2 different breeds of cats = OK? And other cat questions
- Thread starter sunama
- Start date
The only reason why I've gone for a pedigree breed is because I know that I will be living with them for about the next 15yrs or so. Hence, its a massive committment. I want to make sure I am totally happy with the cats/kittens that I am going with. Its important that my cats/pets be very fit, slim and sharp. I dont care for the"cute" factor and at no stage do I wish to put the cat in my lap. Bengals and even Egyptian Maus are known to be cats that are very active and athletic and arent particularly happy in people's laps.
If however, you are someone who doesnt mind about the breed, then I dont see any real need to go the pedigree route. You can find very young cats in shelters who will be very cute, in fact more cuter looking than pedigree kittens. I would positively encourage someone to save their money (pedigree cats cost a lot) and go the rescue shelter route, as you are almost certainly saving a cat from being put down.
If I could find a Bengal or Egyptian Mau kitten/cat from a rescue shelter, I would. The problem is, these pedigree breeds are rarely available.
PS. If you like cute kittens, they have a look at the Maine **** breed. Those kittens are super cute and fluffy.
Thread revival time.
So, after a relentless search, I managed to finally hunt down the playmate for the Bengal (coming home on May 3rd).
He shall be a bronze Egyptian Mau. I visited the breeder, in Ipswich, which turned out to be an adventure as I got stranded (missed the last train back to London) and had to stay overnight in a hotel.
Anyway, here are 2 piccies I took of him, during the viewing. It wasnt easy to get him to stay in one place, so the breeder had to grab him by the back of the neck:
He was the only male left, but his personality suited me down to a tee: he was very very active and seemed to be the dominant one of the litter as he was chasing all the other kittens around. He was also determined to chew my shoelaces. He seemed to have no fear at all, just like the Bengal I chose earlier.
While there, I discovered just how fast these cats are. These are reputed to the be the fastest of all domestic cats and they all had rapid reflexes. The 1yr old Egyptian Mau who was also for sale, was huge, fast and didnt realise his own strength.
If you like placid, slow, lap-cats, DONOT go for the Egyptian Mau, as when they are younger, they can be a handful. The breeder had a 9yr old Mau and even he was competing/jumping for the cat toy that I was moving around.
So, after a relentless search, I managed to finally hunt down the playmate for the Bengal (coming home on May 3rd).
He shall be a bronze Egyptian Mau. I visited the breeder, in Ipswich, which turned out to be an adventure as I got stranded (missed the last train back to London) and had to stay overnight in a hotel.
Anyway, here are 2 piccies I took of him, during the viewing. It wasnt easy to get him to stay in one place, so the breeder had to grab him by the back of the neck:
He was the only male left, but his personality suited me down to a tee: he was very very active and seemed to be the dominant one of the litter as he was chasing all the other kittens around. He was also determined to chew my shoelaces. He seemed to have no fear at all, just like the Bengal I chose earlier.
While there, I discovered just how fast these cats are. These are reputed to the be the fastest of all domestic cats and they all had rapid reflexes. The 1yr old Egyptian Mau who was also for sale, was huge, fast and didnt realise his own strength.
If you like placid, slow, lap-cats, DONOT go for the Egyptian Mau, as when they are younger, they can be a handful. The breeder had a 9yr old Mau and even he was competing/jumping for the cat toy that I was moving around.
Associate
- Joined
- 29 Sep 2004
- Posts
- 906
- Location
- Newcastle upon Tyne
That Mau looks really lovely, as do those two Siamese. My parents always had Siamese which I loved, but am hooked on Burmese now.
Yeah that mau is really cool! Never knew of that breed.
and yup my siamese are cats of the world. Bought them on the net, LOL, shipped them from Florida to California, drove down there from Oregon to pick them up...then 2 years later flew them all the way over here! I'm sure it was not an enjoyable experience for them so I hope they won't have to fly again anytime soon.
and yup my siamese are cats of the world. Bought them on the net, LOL, shipped them from Florida to California, drove down there from Oregon to pick them up...then 2 years later flew them all the way over here! I'm sure it was not an enjoyable experience for them so I hope they won't have to fly again anytime soon.
Those Siamese cats look extremely well-behaved. Even as kittens they dont look too mischievious; the same of which, cannot be said about the Egyptian Mau and Bengal breeds. The female actually does look very feminine 
I was initially looking at a Maine ****, which is actually very similar to the Norwegian Forest Cat. They are both big cats with long hair. However, what put me off of the Maine **** was its long hair - I wouldnt be happy having cat hair all over my clothing. The Egyptian Mau and Bengal have shorter hair and as a result wont cause too much (hair) mess on the carpets, furniture and clothes.
