Persian cats are certainly more work to look after then a regular cat. So if you are not willing to brush your Persian at least once every other day and clean his eyes daily then maybe a Persian is not for you! You might be better off getting a short haired exotic persian if you want their face and temperament without all the fur.
However if you are like me and just love the long fur then don't worry because the time I spend grooming my cat is actually very enjoyable and it brings us closer together. He will often lick me to say thank you because he knows he cant handle the job on his own!I use Optrex and a piece of cotton wool to clean his eyes out daily. This works really well at removing the stains and is perfectly safe to use since it is intended for eyes anyways. You can pick this up at your local pharmacy for 5 euro and one bottle will last you nearly a year.
Then I use a regular metal tooth comb to brush him each night before we go to sleep to make sure he has no knots. Sometimes he thinks this is more of a game but we manage to get him fully combed somehow! I also give him a shower twice a month. Your cat may not need as much bathing. After his bath I blow dry him. This is usually when I get the most licks!
NutritionPersian cats are known for their highly sensitive stomachs. If you feed them something that doesn't agree with their bodies you will know about it! They will either get diarrhea or excessive tear stains in their eyes. I find that a combination of Royal Canin Dry Food and Cooked Chicken is the best diet for my cat. One 10kg bag of Royal Canin dry food will last one cat about 6 months. The cheapest place to buy it is online at http://www.mollys.ie. It is about twenty euros cheaper there then in most pet stores.
I also feed my cat some cooked chicken twice a day. One 2000 kg chicken I can buy in Tesco for 6 euros will feed him for two weeks. I just freeze the chicken in little sandwich bags and defrost them the night before. Compared to other cheap brands of wet cat food, this is half the price and much healthier for him. He has no issues with eye tearing or upset stomachs since I put him on this diet. Some cat owners just stick to the dry food, its up to you!
I also use an electric water fountain because he does not like to drink water if it has been sitting in his bowl too long. As a result he doesnt drink enough water unless he can make a mess in one of my sinks or in a cup I live somewhere and he knocks over on me! If a cat does not drink enough water they can get all kinds of problems further down the line. This fountain is the cheapest one I found at £15.99 from Zooplus UK. Compared to other models for 40 -60 euros it was a bargain and my dogs love it too.
Toys
All Persians are indoor cats and should never be allowed outside, unless you have a specially built cat run for them. They are just not able to fend for themselves outdoors between dogs, cars, other cats with diseases, rats, etc... they just will not last long. So if you are going to have a housebound cat it is only fair to him that you provide him with enough stimulation in his environment. A cat tree is really a must have for a cat that will never get to climb a real tree. Not only will this give them something to climb up and scratch on, it should keep your furniture a lot safer. A full standing one is the best especially if you have more than one cat. The best deals I have seen are on Ebay or Zooplus. Irish prices are totally crazy usually!Aside from that the kittens will tend to find other things to keep them entertained, a pot of potpouri can keep my cat amazed for hours. Or a rolled up piece of paper, even a cardboard box! So whether you buy them more toys or let them play with things around the house just make sure you play with them! The more love and attention you give them as babies the nicer adults they will turn into. My cat loves it when I massage his paw pads, he just opens them up and flexes his toes!
Discipline
When your cat is young it is best to start teaching him what is and what is not acceptable. Cats are not as easy to train as dogs as they are lot more independent but they are trainable. If your kitten is fond of biting as a way of playing but they are getting too rough, it is good to just let out a high pitched squeal and just move away from them. They will know that they hurt you and that the playing has stopped. This teaches them to stop. My cat will actually lick me to say sorry for hurting me - too cute!
Also if they are scratching your furniture or playing too hard with other animals it can be a good idea to give them a spray of water. I use this method sometimes when my cat keeps trying to eat my plants. They are not safe for him to eat and it is something I must prevent him from doing. There is grass that you can buy in the pet store as an alternative because cats do benefit from eating grass in the wild.
Litter Training
All kittens should be litter trained when you bring them home. They are naturally trained to go in the litter box - it is one of the best things about owning a cat! However sometimes a cat will go outside of the litter box if he is marking his territory or if he has an infection. This is extremely, extremely rare but if it does happen the best thing to do is remove whatever they peed on or clean it with the stuff from the pet store that removes the smell. Even if you wash something in a machine it will not kill the smell to the animal. For example if your dog were to pee on the carpet when you brought your cat home because he was marking his territory, the cat might go ahead and do the same thing. Another thing that is great for this is natural cat pheromones. It is a plug in that you can use to calm your cat down. It will help cats marking their territory, scratching furniture etc.. It is also just a nice thing to have on for them when you first bring them home. Here is a website with more information on cat pheromones and all the things they can be used for: http://www.feliway.com/us Cheapest place to buy them in Ireland is on Amazon!
Most kittens do not get kidney infections but if it is an older cat and he is not using his litter box, the best thing to do is bring him to the vet as that is likely the problem.
It is also very important to keep the litter box clean. Cats do not like to use a dirty litter box and some cats can be really fussy. If you have more than one cat, then you should have more than one litter box as a general rule. Small kittens are better off to start with a small litter tray and then gradually move them onto a hooded tray so they don't throw the litter all over your house! Again the cheapest litter boxes I found were on Zooplus UK.
