El-Dia's Faqs
The following are frequently asked questions (FAQs) and their answers. I am happy to answer any questions you might have, but this page might help you right away.
Q:What is different about this breed? A: This breed is one of the most affectionate breeds there is. They are also one of the most playful, making them an excellent choice for a family pet. They are gregarious, loving, active family members, and give you plenty of laughs and love every single day. They are also beautiful to look at. Their very short hair makes shedding a problem of the past. Hairballs are not an issue. See my
"Letters" page to read owner's comments about El-Dia kittens.Q:What do I feed my Oriental Shorthair? A: It is important to feed a premium food. This is because much research goes into the ingredients of a premium food, they use better quality ingredients also. For instance, some companies adds taurine to their cat chow, which is a necessary additive that prevents heart defects. Even though premium foods cost more, you get more for your money, and your cat will eat less (and poop less) while getting better nutrition. I feed all dry food and give canned food occasionally as treats (like human junk food). For the junk food, my cats love 9Lives Super Supper, Fancy Feast, and any kind of pure meat baby food (no onions added). Actually I guess the baby food is not really junk food because it’s pure meat. I feed kitten chow till 8 months of age, then adult or less active formula. Lactating or pregnant queens get the kitten chow also. There are many good brands, you will experiment and find your favorite. See my
"Links" page and click on the "Winn Foundation" link to read scientific reports about the effect of diet on felines.Q:Why can’t I get my kitten at 8 weeks of age? A: Purebred kittens are very different from mixed breed kittens. They mature more slowly and their immune systems are more fragile at such a young age. Our kittens are usually still nursing at 8 weeks of age. Our kittens usually go to their new homes between 12 and 14 weeks of age. At this age, they are socially ready to accept their new home, and they are healthy enough to resist the illnesses that might be brought on by the stress of moving. Kittens that are shipped do not ship before 14 weeks of age. Shipping is very stressful and the kitten needs to be absolutely ready to handle that stress. Another reason kittens may be held until 16 weeks of age is because they are being evaluated for their show potential. I breed to produce show cats. Kittens change drastically as they grow and if we want to pick the best one for show, the differences are sometimes quite small, and the cats change so much while growing that we wait in order to make sure we are making the right choice. See our "Policies" page for more information.
Q:Why does a purebred cat cost so much? A: Breeding show cats is a very expensive hobby. I have thousands of dollars invested in my show cats. Each show costs about $65 to enter. Then add gas, overnight accommodations, and food, and each show weekend easily costs $200. It can take many shows to Grand a cat. You can see how the costs add up. Now add in veterinarian fees, medicinal costs, premium food, cat beds, cat furniture, cages, show supplies, changes to your home to accommodate your hobby, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some things! Basically, a breeder is lucky if kitten sales pay for the shows. The rest has comes out of pocket. It is definitely a non-profit hobby!
Q: If showing is so expensive, why show? A: There are purebred cats and there are purebred cats. Have you ever seen a purebred cat or dog and wondered in amazement why it doesn’t look like the breed that it is supposed to be? Breeders show for several reasons. Mainly they want to prove that they are producing cats that conform to the standard. Each breed has a “standard” definition of what it is supposed to look like, and this is the standard it is judged against at a show. Without continually showing and making sure we are following the standard, we could easily start producing poor representations of the breed. One of the most delightful things about an Oriental Shorthair is the way it looks. The triangular, wedged head, the large flared ears, the slanty eyes, the long, tubular, muscular body, the short, close-lying coat. Without these things, it wouldn't be an OSH. Remember when you are shopping for your pet, there are vast differences in quality. Your pet will be with you for many years. The up-front cost of your pet is very small compared with what you will spend over the years on food, litter, and vet bills. Anyone can get a female and a male and produce kittens. However, good breeders guard their breeding stock very carefully so low-cost kittens are most likely going to be low-quality kittens as well. Your kitten should be healthy and have a fantastic personality, as well as being a beautiful representation of the breed.
Q: Can I show my pet cat? A: YES! Many El-Dia pets are show-quality. Let me know if you are interested in showing when you are requesting your pet so that I can reserve a show-quality animal for you. You can show altered (spayed or neutered) cats in a class called “Premiership” in CFA. It is very competitive. The only stipulation is that CFA does not allow you to declaw your pet if you are showing.
Q: What about declawing? A: I strongly prefer that you not declaw your pet, unless absolutely necessary.
