Thursday, December 26, 2013

D is for DRAGON LI

I had never heard of this cat and found it to be a very interesting, and handsome, animal indeed.

The Dragon Li is also called Chinese Li Hua, China Li Hua, Li Hua, and Li Hua Mao, or simply Li Mao.  It is a Chinese breed of domestic cat originating from nascent Chinese folklore and dynastic culture.  The natural breed, based on a native landrace, is presently recognised as a formal breed by the US-based Cat Fancier's Association (CFA) and China's own Cat Aficionado Association (CAA).


The Dragon Li displays a unique golden brown, broken mackerel (also known as broken striped) tabby pattern, distinctive ear tipping, large round almond shaped luminescent yellow-green eyes, and a strong full-bodied stature reminiscent of its wild nature..  The Dragon Li is valued for its unmistakable intelligence, an uncanny cognizance in relation to its surroundings, and its ability to interact perspicuously with humans.  The Dragon Li typically weighs between 9 and 12 pounds; is smart, loyal and lively and gentle with people.  It has a reputation as a talented hunter of rats and other vermin.  His retrieval skills apparently extend beyond rodents as one of these cats is said to have learned to fetch the morning paper!


The eponymous Dragon Li is thought to be a natural self-domesticating breed by way of the wild cat subspecies, Chinese mountain cat (Felis silvestris bieti).  While this theory is still somewhat controversial, it has also not been scientifically disproven, and is therefore widely accepted as the origin of this breed within established breeding sources in China.  The Chinese character interpretation is based on a legendary description rather than a fully accurate contemporary portrayal of the Dragon Li, and as a result, the breed has been confused with that of the wild fox by the Chinese.  For this reason the literal translated characters for Li Hua Mao read as ".." as in fox ".." for flower pattern, and ".. " for cat.  This Chinese character description was, and is based on what was believed to be the best interpretation before modern western feline terminology became the standard, ie. 'flower pattern' versus a 'tabby pattern'.  (".." = I of course can't show the Chinese characters).

 In 2003 the Dragon Li debuted as an experimental class in Beijing China (30 December, 2003 - 6 January, 2004).  Allbreed judges of the American Cat Fancier's Association were guests of the Cat Aficionado Association and judged the event.


In 2005 an ideal male example ('Needy'), presented by its owner Da Han, was shown and won its class as 1st place champion per an official 'breed standard'.  The event was judged by John Blackmore of the ACFA.  In February, 2010 the Li Hua was accepted for showing in the miscellaneous class with Cat Fancier's Association and is now acknowledged as an officially recognised breed by CFA.  Since gaining international recognition, and due in part to its limited availability, the Dragon Li/Chinese Li Hua has now become a focus of attention the world over.  In popular culture, the Chinese literary legend "Li Mao Huan Tai Zi" (The Cat for Crown Prince Conspiracy) utilises a Li Hua Mao as its central theme, and has more recently served as the basis for a China-based television series.

13 comments:

  1. I had no idea these cats existed, I wonder if they are available in Australia?
    Being a dragon lady, I think maybe I should have a dragon cat.
    I'll settle for one of grey tabby's kittens if I can get one.

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    1. These cars truly are beautful but would be expensive.
      Have you as yet found out where the kitten live. I was hoping you may have had a response to your letterbox drop.

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    2. Nothing yet. I asked to be contacted when the kittens are old enough, so it's wait and see now.

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    3. Doesn't sound promising as you'd think the owners would have made some sort of contact with you. Anyway, fingers crossed that you hear something soon.

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    4. I have one, Hunter is her name... i have 7 other cats in my household but she is by far the most loyal and loving.. absolutely beautiful cat.. and dat meow haha!
      im on the gold coast Queensland

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  2. Aren't they beautiful? I suspect that if they are available here at the moment they would be very expensive. Possibly thousands of dollars. Which I couldn't bring myself to pay - even if I had it.

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    1. They are truly lovely EC. No, I couldn't bring myself to spend too much on a cat although I must admit we have in the past owned 2 Siamese (the Burmese was given to me by K). Now we have our little Precious, an orphan child from the Cat Haven.

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  3. Hari OM
    I too had not heard of this one...but goodness it reminds me greatly in it's demeanor of my darling Jasper!! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas Mimsie. YAM xx

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  4. So your Jasper must be a beautiful animal.
    Yes thank you our Christmas was wonderful (snow would have made it better of course). Hope your was enjoyable too. xx

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    1. This link will take you to
      Jasper's piccie... the label "The J's" on the
      MENO blog will take you to all the posts about my animals. YAM xx

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  5. They're gorgeous..I love the markings.

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  6. They truly are and that broken tabby is really something.

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  7. I have one here in Australia on the Gold coast Queensland.
    Hunter :) she is an amazing little girl (not little lol), everything you would want in a cat. so loyal and loving.. and the strangest little squeak/meow
    ..how do i post i picture?

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