Reed cat

In the article I will talk about the reed cat, how it looks and how it differs from domestic cats. I will list the requirements for maintenance, care and feeding, I will describe the temperament of the animal. I will indicate the cost of a kitten and an adult cane cat, I will tell you about the health of representatives of the breed.

Brief description of the breed

The reed cat is a large wild animal. The length of an adult representative reaches 90 cm, weight varies from 8 to 12 kg. These cats have a short (up to 30 cm) tail, there are small tassels on the ears.

The main color is gray with brown spots, but it can vary depending on the place of residence of the animal. Reed cats are very strong and active.

Keeping and caring for a wild reed cat

Adult wild swamp trotters will not be pets. It is possible to accustom to the house only kittens, and it is worth buying it as early as possible - up to 2-3 months.

Domestic reed cats are well accustomed to the tray. In the apartment you need to make a special corner where the lynx will sharpen claws, and in this case the furniture will remain intact. Like domestic cats, these animals molt twice a year, and during this period they can be combed with a furminator. The rest of the time you can comb the house every 7-10 days.

What temperament have reed cats

Reed cats are large, strong and rather aggressive animals.

Here are their main traits:

• They show increased activity at night.. Cats are great hunters, can keep their prey in a safe shelter for a long time. In nature, they can even catch a hare or a large bird.
• Kittens living in the house, constantly play, hunt, climb on the highest furniture. They quickly learn to open doors, get things out of the cabinets.
• Marsh lynxes love water. They like to swim in the bathroom or just play in a full basin.
• Cats are very curious. They are interested in new sounds, run to meet guests, but they rarely approach outsiders.
• House, like other domestic cats, get along with other pets - squirrels, guinea pigs, dogs, etc. But the reed cat should get used to them since childhood.

Peculiarities of eating at home

Before the year marsh lynx is fed in the morning and evening, after a year - once a day. The basis of their diet is offal, meat, which an adult cat eats up to 300 grams per day. Houses can be fed rats, mice. One-third of the diet is vegetables or some fruits (zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkin, apples).

In the wild, cats hunt game

Swamp lynx can be fed with ready-made dry feeds, but in this case you need to choose the brand "Holistic", which contain a large amount of protein. The composition should not be cereals, their houses, unlike domestic cats, do not assimilate.

Cost marsh cats

Real wild reed cats are not bred at home, but a hybrid of a marsh lynx and a domestic cat, the Chausi, has been bred. BENABY kennels from Saratov and SoulCats from Solnechnogorsk are breeding such pets.

The cost of a kitten 2-3 months starts from 100 thousand rubles. The price depends on the gender (cats are always more expensive). Castrated animals have a lower cost, but they are very rarely available for sale.

When buying, be sure to look at the parents of the kitten, check for all the documents. Assess the state of health of animals in the nursery. Kittens must be active, with a clean nose and eyes.

Disease prevention and vaccination

Reed cats have very good health. They do not have breed diseases, but they still need vaccination. Swamp lynx are given the same vaccinations as domestic cats: from rabies, panleukopenia, calcivirosis, herpes virus infection. Annually conduct revaccination.

Domestic Lynx Vaccination Needed, Like Other Domestic Animals

Breeding characteristics

At home, marsh lynxes are crossed with Abyssinian cats. Kittens can have only two colors: black with gray or standard wild (brown).

The descendants receive the prefix F, which indicates what percentage of the blood of the reed cat has a hybrid:

In the further breeding, hybrid females are used (F1, F2 and F3), but a real reed cat is always used as a producer.

Reed cats are wild animals that cannot live at home. An exception may be small kittens that are brought into the house at the age of 1-3 months. If you want to keep such an animal at home, pay attention to the hybrid of the marsh lynx - Chausi.

History of origin

In Russia, the reed cat first met on the coast of the Caspian Sea, but the last time it was seen in the traditional habitat in the 80s of the last century (according to IUCN).

