Rare Cat Breeds

Rare Cat Breeds

If you click on the link immediately above you will be taken to a comprehensive page about rare cat breeds.  The assessment of what is and what isn't a rare cat breed is based upon common sense principles.  I have focused on all the mainstream cat breeds and more besides.  However, it is impossible to include every single cat breed on the page in question because over the years you find out more about cat breeds and that means updating the original page which you don't do and so on and so forth.

There are, on my assessment about 104 breeds of cat.  You often see people quoting a much lower figure but actually the figure is probably higher than my estimation.  There are, though, only about 40 or so mainstream cat breeds and these are recognised by the Cat Fanciers' Association.

Many cat breeds are never developed to full fruition.  They simply stayed at the early developmental stage and then fizzled out.  It could be said that these are the rarest cat breeds of all but where do you stop?  I don't think you can include a breed of cat that has half a dozen cats in it and which has now fizzled out.

The greatest difficulty I had an preparing the page on rare cat breeds was in deciding what a cat breed is.  We know that in America cats have to be registered with a cat Association in order to be accepted as a breed but in truth there are cats in countries where there are neither cat associations nor pedigree cats where you will find true purebred cats unmodified by any cat fancy breeder. These are the purest of the purebred cats but they are totally a recognised in the West.

An example would be the real Turkish Van and Turkish Angora in Turkey.  It is that kind of problem which presents about to a page about rare cat breeds.

So which are the rarest cat breeds?  Like I said, if you click the link at the top of this page you will see the full story but just below is a short list of the cats that I consider to be rare:

• Tiffany
• Burmilla 
• Skookum
• California Spangled (any left?)
• German Rex  
• Kurilian Bobtail 
• Elf Cat 
• Lambkin 
• Napoleon 
• Ojos Azules 
• Serengeti  
• Sokoke 
• Kinkalow
• Minskin 

You can see pictures of these rare cat breeds together with a full narrative on the main website.  You could start on this page.  If you can't find the cat in the list simply search for it using Google custom search on the website.

The Elusive Caucasian Leopard

Other names for this subspecies of leopard are: Central Asian leopard, North Persian leopard, Persian leopard and West Asian leopard.  Quite an array of names and talking about names, the scientific name of this species of wild cat is in a confused state apparently but this is what it is currently listed as: Panthera pardus ssp. saxicolor. This subspecies is the largest of all the leopards.



The IUCN Red List states that the total population across all countries where it exists is an estimated 871-1290.  Let's remind ourselves that these are estimates and I'm surprised that the figures have not been rounded up or down.

Caucasian Leopard in Armenia. Camera trap video screenshot

I was reading an article in The Times newspaper today about the Caucasian leopard.  It is written by Simon Barnes. He went to Armenia to investigate the state of play of this elusive large wild cat subspecies in Armenia, which is one of the countries within its distribution.  The other countries and areas, as I understand it are: Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Iran and the Middle East.

Of those countries, this subspecies of leopard is most populous in Iran (550-850).

In Armenia the numbers are much lower.  John Barnes states that Armenia is in Europe although it is not a member of the European Union.  On that basis, we can state that we have a leopard living in Europe which sounds a bit odd.

Armenia is a tough, hard place. Apparently it is quite a barren, rugged yet very beautiful place (the video supports that). Quite unlike the rainforests or the Serengeti.  But the leopard is well known to be highly adaptable and has an enormous distribution from Africa in the east all the way to the Far East of Russia; quite extraordinary.  As I remember, it has the largest distribution of any wild cat species. A testament to its adaptability despite being the fourth-largest wild cat.

Armenia is a hard place for the leopard to make a living.  In summer, in daytime the temperature is between 30 and 40°C but it drops to minus 30 in the winter.

The Caucasian leopard is described by John Barnes as the Euro-leopard and the flagship wildlife species in Europe.  I agree.

The population size of the Caucasian leopard in Armenia is so low that it is difficult to tell whether it exists or not in that country.  You almost have to take it on trust.  The Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) in Armenia manage the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge in which the Caucasian leopard lives as part of its range in that country, as I understand it.

They set up camera traps (motion activated cameras usually strapped to trees or rocks along important trails where the leopard is likely to pass). You can see the results of that effort in the video above.

John Barnes reports that one of this organisation's camera trap videos shows a 3 legged leopard.  He presumably means a leopard that has 4 legs but has lost the use of one of his legs.  The video above does not show a 3 legged leopard.

