trait!  Your proofs can be current cats you're breeding, dusty old cats and boxes you've had sitting around in the cattery or your inventory for ages, or even cats belonging to someone else!

Rewards include special one-of-a-kind items made specifically for the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! Contest and the SagaKitty Trait charts, gift certificates for collars, rentals, accessories, and even for the KittyCatS!™) main store!

The contest begins on Saturday May 9 and runs until the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Proofs List has been cleared. 
New proofs could be added to the list, as new traits are always being discovered and released.  This means that the contest could run indefinitely!

Thank you!

We'd like to thank the following people for their generous donations and/or amazing custom creations:

Somnia by Sanura Snowpaw	Julia Merosi of FelineS KittyCatS
Beloved Ruby of ScratchN Post	Nino Heartsdale, the Mad Cat Lady
Kendrah Vantelli of Too Adorable

Contest Rules:

Your proof must be conclusive.
No guesses and no assumptions.  If your proof relies on the fact that a cat hides a certain trait, you must provide visible proof of this.  Your proof must actually prove something in the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Proofs List.

Your proof must be complete.
All information must be included.  E.g if your proof relies on a cat that is “pure Grotto” then you must provide proof that the cat is “pure Grotto”, otherwise we will evaluate the proof as if the cat is hiding Grotto or something more recessive.

Proofs must be submitted to SagaKitty Resident in SL OR  to SagaKittySL@gmail.com.
Proofs sent to individual team members or by any other means will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Proof documentation must be submitted in the following format:

• To SagaKitty Resident in SL:
  
  • A notecard explaining what your proof shows. Be sure to include that your proof is an entry to the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! contest
  • Full-perm textures of actual pedigree pages needed for the proof OR permanent URLs to images of actual pedigree pages needed for the proof.
• To SagaKittySL@gmail.com:
  
  • Subject: KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! Proof contest
  • Text explaining what your proof shows.
  • Attached/downloadable images of actual pedigree pages needed for the proof OR permanent URLs to images of actual pedigree pages for the proof. Images must be standard image formats e.g. .png, .jpg, .gif, etc.

All images/textures must be clear and legible and not modified in any way.

Multiple Entries: Please do not submit multiple entries at once. Each entry should be a separate submission.

Submissions that will not be accepted:

• Proofs with no explanation.
• Images/textures of pedigree screen shots that have been modified.
• Textures that are not full perm – they must be copy allowed, modify allowed, transfer allowed.
• URLs that are temporary.
• Image files that aren't viewable, legible, downloadable.

Your proof must do one of the following to be considered valid:

• Narrow down a trait by one position. For example, Odyssey Crystal Rose eye is between Rainbow Prism and Odyssey Rainbow - If you find proof that Odyssey Crystal Rose is recessive to Peach Bellini, you win a reward!
• Place a trait in its correct position.  For example, if you find that the Tonkinese Blue Mink Tortie is dominant or recessive to Maine Coon Plush Calico, you win an Epic Prize Box!
• Determine the order of a pair of specific Genesis Furs in the selected list.  For example, if you prove the order of Domino III and Flame III, you win an Epic Prize Box!

Ineligible Contestants:
The following are ineligible to compete in the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted! Contest:
The Pampered Pet Company owners/staff/employees, their partners, alts, and SL family members (e.g. spouse, child, parent, sibling, etc).  Exception: CSRs may enter the contest on their main account (FYI, CSRs have no inside knowledge of the dominance/recessiveness of unproven traits).
SagaKitty Team members, their partners, alts, and SL family members.

Current list of prizes and rewards:

Rewards and prizes could change as the contest progresses and the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Proofs List changes.  If you'd like to donate a prize for a future prize box, reward, or consolation prize, please contact Bree Ann (brunabug.nightfire), Charles Courtois-Oh (charles.courtois), or WendiKitteh (wendi.lavendel).

Reward for narrowing down a trait: One-of-a-kind knitted KittyCatS!™ hat made by our very own Bree Ann!

Click to open in a new window.

