The history of the origin of the snow-shu cat breed, a description of the official standard for the appearance of cats, features of the character of the animal, health and advice on caring at home, the price of a kitten. Snow shoe is an extraordinary, charming representative of the vast world of cats, which simply amazes with its eccentricity. This breed is relatively young and until recently no one had heard of it, and there was no smell of demand and popularity here. But everything fundamentally changed at one point, when a photo of one of the snow-shu cats flew around all social networks. This kitten with congenital dwarfism and malocclusion has become not only popular, it can undoubtedly be classified as a world celebrity. Purr is better known as the saddest cat in the world, or Grumpy Cat.
Sad, but at the same time such a cute expression of the face, undoubtedly, has become the hallmark of this type of cats, but most of the representatives of this breed are extremely difficult to call sad. Bringing Grumpy Cat to the house of fellows, you will be pleasantly surprised that such a pet does not occupy vigor and cheerfulness. In a matter of days, this pet becomes an integral part of a person's life, no one can explain how he does it. Either these cats have some kind of magical abilities, or they just have such a supernatural innate charisma.
The history of the origin of cats of the snow-shu breed
The history of this variety of cats stretches from the not so distant 60s of the last century. The famous cat breeder and felinologist Dorothy Hinds-Dougherty lived in the United States of America, namely in Philadelphia. The woman most of her activities was engaged in breeding Siamese cats and everything suited her. One fine, we can say the fateful day, one of her cats brought offspring, looking at the newborn babies, one rather interesting detail struck the breeder - some babies were owners of snow-white "socks" on their paws.
This feature of appearance seemed to the breeder to be very cute and original, then she decided to create a new breed, or rather, to preserve this extraordinary detail. It seemed that the cat had smeared its paws with flour.
The American woman thought for a long time about who to choose as the ancestors of the cherished variety of cats. Her decision was to stop at a Siamese cat and an ordinary, yard male who walked the American streets. The cat consisted of two colors. As a result, cute kittens (the ancestors of the snow-shu breed) were born, dressed in "socks". It would seem that here he is a success, but the picky felinologist was not happy, explaining everything by the fact that the feline cubs lack the traditional Siamese color. After waiting some time for these kittens to reach sexual maturity, the breeder crossed them with representatives of the Siamese breed. When she first saw the result of her work, there was no longer any doubt - all the cats perfectly matched the original idea. The chic Siamese color of the fur was complemented by a snow-white "accessory" in the form of "socks". The creator of the breed immediately began to think about how to name the new species of the feline kingdom and the name came by itself. Snow-shu, which literally means "snow shoe" in English.
Then the breeder was already sure that everything worked out, and went with her tailed "creation" to a major American cat show, but, unfortunately, no one appreciated her efforts. They flatly refused to recognize the breed, since, by and large, the Snow shoe did not differ in any way from the already world-famous Siamese cats, and they also have white legs.
Then everyone thought that this would be the final of kittens with snow-white markings on their paws, but, fortunately, another breeder, Vicky Olander, became interested in them. It was she who began to further breed these Murziks and still achieved her goal. Slightly adjusting the breed standard and describing it in detail, the snow shoo eventually received such coveted recognition from such feline associations as CFF and ACA. Members of the commission of organizations decided to give a chance to cute cats and classified them as "experimental", after all, it's better than nothing. Already in the early 80s, the Snow shoe received its first championship title.
Today, representatives of the breed are quite rare pets, since the birth of kittens that fully comply with the official standard cannot be predicted in any way, it also happened that all litters did not have a single kitten in socks. Accordingly, this affects the price of such babies.
Description of the standard of appearance and photo of the cat Snow-shu
These representatives of the feline world belong to the category of medium-sized animals. The average body weight of an adult cat varies in the range from 3 to 4.5 kg, but some individuals can fatten up to 6 kg. Sexual dimorphism in appearance can be noticed immediately, individuals of the fair sex are much smaller than males.
