Persian cats get a haircut

My beautiful silver Persians are a grooming nightmare. If I don’t brush them every day, there is fur from one end of my house to the other. I’ve owned other long-haired cats and have never dealt with this much shedding. My Maine Coon, Moonshine, never shed. And several long-haired shelter cats I’ve owned were never a problem.

Sterling and Whisper were also adopted from a shelter. Actually they were foster kitties that ended up staying forever. I never dreamed a silver Persian would end up in the shelter, but the owner was allergic. One year apart in age, they are now 9 and 8 years old. I recently had them both shaved down and they look ridiculous, but at least I’m not vacuuming so much.

Last fall my friend Melanie Snowhite photographed me with them (pre-haircut) for a story in Purina's Rally to Rescue Magazine. That photo is shown here. The article, by Maryann Mott, featured “failed fosters;” in other words, animals that were fostered by rescuers and never left their foster homes.

Our Southland Collie Rescue rep foisted these two off on me. I was way too willing, and they settled right in and never left. It’s a common problem in rescue. You go to the shelter to pick up a collie, and come home with two Persian cats or some other un-collie type of animal. I've done it several times. But they were worth it.

© 2010 Terry Albert. All Rights Reserved.