Hello.

I post here looking for a bit of tips and advice. I'm researching, as well.

I hope to be adopting a funny looking little blue and white Persian from my local animal shelter. Now, I didn't originally plan on a Persian. But he gave me kisses, and I fell in love. Now I am doing a crash coarse in Persians before his time at the shelter is up.

A bit on him. He's nuetered, UDT on shots and wormings, all testings came back perfect, he's microchipped. He was picked up as a stray, and he's about 1.5 estimated.

He's shaved right now, but I gather that he will need plenty of grooming. I went to school for grooming, but unfortunately only ever worked with a few cats, as dogs, ferrets, rabbits, and rats were my specialty.

For brushing out his coat: A metal comb is fine, I gather. Is there anything else specifically recommended?

I have pretty much anything grooming wise you can think of on hand.

Ear care: Is a gentle mentholated ear cleaner alright? Is clipping the hair around the ears adviseable or not?

Do the fur on their pads get matted, should I clip them?

Is shaving them detrimental? He's shaved very choppy right now, but I thought I might like to give him a lion clip when I get him home, that way his body fur all grows back in the same length.

Any reccomendations on food? I plan on doing a partial raw, partial kibble diet, like my dog. However, I'm having a hard time finding a good food. As I know cats are obligate carnivores. I would go with Innova EVO, but they were recently bought out by P&G and I don't want to support them. Anyone care for Taste of the Wild?

So, potty habits? Does their fur get in the way? Should I plan on sanitary shaves for him?

Bathing, what kind of shampoo is recommended? I have all organic natural oatmeal shampoo I use with my dog who has a lot of allergies. Is this sufficient?

He has an extremely inverted face, and he has quite a bit of tearing. What can I use daily to wipe his face? Are unscented baby wipes gentle enough? I can go organic if needed.

And I just got home from the shelter. I've been approved for him. He gets neutered tomorrow (I thought he was done, guess not.), and I pick him up Wednesday!

Wow! What a list of questions!

First of all, welcome to the wonderful world of Persians and bless you for rescuing a kitty from a shelter. Let's see what I can do to answer some of these....

A metal comb is best. If possible, get a greyhound comb. They are not cheap, but are REALLY the best you can use. Slicker brushes and short=tined combs don't get down to the skin and that is esssential. You also want a blunt tip pair of scissors for mats that might develop and can't be worked out with the comb or your fingers.

I've never used mentholated ear-cleaner, so I don't know about that one - unless it creates an allergy, it should be fine. Those tufts in thier ears is a wonderful Persian trait, so I wouldn't ever clip them. The same for those tufts on their feet. I've never had a mat there - kitties are pretty good about keeping their feet mat-free.

Shaving your kitty is a personal preference. Giving him a lion clip when he comes home to you is fine to even things up, but don't shave his tail if possible. It takes FOREVER to grow back.

Food is another highly personal preference. I think the diet you are planning sounds like a great start! If possible, you might want to start with the kibble he is eating now -- a new home and new food is a big adjustment.

Sanitary shaves are a great idea. Without them, you might be giving more potty baths than you like.

I'll let someone else answer the shampoo question -- I don't bathe Sasha myself. One thing I do know, though, is that rinsing of it out is essential!

Unscented baby wipes will do for cleaning his eyes -- I know a lot of members use cotton pads and a multi-purpose contact lens solution. If he has discoloring or staining from the tearing, Eye Envy is a great product.

You sound like the perfect owner for this boy -- I wish you lots of love and luck with your new Persian. Be sure to let us see a picture when you bring him home.

Tomi

Tomi has given you a lot of great answers, I agree
with all she has said!
As to the type of shampoo to use, there are numerous out there
for cats, what will work best with your cat will depend on the fur
and if you are happy with the result.
I've even used just baby shampoo (human) with great results.

Welcome to this great place on the net, and congrats on adopting this
precious kitty!
Can't wait to see pictures!

Purrs,
Joan

Hi Sasha Elizabeth and Joan, thank you for your welcome and your answers!

I have a greyhound comb, as well as some smaller tined metal combs. I also have shears, curved shears, matt splitters, etc. To get matts out without damaging the coat.

