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Helpful Hints to Determine Egyptian Mau Color

Kittens are not always born the color they will be as adults.  There are times when it is hard to tell the difference in a dark silver and a smoke, or a cold bronze and a silver.  When the color is not obvious, there are a few tricks that can help identify a kitten’s color.

Whiskers:

One of the 4easiest ways to distinguish between a dark silver and a smoke is to look at the whiskers.  A silver wil have black and white whiskers and a smoke will have all black whiskers.

Legs:

In order to tell a smoke (remember to look at the whiskers to make sure it is a smoke and not a silver) with no markings from a self black is to look at the barring on the front legs.

Blacks:

A self-black will have no markings - or only have ghost markings.

Bronze:

Bronze kittens (especially the colder bronze) can look grey when first born - so look at their cheeks.

Tarnish:

Tarnishing on a cat is considered a fault. It often happens when silvers are crossed with bronze. Tarnish will look like a dirty spot on a silver coated cat.

Other Helpful Hints:

If you aren’t sure if it is a silver, smoke, or a blue, look at the tip of their tail and the pads of their feet.  If those are a very clear black, then the kitten is either a silver or a smoke. If they are a slate/blue then it is a blue.

The Nose and Paw Pads:

As mentioned earlier, the nose and paws can also give you a hint as to the color of your cat.  If the nose and paw pads are black, the kitten can either be a b lack, smoke, or silver. If the kitten is silver the nose should be outlined in black and the pads will be black. If the kitten is bronze, the nose will be outlined in dark brown or black and the pads will be the same color.  If it is a blue, the pads will be blue, sometimes with rose undertones and the nose will be rose with a dark blue outline.

TICA - What Color is my Cat?       Egyptian Mau Color Genetics  

Bottle Feeding:

When bottle feeding a kitten, always feed in the prone position. Never feed a kitten on its back like a child because it can asperate.  If you ever have to bottle raise kittens, you might find the following web sites helpful.

Feeding Young & Just Born Kittens       How to bottle feed a newborn kitten:       Raising Healthy Kittens

Cat Urine:

One hopes that cats never miss their litter box or seek other places to potty.   A black light can be used to find the spot in the carpet. This eliminates the need to sniff out every inch of carpet in order to find it.

As long as any smell remains, it is likely that a cat will continue to pee in that same spot.  Often, it requires soaking the carpet in order to get through to the pad.  There are a number of chemicals and enzymes on the market that will help remove the smell.  However, in a pinch, one can use vinegar (or vinegar and baking soda) to remove the majority of the smell. If that doesn’t work, hydrogen peroxide may do the trick, but it may also remove the color from your carpet - so you need to check an area that will not show before using hydrogen peroxide. The best way to remove odor is enzymes specifically designed for pet urine removal There are a number of products on the market that work and are safe.

Before you buy urine odor removal products                 Pet Odor Eliminator                 Zero Odor