Caracal

🐾Caracal Cat: Your new pet

No doubt, this is a feline that has to be admired; it is a cat that has nothing of docile in its natural state, it is attractive and one of the most ability because of its excellent senses and good mobility, it is extremely independent and can call the attention of those who watch him, but is being cataloged in wild category due to the time it has been in the savannah, but with the necessary dedication that might change.

The precedence of this feline hasn’t been too documented, and even when there are some sights of its history it isn’t possible to determine an exact place or birthday, however, in those data that are associated to their evolution, it can be concluded, with some undefined spacetimes, how the Caracal has developed in the world through time.

This has made possible to say that this kitty was around the elite in the ancient Egypt families, and with princes in India, being excluded after the middle age when many felines suffered for being chased.

This is why the Caracal stayed for many centuries in savannahs and deserts, far from society and acting then as a wild animal to survive, getting used to it and exploiting its excellent abilities in the hunt of its favorite preys.

Nowadays this mammal is seen especially if zones of Africa, Turkey, Kazakhstan, mimicking with the arid environment thanks to its body composition.

These Caracal’ physical characteristics are very particular because it isn’t a small kitty as we regularly see, but are cataloged as medium-sized because they are among 30 cm tall, but its lengths set close to 92 and 95 cm, and have a body shape that reminds more to a panther.

Are strong, thick, powerful and very agile, are pretty fast getting to be compared with wildcats and has the capacity to jump very high, of course being stimulated for the desire of hunting, its color is between orange and cinnamon, some may say it is a light brown, but the important thing about this is that its color helps them to camouflage with the savannahs they are living.

Its face is very particular, even when its base is the same color as its body and its factions are the same of other cats, these have little black marks that demarcate other characteristics, making them look more intense and penetrating, with a pair of ears covered by black fur that stands out from its skin, looking like plumes.

Aren’t animals to take from the countryside and carrying home, because Caracals that have grown in savannah isn’t very compatible with humans or other animals, because they prefer loneliness, they even go away from others of their same species, just getting close when it’s necessary, which usually match with their reproduction period.

Its behavior in deserts or savannahs hasn’t been too much recorded due to has been hard to watch them because they move too fast and because they prefer to rest at the day and move at night, getting hide between stones and sleeping at the daylight or hunting at moonlight.

If you want to adopt a Caracal, in the first place you must search for it in places where its parents were already domesticated and preferable its grandpas or part of them too. Never take it directly from its natural environment, because this can just be made by the professionals who have the job to domesticate them to have their pups.

After taking it with your family, make sure to give them proper education and to socialize rightly and quickly. You’ll see they have much understood felines and that let their training to be even better than the one with other breeds more used to humans, but you always have to procure keep control and let them know it.

Its feed it’s very basic because are self-sufficient, don’t depend of no one to it and get their food which use to be mostly birds, or at least it looks like those are their favorites, somehow because they like to knock them down, but in-home if it has been domesticated, can’t eat the same menu as any other feline.

Its health is excellent, they don’t suffer too many diseases and less if they are well cared with the minimum requirements, in which counts a good feeding, the proper maintenance, be updated with their vaccines calendar, and take them regularly to the veterinary; besides of treat them with love, respect, and letting them play, explore and develop as naturally as possible.

🐾Origin and History of the Caracal cat

History doesn’t clearly show when the Caracal was born, in part because this cat hasn’t lived too close to humans, or at least not for a very long time, which made it was lost of sight and develop spontaneously without any formal record of its development.

Nevertheless, and about what has been confirmed about the Caracal, it could be an important part of some well-known facts, just as the close participation some cats had in ancient times, more specifically next to a civilization that formed miles years ago in the old Egypt.

It is well-known that in that era cats had certain esteem and were related whit gods, so having one of it was a sign of security and distinction, but not every bread could enjoy of this honor, because where choose in function to its behavior and abilities, being the Caracal one of those breeds.

This show in the Egyptians sculptures that were found embalmed guarding the tombs of these felines, besides of vessels and petroglyphs hieroglyphs withdraws that expressed they were next to their families in coexistence.

Also, it is seen that these cats were even appreciated for the Indian’ high classes in its start, being the pet of many princes, and then its popularity got extended in the population and was used in hunt competitions.

In those competitions cats were put on jails next to some pigeons or birds of various types, and people bet for those exemplars they thought could hunt more of them, being the Caracal the one which won easily, what can also be an input to the fact that nowadays its preferred preys in hunting are birds and that they had developed special abilities to capture them, just like the extended impulse in its jumps, reaching more than three meters, being known in some cultures as the flying cat.

