You Talkin' To Me??

Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
That does not look like a healthy cat.

I've long understood that some Persians were unusually prone to upper-respiratory issues, due to the distortion of their faces. The cat pictured here looks like one that is likely to be a victim of that. That's the sort of thing that happens when “show animals” get too overbred and too over-inbred.
 

zutty

Senior Member
You obviously are ignorant of the congenital issues when dealing with a severely inbred Persian showcat. It’s a losing game of catch-up in cleaning and scrubbing his eyes…At least 7 times a day! The day of this photo he had just been brought from his groomer for a lion-cut the day before. If left for his fur to grow out this boy’s weight goes from 7lbs. to 14 in 12 weeks. As I said, I clean his eyes at least every couple of hours and do the best I can. I feel he is very very happy and is treated like a king! I rescued him from an abusive lifestyle of showing and breeding that earned his owners many thousands of dollars. I, in turn spend a lot of my very limited funds on grooming and check-ups. In addition, I am a terminal leukemia patient who lives alone and he is the joy of my life. Please do not blindly critisize when ignorant of the facts!

Here is a photo of him in his "working" days...You think he looks happier here?
P8130023 by J T, on Flickr
 
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Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
You obviously are ignorant of the congenital issues when dealing with a severely inbred Persian showcat [sic]. It’s a losing game of catch-up in cleaning and scrubbing his eyes…At least 7 times a day! The day of this photo he had just been brought from his groomer for a lion-cut the day before. If left for his fur to grow out this boy’s weight goes from 7lbs. to 14 in 12 weeks. As I said, I clean his eyes at least every couple of hours and do the best I can. I feel he is very very happy and is treated like a king! I rescued him from an abusive lifestyle of showing and breeding that earned his owners many thousands of dollars. I, in turn spend a lot of my very limited funds on grooming and check-ups. In addition, I am a terminal leukemia patient who lives alone and he is the joy of my life. Please do not blindly critisize [sic] when ignorant of the facts!

I definitely do not mean any criticism of you. My criticism is toward a segment of society that creates “show animals” by breeding to emphasize certain characteristics deemed “desirable” in certain breeds, with little regard for the health and well-being of the resulting animals. Your cat, clearly is a product of this, and a victim of this. You are to be commended for taking this cat in, and providing the extraordinary care that he requires, as a result of the defects that have been carelessly bred into him.

I really became aware of this, a few years ago, when my previous cat passed away, and we got, as his successor, what we thought was a Siamese. On doing a bit of Googling, I found out that the Siamese breed has officially been rather horribly redefined, into a degraded inbred freak breed that probably also suffers from various health issues. My cat is a healthy, happy example of what used to be called a Siamese cat. The International Cat Association (TICA) has now renamed that breed; it is now called a “Thai cat”.

Here is an example of the sort of inbred freak is now called a “Siamese” cat…

1024px-Siam-red-tabby-point.jpg


And here is my cat, Allie, not any kind of fancy, pedigreed, inbred show cat; just a happy, healthy example of what the Siamese breed use to be…

CSC_8148n.JPG CSC_0984n.JPG



Here is a photo of him in his "working" days...You think he looks happier here?
P8130023 by J T, on Flickr

Actually, he does, but going by your account of his condition, he probably never looked like that for very long at a time; and even now, with you, he probably looks like that when he has just come from the groomer; and in either instance, quickly goes to the condition in which your pictures show him.
 

zutty

Senior Member
I definitely do not mean any criticism of you. My criticism is toward a segment of society that creates “show animals” by breeding to emphasize certain characteristics deemed “desirable” in certain breeds, with little regard for the health and well-being of the resulting animals. Your cat, clearly is a product of this, and a victim of this. You are to be commended for taking this cat in, and providing the extraordinary care that he requires, as a result of the defects that have been carelessly bred into him.

I really became aware of this, a few years ago, when my previous cat passed away, and we got, as his successor, what we thought was a Siamese. On doing a bit of Googling, I found out that the Siamese breed has officially been rather horribly redefined, into a degraded inbred freak breed that probably also suffers from various health issues. My cat is a healthy, happy example of what used to be called a Siamese cat. The International Cat Association (TICA) has now renamed that breed; it is now called a “Thai cat”.

Here is an example of the sort of inbred freak is now called a “Siamese” cat…

Actually, he does, but going by your account of his condition, he probably never looked like that for very long at a time; and even now, with you, he probably looks like that when he has just come from the groomer; and in either instance, quickly goes to the condition in which your pictures show him.

I do NOT think he was happy in that picture as I know my gentle pet better than anyone. I also found other pictures in that series that show him in a cage being "judged" and manipulated. He is now, although not as spotlessly cleaned, which also is abusive, a very happy playful and sweet friend. My wife, who found and rescued him and my mother both have passed since and he is now all I have left. The 1st photo in your post almost looks like a Rex breed which is also scary. I too detest the inbreeding and treatment of "show" animals. BTW...Your Allie is beautiful!
PA170013 by J T, on Flickr
PA170015 by J T, on Flickr
PA170016 by J T, on Flickr
PA170019 by J T, on Flickr
 
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Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
One thing that seems a bit odd to me.

Not being any kind of expert on breed characteristics, there were always two traits that I always considered definitive of Siamese cats.

One is a pattern of marking that makes it appear that the cat is wearing a mask, and the other is a kink near the end of the tail. The example of a modern “Siamese” that I included lacks both of these features. I guess both these features appear in some, but not all “show-quality Siamese cats”, though I understand the tail kink is now considered an undesirable feature that they are trying to breed out. The Siamese tail kink is the stuff of legends—of epic tales of the loyal cat who guarded a king's cup, by wrapping his tail around it, to foil a plot to poison the king.


I am pleased to report that Allie has both of these traits.
 
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