I need some guidance...

tigerlord

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For more background info you can read my hello thread posted today:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=132999

Basically, for some reason, I fell in love with Siamese cats. I used to dislike them because just like Sphinx cats (which, I am sorry to say, I find very ugly) they were all so skinny. But yesterday I meat a ''normal'' sized Siamese cat, and four Siamese kittens .... OH MY GOD !


Is there anything special about Siamese that would make them *not* suitable for me ? Unfortunately my plans to get a Siamese kitten at the shelter probably wouldn't work (for some reason, along with Himalayan and Persian cats, they seem to be among the most expansive in private homes, so any Siamese cats that would luckily end up in a shelter will probably be taken home within a day!) , but they're not too pricey either (150$CAD vaccinated).

My family has owned a cat when I was young but she was old when I was born, so she never played much. At 10 years old we got a Puppy (pure breed cashew colored Shi-Tzu, hence named 'Cachoue'. Also a cuttie and I love dogs, but they're not allowed in the apartment I'll live in.) so I'm only experienced with dogs.

Aside the necessary musts like liter, brush and food, what are popular cat toys ? I was thinking at getting a Cat tree (is this how they're called in English), it looks like fun even to me !


I'll be home everyday but during the day she'll be free to run around so I want her to have enough toys to have fun during the day, and I'll be there to give her love during the evening and week-ends


Thanks for your help !
 
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tigerlord

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I just realized my post might be more appropriate in the Cats and Other Animals forum? Can a mod move it please?

Thanks !
 

yosemite

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Hi and welcome to TCS. Siamese cats are usually a little more high energy than some others, but certainly not overly so.

The modern style Siamese tend to be "skinnier" than the Applehead or Traditional style. Our 2 are Applehead Siamese and trust me, they are not skinny. In fact we just got back from the vet where Bijou had his yearly checkup. He is now 17.5 lbs (8 Kilos). The vet said that he is in great shape except for his weight which we must try to bring down. Mika is now 10 lbs but looks much smaller.

Siamese usually love to play fetch with you and our cats particularly love any toy on a wand and will jump very high to try and catch whatever is on the end of the wand.

We have a cat tree close to 7 feet tall with several platforms for them to sleep on and 2 little houses (one for each). They love it. Also a pet fountain is a good idea as it tends to encourage them to drink more which is a good thing. A good quality food is also important and a wet diet is healthier than a strictly dry diet. We feed both and it's obviously too much for Bijou so I'm going to cut back on his dry food and see if that helps.

The only caution I might give is that once you've had a Siamese you'll always want Siamese.
 
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tigerlord

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Well if I always want Siamese I won't care one bit - they are simply beautiful


I seem to always fall for the most expansive of everything. As far as I know (which is little), Himalayan, Persian and Siamese cats (maybe Sphinx as well) seem to be the most expansive to get. In any case I do not care - pure beauty ! And Siamese kittens -


7 feet tall cat tree? Oh my god, I want that !!!!
 

keisha

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Siamese cats are absolutely beutiful cats, I'm sure you would love owning one. I've owned two pure ones and now I have one 1/2 ragdoll 1/2 siamese. Wonderful cats...

by the way, by "expansive" do you mean expensive? as in definitly not the cheapest, or pricey?
 
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tigerlord

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Definitely not the cheapest (say compared to free shelter cats). I've seen Sphinx cats go for 1000$ (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so I guess my choice of words weren't exactly accurate !
 
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tigerlord

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I do have a question and it's been bothering me for a while...

What does spaying and neutered mean???
 

trouts mom

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Originally Posted by TigerLord

I do have a question and it's been bothering me for a while...

What does spaying and neutered mean???
Spaying is taking the girly parts out of a girl kitty so she can't have kittens or feel the need to mate.

Neutering is the same thing, but for males.
 
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tigerlord

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Well you laugh but I'm a medical student (but I study in French) and although sometimes I like to think I'm perfectly trilingual some words sound alike so much in French and in English and have different meanings.

I've heard professors ''informally'' saying that a woman getting a full hysterectomie for example could be considered a partial castration... basically for us castration, although the real definition is the removal of the testis, is the removal of any part of the male or female anatomy that makes it male or female ...

Hence the confusion
So in all accounts I should have my female Siamese spayed as soon as she can. From which age can this be done ?
 
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tigerlord

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Is it a bad idea to get two kittens at once ? This lady who put an ad for Siamese has a few kittens... I was thinking about getting two sisters so they can play together ... they'll probably be less lonely together than alone, and I'd have a reason to buy those huge 8 feet tall cat trees that I find so cool


Besides, I have plenty of room in the living room
 

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Two would be geat, they will keep each other entertained while you are at work. Siamese are wonderful cats.
 
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tigerlord

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Need... to...learn...self...control


I'm afraid if I don't learn it, when I go pick-up my kitten(s), I'll buy em' all ! I'm so excited right now, I can't say why. Maybe I'm imagining two AWESOMELY cute Siamese kittens joyfully playing around in the hunkin' cat tree while I admire them


Seriously though, two is ok, but three, I'd start to become a weirdo. I'm a 21 years old medical student and single, how will it look if I have three cats at home?
 

carolpetunia

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You are on the right track for sure -- two kittens will be much happier than one, since I'm sure you have to be away a lot, as a med student. And being sisters, they'll already be accustomed to each other. Couldn't be better!