It's gently mentholated, and hasn't bothered my dogs severe allergies. So I will keep a very close eye on him and be sure no allergies present themselves. I will definitely leave his ear and feet fluff if he handles it fine on his own. :] I know a lot of dogs have trouble with matting on their furry feet.

Unfortunately, when he came into the shelter, I guess he was ridiculously matted. So he's shaved a bit down now. About 1-1 1/2" fur left all over his tail and body. I'll leave what he has on his tail alone and give his body a clip. The shelter's groomer is an elderly gentlemen, and he does good by them, but he certainly isn't straight in his lines haha.

He's on Iams currently, and I'm not fond of food with corn in them. They said they'll send me home a small baggie. So I will switch him slowly off the Iams to something better. I'm till debating. I may go for Taste of the Wild, maybe Wellness Core? I'll have to have the bags in front of me, haha. I'm going to give him canned and ground raw, too. I'm used to feeding a larger animal raw, so I'm not sure what whole or bone in foods he'll be able to manage. My dog can easily handle chicken and rabbit, some turkey. I imagine he'll have trouble with those. I can order whole foods like mice and such online if I need to. Does anyone on here have raw experience?

I'll definitely give him a sanitary, then. He'll have to wait til he's settled in, but I can't imagine he'll be comfy without one.

His front paws and face is very stained. I will look into Eye Envy. Ill try the lens solution, we have plenty of cotton balls for ear cleaning anyhow.

I hear Dawn works, too? We use it on greasy rats that come into the home. But he didn't seem greasy or anything. But he's dandruffy. I'll try the oatmeal and see how he goes.

I only have two pictures of him, and they're not flattering. I will get better pictures when he comes home.

The shelter just called me and said I can pick him up tomorrow, he's already neuetered, te lady who spoke to me just didn't know. I'm so very excited!

Oh, he's beautiful!!! I love bi-colors. With a little love and attention, he's going to be a stunner. Hard to believe he was picked up as a stray. How lucky you two were to find each other.

Tomi

He's beautiful!! I have two blue and white bi-colors and a black and white bi-color. Love them! I use the same shampoo on all of my Persians--it is called Pearl White and it gets the light areas nice and white. I used to order it online, but lately Petsmart has had it. I use Groomer's Goop on my greasy-coated white Persian. She's the only one I have to degrease. It will be a while before you really know whether he's greasy, but none of my bi-colors are--their fur is very fine and fluffy.

Thank you. I'm so happy we found each other, too. I wasn't even looking for a cat. I just went to the shelter to drop off some blankies and such. And I cant not visit the animals when I go!

He likes it when you run his nose, and will seek your finger to poke with his nose and give lots of little licks. He absolutely absorbs attention. I've been there every day since I met him, but I couldn't adopt him until today when my landlady would be in to give the shelter the go ahead.

I can't believe he was a stray, either. We get a lot of cat dump offs in the area. There are currently two (What look like pure) Siamese, one seal and one lilac point. As well as a couple siamese kittens, some of what look somewhat like ragdolls. And I've even seen Persian/Himilayan kittens at the shelter. Times are hard, and I don't think people value their pets well enough around here. But I'm very happy to give him a new start.

I just hope he likes my dog! (She LOOOVES kitties, and when he gains weight, I think he'll be bigger than her 12 pounds.).

He is adorable !!

Tomi and Joan gave great advice!
For the eye that has a lot of white fur around it, you could also use a mix of boric acid and cornstarch to pack underneath...it will brighten up the fur and help to minimize future staining.
I have used it with Jasper anywhere from 1-4 times per day (depending on my schedule) and it really works!

A great shampoo to start with is Eqyss Premier and their cloud nine conditioner.
If he is greasy you can use the dawn or even get Goop from the auto department at Walmart...it is really cheap and does the job nicely!

When I got Jacob he had very dry patches...his skin was peeling and there was little fur there. We cleared it up but I always do his first washing with Malaseb medicated shampoo.

Thank you for taking this gorgeous little stray in, welcome to this site, good luck with his homecoming and we love updates and pictures!!!!

Schneesmom: I have whitening shampoo at home. It's this: http://www.groomerslane.com/carthtml/6.html I wasn't sure if I could use whiteners on him, though. It's organic, though. Maybe I'll give it a try?

I have this, as well: http://www.kelcoshampoo.com/