# Thhinking about a Persian



## SophieBear (Dec 13, 2007)

We're thinking about getting a new kitty.

Looking at a persian. The kittens are 7 weeks old.

It's been ages since we've had a cat that young. Our only cat right now is 14 years old and she is quite set in her ways. 

I'm not too familiar with persians and wonder if anyone could give the pros and cons of persians and is 7 weeks old too young? 

Ideas for kitty food or direct me to a thread where I can learn about this?

Thank you!!


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I don't really know anything about Persians other than that you need to be really careful about selecting a good breeder because the pushed in faces can cause a lot of issues if they're not bred for the right characteristics. Here's a couple good articles on selecting a good breeder. One of them is a little Maine **** specific, but most of the info is quite generic (make sure to follow the additional links at the top as well). 

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=16115

http://www.mcbfa.org/articles3.html

I would also recommend googling "persian cat health issues' and see what articles you find, then you can talk to the breeder about how they minimize the risks of these issues. For example Maine Coons have a genetic heart disease, good breeders have genetic testing done on all their breeding cats and have a yearly echocardiogram done to ensure they are not perpetuating the issue. You would want to investigate any similar issues in Persians. 

7 weeks is too young to be taken from it's mother and if the breeder is willing to let them go at that age, it's the first sign that this is a breeder I would not want to deal with. 12 weeks is more appropriate. A kitten spends it's first 6-8 weeks just figuring out how to survive...open it's eyes, walk, eat solid food, use a litter box etc. At that age they have little or no social skills. An additional 4 weeks with mom teaches them so much about how to behave. Here's a good article on why 12 weeks:

http://www.breedlist.com/faq/young.html

Food...I would recommend any premium wet food. Wet is so much better for a cat. Brands such as Wellness, Merrick, Natural Balance, Innova, Felidae, Eagle Pack, and a bunch of others. Some have specific kitten food, others have all life stages foods...either one is fine.

Here's a great thread on why canned food is better than dry:

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=9107

Lots of great nutritional articles on this site:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library

Hope this helps....


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I agree with Doodlebug. Twelve weeks is the amount of time a kitten needs to spend with mother and littermates. You can hold a kitten with a deposit, but a good breeder won't let the kitten go at 7 weeks. That's old fashioned and wrong! It's what the general public thinks, and what shelters do to make room...not what a good breeder does. I hope you'll wait.


----------



## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

7 weeks is way to young. The kitten should be at least 12 weeks old. If the breeder/owner is willing to let it go at 7 weeks of age I wouldn't think they give any kind of health guarantee either, am I wrong? The kittens isn't fully vaccinated either and a kitten at 7 weeks of age is in a very sensitive immunological stage. The mothers anitbodies are starting to disappear but the kitten hasn't fully developed its own.

Please search for a serious breeder, breed rescue or a shelter.


----------



## Nini (May 6, 2007)

If you want a Persian kitty, why not look into breed-specific rescues? 
You would get a nice little Persian kitten, and save a life at the same time 

http://purebredcatbreedrescue.org/persian_rescues.htm


----------



## horseplaypen (Apr 1, 2004)

Everyone's given some really great advice about the age of the kittens, so I won't say anything about that. 

My mum adopted two Persians (well, they're not pedigreed, but for all intents and purposes they are Persian) from a shelter in early summer. One is a female, 2 1/2 years old, and a male who is 3. We kind of got them impulsively without knowing anything about Persians because the female, Princess, was just so pretty and my mum wanted to get two cats so they would have company and these two came as a pair, which was nice. 

We thought they would be scared and hide for a week, but when we let them out of the carrier at my mum's house they sniffed around immediately and were so curious about everything. That's really their main personality trait - curiosity. Every time my mum brings something or someone new into the house it has to get inspected by the cats. Groceries, firewood, clothes, people. They're also so affectionate. Within two months they got insanely attached to my mum and follow her around all day. They're always in the same room that she is in. We thought they would be a little unfriendly or at least uncaring - I guess we had an idea that Persians were aloof and snobby - but they are the friendliest little lovebugs ever. They love each other too - they used to be bred together and they'll sit and nap together and groom each other. 

They have pretty leaky eyes though. When we got them it was really bad because they had a respiratory infection and their whole cheeks were stained brown from the discharge. We gave them antibiotics which made it better, but because their little faces are so squishy it's sort of a chronic respiratory thing. My mum sits down and wipes their faces with a q-tip every night to clean off the discharge and they get steam treatments when my mum takes a shower but the teariness is continuous, they always look like they're crying and Princess especially is always congested and snotty in her nose, so my mum is forever wiping up little drops of mucous on the floor from when Princess sneezes and shakes her head and it goes flying every where. They're also kind of drooly.

Also, because of their squishy faces their teeth aren't lined up properly, so the vet said they are more prone to plaque and tooth decay. 

I don't know if these traits are typical of Persians or not. We really knew nothing about Persians when we adopted them.


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Yes, those traits are typical of cats and dogs whose faces are squished.


----------



## horseplaypen (Apr 1, 2004)

Oh, I meant more that I didn't know if the personality traits are common to the breed - my mum's are not purebred and every cat is different, so while Princess and Llew are affectionate monkeys, I don't know that that's typical of Persians in general. Just a disclaimer. Unfortunately yes I've also heard that breeds like pug dogs and stuff get chronic respiratory problems - it's so sad. I love the Persians as a breed but I wouldn't get one that was so extremely squishy as Llew's face.


----------

