What do you love about Siberian cats? Is it their shy glances and quiet purrs or the fact that they are insusceptible to any form of dangerous diseases?
Siberian cats are inexcusably general healthy breeds on many fronts, gifted with cute faces, soft, fluffy, and enjoyable partners for cuddling. Historically found in the native region of Russia (Siberia), Siberian cats are known over the years for their lenient and cushy personalities. These cats are great and affectionate buddies to have around your kids and relatively within active households, playful, amazing, and energetic.
Here are some favorable factors that help contribute to getting a healthy Siberian cat anywhere in the world.
1. Do your homework
If there is anything at all to do when hoping to buy something new is that you make inquiries about it, ask people, or make deep and thorough research to know more and have essential details to sort the best you can get. As this common saying among professionals, ‘know your Onions.’ Siberian cats are medium to large cats with origin from the icy forest of native Siberia in Russia. These types of cats are not your regular Exotic shorthairs, Ragdolls, Persian, or Maine Coon cats. They are rare species with unique traits that made them lovable and of high demands, often 13 inches in height with a weight up to 10-20 pounds in females and 25 in some males. They are hypoallergic, they come mostly with round eyes in different colors, though some are said to have blue eyes or one of their eyes in different pairs of color. Siberian cats are endowed with pointed fluffy ears with rounded edges and lynx tipping which often appeared to be a result of some extra hair around their ears.
Their bushy tails and triple coats often serve as their water repellent, tufts, and features of medium to long hair all depending on the environment and season. All these things are what you should know before deciding to hop in your ride and hit the road. One of the best things to do is to set time aside to gather valuable information online; mobile pet shops, websites, quora, Reddit, and other social media platforms are quality places to start when seeking quality and important information.
2. Find a Reputable Breeder
For someone who so much adores kittens and is looking to have his or her purebred pet, the first and the most important step is to identify a well-reputable breeder. Not only do good and responsible breeders provide you with the means and standard of getting a healthy cat, but you also tend to gain a lot as well from them as they continue to be a source of future help from time to time, daily as you and your newly found pal grown affectionately used to each other. Health-wise, growth-related issues, care, adaptation, etc.
Do you happen to sense the breeder is unregistered? Please run. In looking up a good breeder, this is the first red flag. Every breeder must be licensed and legally registered according to the dictates of the regional government and the association in the communities to which they belong. Though this doesn’t mean breeders that are licensed have the healthiest of kittens, however, this is the first pointer to a breeder who has all his eggs in the basket and knows what it takes to build a positive and reputable standard both for himself and his cat mills. You can start by enlisting local breeders through local registries. Two of the world’s largest associations in Canada and the US are CFA (The Cat Fancier’s Association) and TICA (The International Cat Association), and then we have the likes of LOOF in France and some other regional and local associations across the globe.
For a better and faster means as it is sometimes most certain you might not find all the breeders on the regional registries list. Popular social media platforms, pages, and groups are other places to explore in search of good breeders with good and healthy Siberian cats for sale. It is no longer news that online marketing is the new global oil about business exploration and successes, Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and other popular websites are current homes for business persons and professionals from different niches. These platforms are swamped with pet lovers who love to share their past and current experiences with breeders and cats, and breeders who enjoy sharing tips and educational content on pets, their care, and all.
Surfing through the activities of these users and buyers, as well as the useful information given out by those breeders will help you to know who is best to approach to get your dream healthy and loving Siberian.
3. Be Prepared to Travel
Siberian cats are rare kinds of cats; they aren’t cats that are just found anywhere or at every kitten mill. Most times most pets are lovable, charming, and beautiful in pictures, if there is one thing you must know is that some of the pictures of pets posted online are well-edited and often photoshopped. There have been cases of breeders who for the sake of gaining market visibility and patronage often go to the extent of taking or including images of pets that are often not theirs, and by so doing tricked pet lovers who often feel lazy, busy, or reluctant to travel down for physical inspection into getting pets they didn’t demand. They either end up with pale and unhealthy kittens or arguably not the Siberian kind of cat they would have loved to have. So, for what it’s worth and to see fit that your money is well spent, always be prepared to travel.
