Persian mix? for $500

Kieka

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I dont think he looks like a Persian. Domestic long hair black and white cat is what I see. If they are claiming Persian, even in part, without any documentation to support it then he is just a fluffy cat. Which there is zero wrong with being just a fluffy cat but I wouldn't pay $500 unless all his vaccines are up to date, neutered, health check documented and it was a documented rescue that uses their adoption fees to support operations.
 
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Lara13

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Who is they?

I dont think he looks like a Persian. Domestic long hair black and white cat is what I see. If they are claiming Persian, even in part, without any documentation to support it then he is just a fluffy cat. Which there is zero wrong with being just a fluffy cat but I wouldn't pay $500 unless all his vaccines are up to date, neutered, health check documented and it was a document rescue that uses their adoption fees to support operations.
They are a non-profit organization here in NYC
Zani’s Furry Friends ZFF, Inc
 

Kieka

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Yeah.... no. They are adding the Persian description to make him more appealing. Yes he is fluffy and yes he has a slightly flatter face but my shorthair street cat has a flatter face too and she's no Persian. Could he have some Persian? Maybe, possibly, unprovable. Rescues labeling cats as a specific breed when they found the cat on the street is a wild guess based on appearance. Problem being that most cats breeds have features found naturally outside the breed and while Persian is one of the more human messed with breeds, fluffy does not make a Persian cat.

Plus they labeled him MC/TA on their website which I am guessing is Maine Coon/Turkish Angora mix as their first guess not Persian. Someone changed it to Persian at sometime and didn't know enough about cats to know what the MC/TA meant so they made a wild guess based on their knowledge. Which of course is my own wild guess about what that all means.

All that said..... since he is coming from Kuwait that explains the price. The $500 is supporting international cat transportation. Which would tie back to my statement that if he is neutered, vetted, and has shots AND its supporting a rescue then the price makes sense. He isnt $500 because of breed, he is $500 because he is international and had to be flown to New York. In which case, yes the price makes sense if your heart is set on him. Just don't expect to get an actual Persian cat.

bottom line.... If you are okay paying $500 to resuce a cat from an organization saving cats from Kuwait and get a generic cat out of the deal, yes worth it. If you don't want to spend that much unless the cat actually is Persian, not worth it.
 

lutece

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From his picture, he might have some Persian ancestry, although he's not a purebred Persian. He does appear to have a Persian-type coat that would require extra grooming. It looks like someone clipped mats out of his coat around his tail, etc., so it's possible that he might not be accustomed to regular grooming -- I would definitely have a conversation with them about the grooming before adopting him.

In looking at the listing of adoptable cats, it looks like they imported this cat (and a number of other cats) from Kuwait. That might be why they charge $500. All of the cats from Kuwait seem to be listed as Persian / Turkish Angora mix pretty much interchangeably on their web site, so I don't think this organization is very sophisticated about assigning breed labels.

My guess is that there is a good market for this type of longhaired cat in NY, there are probably a number of these cats in Kuwait, and the rescue is working with folks in Kuwait to select this type of cat to import and place. The web site states, "our Kuwaiti cats don't last very long and many are pre adopted as soon as we post them."
 
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Lara13

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Yeah.... no. They are adding the Persian description to make him more appealing. Yes he is fluffy and yes he has a slightly flatter face but my shorthair street cat has a flatter face too and she's no Persian. Could he have some Persian? Maybe, possibly, unprovable. Rescues labeling cats as a specific breed when they found the cat on the street is a wild guess based on appearance. Problem being that most cats breeds have features found naturally outside the breed and while Persian is one of the more human messed with breeds, fluffy does not make a Persian cat.

Plus they labeled him MC/TA on their website which I am guessing is Maine Coon/Turkish Angora mix as their first guess not Persian. Someone changed it to Persian at sometime and didn't know enough about cats to know what the MC/TA meant so they made a wild guess based on their knowledge. Which of course is my own wild guess about what that all means.