Consolation Prize (awarded to the owner of a cat that was used in a valid/winning proof by another person): One-of-a-kind shirt “My Cat proved something and all I got was this shirt!” custom created by Somnia by Sanura Snowpaw

Click to open in a new window.

Click to open in a new window.

(thanks to Sanura and LickN for posing!! ♥)

Epic Prize Box (awarded for placing a trait in the correct position on the charts, or for determining the order of one of the specified pairs of Genesis furs). The Epic Prize Box contains:

• $L500 Gift Card for Somnia by Sanura Snowpaw
• 1 week rental of 100 prim Pergola at FelineS KittyCatS
• Gift card for one KittyCatS collar of your choice made by Julia Merosi of FelineS KittyCatS
• 2-week Love Shack Rental at Too Adorable
• Super cute one-of-a-kind multi-pose “Me and My Kitty” pillow by Beloved Ruby of ScratchN Post – this item can only be obtained by contest winners and is not available to anyone else on the grid!
• Beautiful one-of-a-kind hearts collar hand crafted by Nino Heartsdale, the Mad Cat Lady - this item can only be obtained by contest winners and is not available to anyone else on the grid!
• $L200/$K500 KittyCatS!™ gift certificate, usable in the KittyCatS!™ main store or the KittyCatS!™ Cattery

Gift Card: Somnia by Sanura Snowpaw

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FelineS KittyCatS Rental and Collar Gift Card

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Me and My Kitty: Beloved Ruby of ScratchN Post

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Collar from Nino Heartsdale, the Mad Cat Lady

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2-week Love Shack Rental Too Adorable

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FAQ:

Can I submit a proof that isn't from my own cat (e.g. something I saw at auction or at the market)?
Yes!  You can submit a proof as long as it's conclusive and complete, and as long as the owner of the cat's are visible and legible.  You will win a prize if your proof narrows down a trait or places a trait in its correct position.  The person who owns the cat will win a consolation prize.

How much of an explanation should I include?
For most proofs, a single sentence is fine e.g. “Here is proof that Tranquility eye is dominant to Dry Olive and recessive to Onyx.”.  If the proof is complex and involves multiple pedigrees, a short explanation of each step or how each pedigree is applicable would be appreciated.

What if someone sends in the same proof that I submit?
The person who submits first will be evaluated first.  We will go by the date/time that the email is received  (all inventory offers are emailed to SagaKitty Resident when SagaKitty is offline, so this works for both forms of submission).

What if I submit information that's incomplete or inconclusive?
You will receive an explanation of why the proof was considered incomplete or inconclusive.  You may resubmit the proof documents after adding any additional information, or submit a completely different set of documents if you wish, and that will be treated as a new submission.

Can I submit/win more than one proof?
Yes!  If you submit multiple entries, please submit them separately.

Why do you only want proofs for the traits listed in the KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Proofs List?
This  was the list we decided to start with.  The team chose these traits because they're mostly older so it's harder to get proofs for them.  Some were also chosen because they're referred to in other proofs (e.g. at the time of this writing, a couple of new furs were referencing Ocicat Black, so we would be able to place those  better if we knew where Ocicat Black fit.)  We also included a couple of newer traits that many people have.  For the Genesis furs, specific pairs were chosen that would help us determine the order between generations as easily as possible. 

KittyCatS!™ Most Wanted Proofs List

(last updated May 13 2015)

The list of wanted proofs will change over time: as people provide proofs that allow us to remove items from the list, we will add new items.  We will likely  never run out of proofs and therefore this contest could go on indefinitely!

Furs:

Place or narrow down the following fur traits:
Ocicat Black Captured!!
Pandie Flame Captured!!
Newly Added Traits:
Pandie Ebony & Ivory Captured!!
Foxie Argyle Captured!!
Foxie Red Mask Captured!!
Chateau Slate & White No. 1

Place the following fur traits:
Tonkinese Blue Mink Tortie Captured!!

