For those of us that are unaware of the term “teacup cats” it seems like quite a strange phenomenon when someone mentions the term. You may have heard of miniature cats being sold but teacup cats have a slightly different edge to them.
Persian teacup cat weight
Teacup Persian cats are miniature cats but they differ with regards to some very specific details. A normal female cat weighs somewhere between eleven to fourteen pounds and a male cat can go up to seventeen. On the contrary a teacup Persian cat starts weighing in at the measly three pound mark and stays below eight at the maximum. If you have these weight markings in mind then you will instantly be able to gauge whether the cat being offered in the market is an actual teacup Persian cat.
Buying Persian teacup cats
Buying a teacup cat requires you to know certain details like this otherwise you might fall into the trap that is set by some dubious cat breeders. The cheats in the business often attempt to sell any Persian cat that is less than ten pounds as a teacup cat whereas in reality such a cat is actually to be counted amongst the normal Persians. Hence be informed that just because a Persian cat weighs less than ten pounds doesn’t make it a teacup cat.
Persian teacup lovers
Many people find the teacup Persian cat variety to be very appealing. As it is Persian cats are considered to be extremely cute and cuddly making them an excellent choice for a home pet. The teacup Persian cat with its extremely small size and delicate nature is all the more demanding of love and care which is one of the things that cat owners instinctively do. Hence the teacup Persian cat is a hot favorite amongst cat lovers that really want something to love.
Breeding Persian Teacup Cats
The question is, where do they come from? Teacup Persian cats are actually specially bred by a process known as inbreeding. This process involves mating the smallest sized cat from one particular breed with the smallest cat of a different breed. With each new generation the changes slowly start to creep in thus resulting in the teacup cat after a couple of turnovers.
The process can be compared to the Japanese art of Bonsai which involves dwarfing the tree. The teacup variety is arrived at in pretty much the same manner as dwarfism. There are however two main forms of the process of dwarfism when it comes to teacup Persian cats.
One of these processes is known as achondroplasia. This is the process in which the dominant gene grows while mutating. As a result it has an effect on the hormonal balance in the cat’s body. This balance then controls the bone growth resulting in smaller overall bone structures. Although there are many different breeds of teacup cats the Persian is by far the most popular teacup cat in the world.