Can someone tell me about persian cats?

Sam (WellingtonCats) breeds Exotics and Persians, she will be able to tell you all about them. PM her if she doesn't see your thread

How old is he and have you seen a photo?

Any specific information please feel free to ask. Persians are adorable they have laid back, docile natures. They do require a lot of care and need a lot of grooming and whites especially need their faces washed.

Persians are high maintenence cats. That means (especially with a white) it involves DAILY combing to keep the coat from being tangled. You can't use a brush - use a medium and fine toothed comb.

Whites also may need monthly baths if you want them to remain white. You probably will have eye stains and will have to work on removing them (some of the other Persian breeders in here can recommend products).

Keep in mind that many declawed cats can have physical or mental problems from the declawing. This may be avoidance of the litter pan and peeing on carpets, clothes, etc. You would have to use a very soft kind of litter and hope he will use it.

Also declawed cats have more tendency to bite out of fear because they have no front claws.

If you can deal with all of the above, adopt him. My advice is that if you don't want to do daily combing, then don't adopt a Persian.

Just one comment - my two adopted cats came declawed. My girl has never had any issues regarding litter and/or nipping (knock wood). My boy has had litter box issues (but never biting) issues - he's my cuddle cat), but I suspect he's a very picky cat in general. In any event, I'm using Cat Attract litter with good results. You can ask if this cat has any any litter box issues to date. It is a thing to keep in mind, but I'm not sure I'd call it a deal-breaker, since this cat is already declawed and is looking for a home.

While I would never recommend declawing, save in certain extreme cases, I think with this cat I'd worry more about the grooming needed to keep him in good shape.

What is the reason he is being rehomed? I'm a persian owner and have foster persians -- they are beautiful, sweet creatures that often are given up and adopted and given up again because of the high-maintenance issues, so the rescue I work with won't adopt them now unless the potential owners have some experience.
Obviously, I love persians, or I wouldn't own and rescue them-- I absolutely don't want to discourage you if you are able and willing to care for this baby... There are a lot of persian cat care sites --if you do a search they can give you a lot of info with pics. I'm happy to answer questions as best I can. You might enjoy the CFA Persian Breed description: http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/persian.html

Caring for them is very different than even other long haired breeds. Despite the stereotype of them being docile cats, not all persians are willing to cooperate grooming and I've got the scars to prove it. LOL -- Daily combing, eye washing etc, is not just a cosmetic thing, but rather, a health issue -- if the hair mats it will pull painfully on the skin and cause greater issues. Please also do a search about feline "polycystic kidney disease," which is a hereditary, progressive fatal kidney disease. PKD is common in persian cats and dramatically shortens their lifespan. I have lost 2 cats to it so far. Fortunately, there is a genetic test for it, and responsible breeders are screening against it. But obviously, persians who of unknown parentage are another story -- By getting my cats tested, I know that 1 of my current cats will develop the disease and is unlikely to live to double-digit years. It's not pretty

If Persians are trained from a young age to accept grooming, they will be fine. Unfortunately since this sounds like a cat this may not be the case. I would have to disagree with the comment about docile cats though, the majority definitely are docile.

I also don't agree with the advice about PKD - this is a RESCUE cat, it needs a home and it would be silly to get it PKD tested at this stage, when nekkiddoglady can give it a loving home, no matter what. Please don't be scared off by PKD

It's not a trait in the breed - neutered males marking. It happens in a lot of breeds - it can depend on the other cats in the house, the other cats in the neighbour hood and at what age the cat was neutered.

My almost 10 year old neutered Exotic (SH Persian) sprays but then again I have 3 infact females living here. My Nana's neutered Siamese used to spray and try it on with her kittens. I've never had a neutered Persian spray - just the naughty exotics, usually!

How many boy cats do you currently own?

Are you able to get a picture or see him before you make up your mind? Just to see what sort of condition he is in and what his nature is like.

I much prefer looking after Persians to the SH cats - because they don't lose their fur the same. It also depends on the parentage of him as to what type of fur he will have. Since White cats are never really white cats and mask another colour - he may be a black cat with a white coat, which would be a different feel to his coat then if his parents were blue.

Persians are still the most popular breed in the world (I believe) so you cannot go wrong with that many opinions.

Do you like the squishy faces?

He sounds like a little gem. I hope you get to meet him before you make your decision. I know that people can sugar coat things when they are needing to move a cat on. Since he's your BF's cat, will he do the grooming?

That's awesome!

What do your other kitties eat??

OHHH please do not buy the Meow Mix - that stuff should be taken OFF the market - its worse then the worse. Friskies is bad enough. I know many cats with digestive problems that are eating Meow Mix - most cats are allergic or have problems with the dyes in there.

If you can't get better (maybe consider ordering online and having it shipped to the house) - just feed the Friskies.

I just checked the Walmart website, which gives the ingredient list for each type of cat food. The only dry food from their list that I would even consider giving to my cats is Newman's Own. You would have to call your local Walmart to find out if they carry it.

Can you get to the Walmart yourself to look at the cat food and read the ingredient lists? You should stay away from anything the has by-products as the first ingredient or only protein source. Also stay away from anything that has corn as the first ingredient, or split into two or three corn sources in the first six ingredients. If you add them together it would make corn the first ingredient.

Maybe it would be easier to train your BF to read the ingredient list.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pics - Persians noses vary from very pushed in to very long. I'll let you know when I see the piccccccs!

BTW, what was the Persian eating before you got him? The reason for the food question was because Persians have very sensitive stomachs.

Food also has a huge impact on coat quality. So expect more matting if he's fed cheaper foods.

Kit n Kaboodle is just about the worst. It's the cheapest they sell (cheaper than store brand even) and it doesn't even have a meat ingredient until the 4th on the list. That and the dyes in it would practically guarantee tummy trouble in a sensitive cat.

Keep trying!



I've been feeding my eldest cat Elmo (9 years and 10 months old) premium food since he was born and I've got a foster cat that came with a cheap supermarket brand of food that she eats and Elmo has discovered it and REALLY loves it, and I mean loves it. He begs and twirls on his head and basically goes crazy. So I started giving him a couple of cookies as treats and uggh the difference in his coat is major - it looks terrible!

So basically think of it as junk food for cats - they like it, it's normally bright artifical colours and it's not good for them.

How is he doing??

Authority is pretty decent food - that should work for you.

Premium Edge is far better than the other brands you mentioned.