Meet Shaheena, the Oaktown Cattery genie, and her little friends! They will answer all your questions about Turkish Angoras. You may summit new questions by clicking on the email scroll at the bottom of this page. (Question) What are kitten caps? (Answer) Kitten caps are a spot of color on a white kittens head when they are born. The spot will shed out in time, and the kitten will be solid white. Kitten caps usually always disappear by the time the cat is 2 years old. Some white cats are born without them, but most are born with them. If a white kitten has a black kitten cap, it is said to be white masking black. This is important for a breeder to know, because this means this kitten, when bred, will produce black kittens, as well as white kittens. It really doesn't make any difference to the person who is buying the kitten for a pet, except that they know that it isn't a spot, and it will soon disappear. In Turkey, only the white cats are accepted as true Turkish Angoras. Turkish natives often describe the rare odd-eyed white cat as a "gift from Allah". The white cats with a touch of color on their heads, are said to be "touched by Allah", and are wearing the so-called "mark of Allah". This belief may arise from the legend that Muhammad, founder of the Islamic faith, was a devout cat lover who is said to have possessed and idolized a beautiful white, odd-eyed cat. (Question) At what age is a kitten ready to leave the cattery, and go to it's new home? (Answer) We keep the kittens until they are at least 3 months old. That way we can see that they get all their shots, are well established on solid food, and are litterbox trained. (Question) How can I get Oaktown Cattery to hold a kitten for me until it is 3 months old? (Answer) You must pay $100.00 deposit to hold any kitten. The deposit is not refundable if you change your mind. (Question) Will you let me breed my unregistered cat to your pure bred Turkish Angora? (Answer) Have you thought about what the results of that breeding would be? Do you really want to be responsable for releasing another litter of mixed breed kittens into this world? A world that already is crawling with homeless cats? A world that gathers them together into a shelter and kills them if they arn't adopted in 2 weeks? A world that collects them up and sells them to medical and cosmetic facilities to be experimented on? I won't be a part of any of it. NEVER! (Question) Do you have a pattern for your cage curtains? (Answer) Yes, here it is: The average size for cages at the cat shows are 22" deep, 22" tall, and 44" wide. Bottom Panel - 1 large rectangle piece, that is hemmed to measure 56" by 45". 1 2/3 yds. of 45" fabric, if you want the panel lined, it would be 3 1/3 yds. of 45" fabric. Lift cage off of table, and lay top of the Bottom Panel on the table where the cage will sit. Put cage back onto the table on top of the Bottom Panel. Bottom Panel should cover the bottom of the cage and hang down the front of the table to hide your belongings underneith. Side Panels - 1 large rectangle piece, that is hemmed to measure 88" by 44". You then fold the piece in half on the 44" side and press. The rectangle now measures 88" by 22". Slip this piece over the top of the sides, and back of the cage. It should hang so that it covers the inside and outside of the back and sides of the cage. The Side Panels require 2 1/2 yards of 45" material. Floor Panel - The Floor Panel is optional, as you already have the Bottom Panel covering the floor of your cage. But it comes in very handy if the bottom of the cage becomes soiled. It gives you a fresh start at any time during the 2 day cat show. 1 large rectangle piece, that is hemmed to measure 22" by 44". The Floor Panel requires 2/3 of a yard of 45" wide fabric, if you want it lined, it would be 1 1/3 yds. fabric. Top - The Top Panel should be alarge rectangle that is hemmed to measure 54" by 32". The Top Panel is layed across the top of the cage. The Top Panel takes 1 1/3 yds. of 45" fabric. The entire set of Cage Curtains, with the Top and Bottom panels lined, should take: 3 2/3 yds. of Printed, 45" fabric, and 6 1/2 yds. of Solid Color, 45" fabric. (Question) How do you groom a cat to get it ready for a cat show? (Answer) Clip your cats nails before bathing your kitty. Don't clip up to the skin. Clip up to the pink part of the nail, that's usually where the kink is in the nail. Clip all of them, 5 nails on each front foot, and 4 nails each on each back foot. Gather everything you need to bath kitty together, within reach, of the sink/tub you are bathing it at. If you have to leave kitty to go get something you forgot, kitty won't be there when you get back! Use a washcloth and a little NO TEARS SHAMPOO to wash kitties head, ears & face. Make sure you get the ears, eyes and nose clean, without getting water in any of them. Rinse out washcloth and rinse out all shampoo on head. You will have to rinse many times. Soak kitty thoroughly to the skin with water. Do not soak head, ears or face. Apply Dawn Dishwashing Detergent and lather the rest of the body well. Rinse! Rinse! Rinse! Lather body again with a nice shampoo like Prell, Mane & Tail, etc. Rinse! Rinse! Rinse! Make sure ALL soap is out of kitties coat this time. Wrap large towel around kitty, find someplace to sit down & rest, and hold kitty while you use another small towel, to towel dry it slowly, starting with her head. After kitty is towel dried, blow dry it completely dry with a hair dryer. Combing it as you go. Do not use a hot setting on your dryer. If you don't get kitty too hot, it will get use to the hair dryer quickly. Put kitty somewhere where it won't get dirty before it gets to the show. Good Luck at the show! (Question) Why are blue-eyed, and odd-eyed white cats, sometimes deaf? (Answer) White is not a cat color. Cat colors are red and black. When accompanied by the delute gene, they are cream and blue. White is the abstance of color on a cat, and so are blue eyes, the abstance of color in the cat eyes. When an egg is fertilized in the womb of the mama cat, each kitten becomes one of four colors, red, black, cream or blue. Depending on what genes were given to it by mama and papa. Female kittens can be both colors sometimes, red and black, or cream and blue. While still in the womb, the color starts at the top of the kittens head and moves downward. There are a couple of genes that sometimes stops this process. They are called the white gene, and the spotting gene. The spotting gene can stop the process at many different places on the kitten. Giving us all the different variations of the bi-color, and tri-color cats. But always, no matter how much white, and how much color a bi-color, or tri-color cat has. The white part is on the bottom of the kitty, and the colored part is on the top of the kitty. Remember, color starts at the top and works it's way down while the kitten is still in the womb. The white gene stops the process of coloring the kitty almost at once. Sometimes it will leave a small spot of color on the head called a kitten cap. Sometimes the white gene stops the coloring process before it reaches the kittens eyes, causing one, or both of his eyes to be blue. This gives you the odd-eyed and blue-eyed white cats. Sometimes the white gene stops the coloring process before it reaches the kittens ears, causing one, or both of his ears to be deaf. This gives you the partially deaf, or deaf white kitten. A partially deaf, or deaf white kitten can have any color eyes, but for the most part, are odd-eyed and blue-eyed, because the same process that causes blue eyes, also causes deafness. For more reading on this subject go to "The Pigment Parade" by Lorraine Shelton Back to Oaktown Cattery