Are you considering owning a Persian cat as a pet? Who can resist those cute, flat faces, those bulging eyes, and fluffy hair? Long-haired cats like Persians are beautiful and look like a live art piece a walking around your home. As with any purebred animal you want to adopt, you need to fully research the breed and read what others have said about owning them. I’ve owned two Persian cats as pets and enjoyed them. With this breed of cat, comes grooming issues, food issues, and respiratory conditions. Here you’ll find what you need to know about owning a pet Persian.
Persian Cats as Pets: Personality
I found it to be true Persian cats have a docile temperament. They’re not the type of cat you have to constantly be disciplining. Sometimes they’ll get on a counter or scratch on something you don’t want them to, but they don’t persist in the same manner other cats do.
You can feel comfortable leaving your pet Persian cat home alone since they don’t require tons of activity.
The two Persians I owned were females. Their names were Pandora and Duchess. They were total opposites in almost every way, but shared sameness when it came to their mellow nature, picky eating habits, and grooming challenges.
Pandora was aloof, finicky, and had a “mad” flat-faced look to her. She was a sweet cat, but my friends described her as snobby. Her need for attention was when it suited her. She preferred to lie under the bed for long sessions of sleep. As flat-faced as Pandora was, she had no respiratory problems and remained healthy.
Duchess was the other pet Persian I had. She was sweet as could be, enormous eyes, and the most beautiful face. Food was her favorite thing, but it was hard for her to eat because her nose was too small to get sufficient air. She snorted and wheezed a lot. Clearly, she had serious respiratory issues. Her loving disposition won me over at the local animal shelter, no matter how sickly she was. She had a few surgeries to open her nasal passages to allow sufficient breathing. Even with those efforts, Duchess still suffered and found it hard to do much activity other than sleep and eat.
Persian Cats as Pets: Food and Cleanliness
If you want to own a pet Persian cat, it’s important to be aware they’re picky about food. Pandora would only eat Friskies dry food and certain flavors of Fancy Feast. Duchess would eat just about anything, but not all of it. Pandora would consume specifically the food she preferred, but Duchess would eat little bits of everything.
Neatness wasn’t a strength of Persians, I discovered. Since it’s hard for them to eat with flat faces, they tend to push their kibbles of dry food off the plate, spread canned food to the edges of the plate, and food would fly on the walls and floor around the feeding area when they shook their heads. It was hard for the cats to help, but it was frustrating keeping a home neat.
Due to their long hair, the Persians I had as pets would have kitty litter sometimes still hanging off their rear-ends after a visit to the litter box. It was a little disgusting. Both Pandora and Duchess would clean themselves as much as possible, but it was difficult for them to completely remove all the particles!
Persian Cats as Pets: Grooming
A major aspect of owning Persian cats as pets is grooming. They have incredibly long hair and require a huge amount of upkeep. For me, I found brushing wasn’t enough. Persians have very fine hair, causing it to tangle and mat easily.
Dedication and commitment to a solid grooming regime is a must in owning a Persian cat. Not only does it entail brushing, but combing gently – careful to not nick their loose skin underneath. In my experience, bathing was another factor in keeping the hair from matting so easily. I often wound up taking both Pandora and Duchess to a vet to be completely sheared. Pandora had a few lion cuts and looked funny for a while. The hairballs would be so hard and matted up, only a pair of clippers did the trick.
Persian Cats as Pets: Dedication and Lifestyle
If you lead a full life of overwhelming activity or have a lot of stress, Persian cats wouldn’t be the best choice for a pet. Although their sweet personality and adorable features would make you smile, their upkeep takes serious dedication. If you don’t want to see an extra mess from food, cat litter, and hairballs, it’s best to find a different breed of cat altogether.
Owning a Persian cat is a joy, but has it’s pitfalls. If you have what it takes to own a pet Persian, you will have a wonderful companion.