All that said..... since he is coming from Kuwait that explains the price. The $500 is supporting international cat transportation. Which would tie back to my statement that if he is neutered, vetted, and has shots AND its supporting a rescue then the price makes sense. He isnt $500 because of breed, he is $500 because he is international and had to be flown to New York. In which case, yes the price makes sense if your heart is set on him. Just don't expect to get an actual Persian cat.

bottom line.... If you are okay paying $500 to resuce a cat from an organization saving cats from Kuwait and get a generic cat out of the deal, yes worth it. If you don't want to spend that much unless the cat actually is Persian, not worth it.
Thank you so much for your help. I’m actually just looking for a cat that would let me hold him and is somewhat of a lap cat plus I like the long hair look. I don’t mind paying that much for a cat if it’s going to get along with my Stormi and let me hold him.
 
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Lara13

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From his picture, he might have some Persian ancestry, although he's not a purebred Persian. He does appear to have a Persian-type coat that would require extra grooming. It looks like someone clipped mats out of his coat around his tail, etc., so it's possible that he might not be accustomed to regular grooming -- I would definitely have a conversation with them about the grooming before adopting him.

In looking at the listing of adoptable cats, it looks like they imported this cat (and a number of other cats) from Kuwait. That might be why they charge $500. All of the cats from Kuwait seem to be listed as Persian / Turkish Angora mix pretty much interchangeably on their web site, so I don't think this organization is very sophisticated about assigning breed labels.

My guess is that there is a good market for this type of longhaired cat in NY, there are probably a number of these cats in Kuwait, and the rescue is working with folks in Kuwait to select this type of cat to import and place. The web site states, "our Kuwaiti cats don't last very long and many are pre adopted as soon as we post them."
Yes. It makes sense now. I appreciate the help...and you’re right I do believe there’s a demand here right now.
 

lutece

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Thank you so much for your help. I’m actually just looking for a cat that would let me hold him and is somewhat of a lap cat plus I like the long hair look. I don’t mind paying that much for a cat if it’s going to get along with my Stormi and let me hold him.
If he's the right cat for you, that's great! He's a lovely cat, too.

I would just be sure to find out from them what kind of grooming he needs and is used to. The partly clipped coat suggests to me that he probably got matted at some point, so you'll want to find out whether he is happy being groomed, or puts up a fuss... in which case he might need extra patience from you with his grooming, and/or clipping again in the future.
 

Norachan

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For a shelter cat that has been blood tested, vaccinated, neutered and chipped I wouldn't mind paying $500, especially with the understanding that part of the adoption fee is going to help other cats in need.

Cats in that part of the world have it pretty rough.

Rescuing Cats In Saudi Arabia – Lauren’s Story – TheCatSite Articles

He is very handsome. Let us know what happens if you decide to go through with this, I'd love to see some more pictures of him.
 
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Lara13

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For a shelter cat that has been blood tested, vaccinated, neutered and chipped I wouldn't mind paying $500, especially with the understanding that part of the adoption fee is going to help other cats in need.

Cats in that part of the world have it pretty rough.

Rescuing Cats In Saudi Arabia – Lauren’s Story – TheCatSite Articles

He is very handsome. Let us know what happens if you decide to go through with this, I'd love to see some more pictures of him.
Thanks for the article. I’ll update you all on my decision.
 

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For a shelter cat that has been blood tested, vaccinated, neutered and chipped I wouldn't mind paying $500,
Yep, and especially if you live in a high-cost area like NYC, that's less than you would spend having all that done at the vet's office. So that seems pretty reasonable, but, no, I don't see any indication he has any purebred Persian background.

Now, maybe he's of the landrace that Persians descended from, the way that Maine Coons descend from big shaggy Northeastern farm cats. But there's no way to know that.
 

lutece

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Now, maybe he's of the landrace that Persians descended from,
FYI, there never was a "landrace Persian" with anything similar to what we would recognize today as Persian type. The Persian / Angora cats prior to the late 19th century had moderate type, similar to a domestic longhair. They were first bred for their long coats, and selection for type came afterwards. Persian cats with short broad faces were created through intense selective breeding, starting in the late 19th century. In general, if a cat has Persian characteristics such as short and broad head type, tiny ears, short and massive body type, very heavy boning in the legs, and a very heavy coat that tends to mat, it's probable that it has some selectively bred Persians in its family tree somewhere... since those traits did not appear in free roaming cats, but were created by humans through selective breeding.