Prove the order of the following sets of Genesis Furs:
Domino III and Flame III Captured!!
Domino II and Domino (Domino I)
Flame III and Smokey II Captured!!
Diamond IV and Smokey III

Eyes:

Place or narrow down the following eye traits:
Tapestry Harvest
Cognac
Odyssey Crystal Rose
Odyssey Slush

The Proof is in the Pussy: Part 1 - Introduction

There's a saying, "the proof is in the pudding": It means that the truth about something can only be determined by putting it into action or by testing it out. That saying is actually a lazy version of the saying “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” (my family is half Scottish so a pudding to me is a cake: as I type this I'm picturing a yummy-looking sticky toffee pudding, but you can picture something equally delicious if you like!) That phrase means that a sticky toffee pudding may look beautiful and yummy but you can only tell if it really is delicious by tasting it: something could look sweet and delectable, yet taste like a peanut butter and ketchup sandwich. This is kind of how we approach the proofs for KittyCats™ traits: No, we don't taste the cats (well, WendiKitteh licks the Porcelain ones, but that's a different article series altogether). When you have a kitten, you don't know for sure what it's hiding unless you can “test it out”. Sometimes this means breeding out its hidden trait, breeding parents or offspring, tracing it's pedigree back far enough to find out what hidden traits its parents and grandparents hid, etc. When we update the Saga Charts, we try to find these proofs in the pedigrees sent to us by the community: is a cat really hiding Tranquility eyes, or is it hiding a peanut butter and ketchup sandwich?

On that note, I want to introduce the series of articles we'd like to present about proofs: What makes a solid proof? How do you know if a proof you have is correct? How do you know you have all the right information? We are very lucky that we get so much information from the wonderful KittyCatS™ community members! You might even notice that sometimes it takes some time to get the information updated on the charts. We thought we'd start with an introduction that described the process – how a proof sent by a community member gets updated on the Saga Charts.

Finding Solid Proofs

When we receive and analyse a proof, we need to make sure the following questions are answered "YES":

1. Are the documents complete?
2. Is the information correct?
3. Is the proof conclusive?

1. Are the documents complete? We need to make sure we have all the information we need in a format that allows us to examine the proof and later archive it for future reference. We look for the following things:

• Are textures sent to SagaKitty's inventory “Full Perm”? Textures must be copy/mod/transfer so they can be archived into notecards (we archive proofs into one notecard with all the urls/textures/etc). Also, sometimes the person getting the proof documents from SagaKitty passes them to someone else to be analysed. If anything isn't full-perm, we contact the sender and request full-perm documents.
• Are all URLs permanent? If someone sends a URL to a screen shot of a pedigree, it should be a permanent URL because we often need to go back to a proof for later reference. If the URL doesn't work anymore, we've lost our proof! We also save the images for valid proofs from the web to Google Drive, just in case!
• Has all the information been included; is anything missing? If the proof uses information about the parents' hidden traits (or starter's hiddens, or a breeding partner's hiddens, etc), has proof of those hidden traits been included? If the information is about a certain set of cats or certain traits, was the correct pedigree included? If any of the information is incomplete or missing, we contact the sender and request the missing information.

FYI: Kitten Boxes

Sometimes people send a screen shot of the part of a pedigree that shows the rows of kitten boxes a cat has birthed. We don't need that information at all; in fact, it usually doesn't tell us anything conclusive about the cat in question.

2. Is the information correct? Sometimes people send incorrect information; it happens :) For example, maybe someone sent a note that said “Here's proof that this cat is hiding Sassy tail.” but we see that the cat is showing the more recessive Puff tail, so there's no way that cat is hiding Sassy tail. In that case, we'll send a nice note back to the sender explaining the error and, if possible, a request for different information that might help with a proof for the trait in question. Don't worry if you send something that's incorrect; keep sending us stuff! :)

3. Is the proof conclusive? This is probably THE most important part of how the Saga Team evaluates proofs, and this is what has always distinguished Saga's charts from other resources available. We consider the following: Is the proof solid, concrete, and does it actually prove anything? Is it based on assumptions or guesses? We do not make assumptions and we do not accept guesses.

