Looking for 2 purebred kittens: Help with breed selection, please

As the token Aby breeder on board my 2 cents:

Abys get on purrfectly well with persians. I have a persian who's slightly schizo - he thinks he's an aby

The link you posted on the HillSt cats have the breed descriptions absolutely correct.

As far as I am concerned, you can never go wrong with having an Aby in your home. My Abys (with the exception of the entire male) get along fine with all the other breeds that I have in the house.

My suggestion is if you are going for an Aby and your budget is around $400 - $600 (which is great for pet q), hit the shows and talk to a whole bunch of breeders first. I have my personal shortlist but then, I'm a breeder and my shortlist may have requirements that are not right for you. However, if you are interested to know who is on my shortlist, send me a pm, do!

Originally Posted by Siggav

These kittens if they're from a registered Aby and registered Ocicat should be registered as Ocicats. They're not show quality ocis since they're not spotted so there's no way you would be able to show them. However they should still make very nice pets providing the breeder has done their job properly.

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Oci's are not showable until Gen 5. The ticked/spotted earlier generations are still gorgeous, and as Siggav said they are registered as Ocicats.

My breeder has Gen 1, 2 & 3 girls and a Gen 2 male in her supplementary breeding program.

The price tag would probably be around 1/2 what you'd pay for a Gen 5 or older Ocicat.

Thank you for the further responses.

This morning we are off to see the Abi-Oci kittens but I'm beginning to have certain misgivings. Next weekend we will drive two hours to visit a very experienced SoCal Aby breeder with a brand new litter. We're drawn to Abys because their lithe beauty and active temperament provides a contrast to almost twenty years of Persians. However, we will need to assure ourselves that Chelsea will not be terrorized.

If there is an opportunity to visit breeders with cats of the opposite temperament, like Ragdolls, Tonks or Scottish Folds, we will do that, too before we make a decision. Burmese, too.

Abymom, thank you for your response and I may well take you up on your offer; please look out for a PM later today.

We are in Socal and just got an Aby for our daughter to show in TICA Jr. Acheivers. Ours is very nice and calm. We haven't introduced her to our herd of Ragdolls yet but will soon.

We know most of the breeders that show in this region. If you need a referral let me know.

Originally Posted by marsch21

We are in Socal and just got an Aby for our daughter to show in TICA Jr. Acheivers. Ours is very nice and calm. We haven't introduced her to our herd of Ragdolls yet but will soon.

We know most of the breeders that show in this region. If you need a referral let me know.

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Hi Mark, I can imagine Cassidy is so excited. I know she won't take long to have Cassidy bringing in the titles on he Aby!!! We need picture nd his/her name!! I knew you would be able to give great referrals for many different breeds, given your location, and showing.
We haven't added a pet in our home, we have thought about it many times, but Joey wants a Ragdoll, Ashlan thinks she wants an exotic, I love the Somali, Devon Rex, and Bengals, and CJ likes the Bengal, so for now, we are just staying put, and if a kitty jumps out at us at a show, we will just know it was fate.
Koda Bear has his first adult show in 2 weeks, and Serafina's first kitten show. How is Blue Jean doing? I hope you don't mind, I sent a person researching about pyo, and linked them to the site on RC, so they could see that it is beginning to be more common in kittens before 12 months. Our friend had a Ragdoll at 11 months, do the same thing. Have you spoke with any of the vets to see if this is becoming more of an issue with all cats, or is this being seen more in just specifically Ragdolls? I think it gives an even stronger argument for early alter, knowing it can strike earlier.
Please start a new thread or PM or email and tell me how the Ragdoll pride is doing, how Cassidy is enjoying Summer break and how your wife and yourself all are doing. Have I missed the news of any shows?
Hugs to all.

I had a Burmese kitten when I was younger and absolutely adored her. I got her when I was 13 or 14 and she was the best kitty. She was so playful (but I don't remember her as "naughty"), and she was super affectionate as well and loved people in general.

