ForestWind Siberian Cats

Pet your Siberian cat to fight depression?

Therapists have been known to prescribe a pet as a way of dealing with and recovering from depression. No one loves you more unconditionally than your pet. And a pet will listen to you talk for as long as you want to talk. Petting a cat or dog has a calming effect. And taking care of a pet -- walking with it, grooming it, playing with it -- takes you out of yourself and helps you feel better about the way you spend your time.

The feline body is specifically designed for a low carb diet. Indicators your Siberian isn’t equipped by nature to process a lot of carbohydrates include:

• No taste receptors for sweet flavors
• Low rates of glucose uptake in the intestine
• No salivary amylase to break down starches
• Reduced capacity of pancreatic amylase and intestinal disaccharidases

In other words, cats don’t produce the enzymes required to digest carbohydrates. The only carbs felines eat in the wild are the ones found pre-digested in the stomachs of the prey animals they eat.

Many of the illnesses we see in cats are attributable to low quality, biologically inappropriate, commercial pet food formulas.

If your Siberian's body is incapable of digesting a heavy carbohydrate load, yet she’s eating a cat food with high carb content, she’s on track to develop digestive disease and other serious conditions like diabetes and pancreatitis. This is all directly related to eating a diet unfit for her species.

1. Reduce their chance of becoming allergic. Researchers have noted that when children grow up in a home with a dog or cat they are less likely to develop allergies.

2.  Build their immune systems. Children who go up with pet cats have higher levels of certain immune system chemicals indicate a stronger immune system activation, which will help keep them healthy as they get older.

3. Increase physical fitness and improve rest.

Pets need to play, and playing with a pet is an excellent way to release excess energy. Both children and Siberians who've had plenty of exercise find it easier to fall asleep.

What can you do in 15 to 30 minutes to easily reduce stress and anxiety?

You can play or cuddle with your Siberian cat! In that time your body actually goes through physical changes that make a difference in your mood. The level of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, is lowered. And the production of serotonin, a chemical associated with well-being, is increased. Reducing stress saves your body wear and tear.

In fact, research has found that the long-term benefits of owning a cat include protection for your heart. In one 20 year study people who never owned a cat were 40% more likely to die of a heart attack than those who had. Another study showed that pet owners had a significantly better survival rate one year after a heart attack. Overall, pet owners have a lower risk of dying from any cardiac disease, including heart failure

It's not just heart attacks that Siberian cats can protect their owners against, but research has also found that a beloved feline in the home lowers the risk of stroke. Researchers aren't sure why, but cat owners have fewer strokes than people who don't own cats. It's partly due to the effects owning a pet can have on a person's circulation. But researchers speculate that cats may have a more calming effect on their owners than other animals do.  Cats can also  become a positive focus of their owner's interest, which diverts them from other stressful worries.

Cats can get their tails in a twist over anything strange, and this is especially true of introducing a new feline into an established cat hierarchy.

Put yourself in your Siberian's paws ... would you share your dinner plate, toilet, and pillow with a funny-smelling stranger off the street? Proper cat integration reduces kitty stress, prevents behavior problems, and strengthens bonding.

Stranger Danger In the wild, cats who are unable to recognize danger don’t survive. Savvy felines identify anything “new” to be a potential danger, until proven otherwise.

Good early socialization—when kittens learn what to trust or fear—builds confidence and makes cats more accepting of changes. But most adult felines remain cautious, especially of new housemates.

Negative Expectations: 

Cats generalize one bad experience—feeling upset when they see the new cat— to future encounters, assuming that they will be the same. This can lead to automatic attack (or diving under a bed to hide) at the mere sight of the other kitty, even with no provocation happening.

Reduce Sensory Input to Reduce Arousal

Cats get hissy when sensory input exceeds their tolerance threshold. The sight, sound, and smell of a strange cat can be emotionally arousing and push one or both into a “fight or flight” mode. But blocking one sense (sight of each other) reduces arousal, and can allow strange cats to tolerate each other.

A cornerstone of cat-to-cat introductions includes initially separating the cats.

Preserving Personal Real Estate Matters to Cats

Felines hate interlopers trespassing on their turf. Respect your resident cat’s prior claim to territory. Confine the new kitty in a single “transition room” so your "householder" cat understands only part of her territory has been invaded.

A Transition Room also soothes the new cat by providing a (soon to be familiar) retreat. Provide a litter box, food and water bowls, toys, scratch post and other kitty paraphernalia in your Siberian kitten's transition room.

Keep the door to the Transition Room closed. Be sure the door is solid (not a glass french door or sliding door, for example).  Keep the door closed for at least a week, but two or three weeks may be necessary before the first nose-to-nose meeting. Monitor your kitties' sniffing and paw pats underneath the door.

Your pets will come to “know” each other by scent before they ever set eyes on each other. Expect normal posturing, fluffed fur and hissing and when that begins to fade, you’re ready for the next step.

The Family That Smells Together, Stays Together... Felines identify their family group by a communal scent, shared when they groom each other and sleep together. So feed your kitties at the same time on opposite sides of theTransition Room door, to associate each other’s smell with good things. After each cat has had a meal, switch out the plates temporarily so that they can sniff the bowls and become even more familiar with each other. It’s even better when a bit of food is left, because that helps the cats identify good stuff—food—with the other animal.

Trade Spaces for a Cat-Friendly Environment  After Stage One Transition is completed, remove your Siberian from her safe room and keep her with you in another area of the house - say the kitchen - while your householder has free access to the kitten's Transition Room.

To accomplish this, remember that your new kitten will have no interest in meeting new people or pets unless she feels comfortable with her environment.

