New purebred, some questions

ricardo222222

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OK so first of all here's the thread where I posted photos:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=181846

He's a 3 1/2 month himalayan, I just got it last week for about 600 USD here in Mexico (discount from almost 1100 because my uncle knew the owner). He's eating Royal Canin Growth which is what the breeder gives his cats, and I was sold a 4kg bag for around 22 USD. In terms of health he's eating well (about 80 grams per day of his dry food) and drinking lots of water, plus he hasn't had a problem with the litter box or anything. He's playful and sleeps a lot. Now the questions I have:

1. With the cat I also received his vaccination carnet, a blue TICA slip, and two sheets with tips from the breeder. What I want to know now is what do I have to do to have my cat registered and everything. First and foremost, do I have to type into the blue slip or can I use a pen? Also do I actually have to fill this slip and send it via mail or is there an easier more convinient way? Also do I have to enter two names choices as stated? About the payments, do I have to fill the credit card information at the back or send the money? Or how can I pay via PayPal or something to make it easier? Where do I send the blue slip? And finally is it recommended to buy the 5 generation certified pedigree and do I need to send in more paperwork elsewhere or something to have my cat fully registered? So if I send the slip completely filled and get the pedigree also am I good to go or is there something else missing? (sorry to be that ignorant but he's my first purebred and he was very expensive so I don't want to screw anything up)

2. I noticed in the blue slip something about a microchip or tattoo. Is this recommended? What's its use and where can I get it plus how expensive is it?

3. How often do you recommend I comb his hair and are there special methods or something? I have one of the brushes with very thin and pointy things made of metal, and my breeder had a lot of different brushes.

4. How often and what can I do to get rid of the runny eyes?

5. How often and with what shampoos should I bathe my cat? Again the breeder puts in the tips to use like 6 different shampoos for humans but I think it's too much.

6. Is it necessary to clip his nails?

7. My only premium food option because of where I live is Royal Canin, so I ask, do I continue to give him Growth or do I change at some point to another type?

That's it for now, thanks for helping me and I hope I didn't overwhelm you with all my questions.
 

abymummy

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Originally Posted by ricardo222222

OK so first of all here's the thread where I posted photos:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=181846

He's a 3 1/2 month himalayan, I just got it last week for about 600 USD here in Mexico (discount from almost 1100 because my uncle knew the owner). He's eating Royal Canin Growth which is what the breeder gives his cats, and I was sold a 4kg bag for around 22 USD. In terms of health he's eating well (about 80 grams per day of his dry food) and drinking lots of water, plus he hasn't had a problem with the litter box or anything. He's playful and sleeps a lot. Now the questions I have:

1. With the cat I also received his vaccination carnet, a blue TICA slip, and two sheets with tips from the breeder. What I want to know now is what do I have to do to have my cat registered and everything. First and foremost, do I have to type into the blue slip or can I use a pen? Also do I actually have to fill this slip and send it via mail or is there an easier more convinient way? Also do I have to enter two names choices as stated? About the payments, do I have to fill the credit card information at the back or send the money? Or how can I pay via PayPal or something to make it easier? Where do I send the blue slip? And finally is it recommended to buy the 5 generation certified pedigree and do I need to send in more paperwork elsewhere or something to have my cat fully registered? So if I send the slip completely filled and get the pedigree also am I good to go or is there something else missing? (sorry to be that ignorant but he's my first purebred and he was very expensive so I don't want to screw anything up)
Can't help you with most of the TICA stuff but, I will reply as follows:

Do put in two names, if you use a pen, use Block letters so that it's easy to read. I usually pay by credit card. Send the Blue slip back to TICA. Someone else here will fill in the details on how to fill in your blue slip.

Originally Posted by ricardo222222

2. I noticed in the blue slip something about a microchip or tattoo. Is this recommended? What's its use and where can I get it plus how expensive is it?
I always recommend a microchip. At the very least, it's proof of ownership. As to pricing, can't help you there!

Originally Posted by ricardo222222

3. How often do you recommend I comb his hair and are there special methods or something? I have one of the brushes with very thin and pointy things made of metal, and my breeder had a lot of different brushes.
Persians need to be combed at least daily. I would recommend at least one good comb, and one pin brush.

Originally Posted by ricardo222222

4. How often and what can I do to get rid of the runny eyes?
Eyes need to be cleaned daily, if not twice daily. Runny eyes are the norm for Persians due to their flat faces.

Originally Posted by ricardo222222

5. How often and with what shampoos should I bathe my cat? Again the breeder puts in the tips to use like 6 different shampoos for humans but I think it's too much.
In actual fact, 6 different types of shampoos sounds normal to me
However, if your cat is not going to be shown, you'll need at least the basics: A degreaser, a cleansing type, a conditioner or texturiser.

