Sphynx
October 26th, 2008
Hairless cats have been described in many regions of the world, but the first successful breed was the Sphynx. The earliest Sphynx was born in 1966, and the cat was named Prune. However, Prune’s line died out without descendants. In 1967, hairless kittens, and their longhaired mother cat were rescued in Toronto. The kittens were neutered; the mother, however, had other kittens. Two were exported to Europe, where one of the kittens was bred to a Devon Rex. The cat had hairless offsprings which implied that this recessive gene was at the same locus as the Devon gene. One, named E.T., was presented by Vicki and Peter Markstein at the Madison square garden cat show in the 1980s.
The Sphynx appears to be a hairless cat, although it is not truly hairless. The skin should have the texture of Chamois leather. It may be covered with very soft hair that is often described as peach fuzz. Because the sphynx cats have no hair to keep them warm they prefer to cuddle up against other animals and people, they even tend to cuddle up and sleep with their owners under the covers. Lack of coat makes the cat quite warm to the touch. Whiskers and eyebrows may be present, either whole or broken, or may be totally absent. Their skin is the color their fur would be, and all the usual cat marking patterns (solid, point, van, tabby, tortie, etc) may be found in Sphynx too.
Sphynxes generally have wedge-shaped heads and sturdy, heavy bodies. Many cats of this breed develop pot bellies.
Sphynxes are known for their extroverted behavior. They display a high level of energy, intelligence, curiosity, and affection for their owners.
While sphynx cats lack a coat to shed or groom, they are not maintenance-free. Body oils, which would normally be absorbed by the hair, tend to build up on the skin. As a result, regular cleaning (usually in the form of bathing) is necessary; one bath a week is usually sufficient. Care should be taken to limit the Sphynx cat's exposure to outdoor sunlight at length, as they can develop a sunburn, similar to that of human exposure. In general, Sphynx cats should never be allowed outdoors unattended, as they have limited means to conserve body heat in colder temperatures, and their curious nature can take them into dangerous places or situations.
Although Sphynx cats are sometimes thought to be hypoallergenic due to their lack of coat, this is not always the case. Allergies to cats are triggered by dander, and not cat hair itself. Those with cat allergies may react worse to direct contact with Sphynx cats than other breeds. However, conflicting reports of some people successfully tolerating Sphynx cats also exist.
It has been theorized that Sphynx hairlessness might be produced by an allele of the same gene that produces the Devon Rex (re), with the Sphynx allele being incompletely dominant over the Devon allele and both recessive to the wild type. However a different genetic symbol (hr) is given to the Sphynx gene and it is more likely that these are different genes interacting with each other. Sphynx were at one time crossbred with Devon Rex, but unfortunately this led to the introduction of some genetic diseases and is now forbidden in most breed standards associations. Hereditary spasticity and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (a genetic heart defect) were introduced by the Devon Rex breed. The only allowable outcross breeds in the CFA are now the American Shorthair and Domestic Shorthair. Other associations may vary and the Russian Blue is a permitted outcross in the GCCF. In Europe mainly Devon Rex has been used for outcrosses.
In 1999 SGC Apophis Nordstrom of Classical Cats won the TICA International Alter of the Year. In 2006 SGC Classical Cats Valentino won the TICA International Cat of the year. In the Cat Fancier's Association, GC, RW, NW Majikmoon Will Silver With Age was Cat of the Year for 2006. The following year, GC, RW, NW Enchantedlair NWA Cornflake Girl was Kitten of the Year. These awards are handed out for the highest scoring cats, across all breeds during the current show seaons.
The sphynx is a type of cat, when you either love it, or not. Some people are disgusted by their look, others fall in love with this interesting creature. And, of course, those people, who suffer from allergies, see a real replacement instead of a "regular cat".
Birman cat
August 13th, 2008
The Birman is said to have originated in western Burma, and cats with similar markings are recorded in documents from ancient Thailand. One story claims that a pair was given as a gift to an Englishman named Major Gordon Russell and his friend August Pavie by the priests of the Khmer people. The exact year that he and his friend, Auguste Pavie, were actually in the Far East is a matter of dispute. It appears to have been 1898, which agrees with the historical record of certain tribal revolutions related to Buddhism and other religious factions. Some sources quote 1916 or 1919 as the dates of the revolution, but confirming any of these dates has proved questionable. It is acknowledged that Birman cats were first sent to France in 1919, therefore 1916 and 1919 may be more accurate, as the priests gave the men two Birmans in thanks for saving their sect from decimation by the Brahmins. The story is relatively hazy, but claims that two cats were sent to France in 1919 to August Pavie and Major Russell Gordon, and breeding started immediately. The male died on the voyage, but the female survived and was in kitten. However, if the revolution of the Brahmins had been in 1898 there would have been a 21-year gap before the two men received the Birmans, which seems too long to be credible.