Q: What are my options instead of declawing? A: First and foremost, keep the nails clipped (this is my solution and the solution of all breeders that I know). Buy a nice, scissor-style nail clipper at a good pet store, they are about $5. Cut the “hooks” off the claws. Watch you don’t get into the quick, or vein. Use styptic powder (available at large pet stores) if you do, because the nails clipped to short really bleed. Clip the nails about every 3-4 days. They can’t do much damage with clipped nails. You can make or buy “sisal” scratching posts. Basically buy some sisal rope (the cheap, brown, scratchy kind of rope, Wal-Mart has it). Make a post with a 2 X 4 (36 inches tall is great) nailed or screwed to a piece of plywood about 16 inches square and wrap the rope around it, gluing and clamping the first and last 2 inches of rope along the post to hold it in place till it dries. They also like to scratch on looped carpeting, like kitchen or Berber carpeting. You can staple or nail that to the post or even lay a piece on the ground in every room. Many cats like to scratch flat as much as upright. Also there are little covers to slip over and glue onto the claws, I think they are called "Soft Touch" or something like that. However, I think that the claws grow so quickly that this would be an expensive option. I have never tried them. Cover your good furniture if they are scratching it.
Q: What if I want to start breeding? A: Give it lots of thought. You must be consumed by the idea and totally in love with the breed. It will take lots and lots of your money and time. I’ve explained some of the cost issues up above under “Why do purebred cats cost so much?” Here are some of the factors to consider. ECONOMIC: Let’s go through a hypothetical first year of breeding. Let’s say you purchase a show quality female for $1,500. You show her at 4 kitten shows and 6 adult shows to get her Grand Championship title. Total showing cost $2,000. She goes into heat and now you must breed her (more about the feline reproductive system later). You haven’t purchased a male yet. Now you must find a male to breed her to, quickly. This is difficult. Many breeders run “closed” catteries, which means they do not allow other cats into the cattery, and they don’t stud out. Let’s assume you find a male within a day’s driving distance but you must stay overnight (they need to be bred for about 3 days). Stud fee is $800, travel costs are $250. All times two since she will need to be bred again in about 6 months. Female cats produce only two litters per year. Average of 4 kittens per litter (and sometimes none, sometimes 7). If they all live, which is not guaranteed, let’s say you’ve got eight kittens for the year. You keep one to show and breed. You’ve got seven left to sell. You had to purchase vaccinations ($300), antibiotics ($100), feeding tubes, milk replacer, syringes, lactated ringers solution, IV sets, litter, food, queening cage, nebulizer, pet crates, show supplies ($1,000 easily). Don’t forget advertising in the form of a webpage (hopefully) or newspaper ads (don’t expect much action here), ($300). Business cards, long-distance phone calls ($100). Litter boxes ($50). Each litter goes to the vet about 3 times for various things, diarrhea, vomiting, weird stuff, limping. ($60). Spay and neuter fees ($350). You sell your kittens for $400 each. Here’s the math: Income = $2,800. Expenses = $7,860. These figures are based on my own experiences. Now you are getting the picture. How do other people do it? They are extremely wealthy. They live on the verge of financial collapse. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. TIME: Shows are mostly all day Saturday and Sunday. Kiss your weekends goodbye. Pay someone to clean your house and do the yard work. Buy a carpet cleaner, you’ll need it. Someone pukes at least once a week, with occasional bouts of 3x per day. Kittens get what I call “poopy feet”. They poop, preferably diarrhea, step in it, run around on the carpet like they got stung by a bee, leave poopy footprints everywhere, and then fight like a wild boar when their feet are being rinsed off. Get up at the crack of dawn to feed, water and clean litter boxes, plus all your regular chores like laundry, breakfast, getting kids to school. Don’t forget to shower and put in a full day’s work at your job! If you really decide to do it, align yourself with a very experienced, respected breeder to have as a mentor. Otherwise your doomed from the beginning.
Q: Why can't I just have one litter per year? A: The female cat has what I refer to as a "use-it-or-lose-it" reproductive system. Hopefully they won't come heat until they're about 10 months old. Ideally you don't breed them until they are about a year old, but you can't really skip more than 2 or 3 heats. If you skip more that 2 or 3 heats, statistically you significantly increase the likelihood of cysts, pyometria, and other diseases of the reproductive system. These problems can render your female sterile, or even dead. Therefore breeding a girl is more like once you start you just keep going until you are ready to retire her. I intend to use my breeding cats only for a couple of years each, then retire them to the life of a pet. Whole female cats also have a tendency to spray urine while they are in heat. So in this case they must be confined during the heat cycle. Whole males are even more difficult to keep. Once they mature they spray mark their territory. The smell is terrible (I'm not sure why female cats are attracted to it!) So the male must confined. I believe in using my males for only a couple of years, and then they are retired to be pets. Once neutered, they return to their lovable selves, and the marking tendency disappears. I do not believe in passing studs around to other breeders and will not do so.
