Caracats ®

• Caracat - who is this?
• Is Caracat a breed?
• The history of Caracat
• About work in the program
• Caracats F1 VIPLEO (75%)
• Caracats F1 VIPLEO (50%)
• Caracats F3 VIPLEO
• Caracats F4 VIPLEO
• Caracats F5 VIPLEO
• Feeding of Caracat kittensе
• The sounds that Caracats make
• Sweet sleeping babies of Caracat F1...
• Parenting
• Tray, toys, scratching posts...

 

 

Author: Kuzmina Anna
Date: 08/01/2018

Caracat - who is this?

At this time (as of March 20, 2018), there are only Caracat first and second generation hybrids (Caracat F1 and F2). I'll tell you in details what this means, because there are a lot of questions on this subject.

The kittens of the first generation must have at least 50% of blood from the wild type cat (e.g. serval, caracal, jungle cat, ALA). In our case, Caracat F1 must have at least 50% of blood from the caracal. To get Caracat F1, one of the parents must be a Caracal. In our VIPLEO® nursery, this role is performed by a male. This means that our Caracat F1 kittens have caracal as the dad and an ordinary pedigreed cat as the mom, because female Caracats F3 and later generations do not exist yet. We need them in the right style, color and size (that’s what Caracat F1 and F2 breeders are now working at). The role of the mother at the moment can be performed by any breed or a cross between the species suitable by type, color, and size. The Abyssinian breed or its crossbreed with the other species (since Abyssinian in "pure form" is a very small cat for the caracal), Chausie and its crossbreed, oriental and its crossbreed, etc. is frequently used. Our nursery also uses these breeds and cross-breeds.

The Caracal&Caracat of Cattery VIPLEO

What does Caracat F2 mean? This means that the kitten must have at least 25% of blood of its wild ancestor. In the pedigree of Caracat F2, Caracal is the grandfather on the mother's side. Due to the fact that fertile Caracat male do not exist already (the first generation of male hybrids is usually sterile), the father of Caracat F2 is a male of the other breeds or cross-breeds of suitable type, color and size. Now the work is underway to obtain the later generations, F3, followed by F4 and F5, and to obtain a fetal male Caracat. As a result of this complex and painstaking work, it is very important not to lose the beauty, style, color, tufts, as well as keep the maximum possible size of the ancestor caracal! Next we will prepare for recognition of Caracat as a breed and its withdrawal from the experimental category.

Frequently Asked Questions - Is Caracat a breed?

I decided to make a quick video and tell about it, since some questions are asked very often, and it’s hard to respond to everyone personally. This is the first generation of hybrids from caracal, Caracat f1. This means that their dad is a caracal and their mom is a pedigreed cat. In this case, you can see on the video the kittens from mother Chausie and dad, a young and large male caracal, the weight of which is currently 22 kg. He is a tender and fully adequate cat. Their mom is extremely tender and friendly cat. Her weight is approximately 4-4.5 kg.

Also, our nursery involves the cats of other breeds and mix breeds in Caracat program.

Because of the difference in size and a number of other features, it is very difficult to obtain the Caracat F1 kittens, and many breeders fail to do so. Therefore, at the moment, only two breeders in the world produce Caracat f1 kittens, and we are very proud to be one of them. They are really the most unique and rare cats in the world. Unlike serval and caracal, which we do not recommend and do not sell to apartments, Caracat kittens can be kept in the apartment, live with other cats and dogs, as well as families with small children. In the following videos, I will tell you a little about the feeding, housing, toys, scratching posts, etc.

Today, the work under experimental Caracat breeding program is underway. However, the breed doesn’t exist yet. We obtained only the first generation of hybrids (Caracat F1 and F2). There is still much work to do to get the breed... First we need to get the fertile male Caracats, to reach the fifth generation (Caracat f5), and put a lot of effort and work to be recognized as a breed and to be taken out of the experimental category. Therefore, to say that the breed now exists is wrong, not to mention proclaiming someone the "creator of Caracat breed"... This misleads people, gives false information and looks like a hoax. Well, this is a long, but interesting path, and I hope that in a couple of years we will manage to produce the breed and will be recognized. Then we will all enjoy the beautiful Caracat as a breed, but at the moment, only hybrids are born. It doesn’t matter who will produce the rock, it matters that it would exist, looked great and was similar to their ancestor, Caracal.

The history of Caracat

Fact of the birth of Caracat F1 dated back to 2007. Then the American breeder, the first and the only breeder in the world (at that date) Joy Geisinger, who later became the curator of experimental breed, known as Caracat, at an international cat association TICA, put a lot of effort and work in its promotion. It was she who carried out the planned crossing of a domestic Abyssinian cat and a caracal, which resulted in the offspring of the first generation of kittens (Caracat F1). It was she who came up with and registered this name - Caracat. Unfortunately, in 2008, Joy has died, and the work in this direction has been suspended.

Later, thanks to the work of another breeder, Allison Navarro (on the picture), managed to get a hybrid of the first and second generation of Caracal - Caracat F1 and F2. Because of the life circumstances, the further work at the development of an experimental breed Caracat and other hybrids of Savannah (which she also successfully dealt with) conducted by Allison Navarro was suspended in 2015. The resulting Caracat kittens still delight their owners.

The first generation of hybrids F1 in Russia was born in 2014. Later, these wonderful kittens appeared in Ukraine.

At the moment, our VIPLEO® nursery is one of two in the world, which manages to produce these precious kittens. Besides, to date, there are several successful breeders in Russia working at obtaining of Caracat F2. Our nursery is also working towards production of decent Caracat F2 with suitable type, size and fur color.

We hope for successful continuation of the work at the future breed by all Caracat breeders, and wish us all good luck!

