The history of the breed's origin, the official standard of appearance, the character of the Californian shining cat, the health of the pet, the rules for caring at home, the cost of the kitten. The California spangled cat is a representative of the huge feline world, which today has earned the status of one of the most popular and demanded pets. And this is not at all surprising, since these cats combine everything that can be called "excellent". Such animals are a prime example of how, by and large, a predator from an open nature, surrounded by love and care, can become a true loyal, devoted and benevolent friend. Cats from California are the embodiment of beauty, charm, a kind of aristocratic elegance inherent only in them and a very friendly character.
Having brought such a pet to your house, you may sometimes doubt that a cat lives with you. Representatives of this breed do not have the habit of demanding something from their owner, they will never walk around the apartment, loudly, meowing, or follow on their heels, begging for your attention. These animals, by virtue of a heightened sense of their own dignity, know how to be restrained, but as soon as you show that you are ready to play with them, they immediately join in the fun.
The story of the world meeting with the California sparkling cat
The data on the breeding of this breed is quite fascinating and may even resemble a good Hollywood movie and this is to some extent true. After all, the person who is engaged in the "development" of the Californian shining cat is none other than the famous screenwriter from Hollywood, his name is Paul Casey.
Around the mid-60s of the last century, Paul Casey arrived at the shooting of one of his paintings, the work took place on the territory of the Olduvai George Canyon, which is located on the lands of the African continent. Everything went according to plan and, it would seem, nothing could undermine the mood and fighting spirit of the team, if not for one rather sad incident. Paul Casey and his assistants by coincidence, became eyewitnesses of an extremely sad and heartbreaking spectacle, a poacher took the life of a leopard. It was not just a leopard, but the last of its kind to inhabit this canyon. This situation shocked the American screenwriter and he decided for himself that something needed to be done, you can't just forget about it. And then an interesting idea came to his head, he came up with a certain "scenario", which meant the creation of a new breed of cats, which were supposed to become a smaller copy of leopards.
Thus, the Hollywood animal advocate wanted to attract the attention of people, so that they think about the useless and merciless extermination of wild animals. Returning to his homeland, Paul Casey, wasting no time, turned for help to his friend, scientist Louis Leakey, who happily approved the idea and even took responsibility for future work.
Breeding work on the breeding of a new breed of cats began and although it seemed that all this was difficult and long, by the beginning of the 70s of the last century, kittens with a beautiful leopard "fur coat" and a sweet, friendly disposition were born.
Scientists have studied many breeds of cats during the research period, some of them were selected to participate in the program. So in the veins of the modern Californian shining cat, the blood of such breeds as the Abyssinian, Siamese, Angora, American Wirehaired, British cat and even Manx flows. In addition, the final genes of the new species come from the Egyptian and Malay spotted cats. Rumor has it that the Egyptian cat is a descendant of precisely those pets that were worshiped and idolized by the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt.
As soon as the species was finally bred, it was decided to showcase the new representative of the cat world at one of the prestigious American shows. It was there that the glowing cat from California was noticed by many influential people and soon the purrs, which are a miniature copy of wild predators, were recognized as a separate breed.
Breed appearance standard, photo of Californian shining cat
Representatives of this breed are medium-sized animals, the average body weight of an adult cat is 4–8 kg, and female individuals are always more refined and miniature.
- Head Californian shining cat is small, in shape most of all resembles an oval. The chin is strong, the cheekbones are beautifully visualized, but the purr's face looks pretty and neat. The pads under the mustache stand out well.
- Auricles medium in size, soft, set rather high on the crown of the head, the distance between them is very impressive. From the base, the ears taper slightly to a slightly rounded tip.
- Eyes The California spangled cat has a beautiful almond-shaped configuration, in relation to the general parameters of the head, the visual organs are quite large and set at a slight inclination. As for the colors of the iris of the eyes of these cats, then a riot of colors is allowed, the main condition is that the eyes and coat color should be in harmony with each other. The only disqualifying sign of the breed is green eyes.
- Neck in these, the purr is quite long, resembling a cylinder in shape.
- Torso Californian shining cat in configuration resembles a slightly elongated rectangle. The body is relatively small in size, however, it is a very strong and strong bone skeleton, covered with well-developed, relief muscle tissue.
- Limbs the duration is average, but the representatives of this breed have some peculiarities. For example, the angle between the body and the front legs should be equal to 90 degrees, thus, the gait of a California cat is always squat, because of this, it seems that the animal is constantly in readiness to attack, which further shows its resemblance to predators. Feet are oval, small but strong and firm.
- Tail process The California spangled cat is rather long and has the same diameter throughout its length. The tail is well pubescent, the length of the hairs on the balance organ of cats is almost twice as long as on the body.
- Wool Californian shining cats, although short, but at the same time thick, pleasant to the touch, but it cannot be called soft. On the belly and on the tail, the hairs are noticeably longer. Delightful gloss is characteristic.
- Color. According to the breed standard, approximately eight color variations of the California Shining Cat are allowed. Among them, the following are noted: bronze, silver, silver-anthracite, golden, red and blue. Color options are also distinguished, such as the snow leopard and the royal shining leopard. It is interesting that kittens most often come to the world in a black "fur coat", and after a while their fur is transformed and shows all its charm and originality.
As for the drawings on the body of the animal, the standard of the species allows for figures resembling a circle, triangle and square, but always with smooth and slightly rounded outlines. Also often there are spots on the chest, legs and on the head, painted in dark tones. Any ornament on the body should be clear, without any blur or veil. In addition, all the elements of the pattern perfectly contrast with the base color tone.
