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Cats/color enhancing shampoos

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Expert: - 1/16/2010


Question
Hi Norman:  

Recently I went to a cat show and saw a prize winning Maine coon cat that was a gorgeous tabby with copper and brown stripes.  Does the cat owner use some kind of hair color to get that brilliant copper hue or is it a coloring enhancer type shampoo.  If so, what brand of color shampoo would you recommend to highlight a coppery glow?  Thanks much.  

Answer
Jennifer,

Shampoos cannot give you what is not already there (at least if you play by the rules).  Most color enhancement products make the color of the cat look artificial and the judges should know what to look for.  Good breeding can create that kind of rich color in the brown tabby (the rufousing polygenic system).

We like to use Tomlyns Fiery Bronze Shampoo to highlight good rufousing in the color of our cats. However, there are other products around that might do just as well.  You have to try them.  I would avoid any henna products, any dyes, color rinses or the like as they tend to look very, very artificial and such products are considered intent to deceive which can result in disqualification of the cat on the show bench.

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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