2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21
Today we will talk about big domestic cats. If you are not familiar with such amazing creatures, then this article is for you.
Maine Coon
Pride and genuine joy for any person can be a big cat. The Maine Coon breed came to us from North America. The colossal size of the body, harmonious colors and tassels on the ears make these cats look like lynxes, only the fluffy noble tail suggests a relationship with raccoons.
History has not decided on the true origin of giant cats, but it is known that the breed has retained its identity for several centuries. Marvelous coloring and all physiological features completely repeat the cats of the ancient Vikings.
This breed of big cats is characterized by a very decent weight of males - about 11-12 kilograms, females are more fragile - reach only 5-7 kg, but such figures have long been a wonder for experienced felinologists and ordinary cat lovers.
Character and appearance of cats of this breed
Maine Coons are moderately playful and mischievous, but only with those they trust. A predatory look and a muscular body often scare awaypeople, especially children. This breed of large cats is famous for its medium-sized head with a flat skull. The Maine Coon's nose is quite peculiar and unusually wide, crosses the cat's muzzle with a dense line, busily emphasizes the animal's piercing eyes.
The Maine Coon's eyes can shimmer in the noblest shades of green and fiery gold, while light-colored individuals have cornflower blue eyes and common heterochromia.
It is cats of large breeds that can boast of strong and amazingly large limbs, photos of which often cannot convey their grandeur and grace. Mei-coons, on the other hand, are distinguished by dense woolen layers between the fingers, which allows the animal to easily move around the snow-covered expanses.
Strong, amazingly silky coat protects the Maine Coon from frosty winds, and a dense undercoat regulates the temperature balance. Like any breed of large cats, Maine Coons need some care: captivating wool requires scrupulous combing at least 2-3 times a week and painstaking washing once a month, especially if you breed Maine Coons in warm latitudes.
Siberian cat
Big size cat breeds also include the long haired beauty Siberian cat. The Asian origin was reflected in the colorful animal, giving the color of the descendant of aboriginal cats a camouflage effect. The predominant colors of the Siberian cat are ground black, stony gray with separate stripes of white and red motifs.
Siberian is prettya memorable breed of big cats: a convex feline forehead, combined with low cheekbones, emphasizes the size of the head and the overall impressiveness of the animal. An adult cat (and the animal develops muscles and skeleton up to the age of five) often weighs about 6-8 kilograms, and males catch up with Maine Coons in weight - 12 kilograms.
The origin of the "Siberian" has led to an amazing transformation of wool: super-dense undercoat in the company of optimally hard wool perfectly balances the heat balance of the cat. Also, due to the density and amount of undercoat, the cat's coat does not get wet at all and thus protects the inhabitant of the harsh expanses from the vagaries of the weather.
The eyes of the Siberian predator are always in harmony with its camouflage color, varying between noble golden and emerald, while light representatives can boast of bluish or gray-green eyes. Their shape in the "Siberian" is oval, with a rounded lower eyelid. A feature of the giant is the impressive distance between the eyes, which gives the cats a kind of nobility.
Siberian character
Siberians are distinguished by amazing restraint towards a person, a Siberian beauty will not impose or pursue the owner in the hope of begging for attention. But at the moment of acute need for her, the "Siberian" will appear as if by magic.
Some care features
The undoubted advantage of this breed is ease of care: long and impressive in density coat does not stray in tufts and does notrequires constant brushing. The "Siberian" needs to be washed often, but this breed is not afraid of water procedures.
The only rule of neighborhood with Siberian cats is regular walking, because the cat's predatory instincts are highly developed. Living in the countryside, the Siberian hunts not only small rodents, but also often brings prey to the hostess in the form of a rabbit or a ferret. The Siberian cat, like a dog, takes a liking to only one person, it rather puts up with the presence of the rest of the household.
Serval
Great ears and high feline height can boast serval - the breed of the largest cats, photos of which have been decorating fashion magazines and celebrity blogs for the past five years. The serval is an amazingly powerful and hardy African predator. While hunting, it can be motionless for about 15 minutes, and long jumps reach 3.5 meters.
A special sign of the endurance of the serval is the ability to reach speeds of up to 80 km/h. Such indicators allow the African cat to hunt antelopes and small gazelles. The efficiency of the serval's hunting trips is 50%, which exceeds the performance of the mighty lions (30%) and graceful leopards (38%).
Servals are proud and lonely, the male is left to himself and controls the territory essential for cats - 30 km2, females are more economical: about 20 km are under their power 2. Servals also control the continuation of the genus independently, and by cat MarchAfrican predators are not at all weighed down by the tides. Pregnancy dexterous beauty lasts up to 77 days, and they give birth to 2 to 4 babies. Servals start catching prey on their own from the age of six months, and in a year self-sufficient African cats leave their mother's hole.
The life expectancy of a bold serval in the natural environment is no more than 10 years, in captivity and with balanced care, an African cat can live for about 20 years (cases of a serval life are known for a quarter of a century).
Only a serval born in captivity and accustomed to human society can be accepted into the family. Wild and untamed servals are the most dangerous animals.
Diseases affecting large domestic cats
The breed of large cats, be it Maine Coon, Siberian or Serval, is famous for its endurance and powerful life potential. But still, these animals are prone to a very common and dangerous disease - hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The danger of the disease is that a congenital defect causes thickening of the walls of the ventricle of the cat's heart, which significantly reduces the volume of pumped blood. Often, a fatal outcome becomes a sign of such a disease: cats die in an instant.
No less dangerous and inexorable feline disease is spinal muscular atrophy - an ailment in which even the most he althy and developed individuals die of spinal cord neurons and skeletal muscles are destroyed. Giant cats are also susceptible to this disease, which is caused by a recessivegene. For the prevention of breeds of large cats, they are required to undergo an annual examination for the presence of deviations and a tendency to transmit such a pathology to offspring. Cats with this gene are being prevented from breeding in order to secure the future of the breed.
Conclusion
In our article, we introduced you to some big cats. We hope you find this information useful.
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