However, there were times when the wild reed cat was not at all exotic, but a ubiquitous phenomenon. It is believed that the marsh lynx that lives on the banks of the Nile, first came to the people about three thousand years ago.

People (ancient Egyptians), from acquaintance with a reed cat tried to endure a lot of benefits - reed cat not only lived in their homes, but also went with game hunters. On the remaining scrolls you can see how the Cat House hunts for ducks and even swims prey from the river.

In fairness, I must say that only the Egyptians were able to tame the wild purr, all subsequent historical evidence suggests that people avoided reed cats, moreover, considered them dangerous for their farms, in particular, for domestic muskrats and pheasants, which were attacked predators. Therefore, there was a constant capture of wild cats, the skin of which was in demand.

And although today there are 9 subspecies of the reed cat in the world, in fact, in the reeds you will not find a single one!

Reed Cat Appearance

Since the wild reed cat is not a breed, the standard for it, of course, is not registered.

But Wikipedia to help us - a detailed description of the house in the popular multilingual universal Internet encyclopedia introduces the appearance of this representative of the feline world.

• The head of the house is massive.
• Muzzle elongated.
• The size of the ears is large; in adults, the ears have tassels. The ears on the back side are decorated with "fraudulent" eyes.
• Eyes are yellow or green.
• Reed cats with sufficiently long legs have a short thin tail, which is about a third of body length in proportion.
• The body itself is powerful with a broad chest.
• The coat is smooth, short, very thick.
• Color - this is the main difference of those same 9 subspecies. But the primary colors are black, ticked tabby / silver.

If you carefully study the photo of the houses, you can see that the color is uneven. The belly and tail are less pronounced in color than the head and back of the animal.

Sexual dimorphism is bright in this family. The size of the males is always larger than the females. Usually at the withers they reach half a meter, sometimes 124 cm in length (together with the tail).

The weight of an adult house is about 14 kg (the cat weighs less - up to 10 kg).

The reed cat is a predator. Even tame it remains to them. Marsh lynx prefers nocturnal lifestyle.

She is characterized by tirelessness, mobility, curiosity.

And a little about the secrets.

The story of one of our readers Irina Volodina:

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But how to rejuvenate them? Plastic surgery? I found out - no less than 5 thousand dollars. Hardware procedures - photorejuvenation, gas-liquid pilling, radio lifting, laser facelift? Slightly more accessible - the course is 1.5-2 thousand dollars. And when to find all this time? Yes, and still expensive. Especially now. Therefore, for myself, I chose another way.

Can I keep a reed cat at home?

Home reed cat - a dubious pleasure. If you have extra furniture, wallpaper and ceiling, then immediately get such a pet and soon parted with the surplus. It does not make sense to keep such a cat in an apartment, only in private ownership, and then, it is desirable to build an aviary.

But the hybrids of the savage and the domestic cat are quite comfortable neighbors. Thus, the hybrid of the reed cat and the Abyssinian cat, the famous chausi, by the fourth generation become completely domestic, without losing, however, the distinctive features of their ancestors.

So, the reed cat is “the chisel will not say where” because it is mobile, active, ready for work and defense always, at any time of the day or night (especially nights!). Even having matured both chauzi and houses remain kittens in the shower. In dispersing the blood of the wild ancestors, they jump around in everything you can ride, climb wherever you can reach and jump to the arms with a run. Considering their mass and size, this is a tangible pleasure!

However, reed cats are smart. Yes, they are easily trained, they know how to execute commands and quite easily transfer the neighborhood with other pets.

In general, start a house - it will not be boring!

But do not forget to buy in advance a large tray, claw, country house and swimming pool - after all, reed cats love to swim and need free open space.

This is what good genes mean - reed cats do not have hereditary diseases, do not suffer from depression, can boast of strong immunity and, with the right content, practically do not get sick.

To maintain good health, they need the attention of the owner, good food and ultraviolet light.

If all three conditions are met, reed cats live for about 14 years.