If you want to look at pictures of late 19th century Persians, there are lots of great pictures here.

And the gallery of blue Persians gives a great overview of the way Persian type gradually changed over the years.
 

Willowy

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FYI, there never was a "landrace Persian" with anything similar to what we would recognize today as Persian type.
Oh, I know; they're very extreme, that only comes with a lot of selective breeding. But Maine Coons are getting to be that way too. Even when I was a kid reading cat books, Maine Coons were a fairly natural-looking breed, but now they have some very distinctive traits. But they're still descended from those big shaggy farm cats :).
 

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Its hard to tell. He has the round eyes and the flatter face of a Persian but it would be difficult to tell just where that breeds falls into his legacy. I personally wouldn't have a pure bred Persian with their obscenely flat faces and noses that go up between their eyes. As usual they have been bred to extreme and have the health problems to prove it. Your kitty is much cuter. :)
 

lutece

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Oh, I know; they're very extreme, that only comes with a lot of selective breeding. But Maine Coons are getting to be that way too. Even when I was a kid reading cat books, Maine Coons were a fairly natural-looking breed, but now they have some very distinctive traits. But they're still descended from those big shaggy farm cats :).
Yes, both Persians and Maine Coons originally came from domestic longhaired cats with moderate type. Cats don't really have distinct "landraces" like dogs or other domestic animals. All domestic cat breeds started with domestic shorthaired or domestic longhaired cats from some part of the world, that were chosen for some characteristics people found interesting, and then developed over time into pedigreed breeds.
 
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Lara13

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Yep, and especially if you live in a high-cost area like NYC, that's less than you would spend having all that done at the vet's office. So that seems pretty reasonable, but, no, I don't see any indication he has any purebred Persian background.

Now, maybe he's of the landrace that Persians descended from, the way that Maine Coons descend from big shaggy Northeastern farm cats. But there's no way to know that.
Thank you.
 
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Lara13

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FYI, there never was a "landrace Persian" with anything similar to what we would recognize today as Persian type. The Persian / Angora cats prior to the late 19th century had moderate type, similar to a domestic longhair. They were first bred for their long coats, and selection for type came afterwards. Persian cats with short broad faces were created through intense selective breeding, starting in the late 19th century. In general, if a cat has Persian characteristics such as short and broad head type, tiny ears, short and massive body type, very heavy boning in the legs, and a very heavy coat that tends to mat, it's probable that it has some selectively bred Persians in its family tree somewhere... since those traits did not appear in free roaming cats, but were created by humans through selective breeding.

If you want to look at pictures of late 19th century Persians, there are lots of great pictures here.
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And the gallery of blue Persians gives a great overview of the way Persian type gradually changed over the years.
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Wow...thanks for educating me. It’s appreciated.
 

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I’m actually just looking for a cat that would let me hold him and is somewhat of a lap cat plus I like the long hair look. I don’t mind paying that much for a cat if it’s going to get along with my Stormi and let me hold him.

I'm sure you can find a long haired cat that is lap cat and doesn't cost $500. NYC must have other shelters and rescues with available cats and more reasonable adoption fees. Be specific to the shelter or rescue staff about what you are looking for in a cat.
 
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Lara13

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I'm sure you can find a long haired cat that is lap cat and doesn't cost $500. NYC must have other shelters and rescues with available cats and more reasonable adoption fees. Be specific to the shelter or rescue staff about what you are looking for in a cat.
Thanks. I will do that.
 

sivyaleah

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Thanks. I will do that.
While I live in NJ now, I used to live in NYC and have worked there for decades. You may want to start with some of these well known and "famous" places:

Koneko Cafe (all cats on premises are adoptable)
Meow Parlor (same)
Bianca's Furry Friends (part of North Shore Animal League Beth Stern fame)
Anjellicle Cats Rescue

I know of more but their names aren't coming right to mind.
 
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