Making Assumptions

More often than not, assumptions and guesses are actually correct! However, the integrity of the Saga Charts is not worth the risk of an error made based on assumptions that might be incorrect. This is a key rule when dealing with proofs for the Saga Charts that is often overlooked by others: we NEVER assume anything and always require concrete proof of everything. If you say a cat has pure Grotto eyes, we need proof that the cat is pure Grotto, otherwise we will evaluate the proof as if the cat's hidden eyes are Grotto or something more recessive. Making assumptions and guesses can lead to mistakes. People rely on the Saga Charts to make decisions about pricing and breeding. Mistakes affect people's work and they affect the market. We will never compromise the integrity of the information in the charts by making guesses and assumptions.

Sometimes people send information based on their own extensive knowledge of their cats, however we don't know your cats at all. If you know that your cat hides Light Dream whiskers, we need to see visible proof of this. Just because your cat had all Light Dream whisker babies doesn't help: I once repeatedly bred two sibling cats showing Odyssey Carnival eyes and all they ever gave me was Odyssey Carnival babies, even though I knew the little buggers were hiding the Fancie Pink Diamond eye from their Pink Champagne Ocicat dad. That kind of result is rare and against the odds (there was a 25% chance on each breeding that those siblings would produce a Fancie Pink Diamond eye but clearly luck was not in my favour) but things like that do happen.

The Saga Charts have lasted this long (since 2011, which is a long time in KittyCatS™ and SL years!) and have been the most reliable source of KittyCatS™ trait information because people trust that the information in them is correct. Oh yes, there have definitely been mistakes made in the past, and that's why the process for analysing proofs has gotten more meticulous and more formally defined.

What is The Process?

What happens when you send a proof? How does it go from your inventory to an entry on the charts? Here's how!

1. Proof Received: Documents are received by SagaKitty (or by one of the team members, as some folks send proofs directly to team members they know personally – in this case, if the proof is valid and conclusive, a copy of the information is stored with the SagaKitty account in case anyone requests information about a proof).

2. First Analysis: Here the documents are checked for completeness and correctness: is all the information there, is anything missing? Are textures full-perm and URLs working? If required, more information is requested from the sender. Otherwise, we make sure the proof is correct and if so, we pass it on to step 3. If the proof is incorrect, it's filed away in case it's needed for future reference.

3. Second Analysis: The documents are analysed to see if the proof is solid or inconclusive. A decision is reached and the proof moves on to step 4.

4. Double-Check: A person not involved in the analysis in step 3 checks the proof. If they agree with the decision, the proof is sent on to step 5. If not, analysis and discussion takes place until a decision is made that the team members agree with. If the decision is that the proof is valid, it moves to step 5. Otherwise, it's filed away in case it's needed for future reference. Sometimes we just need more information, in which case, we request it from the sender and start all over again.

5. File and Update Charts: Finally! If the proof has reached this step, it's conclusive and can be filed in the archives with all of the other proofs. Then the charts are updated!

For those of you in a business analysis or systems analysis field, you might enjoy this flowchart I lazily made:

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Exception: New “Most Recessive” Traits.

Sometimes people discover a new “most recessive” trait. In this case, it is policy to require two independent proofs (ie. from two different breeders). Why? Unfortunately, documents (images, for example) can be manipulated in order to make a new trait look more recessive than it is. Since marking a trait as “the most recessive” has a huge effect the market, we require two proofs from different catteries/breeders to ensure the reliability of that information. The two valid proofs can't contain any of the same breeder names in the pedigrees, from the kitten in question to both sets of grandparents. Also, the two independent proofs can't be from one avatar and an avatar's alt – they must be from two completely different real life people.

Hopefully this has helped you understand what happens when we receive proof information and how it gets onto the Saga Charts (or why it doesn't). Next week we'll start doing some actual examples of proof analysis: we'll start with a simple one we see all the time: drawing a new trait from a starter. Thanks for reading, and may all your dream kitties come true!

Saga Kitty Now on Social Media

I've added a Facebook account and a Twitter account for the SagaKitty News and Updates.  If you want to follow the SagaKitty blog, you can now friend SagaKitty Resident on Facebook (see the badge on the left side of the blog) and/or you can follow @SagaKitty on Twitter!

