THINGS YOU WILL NEED FOR YOUR NEW KITTEN
You need to have supplies of food, toys, grooming tools, litter tray and bedding ready for the arrival of your kitten. Be prepared for them to prefer sleeping on your bed however!
GROOMING
Regular grooming is important to avoid hairballs and keep the coat sleek. A semi-longhaired cat requires more thorough grooming in the Spring and summer season, even though the Longhair Burmilla has a relatively low maintenance coat and little matting. You will find that mats or knots may occur with winter coat, and particularly under the elbows, the ‘britches' on the hind legs, behind the ears and in the mane area, particularly if you have a full-maned male. Bathing your cat, especially during the spring moult is advisable to loosen and strip out excess coat. A right-angle handled rake is good for general stripping of excess coat, and combs with spinning teeth are also useful, especially during bathing. Nail tips should be clipped on a regular basis – and definitely clip them before bathing!
Check and clean ears and eyes regularly with warm water and cotton wool and an appropriate ear solution. If you notice eye discharge, the third eyelid coming up or eye closing over, consult your vet.
HOUSING AND LIFESTYLE
We recommend that cats are kept indoors, with an outdoor enclosure attached to the house where possible. There are pictures of a good enclose on the Aaralyn Cattery website.
You should also try and teach your cat to walk on a lead to give it some outdoor time. Longhair Burmillas are good on lead or light harness if accustomed to wearing one young.
Statistically, cats kept like this have vastly lower veterinary bills and live substantially longer lives. They do not contract many of the primary infectious diseases or poisoning, are not in danger of road death and do not suffer the large number of injuries and infections from bites and scratches that outdoor cats do. They respond well to this life provided they are not bored and unstimulated.
It is worth considering getting any cat a friend if they will be alone for long periods.
Provide a litter box with clean litter, preferably dust-free (recycled newspaper is good), especially while they are small. A soft expensive bed may or may not be used – cats will generally decide their sleeping place and it will more than likely be your bed. I place a soft mat at the end of my bed and they usually prefer to sleep there, which keeps fur confined in one area.
A selection of safe toys is important, especially when they are young – bell balls and feather teasers are irresistible to them. Spend time playing with your cat each day. Most cats love to explore paper bags, chase a flashlight beam or broom or pounce on toys.
Well-designed large scratching posts are essential to divert scratching activity away from your furnishings and give them good high climbing, playing and reclining positions. Do not let them get too worn as the fibres can choke them if they are left with strings hanging off. It is east to replace carpet with a staple gun or blue-cut tacks. Fur comes off carpet and fabric well if they are wiped with a damp sponge every few weeks. There are also rubber ‘brushes' which are good for fur removal.
DIET
Feeding your cat good quality, commercial cat food will greatly aid your pet's chances of enjoying a long and healthy life. A variety of canned and dry food, high in protein from animal sources, will ensure a balanced diet, making supplements unnecessary. You may need to try a number of options if you find that your cat has sensitivities. Cooked or raw fresh meat if always a good option, but make sure it is good quality – there are some excellent pre-packaged fresh minced meats for cats in the supermarket fridge areas. These contain offal, which is useful in their diet. However raw meat is missing certain essential elements and should not be served without using a good quality dry food to supplement. It is also often not sufficiently high in fat.
Make sure your cat has fresh water at all times, but milk is not recommended. Special cat designed preparations are good to supplement kittens and feeding mothers. Dry food can be free fed unless your cat becomes obese.
For dry food we recommend Royal Canin, which has many excellent breed, age and type specific formulations.and feed kitten growth formula to most of our younger cats. We also use Hills Science Diet and for a good, more reasonable and Australian made alternative, Supercoat premium formulas. As cats age the type of dry food may need to be altered, and if they develop renal disease, as happens not infrequently in the domestic cat population - male cats in particular - you may have to use the specialised Hills CD Prescription food. We also mix in the Hills Oral Care, which they love and is in large pieces designed to abrade tartar on the tooth. Also try them on weekly raw chicken wings for oral health, and any good raw meat and offal in small quantities if possible.
