Seychellois Cat Breed Guide

May 20, 2024

Rare | Loud | Patchy. If you’re after a floof that you can gossip with into the early hours of the morning, the chatty Seychellois cat might just be your purrfect match. They’re human-orientated and exude a vibrant purrsonality as bright as the idyllic islands they’re named after. Read on to discover whether this rare breed of cat might be the ideal next addition to your fur fam.

SEYCHELLOIS CAT BASICS

Average Lifespan: 10 - 15 years

Average Weight: 4 - 6.5kg

Coat Length: Short - Long

Colouring: White with dark points

Shedding: Low - Moderate

WHAT IS THE ANCESTRY OF THE SEYCHELLOIS CAT?

The Seychellois cat is a young breed of floof, having originated in the UK in the 1980s as the brainchild of cat breeder Patricia Turner. Turner had read travel books that wrote about native cats from the Seychelles islands that had bodies as white as the sandy beaches of this archipelago but with dark-coloured points.

To achieve this, she bred bicolour Persian cats with Siamese cats and other Oriental cats. To this day, these guys remain extremely rare even in the UK as they haven’t yet gained GCCF recognition and are only recognised by one of the major cat fancier’s associations in the world; FIFe.

WHAT DO SEYCHELLOIS CATS LOOK LIKE?

Seychellois cats look identical to Siamese cats with their long slender bodies, large bat-like ears, wedge-shaped faces and blue eyes as crystal-clear as the stunning beaches of the Seychelles. Their distinguishing factor is their coat colour, which is white on the body and dark at their points (tails, faces and tootsies).

Image from @yeswecatcattery on instagram

Their coat pattern can be further divided into three different types depending on the degree of patchiness of their coat colours:

Seychellois Septième: white with a dark-coloured tail and large patches of dark colour on their head, legs and body.
Seychellois Huitième: white with a dark-coloured tail and small patches of dark colour on just their legs and head.
Seychellois Neuvième: white with a dark-coloured tail and small patches of dark colour on only their head.

PURRSONALITY OF THE SEYCHELLOIS CAT

Modelled after cats from the idyllic and relaxing shores of the Seychelles islands, you might expect these kitties to be laid-back and relaxed. However, these cats have bucketloads of energy, preferring zoomies around the living room rather than kicking their feet up with a cocktail in hand. They’re extremely playful and human-orientated, revelling in time spent with their pawrents playing with interactive toys and games.

Seychellois cats are also highly intelligent, so need to be kept busy to keep them out of mischief. Think cat food puzzles, treasure hunts with their favourite cat treats, feather wands, and of course a cat’s best friend, lots of cardboard boxes.

These cats can be demanding, as they inherit a chatty disposition from their Siamese relatives and aren’t afraid to tell it how it is, meowing like a broken record when they’re hungry or bored until they get their way. However, a friend in a Seychellois cat is a friend for life and with their bucket loads of energy, comes bucket loads of love, loyalty and affection.

DO SEYCHELLOIS CATS HAVE HEALTH PROBLEMS?

As Seychellois cats are a rare, and largely unrecognised breed, there is yet to be much research into whether these guys are linked to any hereditary health problems. Nevertheless, as they come from Persian and Siamese lineage, they may be predisposed to similar conditions that these cats have been linked to including feline lymphomas, progressive retinal atrophy, asthma, amyloidosis, polycystic kidney disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and feline infectious peritonitis. Always ask your breeder for health checks, guarantees and genetic testing where possible.

SEYCHELLOIS CAT FEEDING REQUIREMENTS

Seychellois cats don’t have any specific feeding requirements, so do well on a standard nutritious cat diet. This means their cat food should:

Contain high levels of animal meat to provide them with the essential nutrients and amino acids their bodies need.
Not contain plant proteins like pea protein which some brands use to sneakily bulk up the protein content. However, plant proteins are poorly digested by cats and provide little nutritional benefit.
Use high-quality all-natural ingredients and avoid artificial nasties as well as unnecessary added salt and sugar which is unhealthy for cats and can increase their risk of obesity.
Is formulated to FEDIAF guidelines so that you know it contains the purrfect balance of vitamins, minerals and nutrients your cat needs to be eating every single day.

SCRUMBLES, THE PAWFECT FOOD FOR SEYCHELLOIS CATS

Seychellois cats and their pawrents love our nutritious gut-friendly cat food.

Here’s why:

We only use high-quality 100% natural ingredients in our cat food recipes and source our ingredients ethically.
We load our lip-smacking recipes with at least 60% animal meat to provide your Seyhellois cats with all the animal protein their bodies need to keep them happy and healthy. It also makes our recipes oh so delicious, keeping even the fussiest of floofs crawling back for more.
We never use plant proteins such as pea protein as they provide little nutritional benefits to cats.
We use gut-friendly prebiotics or probiotics to improve digestibility and absorption of nutrients and promote pretty poops.
We use hypoallergenic ingredients and avoid common allergens so even those kitties that need a little extra TLC can enjoy our recipes.
Our wet cat food and dry cat food recipes are nutritionally complete and formulated to FEDIAF guidelines, meaning they can be fed to your cat every day with the confidence that they’re receiving every vitamin, mineral and nutrient they need to thrive.
We serve our yummy cat food recipes in 100% recyclable tins and eco-friendly packaging, and pledge 1% of sales to environmental causes meaning that choosing Scrumbles doesn’t have to go against your climate-pawsitive morals.