I would bathe him (again if not showing) at least once a month, twice a month is better.

Originally Posted by ricardo222222

6. Is it necessary to clip his nails?
I find that you should at least clip once every two weeks - if you value your furniture. Again if your cat is NOT a show cat, once a month is fine.

Originally Posted by ricardo222222

7. My only premium food option because of where I live is Royal Canin, so I ask, do I continue to give him Growth or do I change at some point to another type?
Once he is older you may want to change to a different type of RC - RC Persian is good


Originally Posted by ricardo222222

That's it for now, thanks for helping me and I hope I didn't overwhelm you with all my questions.
You're welcome, hope this helps!
 

goldenkitty45

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1. With the cat I also received his vaccination carnet, a blue TICA slip, and two sheets with tips from the breeder. What I want to know now is what do I have to do to have my cat registered and everything. First and foremost, do I have to type into the blue slip or can I use a pen? Also do I actually have to fill this slip and send it via mail or is there an easier more convinient way? Also do I have to enter two names choices as stated? About the payments, do I have to fill the credit card information at the back or send the money? Or how can I pay via PayPal or something to make it easier? Where do I send the blue slip? And finally is it recommended to buy the 5 generation certified pedigree and do I need to send in more paperwork elsewhere or something to have my cat fully registered? So if I send the slip completely filled and get the pedigree also am I good to go or is there something else missing? (sorry to be that ignorant but he's my first purebred and he was very expensive so I don't want to screw anything up)

Nial is registered with TICA, so if I miss something, then he can help you out. - You can use a pen (blue/black ink) to fill in the name you choose. It should have the breeder's cattery name already there - you add what you choose to call him. For the most part, you don't have to submit 2 names if you are sure the breeder has not used the name you choose. On the back of the slip should be the payment plan and address. You don't need a certified pedigree unless the cat will be shown and registered in another association.

2. I noticed in the blue slip something about a microchip or tattoo. Is this recommended? What's its use and where can I get it plus how expensive is it?
Not sure why the microchip/tattoo is there unless its for ones that have been done. I don't believe in microchipping for personal reasons.

3. How often do you recommend I comb his hair and are there special methods or something? I have one of the brushes with very thin and pointy things made of metal, and my breeder had a lot of different brushes.
I would use a fine toothed comb and medium tooth comb for most grooming. Get him used to being groomed now as a kitten - once a day or once every other day.

4. How often and what can I do to get rid of the runny eyes?
You may need to wipe his eyes daily with a damp cotton ball.

5. How often and with what shampoos should I bathe my cat? Again the breeder puts in the tips to use like 6 different shampoos for humans but I think it's too much.
If he's not a show cat, you can limit baths to once a month or every other month as long as you keep the combing up.

6. Is it necessary to clip his nails?
Yes, it prevents damage from scratching and should be checked and clipped as needed once a week. You can get the SoftPaws nail caps but with longhairs, it might be difficult to put them on.

7. My only premium food option because of where I live is Royal Canin, so I ask, do I continue to give him Growth or do I change at some point to another type?
Royal Canin is good (we feed it) and I'd keep him on it for about 6 months - then go to the adult food. Also I'd be feeding some canned food and not all dry.

That's it for now, thanks for helping me and I hope I didn't overwhelm you with all my questions.
[/quote]
 

missymotus

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2. I noticed in the blue slip something about a microchip or tattoo. Is this recommended? What's its use and where can I get it plus how expensive is it?
A microchip or tattoo identifies your cat, if it gets lost and ends up at a shelter or vet clinic they can return the cat back to you.

Mine are all chipped (law in that state), even if they didn't come that way I would have gotten them done. Here they are around $50 which includes registration in the database, it's usually done at time of desexing while the cat is under but I've seen it done on older cats while they were awake and they didn't seem to mind it much at all.

Over here tattoos are normally only used to indicate a cat has a microchipped and/or is desexed.
 

marsch21

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1. With the cat I also received his vaccination carnet, a blue TICA slip, and two sheets with tips from the breeder. What I want to know now is what do I have to do to have my cat registered and everything. First and foremost, do I have to type into the blue slip or can I use a pen? Also do I actually have to fill this slip and send it via mail or is there an easier more convinient way? Also do I have to enter two names choices as stated? About the payments, do I have to fill the credit card information at the back or send the money? Or how can I pay via PayPal or something to make it easier? Where do I send the blue slip? And finally is it recommended to buy the 5 generation certified pedigree and do I need to send in more paperwork elsewhere or something to have my cat fully registered? So if I send the slip completely filled and get the pedigree also am I good to go or is there something else missing? (sorry to be that ignorant but he's my first purebred and he was very expensive so I don't want to screw anything up)
To fill out the Blue-Slip you pick 2 names, although in my experience TICA will use the first one. You pick 2 just in case the first one is already taken. You complete the owner information and send it in with $12.00. You can just fill it out with a pen. It gets sent to TICA PO Box 2684 Harlingen TX 78551. Purchasing a Pedigree can be fun. Especially if you are familiar with the lines the kitten came from. No other paperwork is needed for the Pedigree. The TICA office does accept paypal. I would call the office to get the information. I renew our memberships and register litters with Paypal. But that is done online. To register a kitten the blue slip has to be sent in.

