I haven't taken care of a cat with breed yet, so I'm wondering if any of you guys have taken care of one? If yes, then do they have distinct traits that set them apart from other breeds of cats? Like are they more playful, grouchy, cuddly, etc. ? Or their traits are mostly the same with the no breed cats that you have taken care of?
I had a persian cat and she died of old age last year. Her personality definitely fit in with the characteristics of the breed: quiet, sweet, docile, dignified, they enjoy being on your lap and being petted, they don't like other pets, they are not so playful and they aren't too vocal. Now I have 5 cats. They were all from the street. Four of them are siblings and they could possibly be a mix of siamese or manx, because 2 of them have the siamese color point coat and all 4 have the tail mutation of the manx. Their personalities are varied, none resemble the traits of my persian cat. Even the 4 siblings, who have the same genetics, don't have the same personality at all. Only one of them is a lap cat, sweet and playful and attached to me, he loves petting. One is really playful and active, always running around like he'll never run out of energy, he's the only cat I have that chases toys and it's the best hunter (kills insects and small lizards). One is very shy and spends most time with his sister instead of us humans. And the girl is sweet and attached to my partner but not me. Two are very vocal and the other two are quiet. So no I would say pure breed cats don't have the same personality traits as mixed cats. With pure breed cats you can pretty much predict their personality but not with mixed cats. There's more variety, but also lots of fun. And honestly with what I know now about animal overpopulation I would never buy a pure breed cat because there are so many out there in shelters, rescue programs and the streets that really need a loving home and will love you back.
I see, so I guess that Persian cats make the perfect lap cats then. I didn't know that they aren't sociable. If I buy one, I thought that the kitten will enjoy to be acquainted with my Persian-Siamese mix cat. The cheapest cats that I see being sold over here are the Siamese ones, and the next expensive ones are the Persian kittens. And yes, I agree with your stance that people should just adopt a cat instead of buying one, although the PAWS office is quite far from where I live. I have tried picking up stray kittens that I come across on the street, but they are quite feral or they avoid people because they're scared. I have never come across a tame kitten so far.
My cats are not from the shelter but rescued from the streets. Cats and kittens are never tame with strangers. Cats get stressed in unknown situations. You can adopt a kitten from the street and yes the first time you approach it it will be scared, possibly it will hide, and if it can't hide it'll attack. But don't let that discourage you from doing something good and giving a precious kitten a better life, that's the nature of cats. If the kitten lives near your home feed it outside for a while until it gets used to you. If it's used to you you'll be able to just pick them up, I've picked up plenty of feral cats but some are more scared so you might need a cage to put them in while you move them inside. Don't take kittens from a mom cat if they are too young, however if you find orphaned kittens you can feed them formula. If you adopt a cat from the street take them to the vet or clinic to have their health checked. If you have other cats then you have to test it for feline hiv. When you bring a new kitten into a house it will be scared of it's new surroundings and go into hiding. Even my persian did this. Some hide longer than others, but usually the first day or two they wont come out. So put them in a small safe room the first day. In a couple of days the kitten will get used to the new surrounding and begin exploring. Also it'll start to get used to you and the people that frequent the house. Also for those first days don't introduce them to other pets. Do so slowly because older cats usually don't like having a new one added to the family. My oldest cat tolerates the others but she doesn't really like them. The best way to have cats that play together is to adopt siblings or adopt non siblings kittens but at the same time. Rescuing a cat from the streets is hard but there are rescue groups that do all the work for you, and then put the cats up for adoption. Try petfinder.com to see if you have anything near. Also on facebook check if there's a local adoption group. I don't know in your area, but here we have some rescue groups that actually bring the pets to the people who want to adopt them. Some even send them to the mainland on plane. I know buying is probably easier and adopting isn't for everyone, plus it's nice to be able to predict your pets personality so that it matches what you want, but if you must buy a pet then at least make sure it's not an illegal back yard breeders. What these people do is exploit their pure breed pets for money, most of the times the pets don't live in the best conditions and that could also cause them to fear humans, as they have been subjected to abusive people. Make sure the cattery you buy is registered and you can visit them and see they are treating their cats well. Anyway however you get your new kitten make sure you spay or neuter them. It's not just to prevent babies but males start to mark their territory once they are between 6-8 months and you don't want your house filled with pee. And for females it prevents them from going into heat, so they wont be making noise all the time and attracting street cats to your home. I'm sure no matter how you get your cat or what breed it is, it'll be so cute and fill your home with much love. If you have a question about cats don't be scared to ask me, I love cats.
