Breed – Page 2 – moggyblog

February 20, 2020May 13, 2020

Peterbald – Hairless Beauty

Cat of the Month ~ February 2020

Photograph: © Tica

With these cold, wet, winter days still upon us we at Moggyblog have turned our attention to a cat that has very little hair or fur and some are even classed as ‘nude.’ How they ever coped with sub-zero Russian winters we can only guess.

The beautiful Peterbald breed was first developed in 1993-4, when (it is said) a Russian breeder named Olga S. Mironova crossed Afinguen Myth, a brown tabby Donskoy, with an Oriental Shorthair female by the name of Radma Vom Jagerhof. At the time their offspring were gaining popularity in St. Petersburg, Russia, and they were quickly pronounced with the new title Peterbald. New breeding lines were created as Peterbalds were consistently bred out to Donskoy, Oriental Shorthairs and Siamese. TICA accepted the Peterbald in 1997 and recognized them for championship status in 2005.

Photograph: © Tica

Although recognised by The International Cat Association (TICA) since 1997, the Peterbald is still a relatively rare purebred or pedigreed domestic cat breed.
Like the the Don Sphyx, the amount of hair or fur on a Peterbald can vary greatly from cat to cat. There’s even an “Ultrabald” type that doesn’t even have whiskers or eyebrows and they and never grow any hair at all. Then there is Flock or Chamois variety being ninety percent hairless. These cats have a soft silky feel. Other varieties of coat include Velour, Brush coat and Straight coated. However these coats can change significantly throughout their first two years of life, and their hair texture alter as time goes by either by gaining or loosing hair.

The Peterbald took its long and fine-boned, lithe body type and oblong head shape from the Oriental Shorthair. One unique feature about Peterbalds is that they have long front toes with webbing, which allows them to hold and manipulate toys and other items. Their tails are strong and thin with a graceful curl.

peterbald webbed foot — An extreme webbed foot of this Peterbald. © Unknown

Large ears and ‘whip like’ tail © Lyudmila Baryshnikova

The breed are known to be intelligent, very active, friendly and playful, but because they are highly sociable they should always have companions around them, be these human or feline in origin. They can be fine lap cats in spite of their active natures. When venturing outdoors, care must be taken with the hairless Peterbald, as they are sensitive to very hot and cold weather. Sunburn and other skin issues are also potential concerns.

Peterbald showing the folds of his coat (er, his skin)

Photograph: © Tica

For keepers of Peterbald cats regular bathing is an important part of the weekly grooming routine. This will prevent the build up of oils on the cats skin, and will also remove daily dirt which may cause irritation. A vets advice should be sought which products to use.

Finally if you are drawn to purchase a beautiful Peterbald cat from a breeder, always investigate any hereditary or genetic conditions by asking about the breeding process. Kittens can also be examined by a vet to provide you with peace of mind before a purchase.

So, like all cat lovers, there is every excuse to stay home and dry and snuggled up with your Peterbald (or any other type of cat, for that matter) this winter and, for the Peterbalds, for the rest of the year too…

References:

Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons

The Spruce Pets Website

https://www.facebook.com/baryshnikova.lyida & Others

We’ve featured these other hairless felines if you’re interested?

The Sphynx in 2007, and the Donskoy in 2012. How time flies….

A little dot with the cutest tail you ever did see.

Photograph: © http://alienhairlesscat.com/

October 28, 2019May 13, 2020

Himalayan

The Himalayan, Himalayan Persian (or Colourpoint Persian as it is commonly referred to in Europe), is a sub-breed of long-haired cat similar in type to the Persian, with the exception of its blue eyes and its point colouration which were derived from crossing the Persian with the Siamese.

The creation of the ‘Himmy’ took years of selective breeding as the two cats from which it is derived are totaly different. The Persian then: is short stocky and heavy-boned, with long fur, whereas the Siamese: is long slim, and fine-boned and with short fur!

Cat of the Month ~ October 2019

It was in 1924 that a swedish geneticist start the cross breed process, by crossing a Siamese, Birman and a Persian cat. These trials were not completed it seems, and, it took a jump across the pond (careful Oscar) to Harvard Medical School 1930, where two medical students crossed Siamese with Smoke, Silver Tabby and Black Persians, producing a large number of short-haired kittens. Two of these kittens were mated, resulting in the birth of the first long haired black female Himalayan. When breeding this animal with her father (look away now, Oscar!) the resulting cat was the first Himalayan, with both points and long hair.

