I'll be your pet, you'll be my slave! (Oriental Longhair)

Member Name: chucklepants

Product:	Oriental Longhair
Date:	18/07/06 (1725 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Loving, devoted.

Disadvantages: Noisy, demanding.

It has come to my attention that there are a lot of animal lovers out there, and I believe that cats are now outnumbering dogs in the most popular pet charts! I am therefore going to tell you about my experiences with my own cat, Cleo.
As Cleo was rescued, we didn't know her exact breed, but after much research, decided that she was an Oriental shorthair with brown-ticked tabby markings. There are many different appearances of this breed, but they all have the same basic body shape and characteristics. I have found that a lot of people mistake them for Siamese as they have a Siamese background.

Before I relate my personal experiences, I wil give you some background information about the Oriental breed. There is also an Oriental longhair breed but I will concentrate on the Oriental short -hair.

++++++ ORIENTAL SHORTHAIR ++++++

APPEARANCE

*From palantir.co.uk:
"The Oriental cat is essentially a Siamese cat with a different coloured coat and green eyes, except for the Foreign White which has Siamese-blue eyes. " There is a lot of history about how the breed evolved which gets very confusing for the average cat lover and differs slightly between the US and UK, so I will give you the basic information that I personally think is helpful to a cat owner.
* Information from The Collin's Complete Cat Owner's Manual: (edited)
"The body is sleek, slender and refined like a Siamese. The medium sized torso is graceful, long and svelte, combining fine bones and fine muscles. The head is a long tapering wedge. The muzzle is fine and wedge shaped. The almond shaped eyes slant up from the nose." There is a lot of information included about what is required for show purposes. I do not have an interest in showing animals so I will not include these details. "Ears are strikingly large and pointed and open at the base. The legs are long and slim with dainty, small, oval paws. The long thin tail tapers to a fine point. The short, fine coat of the shorthair is glossy and lies close to the body."

There are so many colour variations that it would not be useful to list them all. There are some beautiful photos on orientalplanet.co.uk. This will give an idea of the many variations. Of course, I thought my Cleo was the best. She had a quirky clump of hairs which stood up on the top of her head!

Cleo, as mentioned earlier, was a brown ticked tabby. (This is known as an ebony ticked tabby in the USA) " The coat has a warm coppery background with dense, black markings, each hair ticked with shades of brown and black." These hairs are amazing as each individual hair has different colours on it. I always knew a 'Cleo hair' when I found one! She had distinctive ringed markings on her tail. Her nose was pink, rimmed with black and her eyes were green. She had very alluring 'whisker dots' as if they'd been painted on! Cleo had the tiniest little dense hairs on top of her nose.. I thought they were very very cute! She also had a very striking tabby marking of a 'letter M' on hre head. This, I thought was very regal looking. One can tell how cats similar to this were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians. They have a certain regal stance and they always rule the house.

At first glance, some would not find the Oriental breed traditionally attractive. They have a striking appearance which makes them very photogenic. We used to love to wait for Cleo to yawn and try to 'snap' her at that moment. There is a really 'wild-cat' feel to these photos. Her beautiful green eyes also shone out in the photos. It goes without saying that the more you get to know your Oriental, the more attractive they become, in appearance as well as character.

TEMPERAMENT


"Oriental cats are intelligent, gentle and love company. They dislike being left alone and can be mischievous if bored and lonely. They will do anything to get your attention and remain playful, high spirited and affectionate, well into maturity. "

I can certainly vouch for all these characteristics. Cleo was extremely demanding, much like a young child. Even on the telephone, the caller thought I had a baby in the background, but it was Cleo! If I was ignoring her when she was 'calling' me, she would come right up to my face, very close indeed, and do a really big MEEEEEOOOOWWW. This noise was created right from the centre of her being and really meant business! Anybody who knows what a Siamese call is like will identify with this. She also had another very funny tactic. She would miaow in her usual voice for a while, then her call would get more and more high pitched until it sounded like a tiny squeak! If this didn't work, she would revert back to the 'back of the throat' shouting! There is really no way of ignoring an Oriental when they want to get your attention. Cleo really was the Queen of the house. If my husband and I were sat close together, Cleo would push through any arms that were in the way and come and sit right between us. She was immesely loving and once she gained the trust of a person, would give them all the cuddles and love in the world. (She would always come to me first though!) Her purr, like her 'speaking voice' was also amazingly loud. We used to think she was like a miniature pneumatic drill. It was very funny when she would sniff our nose, or ear, for instance, as this purring was intensified by her breathing sounds! Excuse me for describing Cleo's voice and characteristics in human form , but she sometimes seemed more human than feline!

I have only my experience of Cleo to tell you about so I can not compare her to other Orientals, but I am sure any other owners will recognise the personality traits in their Oriental cats.


More about Cleo!

Cleo was inherited by me when she was about 4 years old. She was originally a rescued cat. She lived with her first proper owner in a flat for this 4 years so was always indoors, as the flat was on a busy road. She came to me when her owner was moving in with friends who didn't want an animal in the house.
When she came to me she was a really timid little thing. She hid behind the sofa for a while, gradually building up the confidence to explore her new home. As I was the only person living in my house at the time, she very quickly formed a strong bond and attachment to me. Orientals love company, so once Cleo found she had a lot of attention from me, she was 'my' cat.