If you are finding them fussy or off-colour, barbequed chicken is usually very successful to spark appetite – or smelly fishy foods. Steamed fish for sensitive stomachs has been successful in my experience. Do remember that cats are fussy but should not rule the home with their likes and dislikes. It will not hurt them to leave their food for a day or two! Many healthy cats have periods where they are just not hungry for a couple of days. Longhair Burmillas are generally not greedy cats and can be allowed to graze on constantly replenished bowls of dry food without a problem.
CLEANING
Scoop out the litter box daily and refresh litter. Water and food bowls (preferably not plastic) should be washed daily in hot water, along with shaking out your cat's bedding. Wash the bedding as needed.
It is important to keep all areas of your home clean and use anti-bacterial surface cleaners, particularly while training your cat not to jump on benches! Diluted 1-3 high grade bleach is good for serious cleaning like litter trays, but I also disinfect bedding at washing times and keep disinfectant spray handy. Do be careful with it however – steam cleaning is preferable. All sprays can be irritants so keep that in mind – fly spray can be quite distressing if sprayed too near.
FERTILITY
Your kitten will be already desexed to prevent unwanted pregnancies, health problems and to reduce undesirable behaviour, such as loud calling, fighting and urine spraying. Female cats can suffer many uterine health problems if they are not desexed, even if they are not allowed out so that they can fall pregnant to a roaming tomcat. They will also make life difficult trying to escape and can contract disease from feral toms and subsequent scratches and wounds.
HEALTH
Cats and kittens need to be vaccinated against infectious feline diseases and rabies. Your kitten will come to you with F3 or F4 vaccinations done at 8 and 12 weeks. Many vets and owners recommend a third injection at 16 weeks for F3 vaccinations. They will also have general worming done.
Find a good veterinarian and schedule annual check-ups and boosters. Be observant and consult your vet if you notice signs of illness or injury such as: a dull and patchy coat; lack of appetite; persistent vomiting and/or diarrhoea; difficulty urinating; discharge from eyes or nose, or sneezing.
Remember to check coat regularly for fleas and ticks, especially if you are in danger areas. The top-spot preparations these days are worth looking at for summer prevention in particular. There are also good top-spot products for use in multi-purpose preventions like Revolution's worming/fleas/ear mites preparation.
WARNINGS
Anti-freeze, string, yarn, ribbons and rubber bands can be fatal if swallowed by a cat. Remember to put them away safely. There are also many plants that may be a problem if ingested – if you have them in contact with garden areas it may be wise to check up from the good lists of toxic-to-cats plants you can find on the internet.
If you are scratched yourself while playing with, medicating or bathing your cat, do not take it lightly. Treat with a strong alcohol product like methylated spirits.
When administering medications or bathing cats, it is advisable to ‘scruff' the cat quite firmly. This will calm them down, as it is reminiscent of the treatment their mother gave them as kittens, even though it can look quite severe. It should help keep the claws away from you and allow you to open the jaws to insert a pill, with an applicator if necessary. Two people are better than one in this circumstance. Pills should be put as far down the throat as possible, the mouth shut and the throat massaged – cats are notorious for holding them in their mouth and spitting them out or flicking the head at the last minute! Be careful with worming paste, as many cats will throw it up immediately – use the smallest pills you can find in this case. Be aware that while very effective, Drontal worming pills have been known to cause a minor reaction in Burmese cats, and Longhair Burmillas are a large proportion Burmese.
All kittens are desexed, vaccinated (twice), wormed, microchipped and vet checked
All kittens are sold as desexed pet/show unless they are to become part of the regulated breeding programme. The price of a kitten will depend upon whether it will be used for breeding, in which case it will need to fit closely to show standard.
All breeders on this site will communicate regularly and co-operate in finding the best kitten for you. Please contact us for details of cost, or recommendations to other breeders that may be closer to you.
As breeders, we adhere to a strict procedure before allowing a kitten to leave us. These include desexing (except that which will be used for breeding), microchipping, worming and vaccinating (twice) before allowing kittens to go to their new home. All breeding cats are cleared for PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) before entering the program.
info@burmillacat.com
