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 Exotic Cat Breed Profile
Related
Links
Exotic Cat Breeders
(Australia Only)
Photos and breed profile
courtesy of
Marion Cooper
Glevum
Persians & Exotics
The Exotic Shorthair is
the perfect cat for people who love the look and personality of the
Persian cat but without the daily grooming. It is often referred to as
the “Lazy Mans Persian”. That’s not to say that it never needs grooming
and they love to sit on there owners lap and be brushed regularly, but
it doesn’t matter if it’s not done every day.
The
easiest way to describe an Exotic is to say it is a "shorthaired
Persian"; the Exotic must conform to the Persian breed standard in every
way except coat length. They have a round cobby body, short thick legs
and round massive head, a flat face, short snub nose with large open
nostrils and huge round eyes set wide apart. The difference is that the
coat on an Exotic should be very soft and dense and stand away from the
body due to its thickness.
Exotic Colours
Exotics
come in all the colours of the Persian cat including solid colours,
bi-colours, tabbies, himalayan and silvers.
Exotic Personality
The personality of the
Exotic cat is like that of the Persian, outgoing, placid, easy to handle
and beautiful to look. This combined with a sense of immense curiosity
about what goes on about them makes them the ideal companion. They are
most happy when they are with people and love playing with children or
just sitting on a lap or on the arm of your chair. They will follow you
wherever you go, even to the bathroom and will talk through the door at
you if you dare to close one. There is no need to let them outside to be
run over by a passing car or beaten up by the local tom cat, they will
happily live inside with there owners with lots of toys to play with.
They are happy living as part of any family, with working couples,
people living alone or families with children and are happy living in a
house, flat or apartment as long as they have lots of attention from
there people. 
If you are not sure that
the Exotic is the cat for you, take the time to go along to a cat show
and speak to breeders and see the cats for yourself. You can get a list
of shows for the year from the governing bodies in your state; phone
numbers can be found in the yellow pages or have a look on the internet.
Buying
an Exotic Shorthair as a pet
We cannot stress
strongly enough to people to only buy from a registered breeder. Most
kittens from pet shops are more expensive than from a registered breeder
and you will not be able to view parents and check that the kitten is
from a clean environment. Also many kittens sold from a pet shop are not
properly vaccinated and you have no guarantee that the kitten is the
breed you are paying for.
 Buying
a kitten from a registered breeder will usually ensure that the babies
are healthy, vaccinated, wormed and toilet
trained. Many breeders
also desex there kittens before they leave for there new home and will
provide you with the registrations certificate and pedigree of the
kitten you are purchasing. If the breeder does not desex before selling
the kitten
they will often hang on
to the paperwork until it is done.
Breeders will often give
you a photocopy of the pedigree of the kitten you are buying. You may
ask yourself what is the difference between a pet kitten and a show
quality kitten. Many times its not anything that the average person can
tell and does not affect its health, it may be that the kitten has a
longer body or larger ears than the standard asks for, also sometimes
its because a breeder prefers not to sell too many males for breeding
and so sells them as pets. There is many a cat sitting on someone’s bed
who would do very well on the show bench if it hadn’t been sold as a pet
and some breeders will allow these cats to be shown once they have been
desexed.
Showing a kitten
If you are interested in
starting to show a kitten talk to as many breeders as you can, an entire
(not desexed) 'show quality' kitten will cost quite a lot more than a
pet kitten, it’s a big step as the kitten you buy will be with you for
life and you want to make the right decision. The kitten is an
advertisement for the breeder whose prefix it carries and so most good
breeders will guide you through the process of showing you the best way
to present the kitten at a show and help you with the process of filling
out forms, what curtains to use etc., that way the breeder is also proud
of seeing that cat on the show bench. It’s not always easy if you do not
live in the same state as the breeder but they should give you as much
information as possible and it is easy to email information and queries
back and forth. It’s a good idea to show a desexed kitten for 12 months
or so if you are thinking of breeding as it gives you a chance to see
many good specimens and to learn what is good and not so good in a
breed. There is a lot of fun to be had with showing a desexed cat, you
can win good prizes and make lots of great friends.
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