Saturday, December 14, 2013

C is for CHINCHILLA

We actually owned one of these cats for a short while and therein hangs a tail.  A couple in Wembley were selling their house and also the contents of their home.  I was about 11 or 12 and had gone with mum and dad to the auction of the house contents.  While there I wandered into the back garden and came upon this beautiful cat.  It was a silver-grey colour with very long hair.  The lady of the house saw me with the cat and asked mum and dad if she could give it to me.  She explained that the cat had belonged to their son who, several weeks earlier, had been drowned in Lake Monger; I think he was perhaps about my age when that happened.  This was the reason they were selling up and moving to another neighbourhood.  Looking back I think perhaps the cat was too much of a reminder of the young son they had so tragically lost.



Silver was quite an old cat as I think he had arrived at about the same time as their baby boy but mum and dad said yes we could take him home and care for him.  Sadly I don't recall how long he was with us, perhaps only a year or two, but I do remember because of his long hair his teeth had detiororated to the extent that he couldn't chew meat.  I think mum and dad did all they could for him but may eventually have had to have him to put to sleep on the advice of the veterinary surgeon.  I remember him as being a lovely cuddly fellow and very affectionate.  I think he also perhaps pined for the little friend he had lost but we gave him all the love we could for the short time he was with us.  Another fond memory of a beautiful feline friend.


The Chinchilla is a longhaired breed of cat which is actually a type of Persian.  They have a thick, long and silky coat with a cobby body and round face with large eyes.  They are a very elegant cat.  The undercoat of the cat is normally white with black, silver or gold tips.  Chinchilla cats that have darker silver markings on their bodies are referred to as shaded silvers while those with gold tips are referred to as shaded goldens and are quite rare.  Chinchilla cats have emerald or blue-green eyes with a distinctive black eye-liner rim.  The nose is red while having black pencilling.  Their feet pads are coloured black.

These cats are named after a South American rodent which also has two-toned fur.  They are one of the most popular longhaired cat breeds (but are also very expensive).

Chinchillas are normally happy to lie around the home to display their decorative qualities and are very placid and quiet.  They do enjoy attention and are very affectionate, often becoming attached to their owners.  They are ideally suited to flats or houses as many prefer to spend much of their day inside.  The long coat does shed a lot of hair which will become worse when the winter coat is dropping.  While daily brushing will reduce the amount of hair shed, it will still cover furniture and floors.

(I have the shedding problem with Precious and have often wondered why she grows thick hair in winter and then sheds (rather like goats do) as summer approaches.  We find little chunks of hair on the carpet and when I brush her the brush is full of hair in only a few minutes.  We feel she has some unknown breed in her as she is not just an ordinary moggie so perhaps some Persian escaped one day and Precious is the result.   Who knows?  All I know is we do have this surplus hair problem and she is classed as a Domestic Longhair).

12 comments:

  1. That is a touching story from your childhood Mimsy. This is a beautiful breed of cat. I never heard of a Chinchilla cat before, just the rodent. Another very interesting post, thank you :)

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    1. Thank you Denise. Silver was a really loving beautiful cat. We did our very best for him and I think he was happy with us.

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  2. Hari OM
    Oh yes the chinchilla is a very cool cat!!! As a family we always ended up with strays who stayed; fond memories of all. I always wanted a Silver Tabby though and finally, with Jasper, I got the feline love-of-my-life. I never knew a chinchilla per se, but did become acquainted with a couple of persians throughout the years. Very laid back dudes!

    Super post Mimsie and I agree, learning something every day is great fun! Hugs, YAM xx

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    1. Thank you my friend. All cats are wonderful but I guess some more wonderful than others. They say we are never too old to learn and I've been doing quite a bit of it of late just doing these posts and the research that goes with them. xx

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  3. That's a beautiful kitty.
    Rick, your latest follower.

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    1. Hi Rick...lovely to meet you and thanks for dropping by. Yes, Silver was indeed a very beautiful cat.

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    1. Very pretty and a nice cat to go with it too.

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  5. Our next door neighbour but one had a pair of chinchillas when I was growing up. Chin and Chilla. Lovely cats.
    And another lovely post.
    Snap on the moulting front. There is a patina of black fur on EVERYTHING here. Try as I might...

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    1. Thanks EC. What great names for those two chinchillas eh? We have a large dark pink patterned rug on the middle of our living room floor and each day it is covered with a patina (great word to describe it) of fine (very fine) white fur plus lumps of it throughout the house. Phil emptied our little upright vacuum the other day and it was nearly all cat fur. He often says if he saved all the fur we could make another cat.

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  6. I never heard of a chinchilla cat, but we had a silver gray Persian who shed hair year around. Of course, the cats we have now tend to shed hair, too, but it isn't quite as LONG.

    Neat post. (Gonna write about the Savannah cat when you get to the S?)

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    1. Thanks Susan. Our Precious is shedding, shedding and still shedding right now.
      I guess it's a little like trees. You have deciduous trees which do shed all their leaves and then the evergreen like our eucalypts and yet they too do shed leaves all year round but without the beautiful change of colour.
      Savannah cat? Had thought of Siamese as we had two of them. Perhaps a double post....just for you.

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