Persian cats, advice?
 

If you're going for a purebred, make sure you check out the kitty's parents first (esp. for that price disparity... I believe all kitties and puppies are cute and deserve to be loved, but you want to make sure you get a healthy cat. I'm sure there's a reason for the deep discount, but you don't want to get stuck with a really sick cat or whatever because it was $450 cheaper than most other cats of that breed)

If you haven't done yet, look deep into that breed - look for common illnesses that the breed may get (lhasa apsos for example are prone to hip dysplasia like lots of other small breed dogs b/c they spend lots of time on their hind legs)... or talk to a vet.

best of luck!! post pics of your kitty when you get him/her

Go purebred if you must, but really, there are a lot of really great pets available at your local shelters and/or SPCA. I'd really recommend checking them out. Buying from for-profit breeders only encourages that practice.

Unless you plan on showing the cat, what's the point in going purebred.

A lot of pets bought from breeders and stores are in-bred & have lots of health issues. Just be careful when buying from a breeder/store & do your homework on researching the pet's history. Someone posted this on another board about backyard breeders, maybe it'll help you out!

Holy crap, I agree with Kevin. ;)

I'm a cat person, but what I know about actually owning cats couldn't fill a thimble (except that I know you don't own a cat, the cat owns you ;) ). Sadly, I will probably never own a cat, as my husband is allergic, and any children we may have might inherit the allergy.

If you're after a big fluffy cat, you can find them at shelters. My neighbors have two cats, both adopted from shelters. One of them is a big grey fluffy cat. The other is a shorthair. They are the cutest cats :)

My local shelter charges $75 to adopt an adult cat and $100 to adopt a kitten. These are shelter cats. So $50 is ringing alarm bells for me. The shelter does spay/neuter the cats and makes sure their shots are up to date. (Same with the dogs they adopt out.)

We have a white Persian that we bought years ago from someone who could no longer keep him. He's about 12 years old now, and has a wonderful temperment. While we love him to death, and especially love looking at him because he's so beautiful-I won't get another long-haired cat, simply because I like having a clean house. We also have an elderly cocker-spaniel that we got from Cocker rescue two years ago. He's more trouble, and expensive, as far as health issues go, but he's not the one making me vaccuum several times a week!! Persians REALLY shed!! And they do cough up a lot of hairballs because of the long fur.

My roommate just post-college had a Persian cat. It was really sickly and died before it was a year old. It was a really sweet cat-- just had a lot of health probs. I remember she had to snip his hair right around his rear end to keep him from pooping on himself. Not trying to dissaude you if you really want a long haired cat; just be prepared for lots of shedding and messes. Short-hairs are a bit easier, if that would be an option. Or if you have a long hair, you could do a lion cut.

My neighbour had a persian and did the exact same thing to her kitty. I must say that was the most cutest/funniest thing I've seen, but I'm sure the kitty wasn't pleased :p

Cats apparently like/don't care about the lion cut. With a fluffy Persian somewhere in the South, the cat will certainly be happier (and your vaccum/air filters will suffer less).

My parents had a Persian cat when I was younger... she lived till she was 17. She was a wonderful cat, very affectionate and pretty calm. They are gorgeous cats... as everyone already said, they shed a lot, but you had to have already known that before asking :)

ETA: I have heard that Persians (especially the ones with blue eyes) are more prone to blindness, so you know.

lol

that is the funniest/cutest thing I've ever seen

I also do know how true that is, but my cousin did have a white Persian cat with blue eyes (like the ones from the toilet paper commercial) and she was blind.

I adpoted my cat (shorthair) from the Humane Society. Normally our local human society has adoption fees that range from $75-$100, but every now and then they will waive their adoption fees and ask for donations instead. I don't know if any of your local shelters have anything like that, but I would recomend visiting a shelter/humane society/SPCA before going to a breeder. I don't know much about pure bred animals, but something strikes me as very odd if a pure bred Persian usually goes for $500 but this breeder is selling them for $50. Chances are it's not really a pure bred or there is something seriously wrong with the kittens.