John Barnes states that there aren't much more than a dozen leopards in all Armenia. They ramble over massive areas. Armenia appears to be a good place for the leopard because they need a lot of space and to be left alone. They travel widely and visit most parts of their ranges regularly.  In north-eastern Namibia male leopards' home ranges covered areas of 210-1164 km².  Awesome.  You can see how living in a cage can cause difficulties for this fabulous wild cat species.

Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter: Reports It Is Dangerous

There are reports that Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter is dangerous to cats.  It just needs to be flagged up at this stage. There are countless other alternatives so if there is even a small chance that it is dangerous, I believe that people should stop using it until we have conclusive evidence one way or the other.

On Facebook, there is a page about this cat litter.  Kelly Sanford, says she tried this litter recently. She says it is extremely dusty and is so light it clings to her cat's fur because of static electricity on the fur attracting the tiny particles of cat litter.  Then of course it can be licked off and ingested. She says that at the moment there has been no response to these allegations about the litter from the manufacturers.

Nina Minster states quite categorically that people should not use this cat litter. She says people should stop using it immediately and throw it away. Nina belongs to a group of cat lovers with 450 members and she has learned through her connections that two cats have died within a couple of days from using the same litter brand.  That's what she says.  Your need to check it out yourselves (An Amazon commentator states "7 deaths among cats").

She goes on to say that both cats that passed away developed lung issues after only one sack of the litter had been used. In other words it happened very quickly. One of the cats was 14 years of age and the other one year of age.  They lived in different households.  Nina states that a veterinarian, in both cases, blamed the litter.  Nina has contacted the manufacturers who said that they are trying to get in touch with the owners of these 2 cats. She stresses that it is only this specific formula that is under review at this time.

Apparently, this litter is claimed to be 99% dust free!  I'm not sure about that but clearly it is not.

Erin Christy states that it is the worst cat litter she has used because it does not mask smell and it is so dusty that she has to scrub down her entire basement and it gets tracked everywhere.  She likens the use of this cat litter to "a complete dust storm".

Lynn Colson states that the problem with this litter is the dust.  She is very disappointed because her home is now covered with white dust.  I'll quote her: “both containers were a shower of dust when poured. It spread through my home and is leaving me with a lot of extra work."

In addition to the health problems alleged, the price has gone up and now it appears to be overly expensive.

Cindy Shepard on this site states that “I tried it for about 10 days and quit using it because of the dust."

Yasmine Lambrecht states on FB that one of her FB cat friends and a dear lady has recently lost her cat to severe breathing difficulties. She is not sure whether it is due to Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter, but she does state that it is probably due to it.

Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter Contains Crystalline Silica

It seems that the manufacturers wanted to make cat litter lighter because in large bags it can be heavy, and it is often the lady of the house who has to deal with it.  So, it was a clever marketing method to make it lighter.  In order to make it lighter they made the particles smaller. The science behind it is probably that smaller particles result in more air being between the particles so in the tray there is more air. This may be why it is less effective.  I don't know and I am just making a supposition.

I don't think I need to go on. This as you may have gathered is a USA product and all the comments come from Americans living in America.

In defence of the product, you will see quite a number of websites stating that this cat litter is good and highly functional so I must make clear that on this page I have quoted criticisms of the product in the interest of cat welfare but at this stage they are what we call anecdotal evidence, and more work needs to be done on this.  That said, where there are reports and where there are alternatives it makes sense to not use the product until the situation has been clarified. Source: FB Page.

Note 1: As this page has become more noticed I am a little concerned that some comments might have been "planted" by paid reviewers to counteract the negative ones. I don't know but these things do happen. Please read comments with caution and decide for yourself where the truth lies. However, many thanks for the comments. They help provide information to visitors and are useful, therefore.

Former Employee at Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter Plant Blows the Whistle on the Abrasive Nature of this Product

Note 2: One of the comments is by a person who worked at a factory where they made this litter - see link above to a post by him. It is very interesting and provides insider information. The comment is towards the bottom of the page. Load all the comments to see it. If the comments fail to load you can read this article based on his comment.

Note 3: Please read this page about Tonkinese kittens being allegedly killed by this litter.

P.S. Cat caretakers should not assume all is well because they can't see any health problems. Dust ingestion can cause a gradual build up. The health problem may become apparent later when it is too late to do anything about it. Just a word of warning. Cats sniff litter and they are much closer to it than humans. Plus, they kick it up. Just because you can't see it does not mean it is not there. P.P.S. 02-04-2021: I am of the firm opinion that this cat litter substrate is dangerous. I would advise cat owners to avoid it. You may harm your kitten and cats. There is nothing worse than causing injury or death to a family member who you love because of carelessness.

