Show Preparation

A Siamese cat does not need to be bathed and show preparation is very easy.

Trim the cats nails front and back paws, wipe the inside of the cats' ears, I use a cotton wool makeup remover pad, dipped in warm water. Any dirt in the ears must be thoroughly removed without delving too deeply in the ear canal.

The coat of a beautiful Siamese is short and close lying, a gentle brush over with a rubber brush will remove any loose hairs, but be very careful not to over do this  as it can leaving thin in patches if it is over done in one place. A gentle wipe over then with a velvet glove will add to the natural sheen of the coat.

On show morning, double check the cat has clean eyes and a clean bottom.

For yourself, most definitely a comfortable pair of shoes, a couple of Panadol and a good pen to mark up your show catalogue.

Cat breeding can be a minefield of problems even for the more experienced breeder. Pedigree cats usually call every  fortnight as regular as clockwork if you are unlucky it  can be every other week. This has to be lived with as obviously the 'she' cat cannot be mated all the time, some girls will urine mark when they are calling,  this is just one of the so called 'joys' of having breeding girls. Stud fees have to be considered, along with the journey to a suitable  stud, if you have one within an hours drive then you are extremely fortunate, if  he is available just when you need him then your luck is really in. Blood tests are required before your queen is taken to stud, she should be healthy and in tip top condition. The journey to stud must be made at least twice, once to take your girl and next to collect her a few days later, assuming that she gets in kitten first time. If not you  have to repeat the process usually without the blood tests though if it is in a reasonable length of time.

Then follows nine weeks and two days of good general care of the expectant mother, a suitable kittening box and nerves of  steel as you sit up all night comforting your girl and offering her reassurance that all this is normal. You yourself will have read the print from every cat text book you could find, unfortunately your girl has not read the books and you can only hope she will turn out to be a good mother, she will have a full milk bar and that everything will go to plan.