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Cats/Change of character

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Expert: - 9/1/2011


Question
Hi Norman
I have two beautiful Rag Doll Cats. Gemma is 2years old this month and Bynx (Blue Mitted male) and is 10 months old. Bynx joined our family at 9 weeks old to be mated with Gemma when he was old enough. The last few times that Gemma has come on heat Bynx has not realy shown that he was up to speed with what he is ment to do. Unfortunately Gemma escaped last time she was on heat and became pregnant. About two weeks prior to her giving birth Bynx became extremely interested in Gemma and made many attempts to jump on her. Gemma had her kittens about 3days ago and Bynx has been very out of character. He seems depressed and has been wandering around the house whaling a horrible meow. Hes never realy been a cat to want to go outside. He has always been a very loving and energetic cat. Although he still sleeps on the bed with us at night, he is continually up and down during the night crying out and waking the household up. I hope you can help me. It upsets me to see him like this.

Answer
Lee,

Bynx may know that Gemma has had a litter of kittens and may know they are not his.  I suspect that once the kittens are weaned, all will be back to normal.

BTW, Gemma may come into season when the kittens are 4-6 weeks of age.  If you do not want to overbreed her, please keep Bynx away from Gemma while this is going on.

Also, be careful as some males really object to kittens that are not theirs and may kill them.  Fortunately this should not be the case as Bynx has never bred.  However, you just may want to keep an eye on things.

One other thing, sometimes slower developing breeds, like Ragdolls, may take their sweet time in figuring out the whole breeding thing. It could be that at 10 months, Bynx was just not ready!

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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