Commonly cited symptoms of cat allergy are skin irritations manifesting in rashes and hives, chronic sore throat, congestion, blocked ears, asthmatic symptoms including tightening in the chest and difficulty breathing, red, watery eyes, itchiness of the nose, eyes, throat and skin, sneezing, coughing, wheezing and frequent bouts of bronchitis.
The allergen most often responsible is a protein called Fel D1 which is found in the dander and saliva of cats. The cat applies layers of Fel D1 onto its coat during each grooming session. The allergens dry and become airborne. These microscopic particles are then breathed in by the allergy sufferer. A good percentage of Siberians are low in the Fel D1 allergen and that is why they are called “hypoallergenic”.
Mindeelyn Siberians is committed to producing kittens with the lowest possible allergen level. To this end, all our adult breeders are tested and only the ones with the lowest allergen level are used in our breeding programs.
- A cat can remember up to 16 hours. A dog’s memory is only about five minutes long.
- Cats are North America’s most popular pets. There are 73 million cats compared to 63 million dogs. Over 30% of households in North America own at least one cat.
- A cat’s hearing is better than a dog. A cat can hear high-frequency sounds up to two octaves higher than a human.
- A cat can jump up to five times its own height in a single bound.
- Cats can jump and climb, giving them more options when they need to hunt for food, or when they feel threatened. Dogs are earthbound, so they need their pack to hunt effectively.
- Cats manage to do most of their grooming themselves.
- It is easier to clean a litter box than to walk a dog.
- Cats make about one hundred different sounds. Dogs make only about ten.
- Cats keep pests away.
- Cats don’t slobber.
- Cats have much better night vision than dogs. In the dark, their eyes become more like “ears”. Their pupils can pick up acoustic vibrations.
- Cats only need a litter box. They litter box train themselves very quickly. Dogs need weeks of house training.
- Cats don’t take up much space.
- Cats are generally more affordable.
- Cats are perfectly content indoors.
- Cats are quieter.
- Kittens are less work than puppies.
Sincerely
The Cat
- First …… dress properly for the occasion. A four-ply rubber wet suit is recommended; along with a helmet, face mask and welder’s gloves.
- A bathtub with a glass enclosure is preferred to one with a shower curtain. An irate cat can shred a curtain in about 3.5 seconds.
- Have a bottle of Kitty Bubbles and a towel in the enclosed bathtub area beforehand. Blow drying the cat after a bath is not recommended.
- Draw the water, making it a little warmer than needed as you still have to hunt down the cat. Position everything strategically in the shower so you can reach it even if you are face down in the tub.
- Find the cat. It is highly recommended that you use the element of surprise. Pick the cat up, nonchalantly as if you were simply carrying him to the supper dish. No need to worry about the cat noticing your strange attire; the cat barely notices you anyways.
- Once you and the cat are inside the bathroom speed is essential. In one single liquid motion shut the door to the bathroom, step into the shower, close the sliding doors and drop the cat into the water. While the cat is still in a state of shock, locate the Kitty Bubbles and squirt whatever part of him that is above the water line. You have just begun the wildest 45 seconds of your life. Remember that cats have no handles and he now has soapy, slippery fur. His state of shock has worn off and he is now madder than hell.
- As best you can, wearing welder’s gloves, try to field his body as he catapults through the air towards the ceiling. If possible, give another squirt of Kitty Bubbles with his body now exposed.
- During the five seconds you are able to hold onto him, rub vigorously. No need to worry about rinsing. As he slides down the glass enclosure into the tub, he will fall back into the water, rinsing himself in the process.
- Only attempt the lather and rinse process about three times. The cat will realize the lack of traction on the glass by then and will use the next attempt on your first available body part.
- By this stage, you are worn out and the cat has just become semi-permanently affixed to your right leg. It is suggested here that you drain the tub and in full view of your cat, reach for the bottle of Kitty Bubbles.
- If you have done the above correctly, the cat will be off your leg and hanging precariously from your helmet. Although this view of the cat is most disgusting, he will be in a much better position for wrapping the towel around him.
- Be sure the cat is firmly wrapped in a towel before opening the tub enclosure. Open bathroom door… put the towel-wrapped cat on the floor and step back quickly into the tub, if possible. Do not open enclosure until all you can see is the shredded towel.
- In about 2 hours… it will be safe to exit the bathroom. Your cat will be sitting out there somewhere looking like a small hedgehog while plotting revenge. But doesn’t he smell better?????