Some registries may classify the Himalayan as a long-haired sub-breed of Siamese, or a Colourpoint sub-breed of Persian. The World Cat Federation has merged them with the Colourpoint Shorthair and Javanese into a single breed, known as the Colourpoint.

The Cat Fanciers’ Association considers the Himalayan Persian simply a colour variation of the Persian, rather than a separate breed, although they do compete at Cat Shows in their own colour divisions. It was for the colour (only) that the breed was named “Himalayan”: a reference to the coloration of Himalayan animals, and in particular the Himalayan rabbit.

A Seal Point Himalayan ~ ready for action

These cats are good natured, intelligent, and generally very social, but they have been known to be moody at times. Because of their heritage from the Siamese cats, they tend to be more active than Persians.

Himalayans are good indoor companion cats. They are gentle, calm and like most cats they are playful. Like the Siamese, most Himalayans love to stalk and chase balls of wool, mouse or fish toys and anything long and thin like string. Himalayans are devoted and dependent upon their humans for companionship and protection. They seem to really like the affection of a human and generally love to be petted and groomed.

Care for your Himalayan

If you want to bond with your Himalayan, why not spend half an hour grooming her a day/every day. She will love it if she is typical of her kind, and after all, this grooming is thought to be essential to the wellbeing of this feline.

Because they have long, silky hair that tangles and mats easily, a Himalayan’s coat should be brushed daily. This will remove and prevent tangling and mats, and help remove any dirt and dust (after all the coat will act like a duster around your home). Professional grooming is also recommended every few months to ensure their coat is healthy and clean, but for most this may be a little expensive.

Like all cats Himalayan’s love to sharpen thier claws, and what better place than the legs of your favourite occasional table. Many advise trimming of claws but we wouldn’t advise it (would we Oscar, you like your scratching too much for that). How about finding some soft material and putting that around the legs of your precious furniture, then we will all get along just fine. (so, please for Oscars sake, leave them paws alone)!

Examination of your cat weekly will uncover a multitiude of problems (well hopefully not). For example, Himalayans’ pointed ears are susceptible to capturing dirt and whatever else can fall from the sky or a hedge in your garden. This, if left undisturbed, can lead to irritation and later infection. So, if you see or find debris in your cat’s ears, use a pet ear cleaner and cotton ball to gently remove it. It is not advised to use cotton buds as the ears of all cats are so delicate and full of small capilliaries carrying blood (it can get messy and Oscar won’t thank you, no sir). If the ears are very red or inflamed, very dirty, or smell strongly, take her to the veterinarian as soon as possible, and get it checked out.

Finally, we’re glad to say that Himalayans are vary playful, but they will get into mischief if they become bored. So, the golden rule is – Get those cat toys out and Keep Playing. It’ll do you good too …..

Sources: Wikipedia.org, The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Cats by Britt Strader & others

August 12, 2019May 4, 2020

Singhsth the Tiger

Cat of the Month ~ August 2019

Singhsth (aka Tiger 57)
caught on camera, sheltering in a cave in India

Photograph: © David Yarrow

After more than two hundred hours spent in the humid furnace that is the Ranthambore National Park, India, this image of the elusive tiger was finally captured.

Ranthambore Park is a wildlife sanctuary containing a huge variety of animals, birds and reptiles within it. These include Tigers, Leopards, Striped Hyenas, Sambar Deer, Hanuman Langurs, Macaques, Jackals, Jungle cats, Caracals, Common Palm Civets and Desert Cats.

The well known 4 year old ‘Singhsth’ had retreated out of the heat of the day into the cool, dark recess of a cave. Vipul Jain could just see the tiger in the cave mouth and he then passed the message on to his companion, photographer David Yarrow.
Luckily the sunlight was just strong enough to light up the tigers face in the shadow of the cave…. “if it was a foot further back in the cave, there would have been no shot” recalled Mr Yarrow.

