Birman – The facts every owner of this cat breed should know

Learn the facts on maintaining good health, grooming needs, living conditions and more when it comes to the Birman

The history of the Birman cat is steeped in mystery. According to legend, the people of Asia built a temple to worship a golden goddess with sapphire-blue eyes. A priest often knelt in meditation with a white temple cat. One night the temple was attacked at the priest killed. As the priest died, the cat placed his feet upon the priest and faced the golden goddess. As he did, the hairs of his white body turned golden, and his yellow eyes to sapphire-blue, his four white legs turned brown, but where his paws rested, they remained white. Where this legend ends, history begins.

##################################

Click Here For A Vet’s Secrets To Keeping Your Cat Healthy

##################################

The temple was raided at the beginning of the 20th century. Two westerners, Auguste Pavie and Major Gordon Russell, came to the aid of the priests. As a gesture of gratitude the priests later sent the two men a pair of Birman. The male cat did not survive the trip but the female, who was pregnant, did. The Birman is an average size cat (males generally ranging from eight to twelve pounds, females seven to nine pounds).

 

Birmans have a medium length coat that requires very little grooming. The coats are usually a light color on the face and darker over the rest of the coat, with golden shades being the most popular. Their eyes are always blue and their paws are white. Birman coats are long but not very dense, so they are not prone to matting. As the third most popular longhaired cat, Birmans are good pets. They tend to enjoy the company of their human families.

Birmans are described as ’soft spoken,’ but social and friendly. Birmans are considered sweet and because of this, they are able to adapt well to changes and adore their family. They tend to be a healthy breed; Birmans are generally free from any medical concerns, but some are sensitive to anesthetics. Birmans also require relatively little training and will learn to use the litter box on their own.

There is a website that has great information on Birmans and most other breeds of cats. It has details that pertain to a cat breeds health, grooming, living conditions, best food choices and more, the website is called: Dog And Cat Facts, and can be found here

Copyright 2007 By Robert W. Benjamin

##################################

Click Here For A Vet’s Secrets To Keeping Your Cat Healthy

##################################

Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25+ years. He first released products on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970’s-80’s. Get A Credit Card or PayDay Loan Today!

By Robert Benjamin Published: 5/7/2007 Related posts or click for cat rehoming: Available Cat Breeds | Different Cat Breeds If you are going to get your first cat or even if you had some in the past, you are likely to get surprised by the breed options available to you. With all of.   What are some cat breeds that get along well with other pets? | My … I am getting a kitten in a few months, but I want one that won’t be miserable with my other animals. I have a hyper Sheltie dog, and a Calico x Tabby cat.  The Siamese Cat Breed The Siamese cat breed has a distinctive mask, dark paws and large pointed ears. It has a lively temperament and can be very vocal. Find out if this is the right cat for you.   How To Know Your Pet Cat Has Fleas | Different Cat Breeds For such parasitic insects, cat flea can cause an unbearable physical and emotional stress upon you and your pet. Just when you think you’ve got an infestation.   Cat Pictures: Cat breeds available for adoption Cat breeds available for adoption FelineOnline is a unique and innovative online resource for would-be cat owners to access in order to locate a suitable cat currently living in the animal welfare system. The easy to navigate,

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: birman cat, cat whiskers, catcare, cats breed, illnesses, kittens, symptoms, vet

If you have problems with your cat sneezing there are a couple of possibilities. There could possibly be a respiratory allergy or in more serious cases a virus. In many cases it could just be an allergy to something in the environment. In the more serious cases the could have picked up a virus and should be vaccinated. If the problem is chronic it is advised to take your cat to the vet for a proper check up.

Cats just like humans are prone to sicknesses. In fact, cats succumb to two cat viral infections that will be discussed shortly. The good news is that there is a cure for many cat illnesses.

##################################

Click Here For A Vet’s Secrets To Keeping Your Cat Healthy

##################################

These two common viral infections are Feline Herpes 1 virus known as rhinotracheitis virus and infection with the organisms called Chlamydia psittaci and mycoplasma.

When a cat is infected, they will experience a fever, have weepy eyes, a crusty nose and sneeze a lot. This can go away with or without treatment but this can come back.

When this happens, the condition is called Feline Keratoconjunctivitis the virus settles in the nerves around their face. Corneal scars can be seen to a little over a centimeter in diameter. This makes it hard for the cat to see and it usually happens due to stresses associated with boarding, weather change, a new pet in the house or as mentioned earlier other diseases.

Things are going to get worse as the outer coating of the cornea will be lost to the invading virus. Secondary bacterial and mycoplasmal infection of these areas may cause deep ulcers around the eye and in some cases damage the surrounding areas as well.

Fortunately, this can be treated using an amino acid called –lysine by reducing the amount of another amino acid called arginine that is present in the cat’s body. The vet will prescribe a dosage between 200 to 500 mg per day and sprinkled into their food. There are different brands available and when you look for one, make sure it is glycol free.

You can also try topical antibiotics that have also proven to be effective but they are only designed to quell secondary bacterial invaders.

Another option is for you to use topical anti-virals that are designed to directly fight the virus. Some examples of these include  Herplex  (idoxuridine), Viroptic (trifluorothymidine, and Vira-A (vidarabine).  These medications are relatively expensive and have to be given 5 times a day. Only when the cornea is indeed infection should this be given.

Something more affordable than the topical anti-virals is an oral solution called Oral Interferon. Although it has never been scientifically proven to treat cat viral infections, cat owners that have used this have claimed that it does shorten the length of the infection. The best part is that there are no known side effects so you don’t lose anything by trying it. 

Vaccines seem to be the best way to prevent these diseases from happening. Ideally, this should be given to a cat during their 9th, 12th and 14th week of age. It should be administered using a 25 gauge needle on the anterior side of a rear leg and massaged afterwards to prevent tumors from forming in the injection sites.

There are other eye infections that mimic what was just mentioned. One example is eosinophilic conjunctivitis. So before any medication can be given, the vet will first have to do a test to make sure that the proper medication is given. 

##################################

Click Here For A Vet’s Secrets To Keeping Your Cat Healthy

##################################

This is known as PCR or the Polymerase Chain Reaction test. It is a DNA test that amplifies the presence of viral DNA so that even one single virus can be detected in a sample from a conjunctival swab.

Cat viral infections are common among kittens but they can be prevented and cured. You have to know first which one you are dealing with so the proper medication can be given. For more information about them, do some research online and go talk to your vet.  

 

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: cat, cats disease, fleas behaviour, illness, illnesses, symptoms