Thursday, April 23, 2009

Culture Lesson - Class #1012

Bevie wasn't going to have me post today, but I won out. It's important that we retain our culture.

The information for this post has been taken from this site.

California Spangled Cat

(picture taken from this site)

History
California Spangled is a recent breed. It was developed in 1980s by a California breeder, Paul Casey who wanted to create a domestic breed similar to endangered spotted wildcats. A complex breeding program including an Abyssinian-domestic shorthair cross, a British Shorthair, an American Shorthair, a feral cat from Cairo, a spotted Manx, and a Siamese produced the desired results after eleven generations. Presently, the breed is registered with the The International Cat Association (TICA) and is slowly working its way toward Championship status with TICA and the ACA.


Appearance
California Spangled Cats are large, well-muscled cats. They have prominent cheekbones and pale, well-developed whisker pads. The forehead is slightly rounded; the eyes are almond-shaped and blue colored. The ears are rounded at the tips and set high on the head. The tail is dark-tipped and blunt. With its well-defined spots, California Spangled looks like a little leopard.


Personality
Though California Spangled is a wild looking cat, it is purely a domestic breed. They are sweet natured, intelligent and energetic. They are very devoted to their humans. They have strong hunting instincts and are easily intrigued by anything that moves. They do not demand their owner's attention.

Don't demand their owner's attention? I see two major problems here. Do you recognize them?

First, they have the ownership thing all mixed up. Humans belong to cats.

Second, what kind of cat is it that doesn't pester its humans for attention? You can't keep them trained if you just let them be. I've had to take Bevie, Spouse, and Son into paw more than once. It's hard work, but it works.

These California cats. Must be the beach air or something. At least they're colored nice.
.

4 comments:

writtenwyrdd said...

I thought I was pretty up on dog and cat breeds, but I'd never heard of this one! And I'm from California!

Bevie said...

California to Maine. I suppose you're looking at getting a Maine Coon Cat now?

writtenwyrdd said...

In a word: No. Long hair is not my favorite thing on a cat. But the cats around here are predominantly polydactyl, so there's a lot of Maine Coon running through them.

Bevie said...

I like the fluffy ones (although most cats kind of qualify for that). Yes, their hair floats around constantly, which irritated a roommate of mine. She would open the refrigerator and complain about finding cat hair. No matter how much you brush, it's always floating around.

I've heard good things about the Maine Coon.

Music to Make the Cats go Wild

Just a love song.

Musical Cats



Our Theme Song

Kitten of the Month - August

Kitten of the Month - August
Tara
Tara - Nick name 'ity-bit' because she's so tiny - just over 6 pounds. She's the most skittish of all my babies and even when being petted has the 'pet me, no don't pet me' look

Kitten of the Month - July

Kitten of the Month - July
Amelia
Amelia - Nickname 'Bratelia' since she gets into every draw, cabinet that she can put her paws in.
.

Kitten of the Month - June

Kitten of the Month - June
Sethra

“She’s got tuna. I know she’s got tuna.”

“Shut up, Sethra. Stay on mission.”

“What’s the mission? I thought the mission was to get tuna.”

“No, you stupid fluffbrain—it’s to escape and become outdoor cats, walking by ourselves, on our wild lone, waving our tails.”

“Oh, yeah? And isn’t it you, my dear stripy sister Aliera, who keeps pushing the FEED button on the printer and waiting for tuna to come out?”

“That was when I was much younger. Anyway, she’s at the computer—yes, eating tuna casserole—so we can go into the bedroom and see if we can knock the window screen out.”
“You do it, Aliera. I’d rather mess with her stuff.”

“Will you GET OVER that fixation on her wristwatch?”

“I like the feel of the Velcro on my paws. Hey! That reminds me. We’ve been declawed. How are we going to survive as outdoor cats?”

“New plan coming up….”

“What’s the big deal about being outside cats? Even StalkerCat, who used to hang around and chat us up, is a house cat now and loving it. We’ve got it made—food, petting, toys, valet service for the litter box, and we get to sleep on her bed twenty hours a day. And we can stick our noses up to the window and smell anything interesting going on outside. Why ruin a perfect situation?”

“Sethra, have you no sense of adventure? No curiosity? No cattitude? We were meant to live wild and free, to stalk and slay our prey, to be mistresses of the night!”

“Look, we’re cats. We were meant to rule the world, but that doesn’t mean we have to WORK at it. You can if you want, but I don’t need to. After all, I’M beautiful!

“Did I mention she’s got tuna?”

Kitten of the Month: May

Kitten of the Month: May
Caitlin
Kitten Close-Up.

Kitten of the Month: April

Kitten of the Month: April
Mikey
At 8, you'd think Mikey would understand that he's a carnivore. But, no, he's rather fond of the shrubbery! At 20+ pounds, the veggie-enhanced diet is likely mitigated by a love for long naps on a warm comforter, wet cat food, begging at the table, and a nice lap to drape himself upon in the evening. And he drools when he's happy, which may or may not mean there's a Siamese ancestor lurking in the old dna.

What? Green teeth attract mice!

Kitten of the Month: March

Kitten of the Month: March
Geoff
Who needs a wickerwork basket when you can hop on a cushion and bask?

Kitten of the Month: February

Kitten of the Month: February
Rufus
Rufus is clearly a cat to be reckoned with.
.

Kitten of the Month: January

Kitten of the Month: January
Firestar
Firestar is a tough cat. He has to be, living in Minnesota. He takes care of his family: wife, husband and their son. This was recently proven by his daring capture of yet another mouse in the house. Foolish rodents. They never learn. When not engaged in derring do, Firestar naps, looks out the window and sleeps. Firestar was born in April of 2006.
.