Q: How do I pick a really good cat? A: Do lots of research. Look at every webpage available. Bookmark the ones you like and keep going back. What are their show records? Ask lots of questions. Ask about health of the lines they are breeding. Ask for references! Decide on a look you like, and start looking for cats that meet your criteria. Once you find a breeder you really like, get on the waiting list. When the litter is born and you can visit, do so if possible. If you’re looking for a pet, the cat will usually pick you. If you’re looking for show quality, ask for the breeder’s opinion. If you want a certain sex and/or color you might not have a choice at all. Otherwise, tell your breeder what you’re looking for and a good breeder will make sure you end up with what you want. It is very important to me that my buyers love their pets, and that the pet meets their needs as much as possible.
Q: What does the title “Champion” mean? A: The “Champion” title (CH) is a CFA title and is very easy to get. Basically, it means your cat has nothing wrong with it that would disqualify it from a show. You can usually obtain your Champion title in one show.
Q: What does “Grand Champion” mean? A: Grand Champion (GC) is another CFA title. This one is fairly hard to get. It means you have a pretty darn good cat. Your cat must compete against other cats of the same breed, and if it wins there, it has to compete against all the cat breeds. If your cat gets “Best of Breed”, you might be chosen for a final. Basically, if you make a final, the judge felt your cat was in the top ten percent of the show. When you make a final you get points towards your Grand Championship. You get one point for every cat you beat. You need 200 points to earn the GC title. I’ve simplified it, but that’s it in a nutshell.
Q: What about the initials “NW” and “RW”? A: Now we’re talking about lots of money. Once your cat is a Grand Champion, you can continue to show. In most cases, the Grand Champion is awarded the Best of Breed ribbon, and is used in a Final. It is rare when a judge puts a Champion or Open (non-champion) cat over a Grand. You are now racking up points towards a Regional or National win. They use your points from your best 100 shows within the show season. It is possible for a Grand Champion to be a better cat than a National or Regional winner. It could be that the owner just didn’t have the time or money to commit to striving for these awards. However, a cat with a NW or RW is usually a very good cat. For an adult cat, figure $5,000 to $10,000 to achieve one of these titles.
Q: What about equipment/supplies/toys? A: Breeders have probably tried everything on the market. We can really save you some time and money by suggesting products we like. Litter Boxes: Forget the actual litter box. Get yourself a large Rubbermaid container and cut a hole in the end of it.
Click here to see a picture. All you’ll need is a magic marker to draw the hole and a utility knife to cut it out. Don’t make a huge hole, make it only slightly larger than your cat. Make it as high on the tub as possible. Savings- $8. Advantages: Doesn’t have seam in the middle to leak out pee. No reaching around to unlatch 4 latches. Easier to clean. Bags: Recycle zip lock bags, newspaper bags, bread bags, etc to put dirty litter into, or use an old litter bucket with lid to fill with the dirty litter and put out in the woods, your very own manure pile. Of course, please only put it in your OWN woods! So if you don't have a woods, you'll have to put it in the trash. Litter Scoop: Buy the smaller litter scoop at Wal-Mart, I think it is 73 cents. The big one is too big and is hard to push through the litter. Also, if you’re cleaning through the door opening, invariably you hit the tub when withdrawing the big scoop and spill litter all over the place. Also the big one is hard to fit into the plastic bags you are putting the stuff into! See, I already went through all this and am passing my wisdom onto you! Air Freshener: Bath and Body Home Scents. Expensive but one spray lasts all day. It is amazing and it smells so good. Many different scents. I keep one by each box. Toys: The best toy is a length of sturdy fishing line tied to a dowel rod. Get small diameter dowel rods at Home Depot or similar. Tie the fishing line to it and secure it with electrical tape. Leave about 5-6 feet of line. At the other end, tie a clump of ribbons, feathers, or any small toy, or a combination of all of them. Fling it around, they go nuts. Put this toy away when you’re done with it so your cat doesn’t get tangled up and strangle itself. We keep ours in a dresser drawer. Move all sharp objects when playing with this toy, the cats are traveling at high speed and are concentrating solely on the toy. Just be aware of the hazards.
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