New male coming home

I talked to my breeder this week and got some more questions answered. My little male Egyptian Mau will be 8 weeks next week and she says she'll send some more pictures. I plan to introduce him gradually to my current altered male Sohni, but Sohni loves other cats and I'm sure they will be friends very quickly.

I had been feeding Royal Canin, but the breeder said she much prefers Felidae. She suggested I research holistic brands locally and figure out what price I can comfortably afford.

He will be coming by air around the 7th of December. I will have to bring him on a hour drive to my parents place for Christmas day as I don't want to leave him alone at home. I'll have my own room and will bring a dog crate with litter box for the kitten when I am not supervising him.

I am keeping him unaltered until I can get him to some shows to see what his quality is. If he turns out really nice, I have the option to purchase a female Mau from the breeders upcoming litters as they are not related.

If he remains a tom, then you will have to consider building him a large walk-in stud cage you know

I would see if the breeder will put some of the current food he's eating (a few Ziploc bags) in a box and put it in the carrier too so you have some on hand till you figure out what you will be feeding him.

Can't wait for pictures

I think this is the little silver mau right? If you plan on breeding him, I'd only breed him to a silver or a smoke female - not the bronze. Silver and bronze can tarnish the colors.

Hi,

Yeah, I have an unfinished basement that I plan to turn into an art studio for me and an enclosure for the cats. That way I'll be in the vicinity a lot of the time, and they'll be safely in one area for when I'm not home. I do plan to let him have the run of the house when I am up and about, but will keep doors closed so that he remains in whatever room that I am in. Unless he turns into a bad sprayer, then he'll be in his enclosure. I'll just wait and see how he turns out.

This breeder specializes in silvers for breeding. She did have a smoke, which I was interested in, but sold it to someone else. I would only get a silver if I were interested in breeding. I have been checking the classifieds in the major cities close to me, and there are no Mau's listed at all. If I did produce a litter to try and breed a show cat, there should be a market for the rest of the litter. It seems that Mau litters are small, based on what I have seen on Mau breeder sites, unlike my German Shepherd who produced 9 puppies the one time I bred her. Luckily the 8 I placed are all in excellent homes now.

HOLISTIC is not always best ...

RC is fine for many ... contains stuff I aint thrilled with but

Felidea is the same way...

IMO if you find any mau's in a classified paper, they are pet quality and probably from a backyard breeders. A good breeder doesn't need to advertise their cats in the newspapers

And what I would do now or after showing awhile, is to show your cats and have a future litter list of people interested in the breed. That's what I did when showing rexes - I had my "future prospects" - sometimes 5-10 people in a show. I'd get names, addresses/phone, etc. and what they were interested in. Would let them know when a breeding was planned and the colors expected.

So start your contact list of buyers at the shows when you go to them. And you'll get a lot more interest in the breed.

From what I've been told, Mau boys mature a lot more slowly than other breeds, so you will have a lot of time to decide whether or not you want to keep your guy whole. I've heard they don't usually spray as bad as other breeds, but they will get stinky. You'll know your boy is of-age from the smell!

The spotted cats tend to draw a lot of attention as cat shows. In tact as the last show I attended, many people drove up just to look of Ocicat and Mau kittens! You shouldn't have any trouble finding homes for them.

Don't forget to take names and pictures of any of the Oci's being shown in your area - want to see who they are

I've never been to a cat show. I know my guy will be registered through CFA so I can go to that website and start searching for shows there.

Lots to think about.

Well, that is annoying. The CFA has no shows at all, anywhere near me. In Canada, the closest I can find is Kitchener Ontario, which is probably a 4-5 hours flight, and in the states the closest I can find is Portland, Oregon, which is probably a 2-3 hour flight.

You'll have a tough time then in showing and getting prospects! I wish you luck with everything.

Are you allowed to dual register him with CCCA? You might get more shows that way.
http://www.cca-afc.com/

She should - usually you just need proof of registration in another association and a 5-7 generation certified pedigree (unless the breeder is also dual registered)

If you're considering dual registry, it's best to check with the breeder that (s)he allows it, and that both registries allow it - and check up on the rules for showing for each registry. It's not that much different from getting permission from the breeder to show your cat at all, which is something we all accept when we enter a contract with a breeder.

I can't imagine there would be any problem but sometimes there can be 'political' issues involved, here is not the place for it but in the UK some TICA registered breeders write it into their kitten contract that you cannot register or show with GCCF.

There are also different show entry conditions between the two registries which sometimes conflict with one another eg. you cannot show any cat in your household in a GCCF show within 13 days of any cat in your household being shown at another GCCF show as a quarantine procedure, TICA doesn't have the same rule, but there was for some time a query as to whether GCCF would allow showing within 13 days of a TICA show for dual registered cats - so just a note of caution to check out all rules and what each registry states about dual registration and showing!

Wow you guys are strict! And you even have vetted shows and still require the 13 day rule!

Over here we don't have vetted shows and you can show every weekend if you want....I don't think its a wise idea - once or twice a month should be fine. Its a lot on the cats even if they like showing and are seasoned show cats.

I know one person with a manx (cats a few years old) who has shown the cat as a kitten, whole cat and alter. Not only that but the cat has won Best Cat and Best Alter in the past 2-3 yrs and they still are putting it in shows again this season. IMO that's greedy and stupid - you already won the top award for 2-3 yrs - why are you continuing to show the cat again, when others could use those finals for their cat?

GK - it's basically a ringworm quarantine measure - the GCCF is obsessive about ringworm, maybe way back in the mists of time they had some issue arise where it was spread at a show or thought to have been spread at a show so they cover their backs now - that's just conjecture. Cats cannot change hands at shows, and you can't rehome a kitten or cat within 13 days of showing for the same reason - doing so and being found out can earn you a fine and a suspension and repeat behaviour will find you deregistered.

It is strict, it also operates very very differently from CFA and TICA in terms of winning titles, it's a much longer process as there's no points system - so each show you enter at a particular level is a clean slate, there's no carry over of points from previous shows. If you're not awarded a challenge certificate, you're not one iota closer to achieving a title.

I will ask about the double registration and I'm positive it won't be a problem. My breeder is fairly new into breeding, having inherited her cattery from a friend. I will find out what shows happen close to me on Vancouver Island and go from there. I know I saw an ad once for a show in Nanaimo, and there must be shows held in Vancouver from time to time.. or Seattle.