# Hello from Portugal



## Diana_S (Jan 23, 2010)

Hi everyone!!!  

I'm from Portugal and my english isn't the best, but I can understand most of your messages... the worst is to write well!...  Sorry for any mistakes!

I don't own a cat now, I had cats when I lived in a house with garden, but when I moved to an apartment, my mother said she didn't want any pets. With time I could get a rabbit, because he could spend his time only in my bedroom and not in all the house. Some months later he was walking throughout the house, and then, with adolescence, he started to biting everything: cables, furniture and even tissues, he was moved to the kitchen! To have more animals, can not be destructive ones, like my bunny!  

I love my bunny, but I want to have more animals and if it could be a dog or a cat, better!!! But I think that for a dog, live in an apartment would be a prison and a cat can live well indoors, so it would be perfect to bring a cat!

But it's not easy to convince my mother that we are able to have a cat... I'm studying about what it takes to have a indoor cat, but in portuguese I can't find all I need (I have too many doubts)!... And that is why I came here! :wink: 

It couldn't be a destructive cat, so I was looking for a laid-back cat, and we have neighbors, so it should be a non-vocal cat. The best cat breed seems to be the persian, but my brother has some allergies and as the persian has much hair, not match!  So I thought about the ragdoll! They shedd less, are playful and reasonably not destructive!

I would get scratching posts! And if he becames destructive, I thought also in soft claws, but I am a little afraid about it, because I read that as the nail grows out it leaves a gap in-between the real nail and the fake one, so the cat could stuck his claws on stuff and that could hurt him!

As mentioned earlier, my brother has some allergies, so I thought about getting the furminator, but some people said it could cut the cat's hair! It's true? In the official page they say it doesn't happend... If it doesn't, I would get it now, because it would help with my bunny's hair too! 

So, what do you think about:

- the best breed for me to have? Ragdoll?!
- to use soft claws?
- to use the fuminator?

Thanks for everything!!!


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

I hope you can get some answers here & get a cat soon.


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## Diana_S (Jan 23, 2010)

Thanks, DesnBaby!  I hope it too... :wink:


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I have used soft paws before. They work well. However, it's easer and cheaper just to cut their nails. You can purchase these clippers at a reasonable price.







You may need to train the cat to accept you trimming their nails. If you start with a kitten, it will be quite easy to teach them to accept it with grace. I trim my cats' nails once every two weeks and sometimes more. Their nails are not ever needle sharp, and do little damage when they are used. 

As far as vocal- every cat is different. You can go to the shelter and find a shy cat, that will be a quiet one. Or get one of the more "quiet" breeds. Avoid any sort of siamese mixes. And if you don't want the cat to meow, ignore them when they do and don't respond to them when they try to 'talk' to you. 

For allergies, every cat is different. Some people are very allergic to certain cats, and not allergic to others. If you bath the cat once a month this will get rid of the allergens, which are actually caused by their skin dander, not their hair. If you start with a kitten, you can train them to accept this bath.


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## Diana_S (Jan 23, 2010)

Thank you, RachandNito!  

I've been watching some videos from youtube to see how to cut treir nails, lol!  But for the first time I will go to the vet! I already had a cat that was an adult, it's true, it becames easier to know how he behaves, but this time I would like to have a kitty, if possible. And because each cat has its own personality, even within the same breed, I asked about the soft claws! When the nail grows, if the soft paw don't fall, it's easy to I take it out, to prevent it to stuck somewhere?

Ans yes, I'm looking for "quiet" breeds!  But if it possible, playful too! This is why I thought of Ragdoll!... What do you think about it?

Again, thanks for the support!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I am not sure which is the most "quiet breed". All I know is that every cat is an individual, and the cat's personality also depends on how they are raised. As for the playful thing... if you get a kitten (no matter WHAT kind) it is going to be playful  If you play with her every day, even as she gets older, she will remain playful. 

If you want to find the perfect breed, check out this survey:

http://www.iams.com/iams/pet-care/cat-breed.jsp


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## Diana_S (Jan 23, 2010)

Thanks again, RachandNito!  

I did the questionnaire, but some of these breeds haven't medium hair, as I chose... I think the Persian should be in first place with the better score, so I think this questionnaire is somewhat strange... Here are the results:


Breed Name - Score (out of 100%)

American Wirehair 75% 
British Shorthair 75% 
Nebelung 75% 
Maine **** 68% 
American Shorthair 64% 
Havana Brown 64% 
Himalayan 64% 
Persian 64% 
Birman 61% 
Chartreux 61% 
Cymric (longhaired Manx) 61% 
Manx 61% 
Pixiebob (short and medium coat) 61% 
RagaMuffin 61% 
Ragdoll 61% 
Russian Blue 61% 
Selkirk Rex (medium and long coat) 61% 
Balinese 57% 
Cornish Rex 57% 
Devon Rex 57% 
Javanese 57% 
Oriental (Longhair) 57% 
Singapura 57% 
American Bobtail (medium and long coat) 54% 
Exotic Shorthair 54% 


My options were: 

What size(s) of cat do you like?
No preference

What coat length(s) do you like?
Medium hair

Which body types do you like?
No Preference

How active would you like your cat to be?
Low-energy, peaceful cat

Who will your cat be living with or have as regular visitors?
Adults (18-65 yrs)

How much time would you be willing to spend grooming your cat?
Daily

How vocal would you like your cat to be?
I prefer a very quiet cat

How affectionate would you lke your cat to be?
Very affectionate

Approximately how much time will your cat spend alone?
4 to 8 hours a day

How demanding should your cat be?
It's fine if my cat wants lots of attention


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## kwarendorf (Oct 12, 2009)

I took the quiz and the top 2 (75% each) were Balinese and Javanese. This works out well cuz I have one of each


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## Diana_S (Jan 23, 2010)

kwarendorf said:


> I took the quiz and the top 2 (75% each) were Balinese and Javanese. This works out well cuz I have one of each


That's great!!!  Well, I'll look better these breeds... thanks for your answer! :wink:


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