Possibly adopting a Persian cat...

[Honeyplease]

A friend of a friend is desperate to re-home her Persian cat, she's just had a baby and the cat is stressed and weeing on all the baby's things constantly. Friend says that new mum has taken to shutting the cat out in the rain to "teach him a lesson" 🥺 I feel dreadfully sorry for him.

We have a dog and a cat already (who gets on fine) and also a 6 year old and a 2 year old who are respectful of the animals but can be quite loud.

I've been told that the Persian cat lives with a 4 year old and a dog and is fine with both of those but has taken a dislike to the new baby. He also has access to outside but mostly stays in.

I feel like he could slot into our family no problem but I'm wary of taking him on in case he doesn't settle, or continues to wee on things. I've seen a picture of him and he's a small fella but he has quite a flat face and very grubby eyes, also looks like he needs a good brush. He's 4 years old.

Any advice very much welcome. Pros/cons etc?

They’re very clever as a breed I think.

Nah, they are really not. Although my Penelope has surprised me as she appears to have more than one brain cell. The other three shared one between them. 🤣

Be prepared for the non stop shedding. We have two Siberians with similar fur and it's constant. You will be in a permanent state of cleaning and seeing clumps of fur fly around in the air throughout the house within minutes of having cleaned. Your floors, clothes, washing, carpets, curtains, soft furnishings will be covered. ALL the time. We've stopped wearing black and navy because within minutes of wearing, long white furs are very visible. Had I known this prior to getting them I would have gone for a different type. But having said that, I love their personalities, they behave like dogs and adore you, and want to always snuggle up to you.

This is what you see within 1 hour of vacuuming 😒

I found my long haired girls shed far less than my exotics. I could have a black cat on white trousers with no issues. My exotics moult everywhere!

Moulting doesn't bother me too much, we try to keep the house tidy but it's a losing battle so we aren't too precious.

Now my only hurdle is getting my husband to agree to adopting him 😟

You might find the weeing is party being caused by not cleaning it up properly & the smell remaining - therefore encouraging him to go there again.

I use that simple solution extreme cat pee cleaner.
It's amazing & takes the smell right away.

Also if current owner is busy with a baby then the litter tray might not be being cleaned out enough. That would be a problem for my cat (Bengal) & if I'm not on the ball with it she does pee outside the box - usually on dirty clothes.

My pal has had & loves persians - Go get him, sneak him in & then introduce him to hubby ! My husband would love that - Not kidding.

Very much so. Sounds like he needs the chop and a quiet home.

They are perfectly fine outdoors.

This person would be better off rehoming this cat via a reputable rescue / specialist breed rescue that way his health needs can be attended to and he can be properly assessed . If you do take him @Honeyplease I’d book for the neutering so it can be done immediately and he can then convalesce in your bathroom before introductions . Make sure you have very good insurance cover because of his potential breathing issues and any ongoing urinary issues as it doesn’t sound like he’s been remotely well cared for .

@Ilovemyshed none of mine would be. Plus that's get nicked! Cheddar would go to anyone. They just aren't streetwise enough.

My current long hair moggy stays in but she’s got the iq of a biscuit with a bite taken out of it. The Persians all went out and came home with half the garden in their tales.

Just turn up with the cat, men huff and puff but next thing their on the sofa saying who’s my little boy.

We have a long haired rescue cat and were told we didn't need to brush her she'd look after her own coat. Within a few weeks she had matted areas at the top of both hips. She had to be sedated and shaved. Since then we brush her for just 5 minutes or so most evenings. If she goes into the cattery when we are on holiday it only takes a day or so to get her back in shape. If we miss the odd day its fine. Occasionally we get the odd small matted area which we snip out with scissors. Little and often is answer.

You need a really good hoover

De gardening the cat, was a phrase I frequently used in the summer. 😂

If he's not neutered don't even consider having him in your house until he's done and fully recovered.

If he sprays it will absolutely stink and the it's such a hard smell to get rid of.

That’s a bit harsh, his current owners not going to neuter him for her if she’s the type to lock cats outside in the rain.

I’m only going on my recollection of my nana’s one! He did other things which seemed clever. Would sit up for treats. Quite active for a Persian. He was stunning though.

My nana’s cat was fine outdoors in Battersea in a garden. Then they moved to a flat with a balcony and finally to a flat with another balcony but huge shared garden and he was fine in those. The latter was next to a very busy train line/station and he just avoided them. He was around in mid 80s though and apparently was quite pure bred not inbred and the first owners just couldn’t cope with brushing and their dog hated him. He tolerated my nana’s yappy poodle.

NDN’s who had Persians (different NDN’s) one was DM’s NDN and other mine. Both those were fine going out in gardens though one was a bit nervous. Adorable temperaments.

https://www.petmd.com/cat/breeds/persian#

We had a Persian cat a few years ago. The owners were giving him up because they "couldn't afford the grooming costs". FFS! He was 8 years old at the time and poor boy was in a sorry state.

Honestly, we had a Ragdoll cat at the same time, I'd say I spent about 5 minutes a day each on their coats (once we'd got his sorted out first). It just becomes part of your routine - DH and I spend about 30-40 minutes in the evening brushing, wiping eyes and ears and cleaning the teeth of our little gang of cats and dogs.

As others have said, the Persians' eyes can be problematic and you need to keep their fluffy knickers cut short, but I certainly didn't find them any harder to look after than any other. Sadly our boy died less than 2 years later of kidney failure, I miss him dreadfully.

I really hope you're able to get this boy OP.

This is Himself.

It's not harsh at all.

OP has existing pets and small children to think about- the last thing she wants is an entire Tom spraying all over her house. It absolutely stinks and once they start, it can be really hard to get them stop, even if you do get them neutered.

While it's very admirable to want to take in someone else's unwanted pet, it's important to think about the logistics - entire Toms are a bloody nuisance and are really not something you want to be keeping locked in your home for any period of time.

@silentpool he's gorgeous!! I used to have two black Persians. I believe they are quite unusual.

We have adopted a cat from the shelter who‘d been surrendered because she started peeing on baby clothes.
We love her dearly but she still has a habit of peeing when she‘s unhappy. It doesn’t happen often but we had to buy a new couch after the last vacation(we suspect that the catsitter didn‘t show up as regularly as he should have).
We‘ve also had 2 DC since and the noise isn’t the problem as long as the cat still receives attention. Dog might be a problem though.

If the cat is stressed by a new baby I'm not sure coming to you with a dog, cat and 2 young children to deal with is going to help and will likely cause more stress. Sorry, have you got any other friends who might help with no children/quiet homes?