Color: All colors and patterns, as well as both longhaired and shorthaired varieties, are accepted for competition.

Grooming: The Shorthair Munchkin coat has a medium-texture, "all-weather" coat requiring little grooming. Longhairs have a silky, semilong coat with a medium undercoat and can have substantial ruff at the neck and breeches on the hind legs. Like any other semilonghair cat, they benefit from a bath.

Best Home: These fun and funny cats get along well with other cats, dogs and people.

National Breed Club: Get Down Munchkin Breed Club; www.ticastephens.org/munchkin.htm
Personality: Friendly and self-assured, this "regular cat" is more affectionate and people-oriented than the average domestic.

Appearance: While short of leg, the Munchkin must be a normal size cat in all other respects, with its body approximately 40 percent longer than its legs are tall. The head is a broad wedge with a slight stop in the profile from nose to forehead. Medium- large ears flare to complete the moderate wedge. The legs are muscled and not bowed.

Country of Origin: France

Color: Any shade of blue-gray, from ash to slate, with the tips lightly brushed with silver.

Grooming: Despite the coat's thickness, it requires little maintenance. Running your fingers through the fur removes loose hair from the thick undercoat. Owners often comb the cat more for interaction than grooming.

Best Home: Chartreux generally adapt to any lifestyle. Their days combine short energy spurts and mellow relaxation. "I often find my cats laid out on the floor sound asleep," says Mary Ann Sweeters, CFA Breed Council secretary for the Chartreux. "They have a tendency to play at full speed for 15 minutes and then they just crash." While they can be "couch potatoes," they are not necessarily lap cats. They enjoy interaction with people and develop favorite games such as "fetch."

Personality: Owners often find themselves negotiating an agreement with these intelligent cats about behavior. These friendly and devoted cats tend to pick a favorite person and form strong bonds with the family dog. Although Chartreux communicate in squeaks and chirps, they can create a large, rumbling purr.

Appearance: The robust body features a broad chest and relatively fine-boned legs. The broad head, with powerful jaws and pronounced cheeks, terminates with a small, tapered muzzle. Blue remains the only acceptable color for this cat, although it may vary from light ash to deep slate. The mature adult should have a silver-tipped, woolly, dense coat. The eyes should be brilliant orange.

Color: Ruddy, red, blue and fawn
Coat: Ticked, richly colored tabby coat without markings on legs, tail and neck, but with dramatic facial markings.
Grooming: The Abyssinian's resilient, silky coat makes grooming a breeze. An occasional bath and brushing should suffice. Routine dental checkups are also recommended.
Best Home: Abyssinians are social cats. Some form of companionship is highly recommended.
Personality: Active, intelligent and loving, Abyssinians breathe life into any household. They're loyal, love a good shoulder ride and are apt to teach their owners to play fetch.
Appearance: Abyssinians dazzle observers with "ticked" fur that glistens with bands of color, particularly in sunlight. Lithe and graceful, these elegent cats are often described as a happy medium between the cobby body type of the American Shorthair and svelte Siamese.

Young kittens by the time you get him, say by 10-12 weeks should be fully weaned. Give your kitten milk for some more time to meet calcium needs till he settles on a balanced good quality diet. As he grows older his ability to digest lactose decreases so reduce its milky feeds or he may suffer from diarrhoea. Kittens have small stomachs and they will be able to eat only a little at a time. So daily intake should be split into a number of small but frequent meals. Two or three meals a day at set intervals is a good pattern. By six months, they should settle on two meals per day morning and evening entirely on solid foods. The amount they need will vary individually with each kitten. Feeding according to demand should be the rule.

A cat can be fed a maintenance or adult diet once it is 10 months to one year of age. An adult cat with normal activity requires only a maintenance diet- enough to maintain a good body condition. A healthy cats body condition is one in which the animal is well proportioned with an observable waist behind the ribcage, and ribs which are not clearly visible but that can be felt with a slight fat covering over them.

Cats require a higher level of dietary protein in their food-about twice as much as dogs- and at least one-third of their diet should consist of animal protein. They require the addition of taurine to their diet. A good diet is rich in fat, which the cat's digestive system is equipped to cope with easily. Commercially prepared cat foods are available from shops as dry food, moist (canned) food and semi- moist food. Dry food is easier to serve and won't spoil if left out for the day. It's also considerably cheaper. Also these foods exercise the cat's teeth and gums. Be sure to choose age specific food for your growing or adult cat. You could feed your kitten commercially prepared food with small amounts of other fresh foods like cooked meat, fish and eggs, cheese, liver (raw or cooked) in small amounts etc. Adequate supply of clean water at all times is essential for your cats survival. A typical cat requires about 150-200ml of water a day. Moist or canned foods usually contain about 60- 85% water, so cats on a canned food diet require less water but those on a dry food diet will require to drink more.

You have to make a decision whether you are going to confine your kitten indoors or allow him outside at about eight to nine months of age. It depends upon the type and temperament, some long haired breeds like Persians may be suited well for indoor living while other more active and independent breeds may become frustrated by indoor confinement. But kittens or older cats allowed outside should always come indoors to sleep, eat etc. In the initial stages, one can entice them indoors with food such as fish until it is established that home is where the food is.

Cats, are believed to be first domesticated by the ancient Egyptians over 8,000 years ago around 2600 BC. They were later venerated as a sacred animal and were even mummified by the Egyptians when they died. It was only in the 19th century that the first pedigree (with a family lineage) breeds were developed. In fact, more than 300 breeds and varieties are recognised now, the main distinguishing characteristics being head shape and the length of hair.

The Domestic cat is one of the 38 species of the cat family or Felidae. They are the descendants of maybe three or four of the wild Felidae species, foremost of which is the Felis silvestris lybica or the African Wild cat. Besides the Pedigree and non pedigree domestic pet cats, there are the Working cats kept for their rodent catching asbility and the Feral cats, the descendants of cats which at one time have been domesticated at least to some extent.

Cats are very independent among the pets, living by their own set of rules. But they need and value companionship and make wonderful pets.These quiet creatures groom themselves and come in a wide variety of colors, coats and generally placid temperaments. Most of them are best suited to indoor as well as outdoor life. You can make a good relationship with these pets and develop mutual understanding, tolerance and respect.

Loyal and gentle with his owners and with children, he is reserved with strangers. He is highly trainable.



Other Names - Schip.

Native - Belgium.

Height - 10 - 13 inches.

Weight - 3-8kg.

Colour - Black, but the undercoat can be slightly lighter. Outside the USA other solid colors are permissible.

Coat - Abundant and dense, with longer hair on the neck, shoulders, chest and back of rear legs.

Temperament - Alert, loyal.

Life Span - 15years.

His distrust of strangers makes him an excellent guard dog.



Other Names - Suomenpystykorva, Finsk Spets, Loulou Finnois.

Native - Finland.

Height - 10-11 inches.

Weight - 14-16kg.

Colour - Reddish-brown, red gold on back, preferably bright; lighter shades permissible on the underside.

Coat - Short and close on head and front of legs, longer on body and back of legs, semi-erect and stiff on neck and back.

Temperament - Lively, vocal.

Life Span - 12-14 years.