The Norwegian Forest Cat and Maine **** are amongst the biggest cats in the world, are well-behaved and laid back. Even when they are fending off big animals, they stand their ground and dont run around like crazy. Here is a nice video of a Maine **** facing off with an American Pitbull Terrier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNvlssMR-rM
Observe the size of the Maine ****.
Here is a video of an Egyptian Mau:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyn4W0DHDBg
It gives you an idea of just how fast it can move. In fact, I have many squirrels that visit my back garden and even they dont move as quickly as that.
EDIT: Norwegian Forest Cat:
I was initially looking at a Maine ****, which is actually very similar to the Norwegian Forest Cat. They are both big cats with long hair. However, what put me off of the Maine **** was its long hair - I wouldnt be happy having cat hair all over my clothing. The Egyptian Mau and Bengal have shorter hair and as a result wont cause too much (hair) mess on the carpets, furniture and clothes.
The Norwegian Forest Cat and Maine **** are amongst the biggest cats in the world, are well-behaved and laid back. Even when they are fending off big animals, they stand their ground and dont run around like crazy. Here is a nice video of a Maine **** facing off with an American Pitbull Terrier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNvlssMR-rM
Observe the size of the Maine ****.
Here is a video of an Egyptian Mau:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyn4W0DHDBg
It gives you an idea of just how fast it can move. In fact, I have many squirrels that visit my back garden and even they dont move as quickly as that.
EDIT: Norwegian Forest Cat:
Last edited:
I don't have any pics of one I'm afraid, I've just known a few through their owners and they seem like awesome cats.
A few 'official' pics:
?Glad you’re still keeping this thread alive!
Although some of my comments will be slightly irrelevant, I must’ve missed the previous updates, so may as well add my thoughts now. We’ve had cats in the family for years, generally ‘house’ cats, but we were offered a Silver tabby show cat kitten as a gift from a friend a few years ago.
Although it was strongly recommended that we kept him indoors, we decided against it as we’ve always let our cats roam around. In the 14 years he was alive, he absolutely loved being outside and we never encountered any problems by letting him do so. It helps that we live in a good neighbourhood I suppose, and luckily we moved soon after we got him to a very quiet road, so we weren’t concerned with that.
As a long-hair variety he was VERY hard to look after, my sister had to brush him pretty much every couple of days, and in the occaisions that she didn’t do this, his coat became matted, and in one instance he had to be partly shaved by the vet!
Having hair around the house will always be an issue with cats though, we’ve got two at the moment, and they certainly know how to shed!
Our previous house was located on a busy road, and a previous cat of ours was run over and eventually died of his injuries, so I would be very nervous about owning a cat in that situation again.
If you’re fortunate to live somewhere quiet, then I would always recommend letting a cat out – they’re natural hunters and love being able to explore and prowl around, it’s in their nature!
Our current two cats are about 3 years apart in age, and are from different families. Initially we had some territorial issues, but the eldest soon got over her strop and now they co-habit very nicely. They do have some quite vigorous play-fights that can look quite vicious, but they’ve never caused any damage and they seem to get along very well.
One is a very large ginger tom, although he's been 'done' and is a large build, he can really hunt, often bringing in live mice once or twice a week. This often extends to rats (mostly dead) and birds, but he does occasionally eat them so theres not too much to clean up - this is obviously a down side to letting your cats out.
Anyway, your two exotic cats look amazing, hope all goes well, and please keep updating the thread!
Although some of my comments will be slightly irrelevant, I must’ve missed the previous updates, so may as well add my thoughts now. We’ve had cats in the family for years, generally ‘house’ cats, but we were offered a Silver tabby show cat kitten as a gift from a friend a few years ago.
Although it was strongly recommended that we kept him indoors, we decided against it as we’ve always let our cats roam around. In the 14 years he was alive, he absolutely loved being outside and we never encountered any problems by letting him do so. It helps that we live in a good neighbourhood I suppose, and luckily we moved soon after we got him to a very quiet road, so we weren’t concerned with that.
As a long-hair variety he was VERY hard to look after, my sister had to brush him pretty much every couple of days, and in the occaisions that she didn’t do this, his coat became matted, and in one instance he had to be partly shaved by the vet!