Pet lovers like to treat their animals as members of the family but giving your cat a little treat can lead to health issues. There are a few misconceptions about what cats can and can’t digest. For example, a lot of people still believe that cats like drinking milk even though most cats are lactose intolerant. Cows’ milk can leave cats with stomach cramps and diarrhea, but the seven human foods looked at here can have bigger ramifications for your cat’s health.
CHOCOLATE
There’s no better treat for a person than chocolate but it’s poisonous for cats. That’s because the delicious brown stuff we all enjoy eating is full of methylxanthines. If your cat eats chocolate, the symptoms include muscle tremors, abdominal pain, and high body temperature. If you think your cat has eaten chocolate, look for vomiting, diarrhea, and increased thirst. Your cat could suffer from a seizure so make sure you don’t expose your pet to chocolate.
ALCOHOL
No responsible pet owner is going to give their cat a sip of alcohol but a spilled drink could be lapped up by your cat. If a cat ingests some alcohol, they will vomit and have diarrhea. They’ll be disorientated and have trouble breathing. Your cat will tremor and could fall into a coma as a result of ingesting alcohol. If that happens, there’s a good chance your cat will pass away. If you think your cat has ingested alcohol, take it to the vet immediately.
GRAPES AND RAISINS
A grape could easily fall onto the floor and into the eye line of a cat, but there’s a very real danger to the cat if they consume grapes or raisins. Even the smallest amount can cause vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, but they’re the least worrying symptoms. A cat that eats grapes could end up with kidney failure. Even the smallest amount will make your cat ill so make sure raisins and grapes are out of your cat’s reach.
ONIONS, GARLIC, SCALLIONS, GREEN TOMATOES, RAW POTATOES AND SHALLOTS
Take care when chopping onions so that you don’t unwittingly leave slices that your cat could ingest. Onions, garlic, scallions, and shallots damage a cat’s red blood cells, which can lead to anemia. They’re normally only poisonous if taken in large quantities but be careful not to expose your feline friend to concentrated forms of garlic and onion. Even an onion soup mix can be poisonous to a cat. Your cat will be lethargic, weak, and have a reduced appetite. You might also notice pale gums, and the cat’s urine will be an orange to red color.
RAW EGGS
Your cat could contract salmonella or E. Coli if they consume raw eggs. Your pet will be lethargic, have diarrhea and vomiting will soon follow. Both salmonella and E. Coli can be transmitted to humans so make sure you wash your hands well after cooking. Keeping your cat away from raw food is a good way of protecting them from salmonella and E. Coli, but you should also keep them away from raw bones as they can choke on them.
DOG FOOD
Feeding dog food, even high quality, can cause malnutrition.
RAW FISH
Cats love fish, but it’s not safe for them. Raw fish can poison cats because of the bacteria carried within it. Raw fish also takes the vitamin thiamine away from your cat, which it’s essential for them to maintain. If the vitamin is missing, the cat can have neurological problems. If your cat has ingested raw fish, they’ll lose their appetite. Seizures and death are the worst possible outcomes of a cat eating raw fish.
OTHER ABSOLUTE NO-NO’S
TYLENOL AND ASPIRIN
MOST COMMON HOUSEPLANTS
BATHROOMS
Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare.
DOORS
Do not allow any closed doors in any room. To get door open, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an “outside” door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, and snow or mosquito season.
CHAIRS AND RUGS
If you have to throw up, get to a chair or bed quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, shag is good. When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you walk backward so that the upchuck is as long as a human’s bare foot.
HAMPERING
If one of your humans is engaged in some activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called “helping”, otherwise known as “hampering”. Following are the rules for “hampering”:
- When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted.
- For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself.
- For paperwork, lie on the work in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work as possible. Pretend to doze but every so often reach out and slap the pencil or pen.
- For people paying bills or working on income taxes or Christmas cards, keep in mind the aim: to hamper! First, sit on the paper being worked on. When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. After being removed for the second time, push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table, one at a time.
- When a human is working at the computer, jump up on the desk, walk across keyboard, bat at mouse pointer on screen and then lay in human’s lap across arms, hampering typing in progress.
- When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. Humans love to jump.
BED TIME
Always sleep on the human at night so he/she cannot move around.
LITTER BOX
When using the litter box, be sure to kick as much litter out of the box as possible. Humans love the feel of kitty litter between their toes.