Update 12 June 2022: just a quick update to say that Purina deny that there is anything wrong with their product. They blame social media for spreading lies and that the people who complain about it are always anonymous. I'm afraid it seems to me that they are the ones who are lying because on this page there are named people who have first-hand experience of this product harming their cats. There is also talk online about Purina compensating people for harm caused to their cats by their product. Although apparently there is no firm evidence to support this perhaps because if anybody has been compensated, they do so under a gagging clause. I am speculating because I don't know.

Further update: Going back as far as September 2012, Scientific American recommended not using cat litters made of silica because of the dust which has been linked to upper respiratory issues and the chemical fragrances in some litters can be toxic to cats. Buy fragrance-free.

And sodium bentonite clay as you know is in non-clumping litters and if a cat ingests it can cause serious harm for obvious reasons.

Therefore, they tend to recommend wood-based litter and paper-based litter as both are safer in their view. Paper-based litter is made from recycled newspaper and is reportedly 3 times more absorbent than clay. It is non-toxic and contains no scented fragrances. It is claimed to be 99.7% dust free but I will leave people to make up their own mind.

RELATED: How do you make cat litter environmentally friendly?

Plain old sawdust if you can get your hands on it is a good litter substrate. I would certainly do your research and avoid silica and avoid lightweight dusty litters. Personally, I always favoured wood-based litter and I also believe that it is more environmentally friendly although all cat litter has an environmental impact which is regrettable. And as more people are keeping their cats indoors full-time nowadays more cat litter is being used and therefore there is a greater environmental impact.

Buildings Second To Free Ranging Cats For Bird Mortality

The experts have spoken.  They say that buildings, particularly glass in buildings, are ranked second to free ranging pet cats as the cause of bird mortality in the USA.

It's all based on estimates, however.  There is no solid scientific study about the mortality rate of birds hitting buildings particularly windows.  But the estimates for the number of birds killed in America by buildings is from 100,000,000 to 1,000,000,000.  Let me repeat there is no solid scientific basis on which to base these figures and therefore they are estimates. Estimates should not be converted to "facts". They are often wildly out.

"there currently exist no U.S. estimates of building-collision mortality that are based on systematic analysis of multiple data sources."

As for cats the experts say that the free ranging pet cat kill about 4 times that number, which is quite a shocking figure but we really have to remind ourselves that, as yet, there is no nationwide, conclusive study on the numbers of birds killed by free ranging domestic cats in the USA.  I think actually you could add stray cats and feral cats to that but the expert uses the phrase “free ranging pet cats".  That implies domestic cat so you can see how confused the experts are because it is very important to distinguish between the various kinds of cat.

All studies about the predation on birds by cats are extrapolated from quite small studies and experts will agree that you can't do this with any degree of certainty.

There is a definite need, and there has been some time, for conclusive studies as to how birds are killed in the USA. There is a lot of concern by American ornithologists about the killing of native bird species and I can understand that but it is no good simply bandying around extravagant figures which less well-informed people latch onto and use to criticise the domestic cat and even on occasions abuse the cat.

The current state of affairs with regard to statistics is poor and I hope people realise that they should not go a website and simply recite what the author has quoted which no doubt comes from another website and so on and so forth  - and all of it is based upon estimated figures from “experts".

Source.

Domestic Cats Eat 15% Less During Summer

I don't think that this is startling news but nonetheless it is interesting that a formal study confirms what is perhaps common sense knowledge.

Cat in Winter. Eats more. Photo Charlotte Claeson.

A study reported on the PLOS ONE website assesses differences in food intake in 38 adult colony cats of various ages and genders.  Food intake was recorded on a daily basis and the mean daily intake for each calendar month was worked out.  The study took place in the South of France.

There were in fact 3 periods of different levels of food intake.  Food intake was at its lowest for the cats during the summer months e.g. June to August and food intake was the greatest during the months of late autumn and winter e.g. October to February.

An intermediate level of intake took place in the spring e.g. March to May and early autumn, September.

Peaks and troughs in both the temperature and daylight length coincided with food intake peaks and troughs.

The study concluded that food intake was 15% down in the summer compared to the winter.  I suppose the reason is that cats need to keep warm and therefore need more calories to achieve that. Also cats are lazier and less active during summer months and therefore eat less.

I'm sure that this study has little relevance to full-time indoor cats.  It would seem to be primarily relevant to cats living outside but I may have that wrong.  Cats living inside full-time are immune to variations in temperature but they may be affected by daylight length.  Therefore there may be some impact upon full-time indoor cats.

Study