I love Bengals and would love to own one, but I think the activity level would be too much for me. If I ever got another purebred it'd probably be a Burmese or Tonkinese - elegant, friendly, playful, inquisitive, talkative - great companions for all ages.

Good on you for doing so much research and taking yor time to choose the right cat for your family, I'm sure you'll end up with the perfect kitties

As for the furniture, if you have leather furniture, I'd be worried, if you have fabric of any type you should be fine. One of my kitties is SUPER active, and rather hyperactive, and has made a mess of our leather dining chairs just by leaping off them - her back claws dig in as she jumps, or when she falls, she digs in with her front claws. We now have to keep them covered with ugly chair covers and have padding on the chairs (under the covers) to try and lessen the damage.

The only furniture they deliberately scratch on is our fabric couches, and we just apply double sided tape to where they scratch. Every few months they go through stages of trying to scratch the couches, and putting tape on for a couple of weeks fixes that habit for a few months. As a result, there's barely any marks on the couch - just cat hair

OK, you are used to Persians which are a very laid back breed. The Aby, Bengal, and Ocicat are very high energy cats. I would not recommend any of them because you are not used to a very active cat!

So I would recommend Burmese, Tonkinese, American or British SH, Scottish Fold as a shorthair in-between type of cat.

But research the activity level and more about the breeds you think you might like.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

OK, you are used to Persians which are a very laid back breed. The Aby, Bengal, and Ocicat are very high energy cats. I would not recommend any of them because you are not used to a very active cat!

So I would recommend Burmese, Tonkinese, American or British SH, Scottish Fold as a shorthair in-between type of cat.

But research the activity level and more about the breeds you think you might like.

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I was going to say, that I thought Aby's were on the same level as the Oci's and Bengals as far as energy and curiousity.

Aby-Oci's are NOT a "breed" per say. The Aby is allowed in the Ocicat breeding as an outcross only. They would be considered Ocicats but they look more like an Aby - they are purebred in that sense, but not as a "breed" that can be shown.

Only the spotted Ocicat is seen at shows.


And I used to own and breed Cornish Rex (another high energy breed). Thought they were active till we got our Ocicat!

IMO if you've had Persians for a long time, the high energy breeds make for a nice change!

I've converted a few "die hard" Persian/Exotic lovers to Aby lovers

For example, when I was showing in Hong Kong last April, a lady came up to me and said "my husband and I really love your cat!" She said this so many times that I had to ask her why and she replied, "Oh we have had Exotics at home for many years but your cat really looks and plays like a CAT!"

Originally Posted by Abymummy

IMO if you've had Persians for a long time, the high energy breeds make for a nice change!

I've converted a few "die hard" Persian/Exotic lovers to Aby lovers

For example, when I was showing in Hong Kong last April, a lady came up to me and said "my husband and I really love your cat!" She said this so many times that I had to ask her why and she replied, "Oh we have had Exotics at home for many years but your cat really looks and plays like a CAT!"

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You seem to understand my instincts, Abymummy. I've always adored our Persians but they came into our lives before we had children and when my wife didn't even know whether or not she liked cats. Now she knows she does and we have two children who can't wait to be able to play with our new kittens. In these circumstances, it shouldn't be surprising that, as much as we love our beautiful, placid Persians, we are curious about a breed that is a little more boisterous. Still, we want to make the transition comfortable for our old lady and we don't want a pair of thugs.

Thanks Bagher.

My Stevie's (the entire male) best friend is the schizo Persian. They get along just great but then, I did get Dumdum as a kitten and Stevie was already going on 1+ year at the time. I would recommend that you get 4 month old Aby kittens for your grand old lady.