HIDING
Every now and then, hide in a place where the humans cannot find you. Do not come out for three to four hours under any circumstances. This will cause the humans to panic (which they love) thinking that you have run away or are lost. Once you do come out, the humans will cover you with love and kisses and you will probably get a treat.
ONE LAST THOUGHT
Whenever possible, get close to a human, especially their face, turn around, and present your butt to them. Humans love this, so do it often. And don’t forget the guests.
A Siberian kitten is one of the most energetic and entertaining cats around. Playing is an important part of its life. Not only is it doing what comes naturally, but also this daily exercise is vital to its happiness and health. It will enjoy demonstrating its energy and physical abilities to you. It loves to role-play: stalking, pursuing, running, climbing and jumping are all natural genetic traits of your cat. It will always find that high spot in your house and will love to rest up there after periods of energetic activity. Carpeted climbing and scratching posts are extremely valued possessions and really are not that hard to make.
Siberians are quite intelligent. They learn quickly and as you introduce them into your family, please remember that how you play with them as tiny kittens will be remembered and they will expect to do the same as large adults. Playtime is a very important bonding time for you and your new Siberian baby. Your hands should always be looked at as symbols of affection and not objects to chase and bite. We never play with our kittens using our hands, fingers or toes. We feel that there are so many great toys available for them to pounce on and sink their sharp little teeth and claws into that they do not need to use our body parts.
If you choose to place your kitten on his back and gently roll him from side to side, please know that he will respond by embracing your hand with his claws – kicking and biting. Your kitten will continue this behavior with you regardless of his age. What is cute as a kitten can become quite uncomfortable as your baby grows into an adult. Do not ever underestimate the power or strength of a cat.
Toys
Mindeelyn kittens love all toys, but here are some favorites
- Teasers–feather, fur, ribbons, streamers, rattles anything on a long slender stick.
- Balls – ping pong, plastic, crumpled paper, crinkle balls, and rattle balls. Always be sure a ball is not so small that a kitten might be able to swallow it.
- Flyers – a toy on a small pole and line.
- Lasers – often available at an office supply store (laser point for presentations). Be careful not to point directly in the eyes. Great for exercise. Run the light under the couch, up the wall, across the ceiling. Remember to let the kitten catch it. If you turn it off just as the kitten puts his paws on the light he will think he has captured it. Make sure that the kitten does not jump too high as he can hurt his back.
- Cat Track – big round plastic track with a ball inside.
- Cat Dancer – the ultimate in cat toys. Several pieces of coiled cardboard on the end of a wire.
Don’t forget the homemade favorites –
- Paper Bags and Card Boxes. Make sure the boxes did not previously contain vegetables or fruit and there may be pesticide residue inside the box.
- Crumpled Paper
- Shoes – especially with laces
- Plastic Bottle Caps – for cat hockey
The more variety of toys in your kitten’s life; the more he will make you laugh.
Toy Safety
Toys should have any parts or decorations removed from them that a kitten might swallow. Plastic eyes, ears, noses on a toy mouse can be pulled off in play and ingested. Examine all toys for possible danger in the same way you would do for a human baby. Never give a kitten a toy that is small enough to swallow. This can include such things as pennies, caps to very small bottles, Q-tips, thread, elastics, hair ties, etc.
Leslie A. Lyons, an assistant professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, explains.
Over the course of evolution, purring has probably offered some selective advantage to cats. Most felid species produce a “purr-like” vocalization. In domestic cats, purring is most noticeable when an animal is nursing her kittens or when humans provide social contact via petting, stroking or feeding.
Although we assume that a cat’s purr is an expression of pleasure or is a means of communication with its young, perhaps the reasons for purring can be deciphered from the more stressful moments in a cat’s life. Cats often purr while under duress, such as during a visit to the veterinarian or when recovering from injury. Thus, not all purring cats appear to be content or pleased with their current circumstances. This riddle has led researchers to investigate how cats purr, which is also still under debate.
Scientists have demonstrated that cats produce the purr through intermittent signaling of the laryngeal and diaphragmatic muscles. Cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern and frequency between 25 and 150 Hertz. Various investigators have shown that sound frequencies in this range can improve bone density and promote healing.
This association between the frequencies of cats’ purrs and improved healing of bones and muscles may provide help for some humans. Bone density loss and muscle atrophy are serious concerns for astronauts during extended periods at zero gravity. Their musculo-skeletal systems do not experience the normal stresses of physical activity, including routine standing or sitting, which requires strength for posture control.