2. I noticed in the blue slip something about a microchip or tattoo. Is this recommended? What's its use and where can I get it plus how expensive is it?
Microchipping is a personal choice. Here in California it costs $15-$30. We don't microchip but know plenty of breeders that do. If the cat is at risk of escaping then microchipping would be a good idea.

3. How often do you recommend I comb his hair and are there special methods or something? I have one of the brushes with very thin and pointy things made of metal, and my breeder had a lot of different brushes.
We breed and show Ragdolls and cannot recommend the Grey Hound comb enough. They are excellent and cut through thick coats easily without damaging them. Here is a link: http://www.a1petsupply.com/aa-greyhound.htm. There are alot of imitations out there but they don't compare to the real thing. Also a couple of small pin brushes to get to the hard to reach places.

4. How often and what can I do to get rid of the runny eyes?
The eyes should be cleaned regularly (one or twice daily). Otherwise the crust just builds up. Cotton Balls slightly moistened work well.

5. How often and with what shampoos should I bathe my cat? Again the breeder puts in the tips to use like 6 different shampoos for humans but I think it's too much.
For degreasing we use Dawn Original dish soap diluted with water. Then we use a quality pet shampoo like Eqyss Microtek or F1R2. http://www.maloron.com/shop/index.ph...all&searchCat= Then we condition with Eqyss Megatek coat rebuilder. http://www.maloron.com/shop/index.ph...all&searchCat= The trick is to rinse, rinse, rinse. When you think your done rinse again. Towel dry then blow dry while thoroughly combing out the coat.

6. Is it necessary to clip his nails?
Nails should be clipped about every two weeks or so. Hopefully the breeder regularly clipped the kittens nails so it should be used to it. If not there are a few tricks like start handling the paws or clip when the kitten is sleeping.

7. My only premium food option because of where I live is Royal Canin, so I ask, do I continue to give him Growth or do I change at some point to another type?
I would not consider changing the kittens food for a while. I believe that kittens need to be on kitten food for at least a year. Our Ragdolls are slow maturing so we keep them on it for 18 months. It is better to keep them on kitten food longer rather then switching early. We used to feed Royal Canin exclusively but found that it is too rich for most of our cats. Now we feed a mixture of Natural Balance, IAMS, Natures Variety, and Nutro. We supplement with a raw food mixture along with quality wet food like Wellness or Evo. We are trying to reduce the amount of dry food they eat.

Good luck with your little one.
 
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ricardo222222

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Thank you very much for all your helpful responses. My family wants to put in the blue slip Sir Winston Churchill and call him Winnie or Church or something, though I'm not sure.

@marsch12:
When you say I have to send $12 does it mean I have to actually put $12 in the envelope? Or can I just send the blue slip complete with credit card info so they charge me the $12 and the $50 of the Pedigree?
Finally what do you mean when you say that Royal Canin was too rich for your cats? And about wet food, is there Royal Canin wet food, Eukanuba or Hill's Science Diet? Cause that's all I can get here in Mexico apart from the usual supermarket stuff.

@missymotus:
I think I'll microchip my cat, it really seems useful in case he escapes (which I doubt but there's always the possibility)

@GoldenKitty45:
What canned food do you recommend from either Eukanuba, Hill's Science Diet or Royal Canin? That's about all I can get.

@Abymummy:
Is Royal Canin Persian more expensive than Growth or are they all the same? For now I'll give Growth but at 1 year I'll probably change.
 

goldenkitty45

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I'd call TICA regarding the credit card - you do NOT want to ever send your credit card info to anyone in the mail (nor put cash in). You are looking to get your identity stolen that way!

Regarding the foods - Royal Canin doesn't have a canned food (except for specialty ones which you can't buy in the store). I don't like Science Diet dry or canned and I don't think Eukenuba has canned; tho IAMS does have canned and if you can get that, its better (I use the Iams beef only).

If you can't get canned foods, then just stick with the Royal Canin dry. Maybe supplement with some boiled chicken breasts once a week for something other then dry food.
 
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