Abys are great around kids - I should know since I deliberately introduce all my kittens from a tender age of about 3 months to 2 legged kids - infact, from toddlers to teens have a whale of a time with my cats due primarily to the high energy level of Abys - 360 and 720 degree flips chasing "things" are quite the norm

One quiet word of warning tho - Abys thrive on vertical challenges. The higher the better Also, with all high energy breeds, I would ask you to keep all breakables and memorabilia in glass enclosed cupboards. If you've "lost" your Aby, look upwards, not down on the ground!

I have Somalis (longhaired Abyssinians) and I also had a Persian (he passed away this year) and my Persian was the only cat in my house who would play with my Somalis. My Persian had heart failure and could not keep up with the Somalis but they got along the best. My other 3 cats are just regular domestics and want nothing to do with the Somalis. Somalis/Abys are high energy. My Somalis are always looking for the highest places to get to. Oh and they are very dominant cats. And very smart one of mine learned to open our slider and get outside, now we have to keep it locked. I think an Aby will be just fine with a Persian.

Originally Posted by Abymummy

I would recommend that you get 4 month old Aby kittens for your grand old lady.

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Abymummy, are you saying that kittens younger than four months old might be more disruptive to my old Persian than four month-olds? I wasn't planning to get kittens older than the standard twelve weeks or so.

Just wondered if you had considered a Russian Blue, Chartreux or similar?

I own just one Egyptian Mau, so I cannot tell you how they are with other cats. I can say that Princess is very much a 1 person cat. DH has been trying to bond with her since we got her to no avail (I am home more than he is). She is active, but not overly so. About twice a day she feels the need to just go crazy, the rest of the time she sleeps or sits looking out the window.
She can run VERY fast! For that reason, and others, I am very paranoid of her getting outside.. I would never be able to catch her. Fact based, Egyptian Maus can run average 36 mph full speed. They do this by having hind legs longer than the front and a flap of skin under their bellies so they can stretch out further.
She is shy of company for the most part. A few of our friends she will allow to play with the feather teaser with her, but there is no touching allowed or so will run and hide.

I hope that gives a little insight on the Mau. Though I do not know if all maus are like her.

Good luck with your search! I had a terrible time finding a breeder, and then trying to find one with kittens available. I actually got her when she was 4 months old even though they could go home at 12 weeks.. I wish I'd had that extra month of kitten-hood, but oh well.

And I would pitch in with the above poster on the Russian Blue. That was the other breed I was considering when I got Princess. I couldn't find any breeders around here and the ones I could drive to weren't planning any litters.

Originally Posted by Bahger

Abymummy, are you saying that kittens younger than four months old might be more disruptive to my old Persian than four month-olds? I wasn't planning to get kittens older than the standard twelve weeks or so.

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It wasn't a comment on the babies being disruptive per se, it is more of an IMO. I personally prefer to re-home my kittens at 16 weeks - simply because by then, I, the breeder am sure of the following:

1. Vaccinations, including rabies if necessary, and deworming are complete
2. The kittens are neutered prior to release
3. Socialization with humans are up to snuff
4. Completely litter box trained.

You must remember that I am talking as a breeder as well as an owner of Abyssinians! I don't like to release my kittens to new homes without the spay/neuter being done first!

If you're getting a pair irrespective of 12 weeks or 16 weeks, they will more or less keep themselves, you and your kids amused without too much undue stress to the grande dame.

I Love my Ragdoll, but you are making me think about getting an Aby, LOL!

Originally Posted by kluchetta

I Love my Ragdoll, but you are making me think about getting an Aby, LOL!

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There is a family of Ragdoll breeders here whom are very good friends of mine who adopted my Rudy (from my very first litter) and all they could say to me for the 1st six months was - "Do you KNOW what YOUR Rudy did today?" This family has at last count, some 6 raggies, 1 Maine Coon (total wuss and around 3 times the size of Rudy) and an assortment of rescued domestics and dogs which includes 2 Great Danes and guess who rules the roost?

And they want ANOTHER Aby from me!!!!

I am not looking for another cat, but this is a really interesting thread