Because cats have adapted to conserve energy via long periods of rest and sleep, it is possible that purring is a low energy mechanism that stimulates muscles and bones without a lot of energy. The durability of the cat has facilitated the notion that cats have “nine lives” and a common veterinary legend holds that cats are able to reassemble their bones when placed in the same room with all their parts. Purring may provide a basis for this feline mythology.
The domestication and breeding of fancy cats occurred relatively recently compared to other pets and domesticated species, thus cats do not display as many muscle and bone abnormalities as their more strongly selected carnivore relative, the domestic dog. Perhaps cats’ purring helps alleviate the dysplasia or osteoporotic conditions that are more common in their canid cousins. Although it is tempting to state that cats purr because they are happy, it is more plausible that cat purring is a means of communication and a potential source of self-healing.
The number of requests I receive to visit my cattery is steadily climbing as more and more people hear about the hypo-allergenic quality of Siberians and their wonderful personality.
Most people who enquire about a visit do not understand the investment each breeder has in their cattery. I pay between $3,000 and $4,000 for each cat in my programme. That does not include transportation to bring the cat in (usually hand carried from Europe), sales tax upon entering Canada and three rounds of veterinarian checks; one by the breeder’s vet, one by the Canadian government and an extensive one done by my vet. The cost of my vet‘s exam includes blood, urine and feces testing and off-site isolation until all tests come back with negative results. Even a small reputable breeder with only four females and one male usually has made an investment of over $18,000.00.
Every person entering a cattery has the potential of bringing in disease. Even stopping at a farm stand at the side of the road can bring in new germs, viruses, ringworm, etc. Some things are airborne and can be transferred just by clothing. Walking across a neighbour’s lawn or petting a friend’s cat can be potentially dangerous to a breeder. When I take my cats and kittens to a vet, I NEVER allow anyone but the staff to touch them. My vet knows that when I enter his establishment, I expect to be ushered immediately into an empty exam room. I do not wish to sit with my cats and kittens in a waiting room where there are potentially sick cats. If I do not see the technician clean down the examining table, I do it myself. I NEVER touch anyone else’s cats at any time for any reason. I shop only at pet stores that do not have live animals.
Our cats only really know my immediate family and me. While some enjoy the company of strangers, many do not; especially cats that are close to giving birth and mothers with kittens they feel the need to protect.
For all these reasons, we very strictly limit the number of people entering our cattery. We do not wish to have anyone here who has had access to a cat within the last 48 hours. We do not want anyone to come wearing clothes that they wore when interacting with another cat. We will not allow anyone to touch more than one litter. Access to adult cats is very limited. We no longer allow anyone to walk through the main part of our cattery.
We love our kittens dearly but we love our breeders even more. They are beloved members of our family and many of them were entrusted to us by other responsible breeders who expect us to protect them.
Any returned kitten represents a risk to the health of the entire cattery. This is the reason why we do not refund the deposit we receive on a kitten. Most of the deposit money is eaten up by vet expenses, testing and boarding the cat until we are sure that all the test results have come back negative.
It is a common belief that a buyer should get a tour of the cattery and meet all the breeding cats but this is something we are not longer willing to do. We will provide pictures of the parents, we are willing to spend time talking about our practises and beliefs, health issues and our contract, but other than that we must ask you to follow your instinct as to whether our cattery is a good place to purchase a kitten.
Keeping strict control allows us to have a healthier cattery and to hopefully be able to narrow down and isolate a problem, should one develop.
We hope that you can understand our point of view
Mindeelyn Siberians
Over and over, every year, we come into contact with people who have been scammed when they tried to purchase a kitten. We have even met several people who have been scammed more than once. The Better Business Bureau estimates that 80 percent of sponsored search links for pet sales may be fraudulent; advertising animals the supposed sellers don’t own. Pet scams hook consumers with adorable photos and heart-tugging tales of critters in need of forever homes. Do not depend on references given to you but the seller. His list of buyers could very well include his mother, brother, sister and best friend.
TICA has a very in-depth article that is well worth reading on pet scammers; how to identify them and how to avoid getting caught in their web of lies.
Once you have found an actual breeder, your next step is to identify whether this person is ethical or not and whether your chances will be good that you will receive a heathy, well-socialized kitten. It is not that difficult to spot a scammer on line if you are aware of the red flags.