HOW TO CHOOSE A SIAMESE KITTEN?

How to choose the cat that will be our life partner? In Italy the Siamese is not a widely bred breed and is not as popular as the Maine Con, the British Shorthair, the Ragdoll or the Persian and remains a relatively rare and niche breed, but lately the breeding of Siamese and Orientals has increased. How to move then?

These are the criteria (very personal and not absolute) that I always recommend for choosing a puppy.

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- A cattery NEEDS TO be visited, there can be no alternative to this rule. If a breeder invents imaginative excuses not to let you go to his house it is because he has something to hide (cages, too many cats in too small spaces, dirt, etc.). At least once you have to see in what conditions the cat that will be your companion lives in.

-Cats MUST be socialized. Obviously the kittens may be fearful at first, but if you see them terrified, hissing and relentless, then there is a socialization problem in that cattery. Furthermore, if the fear of children can be justified, so cannot be adults. The Siamese is an extremely sociable cat and if well raised is a great companion. Obviously there may be more introverted cats (due to their character or some mothers who don't want strangers to approach their puppies), but if ALL the adults in a cattery hide then there is a serious problem.

-CLEANING. The cat is an extremely clean animal, but obviously more cats (with the addition of kittens) get dirty. Don't misunderstand disorder with dirt. It is obvious that a house with several cats is a lived-in house, the cats must be left free to play and aseptic spaces (in terms of objects, i.e. without furniture) are certainly not good for kittens. However, cleaning is another thing: the litter boxes must not overflow with excrement, the floor must not be dirty with pee, etc. Ask the breeder what cleaning systems he uses (the kittens' immune system is very immature and it is therefore important to use good disinfectants - for example, I use steam a lot at 100 degrees).

-FATTY: the Siamese is a long and thin cat and so it should be (like the greyhound of dogs). Skinny however is NOT skeletal. If all the cats in the cattery are skin and bones, it means that there is a malnutrition problem: the pseudo breeder (because whoever starves their cats  is only a trader in my opinion) saves money eat little your animals. Run away immediately. The mothers deserve a separate discussion: at the end of breastfeeding many cats are often skin and bones despite eating a lot and it takes a couple of months after the end of breastfeeding to recover. If it's just the thin mother and the puppies and the other adults are full then don't worry, the maternal thinness is the result of breastfeeding.

-PEDIGREE: whoever does not give you the pedigree is cheating you, because for the Italian state a purebred animal MUST be sold with its pedigree, without ifs and buts and without clauses. The association may not have sent it yet, but in this case have it put on paper that the pedigree has been requested and is awaiting issuance and have a copy of the email requesting your pedigree delivered, with a copy of the payment sent to the association . The pedigree costs very little (on average 15 euros) and NEVER justifies the increase in the price of the puppy (anyone who tells you that a puppy with pedigree costs more lies knowing they are lying). ESCAPE. Furthermore, often those who give up without a pedigree are because they have had the cat mated more than what is allowed by the associations and therefore could no longer request the pedigree: in addition to cheating you, they are also mistreating their cats. For information, in Italy for dogs only the ENCI can issue pedigrees, for cats there are 5 feline associations recognized at ministerial level: ANFI, ENFI, AFEF, AGi, FIAF, it goes from that the pedigree must be endorsed exclusively by one of these 5 associations.

-PREPARATION: the breeder must be a breeder, not an improvised charlatan who couples males and females at random. First of all he must have an affix (mine is DEMOGORGON for example) and then he must be able to answer your questions, when he speaks he must convey his love for the breed he breeds (obviously there is the fact that some questions cannot be answered and therefore in these cases the humility of saying "I don't know, I'll find out", is the best thing.Follow your instincts, you must like the breeder to your skin.

-NO GOSSIPING AROUND: a respectable farmer does not gossip about his colleagues simply because he is sure of his job. If one begins to tell you "that one, leave them alone" he is a trader who sees his cat as a product to be placed. When asked about someone I don't respect, I simply say I don't know and move on. 

-DO NOT INSIST: a serious breeder is not afraid not to sell their cats because the right family will come for the right kitten. If you have contacted him about a kitten he will not call you insistently to find out whether you take it or not, keeping you on the phone for an hour and feeling exhausted: whoever has one of my kittens knows very well that I always say that MY kitten must be desired and that it is you who have to contact me again if you really want it. It may seem arrogant reasoning, but it's the opposite: a neighbour is a living being and must not be placed with the highest bidder (I don't keep lists based on the order of contact, the cat goes to whoever I liked).

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In the light of what has been said, these are the catteries that I recommend to those who ask me for a kitten when I don't have one or simply want other names (the list is of people I blindly trust and to whom I would entrust my kitten, people of whose house I have seen and whose way they treat their cats I know and, for the most part, whose breeding vision I share; there are many other Siamese and Oriental breeders in Italy, I simply don't know them, but surely they are good people:

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-YESWECATCattery, Arezzo: Elena breeds Siamese and Orientals with excellent international results. Since the oriental is a dominant gene, she is born mainly oriental, but occasionally some beautiful Siamese is born, such as the beautiful Penny!

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-FELIS COU COU, Livorno: Rachele breeds Balinese and oriental longhairs (Siamese and long-haired Orientals). Famous is her beautiful white Balinese Tristan

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-SIAMARISTOCRACY,Vinci (FI): Francesca (who is a veterinarian as an added value) only breeds Siamese and mainly of lilac color. My splendid Drusilla comes from her cattery.

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Trust your instincts: a good breeder does not disappear, he will always be ready to advise you in times of need that may arise with your Siamese, therefore there must be good feeling!

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