Character of cats of breed California spangled cat
Despite the delightful appearance of a predatory animal, the Californian shining cat knows how to be cute, gentle and affectionate. These pets adapt very quickly, both to new living conditions and to the people who surround them. These purrs never give their love and attention to someone alone, their good nature is enough evenly for all family members, but at the same time they do not seem and are not intrusive.
By their nature, these cats are very active and agile, it is easy to interest them with some kind of toy. They are very fond of high corners of your house, for example, the top of a cabinet or refrigerator; these leopard furries usually use such areas as an observation platform. If you do not like the fact that the animal climbs somewhere under the ceiling, then you can be sure that it is useless to fight this, such is their nature. The best option would be to provide your pet with a variety of toys and paraphernalia for climbing, it can be like special shelves or even a small tree. Californian shining cats have a passion for noisy and lively toys. This simplifies the choice of entertainment for your four-legged friend, but at the same time makes it impossible for a cat to live with rodents and parrots. Sooner or later, the hunting instincts will prevail anyway, and it is not known what awaits the small animal.
It is best to choose either a dog or a cat as a companion for such a pet, no matter what breed, the "Californians" will definitely make friends with them. Representatives of this breed do not belong to those pets that can be dragged and squeezed for a long time, in this case the animal can show, though not very strong, but still aggression, sharp claws can be used. Therefore, when communicating with a cat with children, it is better to take precautions.
Californian shining cat health
At the genetic level, these animals got a fairly strong immunity and general health. With proper care, balanced nutrition and timely vaccination, the California spangled cat with a beautiful coat will delight its owner from 13 to 15 years old. But there is one problem that, even if the strong body of a cat is very hard to endure, it is helminthiasis. It is a mistake to think that if your pet does not catch mice on the street, does not eat thermally unprocessed foods, then it is protected from this kind of pathology. The thing is that even you yourself can bring elements of parasite infestation into the house where the cat lives, for example, on the soles of shoes. Therefore, it is extremely important to periodically conduct courses of anthelmintic therapy, the choice of the drug and its dosage are recommended to be discussed with the veterinarian, immediately after the specialist examines the animal and sees the results of the necessary tests. Since helminths are of different types and not all drugs act on a particular series of worms in the same way.
In addition, your pet may not really have such a disease, in this case, he will be prescribed the minimum preventive doses of drugs.
If you notice any warning signs, the Californian Shining Cat should be shown to your veterinarian immediately. The first signals that the animal is infected with parasites are a decrease in appetite, or vice versa, its uncontrolled increase, changes in the frequency of bowel movements and the nature of the stool (in some cases, you can notice an admixture of red blood in the feces, and with a prolonged and aggressive course of the disease and the worms themselves). In addition, there is a clear decrease in the activity of the pet, it becomes lethargic, sleepy and weak.
Californian shining cat care
In general, representatives of this breed do not belong to those pets for which any special care is needed. It is important not to break the rules below.
- Hygiene. The California spangled cat are very clean and do a pretty good job of caring for their fur coat and face, but they need help sometimes. In order for the leopard fur of your fluffy to shine with neat grooming, the cat needs to be combed, in the normal period it will be enough to carry out this procedure once a week, during molting it is better to comb combing up to three times a week. This should be done with a soft brush, you can alternate with a rubber glove. It is recommended to bathe this glowing California pet either as needed, or about once every two to three months. They do not really like to wash, so do not abuse it with taking a bath. With regard to the hygiene of the eyes, ears and oral cavity, then things are more serious. Wipe the eyes with a cotton pad soaked in herbal decoction, clean the ears from earwax accumulations with cotton swabs, and also brush your teeth and wipe the soft tissues of the oral cavity every day. The kitten must be taught to these procedures from the first day of your cohabitation, then the animal will be patient and understanding about this type of care.
- Nail care. The claws of the Californian shining cat are quite strong and also have a very fast growth rate, therefore, in order to preserve the integrity of the wall covering of your house and the upholstery of furniture, you will need to purchase a scratching post and teach the kitten to use this attribute from early childhood. If your pet does not react in any way to the presence of this device in the house and continues to scratch everything that catches his eye, you can drop a few small drops of valerian on the surface of the object. In addition, in the pet store you can purchase a scratching post not only in the form of a bar or a column, but also other variations, for example, with a toy attached to it, so you can interest the pet, and in the future he will combine business with pleasure, playing, grind down your claws. You can also cut the claws by a few millimeters weekly, but this must be done very carefully and with the help of a very sharp tool, so as not to split the claw and cause terrible pain to the kitten.
- Toilet. By nature, the California spangled cat is very neat and tidy, so there are no problems with litter training, but that's if you do everything right. In no case should you raise your voice to your pet, and even more so, use force. By doing this, you will not only not achieve a positive result, but easily lead to the fact that the cat will be afraid to approach his litter box. For those people who do not have the patience to explain to the animal what a "litter box" is and what to do with it, it is best to use a spray designed for toilet training.
- Nutrition. For your Californian Shining Cat to be healthy and full of strength and energy, it needs to be fed the right diet. If you prefer natural food, then the list of products for your pet should include the following: lean meats (turkey, chicken, rabbit or veal), cereals (barley, buckwheat, wheat or corn), dairy products, vegetables, sea fish, offal. River fish and milk are best avoided. It is important to regularly feed your California spangled cat with additional vitamin and mineral supplements.
If you have decided to feed your furry with ready-made food from a pet store, then for representatives of this breed it is better to choose premium or super-premium products.
Purchase and price of a Californian shining kitten
Since there are no nurseries of this breed either on the territory of our country, or in cities near the neighboring states, it is necessary to bring such a charming purr from overseas, therefore, its cost will be quite high. The approximate price of a purebred pedigree kitten of this breed with a package of all the necessary documents is 100,000-115,000 rubles.