I do not know about other Orientals, but as Cleo was used to being a house cat, she always remained in or around the home. She never ventured very far away from the house and tended to stay in the garden, not further afield. She would get anxious if left outside and cry to come in. She loved sunbathing though as most cats do! Cleo's thin body would stretch out along the top of the sofa like a little draught excluder. She would find the tiniest patch of sunshine to bathe in.

When our son was born, I was scared stiff that Cleo would sit on his face and smother him. When we were asleep she would often want to sit on the pillows, as close to our breath as possible. She would actually sleep on our heads! My grandmother used to say that a cat will steal a baby's breath. I don't think this was such an old wives tale! Needless to say, I went out to buy all the cat nets and covers for the pram and cots and NEVER let Cleo in the baby's room. Before our son was born, we started shutting our bedroom door and putting the baby gate across the stairs to train her not to come upstairs. I bought a gate that was made of a mesh so she couldn't get throught the bars. Even with all these precautions it was still a frightening prospect! When our baby arrived, Cleo was initially interested but seemed to instinctively know what this was all about. As long as she still got her cuddles, she was fine. I had a baby feeding under one arm and a cat under the other! We didn't have any problems at all with the cat/baby relationship, but it is always wise to be extra careful with any animals and children.

Cleo never scratched or got her claws out unless she was playing. She was the gentlest cat I have ever known. Cleo died when our son was only two but now he is four he still remembers her and asks to play with her little toys. He will still point to the photos of her and remember that it is Cleo. I find this so touching. She was a real family member and not 'just a pet'. I am sure that everyone feels the same way about their cat, whatever the breed, but an Oriental really makes it known they they are IMPORTANT! They really do leave a big impact on your life like a human being.

Health and care:

The Oriental Shorthair has a lovely glossy coat which only needs regular brushing to keep it in top condition. Cleo's brushing ritual was one of her favourite things. I used a medium bristled brush for her. She would be pampered with this brush for as long as you'd like to do it and she'd push her nose and head against the brush. If her brush was lying on the floor, she would brush her own face against it and even hold the handle in her paw! Yes, this is true! I found that she would shed her hair mainly in the Spring and Autumn in large amounts. If she visited the vets, her hairs would start to fall out immediately with anxiety, even if I had just groomed her before we went. Poor thing... I'm glad a trip to the doctor doesn't make my hairs fall out!

I was lucky with Cleo that she never really suffered any huge problems until she was quite old. The most major health factor to be aware of is teeth. Cleo had to have some teeth extracted and dental hygiene work carried out on a couple of ocassions. Dental work tends to be an expensive vet's bill. For the general care of her teeth I used Logic Gel which I smeared on her paw for her to lick off. This helped to clean her teeth and keep her gums healthy. Hae you ever tried brushing a cat's teeth with a brush? That's almost impossible I think! I don't know whether this breed is particularly affected by tooth problems, but I would say to all cat owners to keep an eye on this. You can smell horrible cat halitosis quite easily which is a good indicator of gum or tooth problems. Urgh, warm cat halitosos, not nice! The smell is still lingering in my nostrils.

Talking of bad smells, another horrid but unavoidable part of cat care is poo! As Cleo was a house cat, we had to have a litter tray for her for her whole life. This would probably bother a lot of people, especially if you have a small house. There is not a problem with this as long as the urine and stools are cleaned out as soon as possible. There is one advantage, (if you can call it that,) in having a litter tray, which is that you can keep an eye on what your cat produces! Cleo had bouts of diahorrea with blood in towards the end of her life, which was useful to tell the vet.

*** Please be careful when cleaning out a litter tray because of the risk of being infected by toxoplasmosis. Do not let children go near the litter tray. A pregnant person must wear gloves while doing this job. Toxoplasmosis can affect the development of an unborn baby. Most people have picked up toxoplasmosis in their lifetime without realising it, and you can request a test to find this out if you are pregnant and worried about it. I just made very sure I was extra careful. Please note, you also need to be careful when doing the gardening beacuase of these hidden nasties in the soil. ***

Cleo eventually died of Kidney failure two years ago. She was getting thinner and thinner and gradually stopped eating her food. She was 12 years old which I believe is not bad for a 'breed'. We have loads of super memories and photographs.

I would like another cat, but it would be too much to take on at the moment, with three pre-school children. Owning a cat is a long commitment which has to be considered seriously. I do not know whether I would have another Oriental because they are so demanding. Cleo was one of a kind to me anyway, and was right for me at that time in my life. I was lucky to have been able to give Cleo a home. She was so unique and it was a plesaure to have known that particular breed. However, I do not think I would like to pay a fortune for a 'breed' when there are so many abandoned cats needing homes. Every animal deserves a chance to be loved and you do not have to create the so called 'perfect specimen' and drag them along to cat shows for them to have a meaning in your life.

Would I recommend owning an Oriental cat? Yes indeed! You will have a loyal and loving friend for life. Be aware that they are demanding, give them plenty of attention and you will be perfect for each other.

What I imagine Cleo was thinking...........

"YOU ARE NOT MY OWNER, YOU ARE MY SLAVE!"

xx

Please note: This review has also appeared on Ciao.co.uk, under my username lipsalve. (14.7.05) I have written about all my own experiences.

Thanks for reading. Joanna.

Summary: If you are ready for the neediest cat possible, your love will be returned always.