Today we’ll talk about big domestic cats. If you are not familiar with such amazing creatures, then this article is for you.
Maine Coon
The pride and genuine joy for any person can be a big cat. The Maine Coon breed came to us from North America. The enormous size of the body, harmonious colors and tassels on the ears make such cats look like lynxes, only the fluffy noble tail suggests thoughts about kinship with raccoons.
History has not decided on the true origin of giant cats, but it is known that the breed has retained its identity for several centuries. Marvelous coloring and all physiological features completely repeat the cats of the ancient Vikings.
Such a breed of large cats is characterized by a very decent weight of males - about 11-12 kg, females are more fragile - reach only 5-7 kg, but such indicators have long been a curiosity for experienced felinologists and ordinary cat lovers.
The nature and appearance of cats of this breed
Maine Coons are characterized by moderate playfulness and mischief, but only with those to whom they are trusted. A predatory gaze and a muscular body often scare people, especially children. This breed of large cats is famous for its medium-sized head with a flat skull. The maine coon nose is quite peculiar and unusually wide, crosses the cat's face in a tight line, busily emphasizes the piercing eyes of the animal.
The eyes of Maine Coon can shimmer with the noblest shades of green and fiery golden, and light individuals are distinguished by cornflower-blue eyes and often met heterochromia.
It is cats of large breeds, whose photos often cannot convey their grandeur and grace, that can boast of strong and amazingly large limbs. Mei-kuns also have thick woolen layers between their fingers, which allows the animal to easily move around the snowy expanses.
High-quality, amazingly silky wool protects Maine Coon from frosty winds, and a dense undercoat regulates the temperature balance. Like any breed of large cats, Maine Coons need a certain care: captivating wool requires careful brushing at least 2-3 times a week and painstaking washing once a month, especially if you breed Maine Coons in warm latitudes.
Siberian cat
Large-sized cat breeds also include the long-haired beauty Siberian cat. The Asian origin was reflected in the colorful animal, giving the color of the descendant of indigenous cats a camouflage effect. The predominant colors of the Siberian cat are ground black, rocky gray with individual stripes of white-red motifs.
Siberian is a rather memorable breed of large cats: a convex cat's forehead in combination with low cheekbones emphasizes the size of the head and the general impressiveness of the animal. An adult cat (and the animal develops muscles and skeleton up to the age of five) often weighs about 6-8 kilograms, and males catch up with Maine Coons by weight - 12 kilograms.
The origin of the Siberian has led to an amazing transformation of the coat: the super thick undercoat in the company of optimally stiff coat perfectly balances the heat balance of the cat. Also, due to the density and amount of undercoat, a cat's coat does not get wet at all and thereby protects a resident of harsh open spaces from the vagaries of the weather.
The eyes of a Siberian predator always harmonize with its camouflage color, varying between noble golden and emerald, while light representatives can boast bluish or gray-green eyes. Their shape in the "Siberian" is oval, with a rounded lower eyelid. A feature of the giant is the impressive distance between the eyes, which gives the cats a kind of nobility.
Siberian character
Siberians are distinguished by amazing restraint in relation to a person, the Siberian beauty will not impose or pursue the owner in the hope of asking for attention. But at the time of acute need for it, the "Siberian girl" appears as if by magic.
Some features of care
An undoubted advantage of this breed is its ease of maintenance: long and impressive in terms of density wool is not knocked off by shreds and does not require constant combing. It is necessary to wash the Siberian often, but this breed is not afraid of water procedures.
The only rule of neighborhood with Siberian cats is regular walking, because the predatory instincts of a cat are highly developed. Living in the countryside, the Siberian preys not only on small rodents, but often brings prey to the hostess in the form of a rabbit or ferret. Siberian cat, like a dog, sticks to only one person, with the presence of other households, it is more likely to put up with it.
Serval
Serval, a breed of the largest cats, whose photos have been adorned with fashion magazines and celebrity blogs for the last five years, boasts big ears and tall cat-like height. Serval is an amazingly powerful and enduring African predator. During the hunt, it can be motionless for about 15 minutes, and long jumps reach 3.5 meters.
A special sign of serval endurance is the ability to reach speeds of up to 80 km / h. Such indicators allow an African cat to hunt for antelopes and small gazelles. The effectiveness of serval hunting attacks is 50%, which exceeds the performance of mighty lions (30%) and graceful leopards (38%).
Servalians are proud and single, the male is left to himself and controls the territory important for cats - 30 km
2 , females are more economical: under their authority is about 20 km
2 . Servals also control the reproduction of the genus on their own, and African predators are not burdened by feline March tides. The pregnancy of a dexterous beauty lasts up to 77 days, and they produce from 2 to 4 babies. Servals begin to hunt on their own from the age of six months, and in a year self-sufficient African cats leave their mother’s hole.
The life expectancy of a bold serval in the natural environment is not more than 10 years, in captivity and with balanced care an African cat can live about 20 years (there have been cases of a serval for a quarter of a century).
Only a serval born in captivity and accustomed to human society can be accepted into the family. Wild and untamed servals are dangerous animals.
Diseases Affected by Large Domestic Cats
The breed of large cats, whether it is Maine Coon, Siberian or Serval, is famous for its endurance and powerful life potential. But still these animals are subject to a very common and dangerous disease - hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The danger of the disease is that a birth defect causes compaction of the walls of the cat’s ventricle, which significantly reduces the volume of blood pumped. Often a sign of such a disease is fatal: cats die in an instant.
No less dangerous and inexorable feline disease is spinal-muscular atrophy - an ailment in which even the most healthy and developed individuals die of spinal cord neurons and skeletal muscle is destroyed. Giant cats are also susceptible to this disease, the cause of which is the recessive gene. To prevent the breeding of large cats, they are required to undergo an annual examination for deviations and a tendency to transmit to the offspring a similar pathology. Cats with this gene are deprived of the opportunity to breed in order to protect the future of the breed.
Conclusion
In our article, we introduced you to some big cats. We hope you find this information useful.