Reed Cat Care

The animal is large and mobile. Because of the risk of injury and the load on the bones, you should regularly check the joints of the reed cat. Do not forget to be vaccinated, because, despite the good gene stock, the marsh lynx is subject to the usual feline diseases.

Give house the opportunity to swim as he pleases. For this fit pool, ideal if it will splash the fish.

To make your home reed cat look like its wild brothers in the photo, you don’t need to bathe a reed cat, but you will have to comb it out periodically.

In nature, houses do not eat porridge. Therefore, it is not necessary to offer them a cereal menu and at home. But live food, as if it were not humane, will have to be fed reed cat every day. What does a reed cat ideally feed on? That's right, game.

The traditional daily diet of the ex-savage looks like this: 200 grams of lean meat, plus a pair of live mice (or one rat).

Once a week the reed cat does not eat. This hunger strike is arranged so that the house does not suffer from obesity, because in the walls of a human dwelling he does not spend as much energy as in nature.

Since in the nutrition of the reed cat, preference is given to natural food, it is necessary to additionally provide the cat or cat with vitamins and minerals.

Video

Where to buy a reed kitten?

In our open spaces to buy a purebred reed cat is almost impossible. At least, the nursery that deals exclusively with houses is not found by us either in Russia or in Ukraine. But on the bulletin boards come across rare requests for the sale of reed kittens. As far as they are reed - time will tell.

Could not find this breed? We recommend to pay attention to the Bengal cat.

It is different in America. There, the houses are also not widely represented, but those that are presented are distinguished by genuine purity - American breeders carefully relate to the line, they are allowed to bind only with the Abyssinian breed or with a simple short-haired cat. But even then, not only chousey, but also ordinary kittens are born in the litter, and only after three months it becomes clear xy from xy.

Since it is impossible to tame a real adult house cat, we are always talking only about buying a kitten.

Good blood Chausi costs 50 000 hryvnia, or about 200 000 rubles. More about the breed here.

But the price of a reed individual on the black market can reach tens of thousands of euros.

Reed Cat Population

Due to the closed life that these animals lead, the complete picture of the reed cat population is not entirely clear. This species is on the verge of extinction in many habitats, especially in southeast and southwest Asia. All swamp lynx are listed in the second CITES application. The ban on trade and the destruction of animals imposed in some states of India and Afghanistan.

The Caucasian subspecies lives in Russia, which is found in:

• Chechnya
• Ossetia
• Ingushetia
• on the coast of the Caspian Sea,
• in the Volga delta.

True, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, the reed cat was last seen in the late 80s of the last century. However, according to the indigenous people, they sometimes encounter a marsh trot. The Caucasian population is listed in the Red Book of Russia with status - endangered. According to the information contained in this document, about 500 representatives of this species live in Russia.

The animal is on the verge of extinction for several reasons:

• poaching,
• the deliberate destruction of the animal for the theft of game birds and nutria,
• cold winters
• drainage of marshland
• weakening of food supply,
• stronger rivals:
  • leopards,
  • wolves
  • wild dogs.
• ecological imbalance.

Reed cat contain and breed in separate zoos in our country.

Breed description

The appearance of a cane cat is similar to ordinary pets, but a number of differences can still be traced. A characteristic feature of the animal are fluffy tassels on the tips of large ears, giving the cat an appearance similar to a wild trot. It is for this quality that the animal received the second name - the marsh lynx. The wild beast is much larger than domestic cats. The smallest individuals are found:

Cats of larger sizes live:

• in Palestine,
• in the Caucasus.

Reed cat distinguish large ears with a tassel, long limbs and large size

Slender muscular paws give predator elegance and grace. With the help of long paws, a wild cat can calmly roam through shallow water, without wetting its body, move quickly and jump high. The tail of the animal is short relative to the body, with several brown rings and a dark tip. The color is uneven and depends on the subspecies and habitat. Wool is colored camouflage colors. Ochre tones predominate, but there is also a uniform black tint. The eyes are small, almond-shaped, green or golden yellow.