That's a very thorough post, so thank you for the info's! But that's the thing, what if that kitten scratches me and I get a disease or infection because of it? So I think it's better to be safe than sorry right? When I was young, some cats just came to our home and stayed with us because we feed them along with our other cats, but now that doesn't happen anymore. I wonder why those cats where tame from the start. Maybe they were owned by a human before and they either ran away or the owner just disposed of them permanently by taking them to a far, unfamiliar place and letting them loose? Come to think of it, since I was quite young that time and busy with school, we had cats that were born here that were not "people-friendly" in the sense that they were also elusive when we come near her, considering that she was born here and she and her mom lived here. She would only go after us when we were bringing their food in their bowl. I guess you also need to cuddle and pet the pet often for it to be not elusive to it's own owner. Luckily, my cat doesn't seem to pee in the house, but then again he became a house cat when he was already 8 yrs. old. Before, he was just in a cage and he pees and poops in his litter box inside his cage. I did see some pee in the house, but very rare, I don't know if it was done for territorial purposes, or I was just too sleepy not to hear him scratching the wood surfaces to be let out to pee outside.
Minimize the possibility of being scratched by using a cage with food or safe tramp with food to catch the kitten. Get them checked out as soon as possible and the vet will tell you if it's in good health and if it's time to start vaccinating them. I've never had a kitten scratch me, only an adult cat. Maybe your cat doesn't spray because of his age, but if you get a male kitten it will start spraying when it hits adolescence. You trained your cat to always go outside? That's nice, kinda like a dog. I wish I lived on a big country house so my cats could play outside. I don't let mine outside, I live in a too dangerous area. There are 3 other apartments in the building and a business on the first floor, an empty building for sale next to the building that I live and a main road with lots of traffic. When one of my cats escaped and got trapped on the empty building next door I had to call the realtor and owner to get in, turns out the cat was trapped under old junk inside and would have died if I haven't looked for him. I never feel my cats are safe outdoors.
Ah yes that could work, bringing a cage and putting food in it so that it would come to the cage and I will close it. The problem is, if they hate people, I don't think they would want to be near me. Some even hiss at people. I won't even try getting those cats from the street, they're fierce! No, I never trained my cat, maybe because he was used to pooping in his litter basin and he clearly knows the difference between the backyard and inside our home, so he knows he can't poop or pee in here. When he became a house cat, his cage was also in here and he still pees in his litter basin even if he can roam around the house. Now that I placed the cage in the backyard just this March 2014, he now goes out of our window or sits near the door after scratching it to tell us he wants to go outside. And he isn't like other male cats that roam for days. Sometimes he'll be gone for like 2 to 3 hours but he comes home again. And no wonder it's dangerous to let your cats play outside, you live on the main road, I live in a village so the street in front of our house isn't really busy.
So he uses a littler box but outside. I misunderstood that. I thought he used the yard. Before I moved I had a littler box on the terrace and if the door was closed they would scratch it and I knew they had to go.
I have had Siamese cats and non-breed cats, and I couldn't see any big difference in behaviour. In my experience, cats, no matter what their breeds or mix of breeds are, are all individualists. My Siamese cats were very playful, retrieving paper balls like dogs. They were extremely inquisitive and needed a lot of stimulation. Whereas, my other cats were more docile. One, in particular, was very affectionate. He was always happiest in my lap, in my bed, or resting on my clothes. Of all the cats that I had over the years, I miss him most.
I see, because when you research a certain breed, they also add a description regarding their personality, but I also think it's a mix of both, because cats, like people, have distinct personalities. Did you train your cat to fetch paper balls? Or they just learned how to do that on their own?
