Cat Party

Where did that Persian ball of fur come from?

This cat breed was originally from Persia, a country now known as Iran. Over the years selective breeding has created a large number of colours, so there’s plenty of choice. But this selective breeding has also favoured a flatter face which has related heath problems. Like a lot of cat breeds there is always a small group of dedicated breeder who’s efforts help to preserve the older type of Persian breed.

Persian Cats Common Health Problems

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The Cornish Rex Cats Coat

Unlike many other cat breeds, the Cornish Rex doesn’t have the typical coat with the 3 different types of fur, the guard hair (longest hairs), Awn hair which is medium hair and down hair which is the softest and finest off all the types of hair.  The Cornish Rex only have the down hair, which is also known as the undercoat.  Each of hair of the undercoat is waved giving an overall ripple effect on the coat.

Because they have less fur then other breeds they need to be an indoor cat and can actually end up with hypothermia if left for long periods of time outdoors in the winter, they’re just not designed for it.  Because of their lack of fur they like warm places and will automatically find warm places to curl up whether that’s on your laptop or driers, they will go where ever there is a heat source so keep them out of the kitchen when cooking. continue reading…

The Rag Doll Cat’s History

Rag doll cats first originated in 1960′s from a non pedigree cat in the US. Ann Baker had a kitten from this cats litter and decided because of their affection nature and beauty they were worthy of their own breed and created the Rag Doll breed. Ann also created her own cat registry – the International Ragdoll Cat Association and trademarked the name Rag Doll.

In 1981 the first breeding pair was exported to the UK, they were 6 month old kittens belonging to Lulu Rowley owner of the Petil-lu Cattery. While still in quarantine a litter was born on the 26th July. Lulu and her friend Pat imported another 8 rag doll cats help expand their breeding base. continue reading…

The Maine Coon breed is thought to originate from Maine, New England hence the name but there are a few interesting stories about how they got there. I’ll not mention all of them but I will write about my favourite and possibly the most believable story, plus one that reflects the thoughts of the people at the time. Traveller Captain Charles Coon who crossed the Atlantic from England always had cats on his ship. His ship eventually dock at Maine, where it’s thought that the cats disembarked the ship and mated with the local feral cats. Once the feral cats had kittens they were regarded as “one of Coon’s cats”. Other stories such as they originated from breeding cats and raccoons which is genetically impossible but understandable at the time as the tails of Maine Coon cats are very bushy like those of a raccoon.

Eventually they were seen as an official breed of cat and they were entered into cat shows in America in the late 1800′s winning many prizes such as the silver collar. This increase the Maine Coon’s popularity. However by 20th century their popularity declined, this was because other long haired cat breeds were now available. The decline in popularity was so intense that the breed was declared extinct in the 1950s. This however was seen as premature and the Central Maine Cat Club worked hard to increase their popularity. Eventually in 1985 this breed was named the official cat of the state of Maine and has become extremely popular again.

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