- Torso cats in "socks" are very harmoniously and proportionally folded, everything in these animals is in moderation. Moderately developed muscle tissue, due to this Snow shoe is strong and mobile, but at the same time does not seem large. The area of the hips slightly rises above the general line of the back, this feature gives a special charm to the cat's gait. In addition, the purr's spinal column also has a slight deflection.
- Limbs Snow-shou cats are relatively long, but do not violate the overall picture of the physique. Paws are small, rounded in shape.
- Tail process not too long, functions well. From a narrow tip, it increases significantly in diameter towards the base. Usually densely covered with hair.
- Head representatives of the medium-sized Snow shoe variety, in its configuration resembles a slightly modified wedge, its soft outline, as if outlining an isosceles triangle. The cheekbones are high, well visualized. According to the standard, the face of these pets should be very narrow and not too long, which cannot be said about vibrissae. According to the standard, they are assumed to be long, while the longer the better. The average length of a mustache can vary from 6 to 12 cm.
- Auricles rather wide at the base, but gradually tapering towards the tip, which is slightly rounded. If you look at the cat not too closely, you may get the impression that the ears do not have any transition to the head, but are a direct continuation of it. The ears are very wide apart.
- Eyes the Snow shoe is medium in size, resembling an oval in shape, the lines of which are rounded and slightly elongated in the transverse direction. As for the color of the eyes, any range of shades of blue color is allowed.
- Wool, wrapping a graceful torso snow-shou can be either short or medium in length, moderately thick. The undercoat is extremely short and not too dense, therefore the main coat is very close to the skin. The coat color of the American furry can be exclusively silpoint, bluepoint or tortoiseshell. On the face of a purebred, thoroughbred cat should flaunt an inverted letter "V", traced in a snow-white color. Around the eyes, as if glasses, these purrs have dark hairs, the same should be in the projection of the shoulder girdle and pelvis. The hair on the tail and the pads of the feet are also dark shades. The visiting card of this breed is the snow-white tips (about 2-3 cm) of the legs.
It is important to know that these unusual cats can be born completely snow-white, and the final color version is formed after some time.
Characteristics of the character of cats of the Snow shoe breed
We can say about these wonderful animals that they are the one and only and there is a significant amount of truth in this. Indeed, each individual cats of the snow-shu variety is a personality, each has its own character, its own tastes and preferences. But they still have something in common - good nature, openness to the world around them and, it seems, inexhaustible energy. Sometimes it is quite surprising how active and perky these animals are, it seems that they have some kind of motor with automatic recharging. They can tirelessly drive around the house for hours, chase the ball, they can climb the same tree back and forth. A common weakness for height for all these cats. Well, they really love to look at the world, climbing to the highest point. And most often the pet does not care at all where this "point of view" is, on the street it can be a tall tree, and in the apartment the top shelf of the cabinet or the height of the refrigerator is quite suitable.
In addition, when starting such a pet, you should be prepared for the fact that these pussies are quite "chatty". They can tell the owner for a long time how their day went or some other important cat information. Their voice is not too loud and even pleasant.
Cats get along well with children, they really like the activity of children, with them the animal will frolic with pleasure and can even steal a toy from the child, if the size allows it. Likewise, other pets become best friends with the Snow shoe if they play with them.
Snow-shu: health and possible diseases of the cat
Speaking specifically about the representatives of the breed, then they can be called healthy animals with good body defenses. However, do not forget that this species, as such, was discovered not so long ago, and their closest relatives are the Siamese. Because of this, there are a number of pathologies to which these kittens in "snow-white shoes" are also prone.
Their respiratory system is extremely sensitive, so it is best not to allow the pet to get hypothermia, otherwise the owner will not "blink an eye", and the cat is already sick. But this applies only to small kittens, adult animals do not have a tendency to frequent colds.