Thanks for reading, and may all your kitty dreams come true! :)

Saga Chart Updates Board!

I passed around the Saga Chart Updates Board today so if I missed you or if SL ate it, get a free one by asking WendiKitteh (wendi.lavendel) or visit any of the following locations to get yours:

FelineS KittyCatS
Too Adorable
ScratchN Post Too
The Tiny Canuck: Kittehs

The Saga Chart Updates Board displays the last few updates to the Saga Charts (this same info will be visible on the charts later this weekend, it's hiding right now ;)  )  You can click an entry to see the (brief details) and scroll through the list of entries.

It's just a basic board; there aren't a lot of features or options right now but I'll be adding new things over time plus I'll be making some smaller ones and some that can hold more text. I'll also be adding admin options, and lots of other stuff.  More info on the board and how to use it here:

Saga Chart FAQ: Saga Chart Updates Board Information

If the link doesn't work, go to http://sagakitty.blogspot.com and click on the FAQ, and look for the section called "Saga Chart Updates Board Information"

If you have issues viewing the board, it might be an issue some viewers/graphics cards have with .png files...  see if right-click/Edit or toggling wireframe (Ctrl Shift R) fixes it and if not, grab a new, free version from one of the locations up above.

New and Exciting Stuff!!

Yay, we've got a blog!  This should make it easier to keep everyone up to date with news and updates!

We have a few announcements to make!

1. New Signs, Blog, and FAQ
2. Minor Changes to Charts
3. Web Content for SagaKitty charts
4. Upcoming Contest
5. In-world Chart Updates
6. Coming Soon: Monthly Proof Analysis (Educational)

1. New Signs, Blog, and FAQ

Your SagaKitty chart signs are really old: time to replace them with new ones! 

The new sign links to the new blog at http://sagakitty.blogspot.com/.  The blog will contain news (like this!), links to the charts, and also a link to a new FAQ document: a new Google Docs page (no account required) with links to the charts, to Saga's "Facts" and "Trait Talk", and answers some of the common questions we've been getting in email (it should save us a bit of time so we can spend more time on answering proofs!) 

We're sending out the new signs in-world but if you didn't get one, just ask SagaKitty and we'll send you one! Until then, please visit the new blog and you'll find a link there to the new FAQ, the charts, and other things.

The sign is modifiable so you can resize it or whatever, and it's transferable and copyable so you can pass it around, put it up in all your auction areas, give one to each of your cats ;) etc.

If you know how, you can also go into the script inside it and change the colour of the hovertext, or even turn the hovertext off.

The sign is set to "Anyone Can Copy" so your patrons, breeders, sellers, visitors, etc. can grab a copy for themselves by right-clicking the sign and selecting More / Take Copy.  We'd appreciate if you left all of the permissions as they are to make it easier to share the sign with everyone who wants one.

If you'd like to see your market's web site listed in the "KittyCatS™ Markets" box on the blog, please send the following information to SagaKitty in SL or to SagaKittySL@gmail.com:
a. The URL to your market's web site
b. The exact text (I will copy/paste!) you want to appear as the link text
If your market doesn't have a web site, we can link to a SLURL instead, so just send the SLURL to your main landing point for (a) instead of a URL.

2. Minor Changes to Charts

You've probably noticed a few changes to the charts:

a. The retired and limited edition traits are now listed in a second sheet beside the main sheet.  The retired furs are in a sheet in the Furs chart, the retired and limited edition eyes are listed in a sheet in the Eyes chart, and the retired and limited edition traits are listed in a sheet in the Traits chart.  Furs/Eyes/Traits are grouped by retirement date or collection and also listed alphabetically for quick searching. This should be more convenient and also easier to use.

b. The Genesis furs section on the Furs chart was getting messy, so we're re-organizing it.  With the new Generation 5 Genesis furs needing space until their dominance order is finalized, that whole area of the chart is going to become confusing and unattractive.  I'm still not pleased with the way it currently appears so we might actually just move the Genesis furs to their own sheet. 

c. The blue key for cells that were identified as "estimated order" is obsolete and will be removed in the near future.

d. The latest proofs we've received for new traits are listed in a box on the top-right of each chart.  We'll leave new proofs up there until they're placed, then wait a few weeks before we remove them.  It's hard to find out what has been updated but this and the new in-world updater (see below) will help with this a lot.

