Conference misery::feline_v1

    abyssinians also come in fawn and blue "flavors".  i have always
    been intrigued by their looks and got a ruddy female last summer.
    she has turned out to be one of the craziest and most fun cats i
    have ever had.  she is more curious than a monkey (when young she
    even looked a good deal like a monkey, with long, spindley legs
    and a tiny body) and gets into everything.  nothing bothers her
    including two VERY friendly malamutes and one very UNfriendly older
    cat who hated anything feline.  in fact, after about 6 months of
    working at it, she finally got the older cat to play chase games
    with her.
    
    
    			georgeanne

    I ALSO HAD A VERY OLD CAT (20 YEARS OLD) WITH MY ABYSSINIANS.  I
    CAN'T SAY THAT THEY PLAYED TOGETHER, BUT THE OLDER CAT DIED LAST
    WEEKEND (sniff..sniff...) AND MY ABBYS LOOKED ALL OVER THE HOUSE
    FOR HER.  I GUESS EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS CRABBY, THEY RESPECTED HER
    AS THE "GRAND DAME OF THE MANOR".

    I was going to respond to this note last night, but was unable to,
    due to the fact that Kimi (our Abyssinian) was in a passionate mood.
    When Kimi is being affectionate, it's an all-out effort: he lies
    on his back, reaches up and touches one's face, purrs LOUDLY, smiles
    (yes, I do mean that), and treads the air in sheer delight. 
    
    I think Kimi's personality is fairly typical of the breed, though
    he is a little more shy than other Abyssinians I have come across.
    He is VERY intelligent, and VERY strong-willed. He has recently
    trained the nextdoor neighbours to get up and feed him treats every
    morning (berating them if it wasn't enough). We have had to ask
    them to stop, as he'd started refusing his meals at home, which
    were cat food as opposed to the exotic treats he was getting. He
    is very affectionate to the two of us, but shy with anyone else
    (some people have won him over a bit, but it takes a lot of effort).
    He is particularly frightened of children. He is affectionate to
    our other cat, a Burmese, and is definitely the dominant cat, though
    Sura occasionally rebels. Other cats he is inclined to be aggressive
    towards, despite being smaller than most of them.
    
    He really does have an amazing personality, quite different from
    any other cat I've ever known. He also has masses of energy, and
    gets very bored at times, especially when bad weather means he can't
    run around outside.
    
    Abyssinians are still rather rare in New Zealand; the national
    Abyssinian show each year can only gather about 30. The shortage
    is not helped by the fact that they tend to have small litters,
    and often have difficulty in giving birth (I believe this is worsened
    by the fact that there is a very large size difference between the
    males and females).
    
    As you will have gathered, we are crazy about our Abyssinian (and
    our Burmese, but they are not the subject of this note!). They are
    probably more demanding than many other cats, but they certainly
    give a lot back in terms of pleasure and affection.

    kimi sounds a lot like my agatha.  what color is he?  agatha, too,
    has masses of energy...too much at times...not helped by the fact
    that she is an indoor cat [i don't want to get into the indoor/outdoor
    controvery, but i lost my last three cats within a year; the first
    to a car, the next two to leukemia...my fiancee's cat is 6 years
    old and has always been let run outdoors...i didn't try to change
    that, but DID have her tested for leukemia (negative) and started
    on the vaccine before i got agatha.  and i promised myself that
    all future cats will be indoor!].
    
    agatha uses the rest of the household to help dissipate her
    energy...she isn't very good at playing quietly by herself.  as
    i mentioned before, she and "the old lady" chase each other wildly
    until exhausted at least once a day.  i am required to supply at
    least one session of "fetch" per day...she loves to chase a
    mini-superball and will bring it back fairly reliably until she
    gets bored or decides to take the ball downstairs to the dogs to
    play with.  perhaps her greatest delight is to have one of us pile
    all the pillows we care to collect on the bed...she then dives into
    them from the bedside table after wiggling fingers (ours and she
    is pretty careful not to scratch).  i've never before seen a cat
    who didn't mind in the least landing any-which-way-but-up...she
    just DIVES.
    
    she is also somewhat vary of strangers.  she will examine them as
    closely as she is allowed from the back of the couch or arm of the
    chair, but will usually spit and withdraw is an attempt is made
    to touch her.   she is, in fact, somewhat of a one-person cat; mine.
    she loves to play with my fiancee, and be petted by him when its
    HER idea, but i'm the only one who can pick her up and have her
    react favorably.  either of us can be and is often subjected to
    her "its five o'clock in the morning and i haven't talked to anyone
    all night and i want some attention NOW" VERY insistent purring
    and nuzzling.
    
