Before I began showing Birman cats, I bred and exhibited Golden Retriever dogs. The Golden was originally bred by a Scottish member of the House of Lords, and so I looked for a Scottish connection for my kennel name. Carraig is the Gaelic word for "rock", and also the name of a castle that once stood in the Western Highlands of Scotland.

For me, Carraig signifies strength, reliability, a tie with the past and thus, a good grounding for the future. I have a very keen interest in genetics, which led me into the dog and cat breeding. I am always interested in what came from where, and why. If I have a show kitty...that’s marvellous. But a really nice, healthy pet, has as much value as the Grand champion. At Carraig, we are very careful where our kittens go. Prospective buyers are screened, and all pet kittens are sold on non-breeding contracts, which are always followed up.This is a closed cattery in that we offer no outside stud service, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

I live in New Brunswick, Canada, on the beautiful Atlantic Coast, near the tourist town of Sussex. There are not a great many cat breeders in the Atlantic region, and only twoBirman breeders east of Montreal in the province of Quebec. This makes us somewhat isolated, and limits us to four or five shows a year. I have made some invaluable contacts through the Birman Home Page that have allowed me to reach other people with bloodlines that I am interested in, and consequently have allowed me to widen the gene pool of my cattery, and to contribute to other catteries, by shipping internationally. I started with a solid foundation, much like the castle of Carraig did, and am hoping to build on it, something to last for generations of cats, and cat lovers.