You sound like you'll be a great kittyperson. If you'll look at the stickies at the top of some of forums here, you'll find lots of input on raising kittens... and we all love to answer questions, so you've got plenty of backup here. Go get your kitties!
 

catsarebetter

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Originally Posted by TigerLord

Need... to...learn...self...control


I'm afraid if I don't learn it, when I go pick-up my kitten(s), I'll buy em' all ! I'm so excited right now, I can't say why. Maybe I'm imagining two AWESOMELY cute Siamese kittens joyfully playing around in the hunkin' cat tree while I admire them


Seriously though, two is ok, but three, I'd start to become a weirdo. I'm a 21 years old medical student and single, how will it look if I have three cats at home?
Welcome aboard TCS, and ... it's okay to be a weirdo around here as long as it's all about the cats. :wipes a tear from her eye: I'm so proud, yet another cat lover is born.

Hehe, just don't take up knitting like I did... I'm in my 30s, single, have more three cats and now I'm learning to knit.


Cats are awesome! Who cares what people think as long as you enjoy them? They're wonderful companions and sometimes, in all honesty, they have better sense than humans.
 
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tigerlord

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It was my destiny to get Siamese cats...

My mother has a friend who breeds Siamese cats and I had no idea until today.
Basically she does it at her house and is very strict with consanguinity and my mom told me the kitten are extremely taken care of and much loved. Furthermore the woman has a private kindergarten at home for young children, so the kittens roam around the house all day and play with children (who I was assured never hurt the kittens). Can you imagine the how loved the little furballs are?


In any case, she is expecting kittens on august 12th, which is perfect since I come back from Europe on August 4th. I told her I'd to get two females, one Seal and One blue. Of course we have no idea how many babies there will be, or how many females and colors they will have, but we can already tell the sex a few hours after birth, so when I go see them I'll already know if I can get two females. Apparently she told me you can tell if they'll be seal colored already, whereas for lynx and blue it takes around 4 weeks. I won't be able to adopt before end of September though, but it'll give me time to move properly, adapt to the new city and prepare for their arrival (install the tree, get the toys and food, etc).

Can you imagine a little blue and a little seal Siamese kitten playing together?
I've got names picked already ! And a fountain! And a tree !

Only downside is that they're a little pricey at her place compared to other ads I've seen (300$CAD each) but I recon, they'll be my best friends at home for so many years to come, 600$ is a small price to pay for that.

I'm done with all the excitement, I need to study for my last two exams now !
 
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tigerlord

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Humm most breeders here let their kittens go for adoptiona fter 7 weeks...

Ive read here in many stickies they should stay with the mother at least 10-12 weeks... that poses a problem, I'll request here to keep them longer !
 

yosemite

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I think you are wise to prepare for them before bringing them home. $600 is not a lot of money for 2 Siamese - in fact it's very reasonable. I had never had more than one at a time until we got Bijou and Mika and I don't think I would have a single cat again. They are best friends and love each other, play together, sleep together during the day, but still love us very much and sleep with us at night.

I might suggest you get one male and one female though as that pairing seems to work better than 2 females. I'm not saying 2 females wouldn't work well, but my own personal opinion would be one of each.

Also, just a comment re hysterectomy - a complete hysterectomy is where they remove the uterus and the ovaries. A partial hysterectomy is where they leave the ovaries.

Unspayed females have a higher risk of cancer and other nasty things. Males often will spray if not neutered and are more prone to fighting. Neutered males in my humble opinion make calmer pets.

I take it you are originally from Sherbrooke and just studying overseas. I'm sure you will be happy to return home and I'm also sure your mom will be glad to have you home.

As for age for spaying/neutering, it will depend on the vet you go to - some won't do it until they are 6 months, others are more modern and will do it as soon as the cat is 2 lbs or more.

I'm also one of those folks that believe the kittens should be left with their mom cat until at least 10 weeks and preferrably 12 weeks. The mother cat teaches the little ones all the things kitties need to know so the extra time is good for both of them.
 
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tigerlord

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Thanks for your input !

In fact I'm originally from Montreal, I'm moving to Sherbrooke in an apartment. My whole family is still around Montreal, so I'll be 2 hours away by car. Better than 8 hours away by plane though


It was my intention to have both cats spayed as soon as possible. Why do you think a male and female would make better pairs? My fear was that even if the male would be neutered and the female spayed they'd still hump each other or something. Sometimes neutered dogs still hump everything they can ... quite annoying. Cats are much more ''classy'' and proud than dogs, which is why I also like cats a lot. Dogs can be very dumb sometimes...

You seem to be experienced and if you say a male and a female make for better pairing then that what I'll do ... for some reason I have always preferred female pets (I just find hanging testicles and a hanging penis under a dog to be very uncute, in fact it can cut the whole cute factor for me). Maybe because I'm a man too ... no idea why.

What do you suggest about food and claws? Unless very necessary I'd prefer not to have their claws removed, since when we do our clinical immersion we are sent in distant regions for 8-10 weeks, and are often in rural places and live 4 students in a house... so if I can I'd like to allow the cats to enjoy the great outdoors, but without their claws they would be defenseless...
Is there any danger to have them keep their claws ? Can they unwillingly hurt another kitten when playing ? The retracting of claws is probably very instinctive for them but who knows... as for my apartment, I have carpet and no furniture of any real values. Beside if they have a big cat tree they'll have something to work their claws on , right?
 
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