    enough on agatha.  i have a question for aby owners.  do your aby's
    have stable intestinal systems?  mine has never had a really firm
    bowel movement in her life.  she is 15 months old and i have had
    her for almost exactly one year...i kept thinking this would get
    better as she got older.  i suppose it has, a little, but not much.
    periodically, it gets worse and i take her to the vet's again. 
    they can never find anything (and that's a couple of different vets)
    organically wrong, i feed her boiled rice for awhile and she gets
    better (but not good).  she is VERY healthy always (except for
    diarrhea) and doesn't get into anything she shouldn't (like garbage).
    she eats science diet and iams and does better on that than the
    super-market cat foods.  i guess i'm just curious as to whether other
    aby owners (or ANY cat owners, for that matter) have had this problem.
                          
    i think i'd better stop...i already wrote more than i had intended...
    
    
    			georgeanne

    I HAVE ONLY HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY OLDEST ABY.  I THINK SHE EATS TOO
    FAST, AND THEN SHE THROWS UP.  THE OTHERS ARE DELIGHTED WITH THIS,
    HOWEVER, BECAUSE THEY SEE IT AS A NICE HOT MEAL (YITCH!).  HAVE
    YOU TRIED "CD" DRY CAT FOOD?  YOU GET IT FORM THE VET, AND I HAVE
    FOUND THAT TO BE THE ONLY DRY FOOD THEY WILL EAT.
    

    re .4
    Just possibly she could have a food allegry. I'm sure you know
    that some adult cats cannot tolerate milk because they no longer
    have the enzymes to digest it.
    I had a gray tomcat who had the problem you described. It turned
    out that it was because he kept stealing the used milk filter
    papers (used to filter the milk from our goat) out of the trash
    and chew on them. Once we started putting the filters in the
    sealed garbage can the problem stopped.
    I have no idea how you would test for food allergies in a cat
    and still give it a balanced diet. With people it would involve
    going to a very simple diet and then adding one food at a time.
    Perhaps for an animal it might involve changing to a different type
    of feed. I'm sure your vet could help you set up a diet to test
    for allergies if you haven't tried that already.
    Bonnie

    Re .4
    Kimi is a Ruddy Abyssinian. I would second the previous suggestion
    of food allergies - both our cats are allergic to milk, and this
    allergy is particularly common in Abyssinians. The milk allergy
    is manifested in diarrhoea, without any other signs of ill health.
    Adult cats have no need for milk in their diet, as long as they
    get plenty of calcium (which of course good brands of cat food contain,
    even in our part of the world).
    
    Re vomiting: Kimi also is inclined to bolt his food and regurgitate
    it soon after (this is technically regurgitating rather than vomiting,
    as the food has not been at all "processed"). Sura is always obliging
    about cleaning it up (!), but we have solved the problem by not
    giving him too much at once.
    
    Kimi's favourite toy is a ping-pong ball, or rather a series of
    them, as they are inclined to disappear for months at a time. He
    will quite cheerfully wear himself out with this, although at other
    times he does insist that we join in and play with him.
    

    re .7
    I know that adult cats don't need milk. But some of them can have
    milk if they've always had it. The enzyme that digests milk will
    continue to be produced as long as there is some amount of milk
    intake. This is also true of other mammals including people.
    If I remember correctly people of northern Europian  descent  are
    unusual in that they retain these enzymes naturally to adulthood.
    Most all adult humans and mammals develop diahorrea and gas from
    milk if it has not been a part of their diet after infancy.
    Of my five cats - all but one have been exposed to small amounts
    of milk since kitten hood - primarily leftovers from breakfast
    cereal, and the leavings from filtering the goats milk. The one
    that had problems had come to us as an adult.

    
    I AM AN ABYSSINIAN AFICIONADO, AND WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY THE
    DESCRIPTION OF THE RED ABY.  A "TYPEY" RED ABY SHOULD BE POSSESSED
    OF A MUSCULAR BODY, AND THE COLOUR OR "TICKING" OF THE COAT SHOULD
    BE DEEP RED WITH BEIGE FACE WITH RED MASK, BEIGE UNDERBELLY WITH
    SHELL-PINK PAW PADS, AND THE TICKING OF EACH HAIR SHOULD BE DEEP
    RED, LIGHTER RED TO BEIGE.  CHOCOLATE BROWN SHOULD NOT BE APPARENT
    IN A RED ABY.  IN A RUDDY, YES; BUT, NOT A RED.  
    
    I HAVE TWO ABYS.  A RUDDY AND A RED.  THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL
    CATS.  THEIR MANNERISMS QUITE RESEMBLE DOGS.  OUR CATS FETCH, GIVE
    US NUMEROUS KISSES, AND ARE EXTREMELY LOYAL.
    