Unfortunately, the Caracal wasn’t an exception to the cruel fame cats had while middle age and many records help recognize that while that era these felines suffered many cases of abuse, were killed and burned alive due to the prejudges based on the bad interpretation gave to its abilities.

Nowadays it is recognized that cats have a physical form in which they developed a lot of their characteristics very well, in its sight and its possibility of keep on its feet and jump high, which started some suspects in population and occasioned uncertainty making people have a bad reaction to its presence.

This is why they were considerate as evils and Satan’s representations, they though their eyes were part of its negative aspects and they were witched, associating them with hanky-panky and burning them in bonfires.

Because of this, cats stopped being so appreciated in families and weren’t too involved in domestic life, until step by step they could recover part of its reputation, but even when science has revindicated them, there still are some suspicion.

However, the Caracals stayed renegaded to living in deserts where they had to lose the contact and acceptation the had with humans for many time which made them wilds animals, but actually, they aren’t so surly or men’s enemies, due to that ascendancy and acceptance they had in those days.

Also, it is believed that the Caracal is part of the third emigration group that moved from Asia to Europe starting from the Pseudaelurus cat, among eight million years ago, descending to Africa in its first chances due to in those days it was possible to get there through the sea.

Because of it, these cats are especially in Africa’s deserts and savannahs and in the west of Asia, just as in Turkey or Kazakhstan, India’s country where they were very loved and respected, but procuring to avoid woods or wet zones.

The Caracal is nowadays found mostly as wild cats, but even when their preference to keep lonely, its reproduction has helped to guarantee its preservation so it isn’t in extinction danger.

But there are other options that have been discovered of the Caracal, due to has been known that those which came from domesticated parents can be well trained and get orders, and aren’t too dominants as it could be thought, it is true that is natural environment is outside, but having the right considerations it can coexist with humans.

🐾Breed characteristics

Definitely, the Caracal is an animal that can have diverse opinions about its beauty, some consider it intimidates and others exotic, but they definitely have no comparison in its physical form or in its characteristics that make the composition of its physiognomy.

It can be said that is a beautiful wild animal, different from the rest of felines, but at the same time it is very interesting and harmonized, its face makes a mix of feelings because it mixes of the kitty sweetness with the inclemency of a fierce, expressed in its penetrating sight.

General appearance

Its body has a look like the panthers one, showing the power and strengthens, it is rectangular but well proportionated, its feet are medium to large length but aren’t weak nor thin, on the contrary, everything in it shows capacity and resistance.

The same way, you have to remember that it is a wild cat that strangely has been sawed domesticated, which makes its physical constitution has to adapt to the outside life conditions, being an exemplary different to most of the pets we are used to.

Weight.

Independently of the genre, these cats’ weight is among the 17 kg, as long as they have the right feeding.

Length.

Females and males can be even 30 cm tall, but its length reaches the 90 to 95 cm, becoming its proportions to rectangular, but this feline sizes even when look big doesn’t seem like that and is this is why it’s cataloged as a medium-sized cat.

Facial Region.

Its face has beautiful factions; firstly for its black spots that have well-distributed, some in its eyes, others in its nose and other smaller in its mouth, located in a way that seems like it is smiling.

Nose.

They have a big but well proportionate nose, outlined by black marks that are on the borders that seem to outline it, this marks are also very characteristics in the Caracal and in its nose are located from the eye tear down, at the sides of the snout and in the forehead giving the impression it is larger.

Eyes.

These felines have an oval eye shape with the lateral extremes in point, are outlined in black and the iris is honey or green colored, and the sclerotic can’t be seen.

They have well-developed sight sense; they can see very well at nights which indicates why they prefer to hunt at that time of the day.

Ears.

The Caracal’ ears are big compared to its face, with a wide base and triangular shape, are open to the front, having more hair in the inside and white color, with grey tones to the borders, the backside is the most distinctive thing because are covered for black hair, which goes up and outstands giving and impression of having plumes at the top.

In form and in characteristics, the Caracal ears help it to its audition sense be more developed and became it in a good hunter.

Fur.

Almost all the Caracal fur is short but denser but goes long in the abdomen, chest and feet base almost to its knees.

These felines are given to pluck with is own teeth because extract the fur until they get hairless and regenerate it entirely, but it is still unknown the sense of this practice, could be because of their necessity to change the fur with the change of season or because of allergies they want to erase.