After several days of this, segregate your # 1 feline in another room, then open the Tansition Room door so your Siberian kitten has private time to cheek rub household furniture, find good hiding and sleeping places, and otherwise become familiar with her new home.

While your kitten is exploring, leave briefly and again let your householder into the Transition Room. This helps each feline become familiar with the other - at a distance.

House of Plenty  The best way to reduce cat controversy is to provide all your cats with so much good stuff, there’s no need to fight over it. Place multiple litter boxes and feeding stations in different locations so that one cat can’t own and “guard” the facilities. Increase territory with extra cat trees, shelves to lounge on, tunnels and boxes to hide, and toys galore.

Nose-To-Nose At Last  Finally, your babies are ready for a meeting. Don’t make a big deal of this. Simply open the “safe room” door, stand back, and watch what happens. Allow the cats to ignore each other, meet, or otherwise interact at their own pace. Remember, the first face-to-face between cats should be one pair at a time, so if you have more than one resident cat, confine the others until a private meeting is possible. Introduce the friendliest resident cat to the newcomer first, so they have a chance to form a bond and can offer a positive example to the others.

Supervise!  Be prepared to stop any all-out altercations by tossing a towel or blanket over top of the wrangling cats. *Do NOT* use your hands or arms - you could be badly hurt. Distract them from  hissing by petting and introducing active play.  Remember felines' long memories and help them avoid "setting in stone" negative feelings about the other by hoping they will simply "work it out," as used to be recommended in the past.

Distract your kitties by feeding them a beloved treat (a bit of canned mackerel, perhaps?), or playing a game at the same time, but on opposite sides of the room. It can be love at first sight, or may take weeks or months to accept somebody new into the family. It is rare for cats not to accept each other if both Transition Stages are completed patiently and correctly. 

Exercise Care until you are satisfied no fur will fly, keep your new Siberian in her Transition Room whenever you can’t supervise.

One of the most common questions we hear about Siberians is "Do Siberian cats get along with dogs?"

Since a picture is worth a thousand words...

We have two golden teenagers who are not happy as queens, and will need time to be brought out of their shells. These girls are from low allergen lines and are beautiful looking. They are just over one year old. Siberians live between 12 and 18 years. We are placing these girls for only the cost of desexing and microchipping. If the family wants to, we can arrange to have fel d 1 testing done at the time of desexing. Needless to say the fel d 1 level would rapidly reduce within months of desexing, so the level would be at its highest point - which is a great marker  

Abby at nine months showing her gorgeous pattern.

Adoption restrictions: No other pets. Non smoking home. No children under 10 years old. 

Great news for cat-allergic homes: we have Siberian kittens available to go home now!

These kittens are old enough to allergy challenge directly with.

As an apporoved adoptor, you may make an appointment to allergy challenge with the kitten of your preference, and if you do not react, bring your desexed, vaccinated and microchipped Siberian directly home with you!

We also have kittens old enough to test with  now and who will be desexed in late June

Many folks adopting a ForestWind Siberian Kitten are bringing that kitten home to a house with another cat already in it.Thinking they are providing "Fluffy" with a wonderful playmate, they are disappointed to see that the two felines don't seem to immediately embrace their new buddy. What can you do to help ensure that your kitties do grow to enjoy each other's company?

Begin with closely following our recommendations for Transition time and space. Be "over sure" that your new Kitten is secure, playful, and settled in her transition room before beginning the slow process of creating friends.

Next, spray the bedding with Feliway and swap out their sleeping blankets. This introduces their smell to each other along with the calming hormonal keys of safety.

A few days later, remove the kitten to another closed space (bring a litter box and water!), and allow your cat unfettered access to the Transition Room for at least an hour. Simply leave the door open. 

Two days later, removing your kitten, put your Cat in the Transition Room, give her a small plate of her favorite healthy food, and close the door. Now allow your kitten - supervised - to play on the Cat's climber, with her toys, etc. This will leave the kitten's scent in the Cat's space.

Face to face meetings should begin with Kitten closed in a carrier and near you, and your older Cat free to explore. Consider doing this when the family is around and about. Give lots of attention to your Cat, and simply soothe the kitten so she remains calm. A towel or blanket over most of the crate to provide the security of a cave helps the kitten. Do not allow the cat to growl threateningly at your kitten. If she continues to growl, remove her to a place with a door and leave her there for about 15 to 30 minutes (long enough that she is clear this is a result of her aggression).

A day or two after the enclosed face to face meetings, introduce the kitten to your Cat in a space with a hideaway for the kitten, and several "up" locations for both cats. In a home with more than one cat it is essential to provide a variety of options for going "up" - whether they be shelving, wall steps, cubbies, or cat towers, all give each cat the opportunity to be "top dog" (winkl) as well as to experience the safety of being out of harm's way.

During these meetings, an essential daily step is offering your cat and new kitten lots of active parallel play (two people, each with a teaser, for example), this helps your Cat find that there is no 'loss' in having another feline about.

Offering desired and healthy treats when you 'catch them' gently together, as above, supports their understanding that being "like this" = good things happen. if they are being testy or unpleasant to each other, separate time outs in shut rooms with no interaction with mom or dad will quickly underline that negative behavior results in lack of stimulation and company. Sibis are very smart and learn quickly by association.

Above all be calm yourself, patient, and remember to gently intervene BEFORE anything ever gets out of hand. Cats hold grudges a LONG time, and it is easier to prevent a deeply negative experience than to try to repair a relationship that has grown increasingly hostile. There is no harm in quite an extended transition period for your new kitten - at least having her sleep in her Transition Room solo - until you are beyond sure that both felines feel secure, safe, and well loved.

Happy cuddling!

ForestWind Siberians