    FOR THOSE OF YOU OUT THERE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE ABYSSINIAN BREED,
    I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THE FOLLOWING:  THIS HIGHLY INTELLIGENT BREED
    LOVES THEIR PEOPLE WITH A PASSION QUITE OFTEN ONLY SEEN IN DOGS;
    THEY ARE VERY TRAINABLE, CAN BE POSSESSED OF ELABORATE VOCABULARIES,
    HAVE WONDERFULLY MELODIC VOICES, ARE CLOWNS, AND VERY SENSITIVE
    TO YOUR MOODS.  THEY GET ALONG QUITE WELL WITH OTHER ANIMALS,
    ESPECIALLY DOGS.  (OUR ABYS LOVE OUR DOGS)  THE ABY WILL PERFORM
    HIS ANTICS FOR HIS PEOPLE, BUT DON'T NECESSARILY EXPECT HIM TO DO
    THE SAME WHEN YOU HAVE COMPANY.  THEY ARE VERY LOYAL TO THE PEOPLE
    WHO OWN THEM.  OURS DON'T MIND COMPANY, BUT DON'T NECESSARILY GO
    OUT OF THEIR WAY TO BE WITH THEM, EITHER.  THEY'LL COME OVER TO
    SAY HELLO, BUT THAT'S IT.  AND, I LIKE IT THAT WAY.
    
    THE ABYSSINIAN, BEING PEOPLE ORIENTED, SHOULDN'T BE AN ONLY CAT
    IF YOU'RE AWAY FROM THE HOUSE FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME.  THEY
    GET EXCEEDINGLY LONELY IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE COMPANY OF ANOTHER
    ANIMAL.
    
    IF ANY OF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE ABOUT THESE DELIGHTFUL
    CREATURES, OR WISH TO BE PUT IN CONTACT WITH A REPUTABLE, CARING
    BREEDER WHO ONLY PLACES HER KITTENS IN APPROPRIATE HOMES, CONTACT
    ME.  PRICES START AT $350 FOR A PET.
    
    

    
    RE 298.10
    
    DEAR AFFICIONADO,
    
    YOUR DEFINITION OF A "TYPED" RED ABY IS MORE CORRECT THAN MINE (I
    HAVE THAT BOOK TOO).  I GUESS I WAS A BIT OFF BASE BECAUSE BECAUSE
    MY RED ABY IS HAND WRITTEN, NOT "TYPED".
    
    AS PER YOUR REPLY, YOU ONLY PLACE KITTENS IN APPROPRIATE HOMES.
    WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER APPROPRIATE?  WILL A SMALL BUNGALO DO, OR MUST
    IT BE A BIG CLONIAL, OR A SWANKY TOWNHOUSE.  YOU WILL HAVE TO EXCUSE
    MY SARCASM, BUT IT HAS BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THAT A BREEDERS PLACEMENT
    STANDARDS AND PRICES HAVE A DIRECT RELATION TO THER BLOOD LINE'S
    STATUS.  NOT THAT I AM SAYING THAT BREEDERS ARE UNETHICAL.  WHAT I MEAN
    IS THAT MANY BREEDERS SEEM TO GIVE OUT THE MESSAGE "COME AND SEE ALL THE
    LOVELY LITTLE KITTENS THAT I MIGHT NOT STOOP TO SELL TO YOU".  GET
    REAL!!!  IF YOU HAVE A GOOD QUALITY CAT FOR SALE AT A FAIR OR
    REASONABLE PRICE, WHY NOT SAY SO?  YOU MIGHT ALSO WANT TO BE SURE
    THAT THE NEW OWNER KNOWS THE BASICS OF CAT CARE, AND SEEMS WINNING
    AND ABLE TO TAKE PROPER CARE OF THE LITTLE LOVIE.  THE FACT IS THAT
    YOU CAN OFTEN FIND A BREEDER WHO HAS YOUNG CATS, WITH CHAMPIONSHIP
    BACKGROUNDS, THAT JUST DON'T FIT INTO THE BREEDING PLANS OF HIS/HER
    BLOOD LINE.  THESE CATS ARE SOMETIMES FREE TO AN OWNER WHO WILL "FIX"
    THE CAT AND GIVE IT A GOOD HOME.  ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU HAVE
    THE ONLY FEMALE OFFSPRING OF TWO TOP TEN CATS, YOU CAN TAKE ORDERS
    FOR KITTENS AT $700 EACH, AND ONLY SELL TO PEOPLE THAT WON'T BE 
    SHOWING THE CAT IN YOUR OWN GEOGRAPHIC AREA.
    
    SO COME ON, BREEDERS.  SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY!!!
                                                                     
    
    
     

        Please, use mixed-case rather than all upper-case letters
        when you type.  Upper-case is the Noting equivalent of
        SHOUTING, and is a bit hard to read.
        
        Also, if you wish to discuss breeding or breeders in general,
        start a new topic.
        
        Thank you.
        
Jim Stratton, moderator
        

    re: note 298.12
    
    point 1 - I WAS SHOUTING!!!
    
    point 2 - It seems to me that many of the topics in "feline" go
              far out of bounds, but I suppose that I could ammend 
              my reply to deal with Abyssinian breeders if that would
              make you feel better.  I might add that I am an Abyssinian
              breeder myself.