Color.

Even when some considered it as a little bit boring because the Caracal’ color is invariably cinnamon or brown, all exemplars have the same color but they develop it this way to easily camouflage with the environment where they usually live that is almost all the time in sand zones or deserts.

Likewise, these felines’ chest and abdomen are white, just in the zone where the hair is longer.

Movement.

The Caracal is a very agile feline, secretive and very fast, one of the fasters of the world, which makes it a good hunter and is showed in the fact that it can get preys as birds that seem to be its favorites, also is considerate in some places as a flying cat, because its jump is so high that can overpass the three meters with just one impulse, could reaching the three tops.

🐾Caracal’ character and personality

See a baby Caracal is almost the same of die of sweetness, are cute and have a beautiful face, adorable and also have a very nice character, but while they grew up they lose this characteristic and start to have many of its fathers instincts, those which live at the outdoor are wild and very independent.

It is a few what has been studied about the natural behavior of this species, because they don’t let it, and because they prefer to act alone and at night, generally, like almost al felines, the Caracal rest at the day with some activity moments.

However, it is evident that when they live in the wild world they prefer loneliness, act for its own, hunt alone and don’t live in a herd, searching for others of its species just when they feel the reproductive instinct that is the time when they are seeing in a couple.

Are very braves, don’t let get abused easily, actually have hunted bigger animals than it, its velocity, its senses acuity and big knowledge of its environment helps it to feel comfortable.

Can it be domesticated?

Yes, it can be, but with too many conditionings, firstly the kitty you’d want to take home has to come from domesticated parents, never ever try to take a Caracal directly from its natural environment to raise it as a pet, and procure to don’t adopt its pups either.

This for many reasons, the Caracal develop a hunting instinct and a fierceness proper of their surviving necessities at the camp, which makes them have the mentioned behavior, so there is no way to train it later and change its lifestyle, on the contrary, it may cause many dislikes and put its health and everyone life in risk.

Also, its feed necessities are set in its organism, just as the way to get them and the change from an active lifestyle full of adventures to the home sedentary (isn’t enough to take it for a walk) it is totally counterproductive for its temperament.

So, if you really want to adopt this feline, and you don’t have any other option in mind or if you love and have the capacity to live with a very marked wild instincts creature, then procure to find a breeder or a domesticated Caracals’ couple and adopt it from there, but you always have to keep in mind that these are animals with almost inexistent practice on living with humans and don’t like it naturally.

Maybe prove that it really can be domesticated was the preference the ancient Egyptian population, keeping some of these exemplars as a sacred pet and for what is read in their writes coexisting next to humans without any troubles.

How do they act inside?

If you have adopted a Caracal coming from a domesticated home, then educate it isn’t such a hard job, are smarts and can’t find how to comfortable develop, but they will need time and space to exercise, play games and any other activities that help to don’t feel jailed.

Aren’t very given to want the humans’ objects, so teach them to not take some stuff wouldn’t be a problem, but there is a particular thing that has made their owners feel uncomfortable and is the fact that they use to whistle to communicate with other felines, which is a little intimidating.

The need to pass obligatorily for a socialization process and keep it positively reinforced, aren’t cat extremely loving with its owners, but they do need once or then of their attentions, especially when they are pups, need sweetness but character.

They prefer to live in places where they have enough space but preferable without too many members at home because noise and excessive attentions aren’t their favorites and tend to go away.

For its wild nature is preferable to avoid let them alone with kids because they won’t easily accept their abrupt treatments, being the ideal to keep a monitored contact and just when you see their disposition to that, don’t force it, treat it with too much love, but don’t lose of sight that their instincts are a little bit fierce and even when they can live very well with humans you have to always be careful.

About playing, the Caracal is a little bit methodic and this is why they use to break furniture or objects, it’s a little bit rough and don‘t have consciousness to respect this articles, so you have to be careful in educate it about it to make it be as educated as possible, but isn’t recommendable to give them spaces or delicate objects.

🐾Diet and feed

Firstly you have to considerer that the Caracal feed on animals that they can hunt in the jungles or deserts where they live, which indicate that is totally independent in this aspect, being it which choose what to eat and when to do it, it lives for its desires and impulses, taking the life of any prey they want.

Among the type of animals which attract the Caracal’s attention, there are rodents, in any variety of version of them, also they show a preference for lizards and especially ground birds like chickens, and others, also little antelopes.