Table: external signs of a reed cat

The reed cat has nine subspecies. Some felinologists number ten. Subspecies differ in color and thickness of wool. The colder the climate, the thicker and longer the fur. In South Asia, the color of the coat of the house with an ocher shade, and in Africa - gray-sand, close to khaki. The color of subspecies can be:

• gray
• brown,
• olive,
• redhead
• brown
• black
• dull gray, almost gray,
• with fuzzy transverse stripes,
• with randomly scattered pale spots.

Food and hunting

The diet of wild reed cats is quite diverse. It includes waterfowl and land birds, reptiles, insects, crustacean near-water mammals, and fish. The predator that lives not far from the settlement of people steals poultry from them.

Hunting at any time of the day, but more at dusk and late at night. For prey, he goes to impassable reed thickets, wanders slowly, listening to every rustle. He looks for the victim from an ambush, quietly sneaks up on it or makes several sharp jumps, then grabs them with paws and chokes.

Destroys bird nests caught in the way. But birds catch on takeoff, making a vertical jump. Near the holes of small rodents in anticipation of prey, a reed cat may sit for hours. On fishing, he uses a clever method of baiting - gently striking the surface with his paw, imitating the stirring of insects. A careless fish is pulled from the water, using claws as a harpoon, or dives behind it headlong into the water. The reed cat is not afraid of snakes, it cracks down on them as quickly as it does with frogs or lizards.

Life in captivity

The high cost of reed cats and expensive content rarely scares off those who still decided to buy an exotic predator. However, without knowing the characteristics of the nature of the beast and in the absence of willingness to devote his free time to his upbringing, one should not start such a “problem pet”.

Adult wild reed cat at home will not get along, will not be able to tame it ever. Such an animal will be more comfortable in a specially equipped aviary. The cell area can not be less than three square meters, and its height is less than five. Otherwise, the predator's mobility will be limited and it will start to hurt.

Aviary enclosed with metal mesh. The floor is poured with concrete, wooden flooring is laid on top or sprinkled with sand and earth. Whenever possible, equip plots for sowing grassy plants in order to create conditions as close as possible to the natural habitat. Клетка оборудуется укрытием по типу собачьей будки, на дно которого укладывается солома, и каменными или деревянными террасами. В качестве туалета коты камышовой породы используют лотки с наполнителями.

Котята, взятые домой в трёх месячном возрасте, приручаются сравнительно легко, но требуют к себе повышенного внимания. По фото домашних камышовых котов – детёнышей трудно отличить от обыкновенных котят. В действительности они не так безобидны, как кажутся на первый взгляд. The animals differ in their wayward character, they recognize only one owner and follow him literally on his heels. Other households are wary, they can snort and hiss loudly.

Domestic reed cats are very mobile, need active games and open space. There is no better habitat than a country house for them. Animals love caress and walks with the owner in the fresh air. Well accustomed to the tray, do not require frequent combing.

Angry cats pose a potential hazard to other pets, including dogs.

The reed cat feeds once a day. The diet consists of 200 grams of lean meat (most often beef), two live mice or one rat. Live feed can also be daily quail, chickens. Once a week, the pet is given fresh fish. An important component of the diet is fasting days (the predator is hungry for a whole day). They are resorted to no more than once a week. Such tough measures are vital, save the animal from excess weight. Essential supplements are vitamins for cats, mineral mixes with calcium, fresh greens.

Buying a kitten

Buy this reed cat is not so easy. Specialized nurseries are engaged in breeding and selling animals. To find out how much a reed cat costs, just go to the site of the selected cattery and get acquainted with the prices, or do it in a personal conversation with the breeder.

You can also buy a kitten at the exhibition of elite breeds of cats. The seller must submit documents confirming the breed and pedigree. The kitten at the time of the transaction must be vaccinated according to the schedule and be healthy. The price of reed cats is high, starting at $ 3 thousand.