The Snow shoe also has problems with the vestibular apparatus. Namely, congenital pathology of the inner ear, which in the future may appear as imbalance. It cannot be said that this is extremely dangerous for the life of a pet, with early diagnosis of this problem, it can be effectively treated. The problem, unfortunately, cannot be eradicated, but a veterinarian can reduce the leading symptoms to a minimum.
With improper care, lack of physical activity, and prolonged solitude indoors, your pet can develop obsessive-compulsive disorder. This is a disruption of the nervous system, which most often makes itself felt with abundant hair loss of psychogenic etiology. In addition, a pet on its own can lick its fur coat too much in certain places, where bald patches will form after a while.
Vaccination is one of the most important factors due to which, your pet will live long live. In no case should vaccinations be neglected. The cat must be vaccinated against diseases such as distemper, panleukopenia, feline leukemia, infectious peritonitis and rhinotracheitis of viral etiology.
There is no single vaccination calendar for cats, but despite this, most experts strongly recommend starting to vaccinate an animal at two to three months of age. In order to choose the right drug, dose and prescribe the time of administration, you need to show the cat to the veterinarian.
Also, before carrying out the manipulation, you need to make sure that the snow shoo cat is completely healthy. It is strictly forbidden to vaccinate animals that are younger than two months, during the period of changing teeth, less than a month ago, surgery was performed, the animal was recently treated with antibacterial drugs. Before vaccination, you need to observe the pet for several days, if it runs briskly and purrs, has a good appetite, it has a normal body temperature, you can safely start creating artificial immunity.
It is worth remembering that after the introduction of the drug, it is better not to let the animal go outside and, if possible, isolate it from other pets. Also, do not be alarmed if the first days after vaccination, the Snow shoe may be sluggish - this is a completely normal body reaction to the drug. An increase in body temperature and a decrease in appetite are also possible. If this continues for several days, you should not worry, if these symptoms continue for up to a week, you should sound the alarm and go to the veterinary hospital.
Snow shou: rules for home care
- Hair care. In order for your Snow shoe to always look beautiful and well-groomed, for this the owner will have to make some effort. The cat needs to be combed out regularly, firstly, for aesthetic purposes, and, secondly, in order to prevent intestinal obstruction due to blockage of the intestinal lumen with a hair ball. This should be done two to three times a week, using either a rubber glove or a massage brush. If you prefer a brush, then it is better to choose it of medium hardness, but for snow-shu fur, it is quite possible to use a soft one. During the molting period, it is recommended to increase the procedure before daily use. As for swimming, we can say that Snow Shoe are still those who like to splash in water, but the structure of their hairs does not “like” water too much. For this reason, the kitten should only be bathed when necessary. If your pet constantly lives in an apartment with rare exits to the street, then taking a bath every six months will be more than enough. If this tenant in "snow-white shoes" often walks by himself, then hygiene procedures should be frequent.
- Hygiene. Such a pet needs to brush its teeth and it must be done and, as often as possible, at least twice a week. It is also not bad to include in the animal's diet specialized food for mechanical cleaning of teeth; on the packaging of such food there should be an inscription "DENTAL". Quite effective feed of the Royal Canin brand. The eyes and ears also need to be cleaned. This should be done at least once a week.
- What to feed? Representatives of this breed are not inclined to eat more than they need, so they do not have obesity. As a main course for snow sho, it is best to give preference to ready-made premium and super-premium industrial food, periodically alternating with canned food. In addition to this, it is recommended to feed the pet with courses of vitamin and mineral complexes. You should consult your doctor about their choice, duration of administration and optimal doses.
Snow shoe: where to buy and the average price of a kitten
Representatives of this breed are quite rare specimens, albeit popular. On the territory of our country, there is only one cattery that is engaged in breeding snow-shu kittens. It is located in Moscow, its name is "Snow Angel". The average cost of such a "ball" ranges from 15,000 to 35,000 rubles. Show class kittens are valued at times more expensive, so a snow-shou kitten, which has the right to take part in prestigious exhibitions, will cost you an average of 90,000 rubles.