Due to the Caracals are located in different regions, their preys also change, for example, those who live in the Middle East opt for hunt wild zebras and sheep, its fastness can be shown in the possibility to chase ostriches and some predatory eagles while they are touching the ground so they have to jump quickly over them.

Likewise, they are known to could get damans that are small animals with the size and body as rabbits but that can run and climb to hide in threes or between open spaces in the bunch of rocks.

Even when it can’t be proved, its behavior captive shows that Caracals are also very flexible in that aspect, which could show that in absence of some of their favorite prey, they can eat some specific vegetables or cereals they found.

Food for the Captive Caracal

Just as it showed in its own feed style, the Caracal is entirely carnivorous, requiring an obligatory ingest of the mentioned protein, but it can be cataloged in two feed styles which depend on its owners’ preferences, that is feeding them with croquettes or feed, or preparing home food for it.

Even though, the Caracal needs that to be feed after its born with its mother milk, which will help them be less aggressive by being in contact with its brothers and also will help them be healthy for a longer time.

Also, another thing you may considerer is the texture and consistency of the food, which should be close to the one they would feel with the preys they naturally hunt.

Croquettes for the Caracal

This is definitely one of the feed styles preferred by many pet owners because makes easy the service, acquiring and preservation of it; also it can be carried comfortably to any place you want.

Nevertheless, it has to rightly choose to verify it is composed basically with proteins because it is the first element that they need to keep healthy, strong and to care for its fur, its skin, and senses.

Another aspect to considerer is that the meat of which the Caracal feeds have a very high composition, so the feed and dry croquettes has to be accompanied of this liquid, it has to be constantly verified, or in its defect opt for those which have a low percentage of water in its elaboration, but due to they get stuck in its teeth requires it will need a big care of its teeth.

Home feeding

Even when it doesn’t seem, it is a mistake to base the Caracal’ diet principally on tuna or fish and less if its CRUDO, it can be used in some plates, but not in all of them, on the contrary, which you have to try to get sure is for them to eat animal meat, because the protein is what will help to care of its vision, its fur and from its health specially in the cardiovascular aspect.

In the same way, you must try to incorporate in less quantity some rice, pasta, vegetables, and some milky derivate, as well as A vitamin that finds in good proportions in the liver or with B vitamin that will help the absorption of the nutrients.

The way to prepare it has to be as natural as possible, avoiding raw products without letting bones on it, trying to not incorporate condiments, salts, fries or any artificial element, like chocolate or sugar.

About the water, the wild Caracal and the one who feed directly from protein don’t need to drink too much water, because its organism has been adapted to the conditions of the zone were they usually develop, but in the home is always important to keep clean its water can.

In any case, it is always necessary that your Caracal feeding it is monitored by the veterinary, who besides evaluating its health will also determine what is the amount it has to be served to keep them well feed.

🐾Caracal cat’s health

Caracal’s health is very good, are animals that don’t show too dangerous diseases for its health specially if they have care at home, but in the same way requires a certain attention to avoid it get cold, and help them with their right vaccines process and the veterinary control.

Firstly you always have to keep in mind that there isn’t a better immunization to any pet or even for humans that the mother lactation, which gives them all they need to be healthy while they ingest it and can even help them a short time after, also can help them to socialize with their mothers and brothers having a better behavior.

After its adoption, you must take it to the veterinary which will make the right diagnostic and will indicate what vaccines calendar has to govern the immunization routine of the Caracal.

Once you make sure you made it you also have to be careful about the habits most of these felines have of extract its own hair with its teeth, and even their species pals, because this may occasion they ingest too many hair-producing hairballs in their stomach which will cause a disease called trichobezoar that can be mortal, because it get accumulate in the digestive zone, so you’ll have to brush it weekly.

Another illness they may suffer, but in a less grade, is the hip dysplasia which is a painful disease due to a deformation in those bones that usually get worst with the past of time and could be harder if it have overweight or bad resting positions, this disease hasn’t cured, but can be prevented.

Likewise, there is another disease very common in the cat family and is the alopecia, which is the excessive loss of hair without of the extraction they made, and that can let baldness spaces, and can be produced for many reasons being the best to take them to the veterinary who will take the best things to do and also will evaluate the possible cause which originates it, on the contrary, it will keep appearing.

Due to the Caracal is used to have a life full of free activity and a lot of movement to take their preys it is possible that those which are captive may suffer for overweight because of sedentary, something they aren’t prepared to be, and could suffer from other worst affections or to get depressed because they lose them extensive motor abilities.