Interesting to know

1. Reed cat gives a full-fledged offspring with domestic cats.
2. Chausi breed - a hybrid of reed cat and domestic cat, officially registered in 1995, endowed with the appearance of a wild cat, the character of a domestic cat.
3. Only cats born in nurseries are suitable for home living conditions.
4. The beast is too curious, even in adulthood behaves like a kitten.
5. The animal may make a threatening roar at the moment of danger.
6. Kittens are born with pronounced stripes on the skin, losing their intensity or disappearing with the onset of puberty.

Habitat

Territory where reed cat lives:

• Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia),
• Turkmenistan,
• Iran,
• Turkey,
• Iraq (Mesopotamia),
• Syria,
• Indochina
• Palestine,
• Kazakhstan,
• Russia:
  • Volga delta,
  • Dagistan,
  • Kalmykia,
  • Chechnya
  • Ingushetia
  • North Ossetia.

The boundaries of the marsh trot range in modern times are constantly changing.

Reed cat food

Like all members of the cat family, House is a great hunter. Successfully hunt the cat help:

• muscular body,
• long limbs that allow the cat to run long distances tirelessly and move easily along the shore of the reservoir,
• large ears, acting as locators and allowing you to catch the slightest rustle,
• sharp claws and teeth to help get food
• excellent jumping ability and agility
• ability to disguise,
• stealth and caution
• the ability to swim perfectly.

Reed cat diet is quite diverse:

• waterfowl and flying bird:
  • ducks
  • pheasants,
  • coots
  • stolen poultry.
• rodents:
  • water voles,
  • gophers,
  • nutria,
  • muskrats
• eggs from ruined nests,
• a fish,
• reptiles:
  • snakes
  • lizards
  • turtles.
• mammals:
  • tolai hare,
  • cubs of wild boar and other animals.
• crustaceans,
• insects.

House can go long distances, simultaneously ruining the nests of birds. A potential victim is looking out from an ambush or hiding in a shelter. Track down the prey for hours, then catch up with several long jumps, grab and stifle. Often catches birds on take-off, almost soaring in a vertical jump. It is not afraid of snakes at all and easily deals with them.

Reed cat - a born fisherman. He likes fishing at low tide or drought. Sometimes it hits the water with its paw, imitating the movement of insects. The fish pops up, and the animal grabs it from the water, using its claws like a harpoon. Sometimes he puts his face into the water and grabs the catch with his teeth. The weight of the fish caught by the house is impressive.

On occasion, it pulls away the mammals. Hop up on the back of the deer or young roe deer and gnaws their throats. In starvation time, it is selected close to human settlements and steals domestic animals.

There were cases when the reed cat dragged off the hunted prey from the hunters, ahead of specially trained dogs. People often trap prey in people.

Swamp trot breeding period

The mating period of the reed cat depends on the habitat of the animal. In predators living in the northern regions, mating games fall on:

Marsh lynxes inhabiting the southern territories can mate twice a year.

During the rut period, the female makes loud noises, informing the male about readiness for conception and bearing offspring. Several cats in desperate battles conquer the location of a friend. Battles are accompanied by loud, ear-screaming animals.

A pregnant cat chooses a secluded, inaccessible place, warms it with its own wool and begins to prepare for motherhood, while the future father lives nearby and takes care of the family. The pregnancy lasts 53–66 days. The female gives birth to two to six kittens weighing 60–120 grams. In the litter there are always more males than females.

Growth period kittens:

• eye eruption - for 10–12 day,
• lactation time - up to 3 months (during this period, kittens add 20 grams per day),
• feeding with food - in 2 months,
• teeth change - 3-4 months,
• the ability to independently obtain food - 5 months,
• puberty - 18 months.

At five months, the kittens become completely independent and no longer need parental care. The family disintegrates, and until the next breeding period, the animals lead a solitary life.

