My Seattle sister, the boys’ Auntie Kathy, e-mailed this message to me yesterday: “I liked the picture of Dougy, a very handsome boy. I think the boys are cuter with longer hair.” She referred to this photo from yesterday’s post:
Yeah! I think so, too! Since she has Sox the tuxedo cat, another long-haired beauty, her opinion counts a lot!
Cat-cousin Sox, a real fox!
Originally, I had the boys trimmed to deal with the problem of poop catching in their tail and butt hair. Mats, too, were a big issue. They came out of the grooming much lighter, even cute! Of course, they had little patches where mats were cut out, but, well, hair grows!
By the time I took them in for their second grooming session in January 2012, their groomer and I decided to try a teddy bear cut. Wow! Andy turned out especially cute, with his Jennifer-Grey-in-“Footloose” leggings and his insouciant, jaunty walk in this video:
Don’t you just want to grab those cute little whiskers and make happy cooing sounds? (Andy would leave stumps on the ends of your arms if you did, but, well, he still was soooo cute!)
The teddy bear cut continued to work well with the boys, and the matting issue mostly disappeared because the sessions with the groomers left them much more tolerant of brushing. I even bought a brush like the one his groomers use because it has lots of thin angled wires that glide through their hair with minimal impact on their tender kitty skin: The boys love to be brushed now, thanks to the tender care of the groomers.
Andy with a teddy bear cut.
The last time I had the boys groomed, they came back with a little longer hair. I thought then they looked really good that way. They are Persians! And the variety of Persian they are has lovely black hair with silver highlights that becomes more noticeable when their hair’s longer. See what I mean?
Andy before a haircut. That piece of cottonwood is a favorite perch.
It isn’t entirely obvious, but the boys have markings similar to Birmans (which their father was), like a long-haired Siamese, just darker. Of course, in strong sunlight striking it from certain angles, Andy’s chest hair looks like this:
The boys are lighter on the underside than the top. Dougy is darker than Andy, and Andy even has a hint of a darkish light patch on his chest. In light, their hair color-shifts. The photo above was in artificial light, and Andy’s natural colors are hinted at, if not shown that well. Maybe this video shows it better since both boys are in motion and in natural daylight:
That video, made in November 2013, reminded me just how pretty the boys can be! You also can see how much darker Dougy is than Andy, though both are very pretty creatures, in my opinion!
Yes, when the boys have their next grooming session at the end of this month, I’m asking for a “Persian cut”, one that emphasizes the natural beauty of this variety of cat, one that deals with the poopy butt issue (a trim-up “back there”) but allows the rest of the hair to go natural.
A light trim? Maybe. I’ll discuss it with the groomers. The boys looked cute with teddy bear cuts, but they look beautiful as natural Persians!
I agree, I like the boys with the long hair best. I just love the different shades of black in the sunshine.
As long as the hair under their tail feathers is shortened, I might be able to live with the boys in long hair. Mostly, it is a matter of willingness to be brushed so the mats don’t form.
Ms. Zulu has the same problem. I have to brush her more often. But she doesn’t mind and even enjoys it.
It’s good when hairy pets do like it!
Love the vids!!!
Whichever way the boys get their hair styled…they look so handsome!!! 🙂
Sox is very handsome, too!
I don’t know how you resist those sweet faces anything they want! They’d have me wrapped around their paws!
HUGS!!! Happy Monday!!! 🙂
Unfortunately, it is very hard to deny the boys anything! Andy is especially bad at begging. I feed the brothers before I eat so I don’t have Andy standing in my way, begging for my meal! (I don’t feed them food meant for people, but that doesn’t stop him.)
Thanks for the comments on the boys! Sox originally was supposed to be my sister’s grandchildren’s cat, but their mom put her foot down (not enough room at home). I think my sister was supposed to keep Sox till my niece and her family moved to a bigger place, but that never happened! Ha! Anyway, I doubt my sister’d give Sox back at the point anyway: She’s HER cat!)
The one of Andy strolling through the room cracks me up every time. I don’t know why it is so funny to me. Maybe the way he gives me a “What’re you looking at?” look as he walks by. I laugh every time I watch it!
My pooch Cooper is like Andy! Coop stands at my feet and gives me THAT look while I eat…hoping I’ll let him have some. Even tho’ I don’t, he always gives it a try. And he’s already eaten his dog food! 😀
Does he open cabinet doors while you prepare food? Ha! Andy does. I eventually just open the closest on so he can look in because that gives me a little relief from the pitiful sounds coming from Andy’s mouth 🙂
The part of Andy strolling was my fav part, too! When I think of that, I laugh outloud! 😀
Andy is a little rebel, and he lets me know right away when he isn’t happy with the way this household is run!
Her kitty is beautiful too just like your boys.
Andy is absolutely adorable in that teddy bear cut.
I can see the silver highlights in the photo of Andy with long hair. Beautiful.
That photo of Andy on his back makes me want to give him a good tummy rub.
The last video does show how much darker Dougy is than Andy and those adorable faces must own your heart.
Sweet boys.
Thanks for all the comments about the boys and their Seattle “cousin” Sox! All are pretty boys. I caution anyone attracted to that cute little belly, though, that it is a trap! Andy might let you rub it or scratch it, but he also associates that position with a game we played when he was a kitten, “Got yer tummy!” He has his own version: “Got yer hand!” He loves that game!