Talk:Snowshoe cat

and they're bad as hell. evil kitty.

Snowshoe Page

I like how this article has become a Snowshoe gallery. Haha. CaTigeReptile 12:34, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Per WP:NOT, I have deleted the Gallery from this articl, as it had zero encyclopedic merit. Wikipedia is not an image gallery for pets. VanTucky 17:14, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Please note that the issue is not mere size, none of those pictures serve an encyclopedic purpose that is not filled by the infobox image. If you do want to consider size, this is a very small stub that does not merit a separate Gallery. VanTucky 17:26, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

While it may not be an image gallery, please make sure you have a consensus of editors from the articles involved before makng such sweeping changes. So far, I don't see that you have such consensus for the cat breed-related pages.--Ramdrake 17:27, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Consensus is not required to make sweeping changes (WP:Be bold) but reverting edits multiple times without discussion certainly isnt good Wikiquette either, you may do well to keep in mind WP:TRR. As to the edit conflict...please explain how you feel the gallery has encyclopedic merit. VanTucky 17:30, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

But not having consensus may get your systematically reverted if you persevere. The gallery, in a reduced format has an illustrative value, which is encyclopedic. An encyclopedia isn't just words, you know, and especially this one isn't paper, so why do you insist?--Ramdrake 19:16, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

You are misusing the term consensus, consensus by definition requires more users than two involved. I do not require your agreement if policy supports my edits. It's not just illustrative value, it must have value illustrating the factual content of the article, which it does not. What illustrative value (beyond showing what a snowshoe looks like, something already done in the infobox, an article should not have a picture for every conceivable variation in appearance of one breed) does the gallery have? Does it show a group of different officially recognised standards or patterns outlined in the article? No. It simply is a gallery of varying colors of the breed that could go on forever. Besides, you very well know that the people placing those images are not concerned with encyclopedic merit. It's just about posting an image of their snowshoe on Wikipedia. As you can see, other users have expressed concern over the gallery. When a stub breed article has four thin, completely unreferenced paragraphs and a gallery full of unremarkable images, the purpose of the article has been perverted to serve primarily as an unencyclopedic gallery which is a violation of WP:NOT. VanTucky 19:52, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Third Opinion

Response to request for third opinion, 18:02, 17 May 2007 (UTC) – These are the issues with the gallery, as I see it:

• It lends undue weight to images. Images should always be used judiciously.
• Their content is almost entirely extraneous because the sole purpose of images is to illustrate the subject matter for informational and descriptive advantage. This would be amply achieved with two images, or three if there were enough text to lend the necessary balance, which there is not.
• It contains some particularly poor quality images that should never have been uploaded in the first place, never mind actually placed in an article.
• The captions make quite clear the primary reason for placing some of these images. Readers of encyclopædias have no need for the names of editors' pets, and using images in this way is not at all constructive.

To that end, I will reposition two of the better images, with new captions, and the remainder will go. I sincerely hope that those of you who are putting images ahead of the furtherment of the project can accept this and my reasons for it. If you cannot, I politely request that you discuss it with me, outlining your case. Adrian M. H. 22:44, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

NPOV tag

I have placed a neutrality tag on this article because certain statements made in the article need verification to remain, examples:

• It gives the appearance of great power and agility, yet has the look of a runner rather than a weight lifter.

-needs rewording, i didn't know cats could look like either runners or weightlifters, in other words don't personify.

• They are generally sweet tempered, energetic, playful, intelligent, and adaptable. They are a very social breed that requires more attention than most cats do, and consequently cannot be left alone for long periods of time. In a typical household they will be friendly to everyone, but will usually devote themselves almost entirely to one person.

-is this necessarily true of all, or even most, owner's experiences, or just the authors?

• The Snowshoe is considered to be a rare breed.

-by whom?

Without verification these statements have no merit and should not remain in the article. Someone should take the time to reword or research these claims so that they are more neutral. - HammerHeadHuman ^(talk)(work) 03:57, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Confirmation of some facts.

After about 10 minutes of research, I have found sites that confirm some information used in the article in question.

"It gives the appearance of great power and agility, yet has the look of a runner rather than a weight lifter" - this line is used by a feline fancier association. So while you may not think that the cat looks like any kind of athlete, apparently cat fanciers do. Dog and cat breeders DO personify, as a way to give a judge at a show a way to discern how the cat or dog should look. Source: [1]

"The Snowshoe is an intelligent cat and loves to be around people. They are ideal companions and will follow their humans around the house, talking in a soft melodic voice. They do need company so if you are out all day two cats may be the answer. They are playful and can be taught to fetch and do need toys and games for amusement. They are vigorous and vibrant but are not highly strung. They are best kept as house cats." Note the bolded 'their'. Some cat breeds, especially Siamese based breeds, tend to adopt certain humans as 'theirs'. This is true for almost all owners of snowshoe and other Siamese based breeds. Source: [2] Also see [3]

"The Snowshoe is considered a rare breed." It is considered so by most associations that allow its showing. Snowshoes in their true form are hard to achieve due to the infinite patterns present in an American Shorthair, and the temperamental nature of the Siamese, resulting in rare breed status. I cannot find a reliable source for this, but I have read somewhere that the Snowshoe is considered rare for that reason.

The article is as neutral as it gets. Unless you can find someone who is neither a dog nor a cat person, you will always get a slant on articles invloving one or the other. If I were to write an article on Siamese mixes and Calicos, my opinion would be decidedly biased, as I own one of each. I have done my homework on cats, as I am a cat fancier myself. And I do not think the article is biased, at least not in some catastrophic way that will make it unusable to the general public.