Tiger 57 image — Singhsth prowling in his usual domain

Photograph: © Amit Vyas

Credits

Image 1: David Yarrow

Image 2: Amit Vyas

Ranthambore National Park, India

Original Article is here

The good news is that, after many years of decline, the Indian Tiger census is showing rapid population growth. This was reported on the BBC ‘Tigers in India’ News Webpage

March 7, 2019August 12, 2019

Fluffy the Miracle Moggy

Cat of the Month ~ February 2019

They brought her in like she was a snowball!

Fluffy’s fur was matted with snow when her owners found her in a frozen ball and unmoving in a field in northern Montana, USA. Fearing the worst, they called the local animal hospital.

The veterinary team arrived soon after, and the poor creature was rushed to an emergency room in the local Animal Clinic of Kalispell. Here, the skilled vets used warm blankets and a hairdryer to slowly bring the feline back to life from her frozen slumbers.

Photograph: © Animal Clinic of Kalispell

At long last, after a few tentative hours, Fluffy started showing signs of recovery. The clinic then made a Facebook post about Fluffy’s recovery, which subsequently went viral….and it’s no wonder! The post explained the story of this poor but lucky feline.

“…in an amazing success and survival story from this week. Some clients found their injured cat buried in snow.”
“They brought her to us essentially frozen and unresponsive. Her temperature was very low but after many hours she recovered and is now completely normal.
“Fluffy is amazing!”

The story was posted alongside pictures of Fluffy’s incredible recovery, including the image below of a vet using a hairdryer on the cat’s fur.

Fluffy is starting to dry out with the help of that hair dryer

Photograph: © Animal Clinic of Kalispell

Many hundreds of well-wishers commented on the Facebook post, which has had thousands of likes & shares since it was posted.

The final image showed Fluffy looking the picture of health with a completely snow-free coat.

Fluffy comes fully back to life, ready for some more adventures no doubt

Photograph: © Animal Clinic of Kalispell

Oscar and I concur that Fluffy is indeed one heck of a miracle moggy,..and a beauty too. We’re sending our love to her and to her family, on the other side of the pond.

December 24, 2018August 12, 2019

Canada Lynx

Cat of the Month ~ December 2018

A lynx pauses in the snow — Canada Lynx, pausing in the snow
Photograph: https://alaska.guide

Merry Christmas Folks and Moggies!

From, Ed and Oscar

x x x

October 9, 2018October 13, 2018

German Rex

Though the details are uncertain it is widely agreed that the curly coated German Rex is one of the oldest of the Rex cats. In around 1930 an ancestor of the modern German Rex breed was kept by a woman called Frau Erna Schneider in Konigsberg, Germany (Kaliningrad, Russia).

The name of this cat was Kater Munk and he was said to be the offspring of a Russian Blue and a mahogany coloured Angora.

Our cat Kater was then, the earliest recorded example of a Rex cat, and was referred to at the time as a Prussian Rex.

Cat of the Month ~ October 2018

Kater Munk, One for the ladies it appears.

It is accepted that the German Rex of today is a direct descendent of Kater Munk. Many cats of this type were bred from Munk in and around Konigsberg, until his death in 1945, but interestingly none of these offspring would have had curly fur – as the allele (genes) of Munk’s straight-haired mates would always dominate. The Schneiders nevertheless valued this strong tom cat with a talent for catching fish from the family’s garden pond.

Feline researchers do not generally consider Kater Munk to be related to the German Rex breed, and state that he was never bred from (this seems at odds with the other stories that he was a prolific breeder, Ed). Anyway, it was reported that in the summer of 1951 a black curly coated cat was noticed and taken in by Dr. Rose Scheuer-Karpin from the grounds of Hufeland Hospital in Berlin. The cat, was renamed Lammchen (little lamb) and subsequently went on to have several litters of kittens.

It was in 1956 that Dr Rose decided to mate Lammchen to one of her sons (Fridolin). This resulted in a litter of curly coated kittens. Some people have speculated that Lammchen is a descendant of Kater Munk, but we will never know the truth for certain. However Dr. Rose’ supposition that Lammchen must have been the result of a mutation, was shown to be correct. Thus, Lämmchen was the first breeder-owned Rex-type cat and the maternal ancestor of all the current German Rex cats.