About work in the program "The Caracats of Cattery VIPLEO®"

A couple of words about the work at the program of "Caracat from our VIPLEO® kennel". It turns out that we are the first in the whole world who obtained CITES for Caracat F1! The first legal Caracat kittens with a full package of documents were born in our kennel! Besides, all Caracat kittens born in our VIPLEO® kennel have the State Confirmation of the Birth of the First Generation Hybrids from the Caracal (caracal and domestic cat), and the second generation (female first-generation hybrid from the caracal and a domestic cat)! All Caracat kittens F1 and F2 are registered in TICA, and these are more than 20 individuals.

We manage to get very beautiful and big Caracat kittens according to the prescribed standard of the experimental breed. And we’re waiting for replenishment soon!

Our VIPLEO® cattery officially implements the Caracat program. We are working on getting females and males suitable for the Caracat program. This is an extremely responsible and time-consuming task, requiring a lot of effort and patience. Yet, it is a very interesting and enjoyable job. Observing the results, we want to devote ourselves to this task and develop even further in the field. As we are dealing with hybrids, our progress must be recorded officially and without breaking the law. So, our results are represented both in TICA and in CITES. Since 2015 our Caracat kittens have received all official documents, certificates of origin, and formal registration files. OUR CARACATS ARE THE FIRST CATS IN THE WORLD (!!!) registered by the international organization CITES. These are the first legal Caracat kittens in the world! Since 2016, we have been receiving CITES for our Caracat kittens regularly.

CITES Certificates

We are intensively working at the Caracat program: publications in magazines, online resources, at exhibitions and TV programs, and there is still a lot of interesting work ahead. The Caracats F2 are already growing up in our kennel. They have a very beautiful type and color, and we hope to get beautiful and large Caracats F3 from them soon. Suitable males for the F3 program and, in the future, F4 program, are growing up already. There are many developments and plans for the future. We will inform you about the work of our kennel at the Experimental Caracat Breed Program.

2021 year. Wonderful Girl HP F1 - 75%

Caracats F1 VIPLEO (75% Сaracal blood)

Our graduate VIPLEO Nessy, Caracat F1 (75% of the blood of a Caracal). Age - 1 year.

Our graduate VIPLEO Malysh, Caracat F1 (75% of the blood of a Caracal). Age - 1,3 years, weight - 15,9 kg.

Fortunella - Caracat F1 of Cattery VIPLEO (75% Сaracal blood)

Kitten Caracat F1 of Cattery VIPLEO (75% Сaracal blood)

The kittens Caracat F1 of Cattery VIPLEO (50% Сaracal blood)

The Caracat F3 of the Cattery VIPLEO

The Caracat F4 of the Cattery VIPLEO

In 2019, our cattery was able to get not only the world's first F4 Caracats, but also the first F4 Caracats in blue color in 2020!

The Caracat F4 of the Cattery VIPLEO

The Caracat F5 of the Cattery VIPLEO
The world's first caracat F5 Vipleo Rio, Date of Birth 10.12.2020

Feeding of Caracat kittens

From maternal or bottle milk, the kittens are transferred to minced quail or turkey meat.

Next, quail and turkey is given in pieces, from small to larger pieces. Also, they like chicken, which, like the quail, are very useful to both kittens and adult cats. All the meat is frozen and after thawing, when its temperature reaches the room level, the meal is ready to eat, which is very important, because cool or cold meal may not be given.

Also, we supplement meat with vitamins and minerals for meat-eating animals.

 

In America, the hybrids of the first and subsequent generations are usually fed with grain-free feed with a high content of meat. There is also a line of feed for pure feline species. Clean water is always available to them. We provide fresh water every day.

The sounds that Caracats make

Sweet sleeping babies of Caracat f1...

Sweet sleeping babies of Caracat f1... These are the kittens from dad caracal and mom home-bred cat. From dad caracal, the kittens inherited black ears (by the way, in Latin «Caracal» means black ear), as well as spots on the belly, as well as uniform color on the body with no stain. If we talk about the size, at this age they are much larger than normal kittens, which is also due to dad caracal.

However, their behavior is much softer than that of caracal. This was due to the mother-cat, which not only reduced the size of kittens as compared to caracal, but also improved their temperament and muted "wild" blood.

This unique feature has allowed Caracat f1 (unlike caracal, which can only live in the houses with a cage) to live in an apartment with small children and other animals.

The weight of an adult Caracat f1 is about 10-15 kg. Males are usually larger than females.

 

 

Parenting

Tray, toys, scratching posts...

As seen in the video, they use the tray just like normal cats. At this age, as shown in the video, we provide them with a large tray. We use wood filler. We tried all kinds of fillers for cats. But due to the fact that many kittens, trying to get to know the world, play not only with toys, but also with a filler, which they try to taste, we decided that for young kittens the wood filler is safer. It is also good that, growing up, their easily switch from this filler to any other. If a new family wants to change the filler, this will be no problem. We buy different toys. If you buy them in a department for cats, you need to choose the strong and high-quality toys, as since Caracat can break and swallow small objects and details. A lot of interesting things are available in the department for dogs. This is no wonder, since they are called cat-dogs!

As the kittens are growing up, they play very well with a plastic bottle, chase potatoes, apples and other suitable items. Of course, you need to watch the kittens’ toys carefully, and change them on time. They like different scratching posts, both with the cable rope and made of croton. On the walls, we hang tough woven mats, to which they love to jump and scratch their claws. If you choose a game complex, you need to take into account that Caracat is a large cat, so the complex should be stable and well-fixed. Shelves should be large enough so that when the kitten grows up, it could lie comfortably and safely jump over them. Since childhood, don’t accustom kittens to the games with a hand. Use a toy or a sticks. The hands are for petting only!

Call (+38)0989668888 or write to e-mail: info@vipleo.com