A more likely scenario (as quoted by professor Jumand in 1926 in ‘Le Chat’), is that two cats, a male and a female (whose name was Sita), were stolen and given to an American millionaire, Mr Vanderbilt, by a disloyal servant of the temple of Lao-Tsun, whilst Vanderbilt was sailing in the Far East. It is then alleged that the pair were given to a woman called Mme Thadde Hadisch. The male (once again) died on the boat, but the pregnant female gave birth in the French town of Nice in 1920 to a litter of kittens. One of the female offspring was splendid, and was then named Poupee. Poupee was believably bred to a Laotian Lynx. Baudoin-crevoisier, who was documented as a top Birman breeder, confirmed this in an article written in 1933, “Poupee could not be bred by a male of that breed, but was bred to a Laotian Lynx cat belonging to a doctor in Nice. This type of cat resembles the Siamese, with very blue eyes, and this breeding produced young mongrels of Birmans and Laotians. Through successive breeding was born a perfect result – Manou de Madalpour, whose marks resemble her mother, Poupee.” Baudion then wrote in 1935, “This female was next bred to a male Siamese, which, at that time was baptised for the circumstances –Laotian Cat.” In 1933, Marcel Reney, who was attempting to unravel the truth of this mystery, wrote to the doctor in Nice, M. Prat. He wrote back, “We have had indeed several Siamese cats but know nothing of the origins. I know nothing of Mme Hadisch from Vienna.”
Marcel Reney also wrote to M. Guy Cheminaud, a hunter from the Far East who lived in Laos, and whose books on hunts of feral animals were illustrious, to determine what his view was on the “Lynx cat of Laos?” He replied, “There are no Laotian cats as a species distinct from the Siamese cat!”
Jumand and Baudoin’s entire history then fell through, as the most significant witness, the owner of the legendary “Laotian Cat” knew nothing of either the lynx cat or Mme Thadde Hadisch. Mmme Marcelle Adams, who owned Manou de Madalpour, avowed to Marcel Reney that a certain Mme Leotardi, before strangely vanishing, had narrated the tale as Jumand and Baudoin wrote it down. In 1933, after an article by Marcel Reney was published in “Chasse, Peche, Elevage” trying to gain new information, Baudoin wrote in 1935 in “Son Altesse le Chat”, “Aside from the writings of Sir Russell Gordon and Auguste Pavie, no document gives the exact origin of these cats. After six years of personnel research and ten years breeding in France, the Sacred Cat Of Burma remains still as mysterious about it’s origin as it was originally. No-one has produced anything of new import which I have been able to see, and as a consequence, to study.”
Nothing more can be found on the subject and there is still no proof as of who acquired the pair of cats. However, the breed known as “Sacre de Birmanie” was registered with the French Cat Registry in 1925. The Birman breed was almost wiped out during World War II. Only two cats were alive in Europe at the end of the war, a pair named Orloff and Xenia de Kaabaa, both belonging to Baudoin-crevoisier. The foundation of the breed in postwar France were offspring of this pair. Manou, Lon saito, Djaipour, Sita 1 and Sita 2, and they had to be heavily outcrossed with long-hair breeds to rebuild the birman breed. By the early 1950’s, pure birman litters were once again being produced. The restored breed was recognised in Britain in 1965 and by the American Cat Fanciers' Association in 1966.
Birmans have been bred as companions for many generations, and, as such, are very loving. They frequently take a genuine, affectionate interest in what their owners do. Birmans are typically used as show cats who travel with their owners if they are "show quality", meaning that the color of their paws (usually white) and the color of their legs must not blend or intermingle. Such an occurrence will render the Birman unshowable. Birman cats that lack show quality are regarded as pets.
Many Birman breeders follow the somewhat whimsical French tradition of assigning all kittens born in a particular year given names that begin with the same letter of the alphabet. Countries with breeders using this convention include France, UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and possibly others. Certain letters are skipped in some countries (e.g. France skips "W"). If you know the cat's country of origin, and whether the cat's breeder adheres to a country-standard or cattery-personalized naming convention, this practice makes it relatively easy to determine the approximate age of a Birman.
In the USA, for example, the entire alphabet has been run through once, ending with the letter "Z" in 2002, and beginning again with "A" in 2003. Kittens born in 2007 thus fall into the "E" year. The typical naming convention for a registered Birman in the USA is "BreederCatteryName GivenName of OwnersCatteryName" up to a maximum of 35 letters and spaces (for CFA registered cats).
