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Expert: - 2/26/2010


Question
We have adopted a previously feral cat that we dearly love.  But he has a few strange quirks.  He is very furry, with what I think would be called a double coat.  I consider him gray, although his undercoat is really more like a pinkish beige.  The strangest thing about his appearance is that he has a very fluffy, plume-like tail which he carries curled up over his back.  We have had other cats with big tails and they generally carried them straight up in the air or held behind them for balance when walking along fences etc.  This is the first we have seen of this curling type.  The other strange thing he does is to shred the newspaper.  Not with his claws.  With his teeth.  Into kind of long streamers.  He doesn't seem to be eating it, although I'm not sure some of it doesn't get swallowed.  

My children have concluded that this is all the result of having been raised by squirrels while in the woods :)  Is this shredding behavior familiar to you at all?  And is a curled tail a sign of a particulat breed or just a peculiarity of this cat?  

Thanks.  Just curious.

Answer
Fay,

Without a picture. it is impossible to figure out what your kitty may be.  Lots of cats do carry their tails this way (it is called "happy tail" and is considered a fault in the Persian breed.

As long as you and your children are enjoying this cat with all the quirks, all is well!!!!!!

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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