Book an appointment with the breeder, let them know if anything in your schedule has changed, be there, and be present and ready to inspect and ask questions.
4. Visit Breeders/Mills Separately
Moving from one kitten mill to another or from breeders to breeders in a single day can cause cross-infection which can affect the health of the already-healthy cats and probably paint the breeder’s standard bad. Most professionals recommend visiting different kitten-mill or breeders separately one day after the other. More so, any breeder who is good at what he does will tell you to wash your hands before and after checking and taking a close inspection at the cats to see if they soothe what you are searching for to not get other breeder cats infected in case you are dissatisfied with the pedigree level or outlook and want to try somewhere. Any honest breeder will tell you this, if they don’t, there is certainly something wrong somewhere such as the needed urgency to sell by all means.
5. Know the Health Status
One of the things to know important is if the cat is safe health-wise. Ask questions, and study the reactions and responses of the breeder to them. Do they feel reluctant to answer or not? I believe this is one of the easiest ways to know if someone is lying or not. Generally, most Siberian cats are not prone to dangerous and common diseases associated with other cats like roundworms, toxoplasmosis, rabies, cat scratch, campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, giardiasis, and the rest. The only genetically rare disease among Siberians is a fatal heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, this is a condition in which the heart muscles become abnormally thick, thereby making it difficult for the heart to pump blood.
So, to be on the safe side and also for the healthiness of the Siberian you will choose, always ask each breeder if they have had their cats examined by a reputable veterinarian and if as well they have been thoroughly given their yearly echocardiogram scan. Be pumped to ask questions, check the pedigree papers, blood group, and all.
6. Ask if it is Neutered or Sprayed
Stray cats cause significant problems for their owner. These particular cats tend to grow into feral cats with poor, dirty, and annoying personalities. These cats are cats that live off your garbage can, and turn your rooftop into a permanent place of residence rather than the comfy rooms provided for them. So, before anything, it is important to know how these cats were bred, and the kind of environment they were reared in. An honest and responsible breeder who puts customer satisfaction first before anything and is willing to set high standards and positive feedback will do well to tell all that you need to know. Important pointers like behavior, adaptation, health, temperament, intelligence, and appearance are all naturally influenced by every pet’s genetic background and the kinds of hands they fall into in terms of breeding. And believe it or not, breeders who handle breeding carelessly are usually careless and nonchalant about their handling at the early stages, health, neutering, or spraying.
7. Readiness
You should know this is a decision that will require a lifetime commitment. The stated lifespan of any Siberian cat is approximately 10 -20 years. So, is this something you are ready for? Building a long-lasting relationship with your cat is going to take more than just you being the owner, at a point in time as they mature activities such as clipping nails which is quite better and professionally advisable rather than ripping them off totally, getting scratching posts which mostly aid cats in keeping their paws in perfect and healthy conditions, having a room set up and all could be very demanding and sometimes annoying as well.
Maturity in Siberians comes slower, especially the males. All these are things you will grow patience for. Be ready as well to answer questions because a good breeder will want to the kind of personality and home his kitten is walking into.
8. Cost
Siberian cats cost awesomely between $1,200 and $4,000. The price varies depending on the pedigree and age, and mostly because they come with exceptional personalities unlike common cats such as Sphynx, Scottish folds, Polydactyl, Snowshoe, Ragdolls, and the rest. Siberian cats are cats for every pet lover, a kind and loving companion for every man but they are not available just anywhere. Their high demands and numbers of purebred that can be found most especially outside Russia are relatively low, which is the key factor that makes them golden tickets in terms of market value and cost. So, when the words about a purebred pop out for sale or you kind of felt is the right time for you to acquire your dream loving Siberian friend, another thing that comes to your mind is the question of whether you are ready or not to splash the cash. But if there is any form of payback funds, consolation, or reward, is that these cats are adorable and you will love them.