The Brazilian cat population is one of those rare cases when the breed was created by nature itself without the slightest human intervention. It looks like ordinary animals with very beautiful eyes and a peace-loving character. Consider their origin, appearance and character, in order to understand what their individuality is.
View history
For a long time, cats lived in the cities of Brazil, without attracting the attention of either citizens or felinologists, because their appearance was the most unremarkable: medium volume and weight, moderate paw length, tail and ears, normal body. The color of animals can be any, there are no restrictions. So the Brazilian cats would have walked by themselves today, if the breeders had not paid attention to the persistent individual traits of the entire population that distinguish them from the rest of the cat breeds.
Interestingly, the signs were developed without the participation of people in the process of natural selection.
In the 80s of the last century, animals began to be researched and bred, choosing kittens with the dominant signs of the breed. After a fairly serious amount of work, in 1985 Brazilian felinologists applied for registration of a new breed of cats. By this year, standards for the Brazilian Shorthair were developed.
The recognition did not come immediately, only in 1994, the world-famous organization WCF introduced the standards to the collection.
But at that time, the independence of the breed was denied. Brazilian cats combined with European, forming a Celtic Shorthair breed. The country's felinology continued to point out the unique signs of street populations, and in 1999 the WCF organization proposed to highlight the Brazilian shorthair in a separate type of cats.
Description
Appearance in animals is nothing outstanding, but pretty sweet.
- The body is of medium length with a broad chest, with developed muscles.
- The limbs are strong, standard sizes, with rounded pads on the feet.
- The head is slightly elongated, wedge-shaped. The muzzle has nice outlines.
- Standard wide-set triangular ears, rounded at the ends.
- Beautiful almond-shaped eyes with a clever piercing gaze whose color can be absolutely anyone.
- Wool without undercoat, short, tight to the body, silky to the touch. A variety of colors is not limited.
- The tail is wide at the base and narrowed at the tip.
- Strong strong neck of normal length.
By standards, weight is allowed up to 4 kg, the cat looks noticeably larger than the cat.
Character
Until the end of the last century, when Brazilian cats were noted as a breed, they were considered ordinary domestic animals. Long life on the street left an imprint on their character. Cats are freedom loving. Despite the good nature, can stand up for themselves. They are unsurpassed hunters and getters for their kittens.
Brazilian shorthair cats - social animals. They feel well in a large and noisy human family, while not highlighting anyone, and loving everyone from young to old. For them, an important aspect of family life is attention. A forgotten cat may seem aggressive and irritable, but the behavior is easily corrected by attention and care.
Breed endowed with good intelligence, easy to train. Kittens and young individuals are active, playful, prefer long walks in the fresh air. These are loving, affectionate and loyal pets, good companions in fun for children. With responsible care, they can live up to 20 years, delighting with the positive of their masters.
Care
The animal requires minimal care, as:
- unpretentious in food;
- he has short hair;
- possesses a peace loving character.
Bred cats are very clean, do not need to bathe them. But because of the frequent licking of the skin in the stomach, wool can accumulate. In such cases, the cat is given a special paste, grass or feed to help get rid of the savings.
It is recommended to brush the hair with a special brush 2-3 times a month.
In order to hygiene and prevent diseases, you should periodically inspect the eyes, ears and tips of the paws of the animal. Sometimes they are rubbed or cleaned using cotton swabs moistened in a decoction of herbs. A cat can brush its teeth once or twice a week. All devices for this are purchased at the pet store. Once a quarter give drugs from helminths. A cat should have a claw and several toys to satisfy the activity of a mobile animal.
Feeding
Representatives of this breed in food are picky, they eat everything that they are given. But you should not, taking advantage of the cat's good appetite, offer her everything indiscriminately: such a diet can harm even good health. For animals developed special food, enriched with vitamins and minerals. They are designed for different age categories. When choosing feed, the peculiarities of the animals' condition are taken into account:
- castration;
- pregnancy;
- feeding period kittens.
In addition to industrial feed, the diet should contain natural products: meat, poultry, fish. Cat's stomach does not tolerate fatty foods and some vegetables.
It is necessary to monitor daily the freshness and quality of water, as well as the cleanliness of feeding places
Health
Former street animals have earned excellent immunity over the years. But even they sometimes suffer from diseases of the skin and digestive system. The most common problems associated with malnutrition.
If the pet has seen disturbing symptoms or uncharacteristic behavior, it is better not to delay the visit to the veterinarian.
It is noted that representatives of the Brazilian Shorthair breed easily pick up worms, they can infect 82 types of worms and 32 of them are transmitted to humans. Therefore, for their diet, fish and meat are pre-boiled. Every 3 months they give tablets for worms, even if the animal is not on the street.
Of course, good immunity is important, but no one has yet canceled disease prevention. This means that vaccinations need to be done, especially if the animal is walking outside the house. For cats developed vaccines for 7 diseases caused by pathogens (viruses and bacteria):
- chlamydia;
- calcivirosis;
- rabies;
- ringworm;
- rhinotracheitis;
- infectious peritonitis;
- panleukopenia.
Complex vaccines are created and, as a rule, a cat is inoculated with multi-component preparations 1 time per year with 2 injections.
Breeding
In contrast to street animals, in Brazilian cats, besides the spring mating season, a surge in sexual activity is also observed in the summer. The current lasts about a week. Kittens can appear several times a year. During estrus, a peaceful and tender animal can become irritable and even bite or scratch. Since cats during this period are noisy, many people prefer to keep cats. But they have their own characteristics, provoked by instincts: cats in the period of sexual activity mark the territory with an unpleasant pungent smell.
Therefore, if you do not plan to continue the population, the animal is better to castrate.
Reproductive period in females begins at the age of 1 year, in some individuals - from 8 months. Pregnancy lasts 62–68 days. Before giving birth, the owners must prepare a place: for example, a box with litter. Kittens are born at intervals of about 30 minutes to an hour. The cat breaks the umbilical cord and licks the cubs.Brazilian short-haired babies usually go without complications, the cat itself is able to take care of itself and the babies.
Newborn kittens are blind and deaf, they begin to see in 15-20 twenty days, and hear - a little earlier. At the age of 3 weeks, babies can be fed. In addition to cereals in milk, boiled finely chopped meat and vegetables are gradually allowed to be introduced into the diet. .
By 1.5 months, fully formed teeth allow kittens to take harder food.
An animal with beautiful smart eyes and a good-natured character can be an excellent pet, but, unfortunately, a purebred short-haired cat can only be found in Brazil, domestic breeders do not breed it. Those who want to buy a kitten of this breed can contact the clubs, where they will advise how to organize the delivery of a pet from overseas.
A detailed description of the Brazilian Shorthair cat, see the following video.