Feeding of the swamp lynx living in captivity

First of all, it should be remembered that the domesticated house still remains a predator, so it should eat mostly meat. You must follow certain rules:

• kittens up to one year old are fed twice a day, one adult,
• vegetable food should be added to the menu,
• give the animal special vitamins and minerals.

• 200 grams of lean meat (chicken fillet, beef, veal) and two mice or one rat,
• once a week fish,
• A third of the menu should be vegetables.

To predatory pet did not suffer from obesity, he once a week satisfied with a fasting day. It is not recommended to feed the house with cat food and cereal cereals. They contain a lot of fiber, which the Nile cat's stomach does not digest well. Food from the master's table is also unsuitable food for the animal.

However, even ideal conditions do not guarantee that at certain times instincts will not prevail. The most dangerous period is the mating season. At this time, the animal becomes aggressive and uncontrollable. As soon as the beast reaches puberty, it must be neutered or a pair must be selected. Suitable Abyssinian or another cat with short hair. From this union, both simple and reed kittens are born. Differences appear by three months.

For those who want to have a wild cat from reed thickets, there is an alternative - hausi cats. They perfectly get on with the person and has quite friendly character.

Reed cats are quite friendly to other animals.

Reviews about the content of a reed cat in captivity

I have lived for 16 years reed cat, he came, still a kitten. Nearby was the Amu Darya, apparently came from the Amu Darya tugai. He was not huge, so, the size of one and a half ordinary cat, probably was the smallest in the litter, but it was a killing machine, strong, muscles like Schwarzenegger, his adult will not hold his hands. In the first year, survived all the cats from the yard. But for some reason, cats became a lot. And finally, about dogs. A neighbor shepherd dog, when the cat went out into the yard, was huddled in a kennel and whined quietly. He took our dog as a pillow, he slept on it. She, when he slept on her, was afraid to even turn around, lay, only looked at people with plaintive eyes and was silent, waited for the cat to wake up and deign to dismount from it.

Akhmed

http://www.yaplakal.com/forum13/st/75/topic1330595.html

Stepfather brought home such a cat in 1989, just not very mature yet. I was then afraid to approach him (a kitten the size of a dog). Kota caught on a duckling, lifted a duck, a scoundrel. They wanted to put him on a chain, but he ran away at night, having a snack on the rope. It was in st. Zelenchukskoy ... (Karachay-Cherkessia)

AJIuHEHAK

http://www.yaplakal.com/forum13/st/50/topic1330595.html

we had a reed cat at the time of my childhood. started up with a kitten - apparently the mother was killed by poachers, the koshak was starving to death, taken into the house. The kitten that had to be fed from the nipple was the size of an adult cat. when he grew up - 70 cm at the withers. Well, what about the contents of the house to tell? 1. feeding. per day you need min 3 kg of meat and a couple of kilo fish. well and so, on trifles - with a dozen eggs once a week to break, give a porridge there, milk ... 2. instincts. there were troubles - when a cat on the street started hunting dogs ... it was a good hunt. 3. at home they did not see his scratches - so, when he played, it used to be, he tore off the plaster from the walls, but did not touch any of the family members. at all. 4. this is not a cat. can not purr, caress - can not, behavior - is quite another. It is not correct to compare at all. 5. training gives in easily, roughly as stubborn dog. 6. reed cats are listed in the Red Book, so it’s criminal to take them from their natural habitat without reinforced concrete foundations, only on the basis of calculation. 7. For those who do not know how to deal with a wild animal, this beast will die, and even cripple the whole family ...

Harmful Aishuts

https://www.e1.ru/talk/forum/read.php?f=74&i=114508&t=114508&

The patrimony of the reed cat is a quiet backwater with rustling sedge, reserved thickets, overgrown with wild rosemary and cranberries, and secret paths where no human foot has gone. No need to impose a wild beast living in a stuffy metropolis. Let him live in his natural world, because only there he is truly happy and free.