Today the descendants of Lammchen and Fridolin are the founders of the German Rex breed, though further cross breeding to other mixed breed cats has increased the gene pool considerably.

The German Rex is a medium-sized breed with slender legs of a medium length. The head is round with well-developed cheeks and large, open ears. The eyes are of medium size set in colours often related to the coat colour. The coat is silky and short with a tendency to curl of course. The whiskers also curl though less strongly than in the Cornish Rex. All colours of coat, including white, are allowed. The body development is also much sturdier than in the Cornish Rex.
On the whole German Rex are friendly creatures. They are lively, playful, and intelligent and bond with people well.

As already stated, it is not known how Lämmchen relates to Munk, only that the German Rex mutation (on the same gene as in the Cornish Rex) – is recessive, meaning it will only show when both alleles are “Rex”, and that Munk is the first thoroughly documented Rex cat. So Munk is almost certainly related to all German Rex cats in the world today.

Incidentally, there are four types of Rex breeds in existence, these are the German Rex, the Cornish Rex, the Devon and the Selkirk Rex.

References: Wikimedia Commons & Others

July 22, 2018July 5, 2020

Highlander Cat

The agile and stocky Highlander Cat (known originally as the Highland Lynx or Highlander Shorthair), is an experimental breed of cat
derived from the Desert Lynx and the Jungle Curl breeds. The Jungle Curl itself is a new breed of feline derived from ‘wild cat’ ancestry –
namely two Asian small cat species, the Leopard cat and the Jungle cat). No wonder then that the Highlander was bred to look like a ‘Big Cat’
in minature.

Cat of the Month ~ July 2018

In ‘expert’ speak the highlander is a ‘feline hybrid’ or ‘cross’ between Felis catus × F. chaus X Prionailurus bengalensis).

According to the main breeder, the Highlander breed refinements began in 2004, with the aim of:

‘producing a domestic cat with the look of a big cat’
‘providing a means to distinguish the breed from its foundation stock’
‘to seek competition status in major breed registries’

The name Highlander was adopted in late 2005, and by May 2008 the breed was recognized by The International Cat
Association (TICA) for competition in the ‘Preliminary New Breed’ class, moving up to ‘Advanced New Breed’in 2016.

TICA divides Highlanders into two varities, under the names Highlander Shorthair (HGS) and simply Highlander (HG) for the longer-haired variation.
The breed is now classified by REFR (Rare and Exotic
Feline Registry) as part of the Desert Lynx breeding group, which also includes the Desert Lynx, the Alpine Lynx, and the Mojave Bob.

Though the Highlander is mainly of domestic stock origin it has distinct features from its composite breeds,
for example the curled ears and the bobbed tail. The curled ears are of course from the Jungle Curl cat whilst the
bobbed tail is from the Desert Lynx. In addition these cats have spotted or marbled markings, and do resemble
a small bobcat. A further unusual feature of these cats is the Polydactyl claws in which an extra and separate toes grows on each paw.

Arial - highlander cat — The Highlander ‘Arial’ with typical stubby tail
Photograph: canyonshadowhighlanders.com

The Highlander has a long sloping forehead and blunt muzzle with a very wide nose. The eyes are wide-set and the ears
are upright with a slight curl and a slight backward lilt. A strange feature whihc some of these cats posess is
polydactyl paws whihc can be described as a prominent split between toes.

Highlanders have no known health problems, and are fond of water. The body is substantial and very muscular. Females can grow to between 10 and 14 pounds, and the males between 15 and 20 (or about as heavy as a Dachshund). Despite the “big-cat look”, the Highlander is a human-oriented, friendly and playful cat, and very active and confident. The Highlander displays tabby/lynx point or solid point coloration in various colors.

Highlanders might look like minature big cats look but they are very gentle creatures (if any cat can be totally gentle)! Like many cats they are highly energetic and will chase and stalk anything moving. They are also curious and friendly when it comes to meeting human strangers

In January 2019, the TICA board will review the Highlander Breed Group’s request to advance to a Championship Breed.

Finally, for some good highlander footage (and cute~~ commentary heres a little video made in the USA by Cats101

Want to walk on the wildside? – Choose a Highlander 🙂

The Rare and Exotic Feline Registry