Thus, for anyone familiar with Birman arcana, a registered name such as "Highbeech O'Depearl of Sacréchat" can readily be translated as a cat born to the Highbeech cattery (New Zealand) in the "D" year of Highbeech's orchid alphabetical naming convention, and subsequently imported, re-registered, owned and shown by the Sacréchat cattery (USA), with a slight name change indicating birth in the "O" year (1991) under the USA's standard alphabetical naming convention.
In Germany usually all kittens' names in the first litter of a breeder start with the letter 'A', in second litter with 'B' and so on. Not every breeder makes use of this convention, though.
Persian Cats
June 13th, 2008
Persian cats have been first brought to Europe in the XVI century from Iran. Their appearance then differed greatly from today's standard . Hundreds of years of selective breeding made Persians cobbier cats with drastically shorter muzzle. It's not clear when longhair cats (in general) first appeared, as there are no African Wildcats (believed to be ancestors of domesticated cats) with that kind of fur. There have been claims that the gene responsible for long hair was introduced through hybridization with Pallas cat. Recent research however refute this theory.
A show-quality Persian has an extremely long thick coat, short legs, a wide head with the ears set far apart, large eyes, and an extremely foreshortened muzzle. The breed was originally established with a short (but not non-existent) muzzle, but over time this feature has become extremely exaggerated, particularly in North America, and Persians with the more extreme brachycephalic head type are susceptible to a number of health problems (specifically affecting their sinuses and breathing) caused by it.
The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia) suggests that the Persian is derived from the Pallas Cat. A photograph accompanying the entry in the Encyclopædia shows a Blue Persian Cat, the conformation of which we would now call a "Doll Faced Persian" or "Traditional Persian". Early photographs and drawings from magazines show the Persian as a Traditional Persian Cat. The Persian was first registered with the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) in 1871 when the association first kept records.
Photographic records indicate that Persians, up until the 1960s, show a difference in appearance to cats of the early 1980s onwards (i.e., from the Traditional "doll face" to the "extreme", "ultra", "flat-faced" or "snubby" face of today). However, the Persian Breed Council's standard for the Persian had remained basically unchanged over this period. The Persian Breed Standard is by its nature somewhat open ended and focused on a rounded head.
It is generally accepted (and by the Breed Council) that through selective breeding, in an attempt to develop the ideal Persian appearance, the Ultra Face came about. This has been called ultra-typing. The Persian Breed Council's standard was changed during the late 1980s to limit the development of the extreme appearance. In 2007 the Persian Breed Standard was altered to reflect the flat face and it now states that the forehead, nose, and chin should be in vertical alignment.
Conscientious breeders take into account and minimize health issues by careful choice of breeding stock with more moderate head type, as the stated goal of most breeders is first and always healthy cats.
Persian cats can have any color or markings including pointed, tortoiseshell, blue, and tabby. Tipped varieties are known as Chinchilla. Point varieties are called Himalayan in the United States and Colorpoint Persian in Europe.
In the USA, there was an attempt to establish the Silver Persian as a separate breed called the Sterling, but it was not accepted and Silver and Golden longhaired cats, recognized by CFA more specially as Chinchilla Silvers, Shaded Silvers, Chinchilla Goldens or Shaded Goldens are judged in the Persian category of cat shows. In South Africa, the attempt to separate the breed was more successful: the SA Cat Council (SACC) registers cats with 5 generations of pure bred Chinchilla as a Chinchilla Longhair. The Chinchilla Longhair has a slightly longer nose than the Persian, resulting in healthy breathing and no tearing of the eyes. Its hair is translucent with only the tips carrying black pigment: a feature that gets lost when out-crossed to other colored Persians. Out-crossing also may result in losing nose and lip liner, which is a fault in the Chinchilla Longhair breed standard. One of the distinctions of this breed is the blue-green or green eyecolor only with kittens having blue or bluish purple eyecolor.
Because their fur is too long and dense for them to maintain themselves, Persian cats need regular grooming. To keep their fur in its best condition, they must be bathed regularly, dried carefully afterwards, and brushed thoroughly every day. Their eyes need to be checked for problems on a regular basis because some animals have trouble keeping them clean. Likewise, Persians are particularly susceptible to a genetic disease which causes kidney failure, PKD, Polycystic kidney disease, among other diseases. However, cats can now be DNA screened for the gene that causes PKD, so these affected cats are gradually being removed from the Persian gene pool by responsible breeders.
Longevity is usually between 10 and 18 years on average. The White persians eye-color can be orange-eyed, blue-eyed, or odd-eyed. The blue-eyed type is prone to deafness.
