Finding The Right Cat Breed For You

MSN ^ | November 10,2002 | teve Duno

[Lady In Blue]

"Picture of a siamese cat."

Finding the Right Cat Breed for You

By Steve Duno

I can still remember well the weekend that my friend and neighbor, Mary, decided she needed some feline company at home. She opened up the classifieds and a day later was the proud owner of a 10-month-old, male Siamese cat, whom she named Bandit. He took to her quickly and meowed adoringly whenever Mary petted him.

Then Monday came. Mary left for work, saying good-bye to Bandit. Ten hours later, she came home to find her apartment turned upside down: vases broken on the carpet, cupboards ajar, garbage strewn everywhere. The sofa had long tears along one side, and her bedspread, balled up atop the bed, smelled strongly of cat urine. Tacked to her front door was a note from another neighbor, which read "Please keep that cat quiet!" When I stopped by to say hello, I found her sitting down with the note in hand, looking exhausted and unsure of what to do. Bandit was sauntering around her and meowing loudly in her ear.

Let's face it: All kittens are irresistible, but if you're looking for a purebred cat, not all breeds are built the same. Some breeds just might not be for you.

Look honestly at your lifestyle

The lifestyle of the potential owner plays a big role in deciding what breed to consider. A stay-at-home retiree is better able than a busier person to care for attention-craving, social breeds such as the Siamese, Burmese, Tonkinese, and Abyssinian. A longhaired breed such as the Persian, though not as demanding of attention as the Oriental breeds, requires plenty of grooming time, something else a busy owner might not be able to provide.

A family with several active, young children should choose a breed with a high tolerance for handling and commotion, such as an American or British Shorthair, Tonkinese, or Scottish Fold. My close friend Christy made the mistake of trying to bring a Persian kitten into her home. With four active children on the order of Bart Simpson all roaming throughout the house, the activity level was too high for almost any cat to take, let alone a laid-back Persian, who spent most of her time beneath Christy's bed in a state of terror. On my advice, Christy found a quieter home for the cat and replaced her with a Golden Retriever puppy, who adored the commotion.

Generally, the shorthaired breeds, being more gregarious than the longhaired breeds, match up better with children. Longhaired breeds also tend to get their hair pulled by toddlers, something that can quickly incite a cat. A client in my animal behavior practice once called me for help with her Persian, a normally serene, reserved pet who had just badly scratched her sister's 3-year-old daughter. When pressed, she admitted that the toddler had been chasing the shy cat around the house and pulling on her lustrous coat. A shorthaired tabby mix would have had much less hair to grab and more tolerance toward the child's playful behavior.

A single person working long hours each day needs a cat breed requiring little maintenance and attention. The cat should be able to amuse himself during the day without becoming stressed at being left alone. The American Wirehair and the Russian Blue both deal well with this type of on-the-go owner yet are still loving and affectionate once the owner comes home.

The following three lists give general selection guidelines for choosing a cat breed to best fit your lifestyle. I have based these lists upon my own experience; you might find other sources that position certain breeds differently.

Good choices for busy families:

• Abyssinian
• American and British Shorthair
• Birman
• Burmese
• Chartreux
• Exotic Shorthair
• Japanese Bobtail
• Maine Coon
• Manx
• Munchkin
• Norwegian Forest Cat
• Scottish Fold
• Sphynx
• Turkish Van

Good choices for busy singles:

• American and British Shorthair
• American Wirehair
• Bombay
• Chartreux
• Egyptian Mau
• Exotic Shorthair
• Korat
• Maine Coon
• Manx
• Russian Blue
• Scottish Fold

Good choices for stay-at-home owners and calm families:

• Abyssinian
• Balinese
• Birman
• Burmese
• Cornish Rex
• Devon Rex
• Havana Brown
• Himalayan
• Korat
• Maine Coon
• Norwegian Forest Cat
• Ocicat
• Persian
• Ragdoll
• Siamese
• Tonkinese
• Turkish Angora

Do your homework

Before considering a particular cat breed, be sure to attend several cat shows to familiarize yourself with the breeds and their temperaments, and to meet responsible breeders. Feel free to ask them questions about their cats—particularly how they think their respective breeds would fare in your unique situation.