3. Web Content for SagaKitty charts

Some of you have been asking for content (links and logo) for your market web sites.  Feel free to link to any of the URLs (they're all listed on the right side of the new blog).

I also have the original logos that Khea made for Saga if you'd like to use those (I have received permission to pass these on for advertising purposes on market web sites), also.  Just email SagaKittySL@gmail.com and we'll send you the logo images you can use.


4. Upcoming Contest

OMG a CONTEST!!  This is like a "KittyCatS Most Wanted" of KittyCatS proofs.  If you've looked at the charts recently (especially furs and eyes) you'll notice there are LOTS of unknowns and most of them are really old!  Heck, we've even got unknowns for traits that are now retired!  The problem with the older traits is that people don't really breed for them much anymore, so it's almost impossible to get proofs for these old traits unless someone takes it on as a project.  Isn't it about time we finally narrowed down Odyssey Slush and figured out if the retired Foxie Auburn is dominant or recessive to Chateau Grey & White No.1??

So, in order to get some of these older traits proven and in their proper places, we've decided to offer a "bounty" for some of these proofs!  We'll be choosing a list of 5 to 10 traits that are currently "unknown" and in need of solid proofs.  Anyone who provides enough solid proof to place these traits in their correct positions will win a really cool prize box!  We'll also offer prizes for narrowing down a trait with a huge range.  Contest rules and details will be released within the next week or so.

Prizes will include KittyCatS gift certificates and various gift certificates and "one of a kind" items from community members.  If you have any ideas for things you could add to the prizes (or if you know any great creators of KittyCatS stuff - hats, collars, clothes, shelves, displays, beds, etc even discounts/redeemable cards for cart/shop rental) that would be interested in having their stuff included in the prizes, please let WendiKitteh (wendi.lavendel) know. :)  I can reimburse some $L for the prizes if needed (if this works, it could go on as long as we have traits to prove o.O  I don't want anyone to have any hardship).  We've already received some amazing goodies from Julia Merosi of FelineS KittyCatS, Sanura Snowpaw of Somnia, and The Mad Cat Lady herself, Nino Heartsdale.  Folks who donate prizes will have their names and business name mentioned in the contest details and on the contest page as sponsors.  If you'd like more details, please contact WendiKitteh (wendi.lavendel) in-world.

We hope to start the contest the week of April 20th!

5. In-world Chart Updates

I've been working on an in-world board that displays the latest updates to the Saga Charts.  It lists the latest changes so that people can quickly see what's been added/edited without having to hunt through the spreadsheets looking to see "..has xyz trait has been updated yet or not??"

I'm still messing around with it but I'm hoping it will be ready in a few days.  It's FREE so I'll make sure I pass them around when they come out and leave some in prominent places where you can get one.  These will be cool boards: you can put it at your auction areas or at your main landing point and people can get a quick look at the latest chart updates!

Here are a couple of photos:

6. Coming Soon: Monthly Proof Analysis (Educational)

As a change-up from the IBP (Interactive Breeding Project), we'll be starting up a monthly series about proofs.  This should help people eliminate some of the guesswork and cut down on the number of proofs we get that aren't solid, and therefore allow us to update the charts faster!

Sometimes we get a lot of the same types of proofs with information missing or assumed, and we see a LOT of proofs like that on the forums also.  This series will take various proofs and discuss in detail why they'd be considered valid or invalid, and how to make sure all the necessary information is included with a proof, etc.  We won't use actual proofs without permission from the breeders; in fact, we might just copy all the text info into an easier-to-read image and leave out the names of breeders and give the cats simpler names - those of us with bad/old eyes can probably relate how hard those pedis are to read :)
 

That's it for now! There are a few other things in the future but we'll leave those for another day.  Thanks for reading and may you all breed out your dream kitties!