The California Spangled is a designer breed, created with the intention of resembling the fierce-natured wild cats like the leopard and ocelot. This feline breed was designed using the Siamese cats, Abyssinians, British and American Shorthairs, as well as the spotted cats from Malaysia and Egypt. Its long, lean muscular body, round forehead, prominent cheek bones, deep eyes, long whisker pads accompanied by a spotted coat gives it a perfect leopard-like look.
California Spangled Cat 
California Spangled Pictures 
California Spangled Photos 
California Spangled Kittens
Quick Information
Physical Appearance & Size
| Weight: | Male (5 kg to 6 kg); Female ( 3.5 kg to 4.5 kg) |
Colors & Patterns
| Coat: | Short, spotted tabby pattern( block, oval square, triangle) |
| Color: | Bronze, brown, gold, charcoal, blue, red, white, silver, black |
Other Characteristics
| Other Names: | Spangle, American California Spangled Cat |
| Group: | Domestic |
| Life Expectancy: | 9 to 15 years |
| Personality Traits: | Affectionate, active, energetic, social, curious |
| Shedding: | Low |
| Good with Children: | Yes |
| Vocalization: | Low |
| Hypoallergenic: | Yes |
| Country of Origination: | United States of America |
History
The credit of breeding and designing these cats goes to Paul Arnold Casey Jr, a Hollywood playwright, scriptwriter, author and cat enthusiast. On his visit to Africa, he was shocked to see the inhuman poaching of leopards.Therefore, in collaboration with Louis Leakey, a paleoanthropologist from Kenya, Casey decided upon designing a domestic cat that would look like a leopard, in order to increase awareness among people of conserving the wild animal.
At the beginning of the 70s era, he started his mission using a Traditional Siamese of the feminine gender and an Angora with long hair and silver spots. The result of this breeding was a male silver cat, having block shaped spots.
He then introduced American and British shorthairs, Abyssinian cats, and the brown Manx cat. He carried on his breeding procedure very systematically, also recording the results of mating. Casey used the street cats from Egypt and Malaysia while producing the final generation of this breed for the wild look.
This rare breed was introduced in public for the first time in the year 1986 as it appeared as a part of an advertisement campaign on the cover page of Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog. TICA (The International Cat Association) also has given them recognition. Breeders throughout the world are attempting to popularize them though there are only 200 California Spangled cats at present.
Temperament and Personality
They have a soothing disposition that is in complete contrast to their wild, fearful look. Having an affectionate nature, they enjoy being cuddled and fondled by their owners. Because of their athletic, acrobatic nature they enjoy jumping to great heights. In fact, these curious cats would have a great time seated on your shoulder or the fridge top from they can keep a close watch on whatever is happening around.
California Spangled Kitten Pictures 
California Spangled Cat 
California Spangled Kitten Images
These sociable, children-friendly cats also mingle well with strangers. They desire their masters to be a part of all the fun activities they do and are not comfortable when left alone for a long time. Having an affinity towards hunting, they will enjoy stalking or pouncing upon their toys, or anything that moves.
Care
Their good athletic skills and active nature should be channelized in a proper way to keep them physically and mentally fit. They are well suited for large, spacious households. In fact, to ensure their safety, owners can arrange for a large enclosed area for them to exercise and play around freely. These easily-bored cats can get destructive due to lack of activities. Therefore, provide them a lot of interesting toys to keep them engaged.
Because of their short coats, they do not need to be groomed too much. Brushing them on a weekly basis will help in keeping their coats shiny and clean. However, comb them at an increased interval during spring or fall when they tend to shed slightly more. Bathe them only when required to prevent their skin from getting dried. Cleaning their ears to prevent infection as well as trimming their claws is also required.
These healthy cats are not known to suffer from any serious or genetic problems apart from the common feline diseases like tapeworm and vomiting. Consult a vet to know about all the vaccines your cat requires to be healthy.
Training
Their intelligent nature makes them easy to train. You may teach this hardy breed the art of fetching, to come when summoned and other interesting tricks. Because of their climbing and hunting instinct it is safe to leash train them so that there will not be much problem while taking them out. Imparting proper socialization and obedience training to the California Spangled kittens will help them get along well with strangers and other pets. It will also be effective in reducing any of their inherent behavioral traits like attempting to pounce at whatever they find handy.
Feeding
It is essential to give your Spangled proper quality cat food. You may provide them with raw or partially moist canned food. Make sure that the percentage of fat, carbohydrate and protein is well maintained in his diet. They are also to be given plenty of water to drink.
California Spangled Kitten 
California Spangled Images 
California Spangled Kittens Pictures
Interesting Facts
- These expensive cats were sold by Casey for $1400 after they appeared on the cover page of Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog.
- After this cat was advertised in the Neiman Marcus Catalog, animal activists protested about it as the same catalog was even selling fur coats made from the skin of the beaver, fox and ermine.
- Though designed for the purpose of creating a unique breed they have been overshadowed by the popularity of the Bengal cat and Ocicat.
- After the Bengal cat it was the second most expensive cat to be sold for an amount of $24000 in 1987, January.
- This breed has the credit of winning two international Grand Champions award in Europe.