Caracal’s reproduction

The reproductive aspect of the Caracal is the same as one of most of the other healthy felines, where females have their first zeal approximately in the fourth month of birth, but know it is very complicated and just have to wait for it to appear.

The way to recognize the Caracal female is in zeal is because they tend to urine frequently and avoid the use of box so they can mark more places and spread the pheromones, also gets more demanding of love, rubbing and licking with more insistence their parts.

If there is already another domesticated Caracal located, and then you may calculate the next zeal of your female Caracal with your veterinary’ help and plain the pups’ birth, but you must know the cats’ zeal don’t pass as fast as with other animals, they get repeat quickly.

Commonly can be for seven continuous days, but repeat after ten or fifteen days until it gets pregnant, so you have to be careful if you haven’t found a male of its same species, because its zeal will attract any of them.

The pregnancies in this cats use to have a gestational period that goes from 60 to 80 days, if the father is a Caracal, it is pretty sure the birth will be made normally because this breed hasn’t shown serious problems that could induct a cesarean.

Normally the litters use to be of 4 or 6 pups, it also depends on the mother’s breast size which will guarantee it will have enough space to breast-feed all the pups.

In this stage you have to make sure to provide a good feeding for your female Caracal which has to high up it water ingest and will manifest of being more hungry than the usual, so you have to go regularly to the veterinary to know what would be the minimum or maximum doses of food to give it to avoid overweight.

🐾General cares

Of course, isn’t possible to help the wild Caracal with the application of any care, but they survive for so many years because they are self-sufficient, and as every cat of the breed they clean themselves with their tongues, but also extract hair with their teeth which could be a little bit dangerous for its health.

On another side, when you have a domesticated Caracal the story is totally different and its cares became in necessities because they get to use for humans to offer them their love and help them to feel more comfortable with themselves, but don’t lose their instincts and sometimes they became demanding.

In this sense you make keep in mind the frequent practice of some actions that will help them to be healthy and comfortable with themselves as the brush, bath them and keep their spaces in order.

Caracal’s brushing

Even when its fur is short and these animals use to groom themselves which makes they don’t get knots frequently, brushing gives the opportunity to erase a lot of dirtiness and to remove some worms, also will help your Caracal don’t consume too much death hair avoiding it gets seek because of that.

To do this you have to buy a rubber brush or a thin hair comb, and cat’ creams, but it isn’t obligatory, or a little bit of suede, which will help to keep it bright; also try to make it once a week and outside home to expulse the dirtiness and worms and don’t keep them inside.

Baths

The Caracal doesn’t like to bath, and it doesn’t even like the sound of water coming out of the tap or feel wet, so this practice won’t be easy to make, but it’s necessary, being a point in favor the fact these cats get used to everything has been teaching to them since they are pups, getting used that every month it will have to accept it, or if you live in any area close to lakes they can even go swimming.

When they do, make sure you have everything with you, and just use felines’ products, and don’t extend the process too much, verify everything is smell free and that they don’t have any rest of soap that could cause allergies to the Caracal.

Their spaces

When the Caracal is adapted to live in the home as a domesticated pet it is possible to teach it to act just like any other famous breed for its adaptation to humans, which can have good development and the right use of their objects.

However it is known that these cats aren’t demanding at all, so you can search a little bed or basket according to their size, with a soft mattress, and totally disinfected without smell detergent, and the most important is to located in a warm place where they don’t get cold air, but it is possible that even knowing that object is putting there for that and even when they frequently use it, they will also want to rest or sleep in any warm area they want to, taking over the entire place.

Another article you must have and you have to teach it how to use it in the sandbox, that has to be put in some space for your cat to make its necessities, but you have to consider the excellent smell of the feline, so it has to be totally clean.

For this, procure to remove daily with a brush and a pale every organic rest coming from your feline, and also change the sand at least once a day or if your Caracal hasn’t used it every two days, remember their developed smell will be relentless in the necessity of feeling clean in the places it will stand, also try to put it in a warm place.

By another side, it is also a good idea for you to separate the plate to ingest food, as well as the water, can, trying they don’t get together or that it could be contaminated because this will make your feline won’t eat the food or drink the water.

In resume, with the Caracal you won’t have to make expensive expenses, either would require too many time for its clean maintenance, which makes them low time inversion animals, but you will have to keep in mind that our animals with a lot of energy and that will need playtime, exercise time and a lot of activity which will help to consume its energy; the Caracals aren’t animals that use to rest and need to express.