Regardless of the breed you choose, be sure to select your kitten very carefully. Observe the mother and her entire litter, and choose a kitten with a calm, curious, confident demeanor.

If you do your homework before selecting a purebred cat—and are honest about your lifestyle restrictions—you stand a great chance of ending up with a special little kitten.

Featured Offers

Also on MSN

•	Preggers? Baby guide
•	Movie times & tix
•	Shop for your home

  MSN - More Useful Everyday

  MSN Home   |  MyMSN   |  Hotmail   |  Search   |  Shopping   |  Money   |  People & Chat

  ©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use  Advertise  TRUSTe Approved Privacy Statement  GetNetWise

[rightwingreligiousfanatic]

We got these from the Humane Society and haven't been sorry for a single minute. And we didn't do any "homework" before deciding....

Thanks for giving me an excuse to post this..... ;^)

[LibertyGirl77]

< shrill >

Oh my goodness, your kitties are soooooooooooooooooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute! :)

</ shrill >

[strela]

But I think if I were going to buy a purebred cat, it'd be a British Shorthair. They just look really robust, with a pleasing roundness to their face and a stocky build, and I've read that they have laid-back, friendly personalities.

Mine is all that, in spades. He'll let anyone pet him, and is so mellow that it hurts to watch him sometimes.

[Nea Wood]

Anyone have knowledge or experience with Siberian cats? I understand they are nonallergenic for most people. I've always wanted a cat, but had given up hope of having one due to allergies. I'm single and live in an apartment.

[GovernmentShrinker]

No one should be catless on account of allergies, unless it's the really life-threatening kind. I'm allergic to my kitties (and a gazillion other things), but antihistamines, a steroid nasal spray (Nasalcort), and remembering not to stick my fingers in my eyes without washing them first, do the trick. Also, many people's allergies become milder after a lot of exposure.

If you really can't deal with the symptoms, try one of those hairless Sphinx thingies -- they don't exactly LOOK like cats, but they ACT like cats, and they technically speaking ARE cats, so they're a decent substitute for the real furry thing. They're also easy to bathe, to remove the dander which is what really causes the allergic symptoms (the fur is just a super-efficient storage system for the dander!).

[balrog666]

Nice cats.

Those highly inbred things-descended-from-cats give me the creeps.

[RosieCotton]

OK, everyone else is doing it! My babies:

Not the best picture of 'em since they have those beautiful baby blues shut...

I have one more now - an older girl that needed a new home. She's in my lap now!

[Yardstick]

Yep, that sounds like my kind of cat.

[NYCVirago]

Millions of unwanted pets are euthanized every year, all while the money-hungry breeders of "purebred", "pedigreed" animals (who are often neither, despite their "papers") deliberately produce more and more of them, and stage shows and other publicity designed to make people think they have to have a designated "breed" when they choose a pet. The whole thing is sick and fraud-ridden -- please don't feed the system.

I was hoping somebody would say something like this. If people insist on getting a purebred, they should check into a rescued animal, as opposed to one from a kitty mill.

[GovernmentShrinker]

They should also know that a huge percentage of "purebreds" aren't. A DNA study was done a couple of years ago on a sample of AKC-registered dogs. I can't remember the exact results, but a really massive percentage didn't have the parents their papers said they did. In addition, there have been many documented cases or registered "purebreds" who were simply not the breed their papers said they were -- they passed the eyeball test as small puppies, but as they got a bit bigger, it became clear to the naked eye that they were at least half some other breed.

Your point is absolutely correct -- if that dog at the shelter looks sort of like a golden retriever, it is just as likely to be "purebred" as the $800 puppy "with AKC papers" that the local pet store or "breeder" is selling. And many of the "breeders" who purport to be selling dogs born at their own homes to their own pets, are actually perpetrating the "see, this is his mom right here on our sofa" scam, when what they are selling is puppies they buy from brokers, who buy them from the horrific "mills". So avoiding pet stores and obvious mills will not steer the buyer clear of this organized crime industry.

The whole thing is absolute, unmitigated fraud. These registry groups don't make the slightest effort to verify the animals' parentage -- they just collect fees for mailing papers to virtually any breeder who asks for them, including breeders which have been legally shut down by state officials for cruelty and other violations.