Having hair around the house will always be an issue with cats though, we’ve got two at the moment, and they certainly know how to shed!
Our previous house was located on a busy road, and a previous cat of ours was run over and eventually died of his injuries, so I would be very nervous about owning a cat in that situation again.
If you’re fortunate to live somewhere quiet, then I would always recommend letting a cat out – they’re natural hunters and love being able to explore and prowl around, it’s in their nature!
Our current two cats are about 3 years apart in age, and are from different families. Initially we had some territorial issues, but the eldest soon got over her strop and now they co-habit very nicely. They do have some quite vigorous play-fights that can look quite vicious, but they’ve never caused any damage and they seem to get along very well.
One is a very large ginger tom, although he's been 'done' and is a large build, he can really hunt, often bringing in live mice once or twice a week. This often extends to rats (mostly dead) and birds, but he does occasionally eat them so theres not too much to clean up - this is obviously a down side to letting your cats out.
Anyway, your two exotic cats look amazing, hope all goes well, and please keep updating the thread!
Last edited:
We've got a PixieBob, yes, sounds strange, but they're a breed which was a result of a house cat named Pixie mating with a Bobcat 
Not cheap, at around £1000 each, but when talking to the breeder, everyone that she has ever sold stays in the house, ours is the only one to go outside... he grows for 2-2.5 years, and is 50% bigger than a normal house cat, but he's awesome
You wouldn't tell at the minute that he was special as he's only a year old and about the same size as a normal cat, unless you stroked him, where upon you'd notice the brilliant fur coat.
He was desperate to get out as a kitten, tearing around the house, as soon as he was let out, he calmed down. Of course we got him chipped, and a little tracker put on his collar incase he doesn't come in, only allowed out during daylight, comes home around 4-5pm at the moment
I just can't imagine a house cat...
nEDIT: If you find pics of them, you'll notice their huge bear like jazz hands, jet black
Not cheap, at around £1000 each, but when talking to the breeder, everyone that she has ever sold stays in the house, ours is the only one to go outside... he grows for 2-2.5 years, and is 50% bigger than a normal house cat, but he's awesome
You wouldn't tell at the minute that he was special as he's only a year old and about the same size as a normal cat, unless you stroked him, where upon you'd notice the brilliant fur coat.
He was desperate to get out as a kitten, tearing around the house, as soon as he was let out, he calmed down. Of course we got him chipped, and a little tracker put on his collar incase he doesn't come in, only allowed out during daylight, comes home around 4-5pm at the moment
I just can't imagine a house cat...
nEDIT: If you find pics of them, you'll notice their huge bear like jazz hands, jet black
The problem is that any exotic looking cats, will almost certainly get nicked. In my life, I have NEVER seen an exotic looking cat on the street.
The pixiebob has the look of a "normal" cat, so wont stand out too much. Though as it grows and begins look less "normal", there will be a temptation for someone to steal it.
If I had a pixiebob, I would definitely not let it out, as eventually, it will either get run over or stolen. At one stage, I was researching the pixiebob, but decided against it due to it being so difficult to get hold of.
The best looking, most exotic cats are those that are most likely to get stolen. The ugliest, most common looking cats wont have that problem.
Right now I'm thinking of getting my garden cat proofed, which will be a major task. The alternative, is to build them a little cat-run. I havent decided yet.
Ive also read that pedigree cats are less likely to be able to fight disease (from eating rats and pigeons), as their genes are not sourced from a wide heritage. The rarer breeds are typically "line bred" to ensure the survival of the species.
Gurusan, do you allow your exotic cats out?
The pixiebob has the look of a "normal" cat, so wont stand out too much. Though as it grows and begins look less "normal", there will be a temptation for someone to steal it.
If I had a pixiebob, I would definitely not let it out, as eventually, it will either get run over or stolen. At one stage, I was researching the pixiebob, but decided against it due to it being so difficult to get hold of.
The best looking, most exotic cats are those that are most likely to get stolen. The ugliest, most common looking cats wont have that problem.
Right now I'm thinking of getting my garden cat proofed, which will be a major task. The alternative, is to build them a little cat-run. I havent decided yet.
Ive also read that pedigree cats are less likely to be able to fight disease (from eating rats and pigeons), as their genes are not sourced from a wide heritage. The rarer breeds are typically "line bred" to ensure the survival of the species.
Gurusan, do you allow your exotic cats out?
