Pictures of my new guy

[sohni]

I had my choice of two male kittens that my breeder was importing from the states. I had chosen the youngest one based on some early pictures, but the breeder just got the kits and has advised me to take the older one instead. She sent a pile of pics and I agree, the older kit has a nicer build and coat. I am going to post some pictures.

 

[sohni]

I'm going to name him Tsekani, and he will be double registered CFA and TICA since there are no CFA shows near me, but that is who his breeder is registered with.

I think I need to come up with a cattery name. My kennel name is Glenarrow but that doesn't really suit a Mau.

 

[goldenkitty45]

He's cute - will be interesting to see how he develops. I don't have experience with young Maus, so not sure how to rate him

How about Glennmau? Or Mauview?

 

[kitytize]

He is very cute. Good luck with him

 

[frisk]

Wow! He is very, very gorgeous!!

 

[ferriscat]

I like Glennmau. It both looks and sounds very nice.

As for your boy, nice expression, he looks quite worried!

I like his ear set, but i'm a little unsure about his head. I can see those Brockhaven lines in his nose and chin. Not bad boning, he's going to run svelte. Thank goodness you won't have the cobbiness problems I'm fighting with Niles! Our smoke is also from Brockhaven lines, and it's easy to keep her trim.

His coat has nice contrast. I'd like to see some pictures of him once he's lost the kitten coat. I'm a little concerned about the side shot you have of him - -some of his spots look like they might be running into stripes near his foreleg. It's not a big deal, just a fault. One breeder I know can't seem to get rid of that left-hand stripe, and she's produced quite a few BW and RW cats.

He looks like a lot of fun, I bet you can't wait to have him home!

 

[sohni]

I don't have stretched out pics of his right side, but here is one of him more stretched out on the left.

Looks like his left side might be better than his right. Maybe I can only let the judge see that side (=

 

[ferriscat]

I agree, the left side does look better. I can still see those two spots running together in the mirror. This shouldn't be a big issue so long as he keeps his contrast. Not all judges will catch it, and so long as he is a big sweetie in the ring, he can distract them with his charm

How is his eye color coming in? Are they all gold or is he getting that green rim around the pupil? Mau eyes change from the inside out, and some more slowly than others. Bailey's eye color didn't fully change to green until he was a bit over a year old. He hardly made any finals and then *boom!!* 37 granding points in one show! They have until 18 months of age to change, but many judges are harder on eye color than anything else in a Mau.

 

[sohni]

Well I get him in 2 weeks so I'll know better then. They are definitely amber now. I read that they must change before the cat is 1.5 years old and he is just 5 months now. That would be a disappointment, but he is still a pretty cat at not a bad price if he doesn't turn out to be show worthy. My breeder says he's really sweet and bold.

 

[ferriscat]

We've had a bit of discussion on this board about the difference between breeder and show cats. I'm of the opinion that a cat used for breeding is not always show quality. With your boy, you'd want to breed him to a girl with excellent eye color and coat pattern.

Get him out in the show ring early and often so that he becomes used to the way judges handle him. You also want to collect as many granding points as you can before his eye color sets in. Even if they don't change, you can still grand him before 18 months. He certainly does not look pet quality to me, I think you can do it!

 

[goldenkitty45]

While both parents are important, most breeders want the BEST male cause it seems they can counter faults in females better then the other way around.

I like to see a pedigree with lots of champions and grand champions in the first 2-4 generations. If you are counting on grands in later generations, you usually will not be getting the quality you should or want in the show cats. If you have one or two in there with no titles but the cats are out of grands, then you should have a worthy cat for breeding.

Charlie's mom was not titled; but every cat behind her was titled (and most of them were grands). She also produces grands with no problem, so her being without a title is ok.

 

[abymummy]

I agree with everything that GK says but I'd like to point out that if the cat carries a pedigree that is 60% marked DM abd the balance marked GC, you're also in good standing