target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_4cfb076d-4841-510b-916f-b7ab6e07e62d.png" alt="Tip"/> Most people — maybe even you — will still choose a kitten over a cat; such is the power of packaging. But we want to make sure that you aren’t automatically excluding some wonderful pets. Look at kittens, sure, but check out the cats, too. Strike a blow against ageism! We think you get brownie points for adopting an animal who has everything going for her — except kittenhood. Adopting an adult cat is also a great time- and money-saver.
She-Kitty, He-Kitty: Which One’s Better?
You’re not going to get a definitive answer out of us on this one, even if we had one, which we don’t. Males and females make equally good pets, under one very important condition: altering.
Male or female, a cat who is what the experts call whole or intact — in other words, fully equipped to reproduce — is a royal pain to live with. When females are “in season” — which happens several times a year, for a couple weeks at a time — they’re yowly escape artists who attract noisy suitors from miles around, and engage in very noisy mating rituals with the neighborhood toms. By the time an intact cat is sexually mature, many begin spraying — marking territory with a special pheromone-spiked urine with a smell that’s not only foul but also nearly impossible to eradicate. They’re also roamers and fighters. While some altered cats exhibit these behaviors, they’re far more common in cats who have not been spayed or neutered.
Altering goes a long way toward eliminating spraying, but more is involved in curing this disagreeable behavior. For the lowdown on this smelly problem, see Chapter 11. What’s involved in altering — commonly known as spaying or neutering — a cat? The answer’s in Chapter 13.
After cats are altered, is one gender then a better pet than the other? The answer depends on whom you ask. Some people believe males are a little more outgoing; others suggest that females are smarter. Still others think that color or markings matter more and that, for example, variations of the genetic dice roll that produce orange cats — tabbies, calicos and tortoiseshells — also create a cat who seems a little more crazy than others. Others think these cats are super affectionate and playful. As we said, it depends on whom you ask.
Perhaps the biggest reason some people prefer one gender over another we can sum up by using the word always — they have always had males (or females), have always been happy with their choices, and see no reason to change.
Let the Fur Fly
We need to get one thing straight up front: Almost all cats shed. The “almost” is there to apply to those cats who haven’t any fur — such as those of the Sphynx breed, who still manages to carry a little down that rubs off on your clothes.
Some cats, such as the kinky-furred Rexes, shed very little. Some longhaired cats shed a lot — or seem to, because the hair they drop is longer. Even the ordinary garden-variety domestic shorthair is going to lose enough fur to drive the overly fastidious person nuts. If you really can’t stand the thought of cat fur on your sofa, your sweater, or even in your food from time to time, give this cat thing some serious thought.
In considering a cat’s coat, think about three things:
Aesthetics: Some people like the sleek look and feel of a shorthaired cat; others adore the flowing softness of the longhairs. The shorthairs have about them the air of a tiger: You can see their muscles move as they walk, see the coiled promise of power while they sleep. In longhairs, the power is even more subtle, hidden by lush thickets of lovely, long fur. Do you prefer to rub your hand down a sleek pelt or bury your fingers in a longhaired one? This preference is the first of your decisions.
Fur levels: Here is where the trade-offs start to come in. Although nearly all cats shed, the difference in shedding levels between short- and longhaired cats can be dramatic, especially in cats that are prized for the volume of coat, such as with Persians, Maine Coons, or Ragdolls. Are you prepared to live with a lint roller in your bathroom, your glove box, and your desk drawer at work? Would you be appalled to have a friend pick one of those glorious 4-inch pieces of fur off the back of your sweater? If you’re on the low end of fur tolerance, you’d better stick with shorthaired cats.
Time and money: Longhaired cats require extra care. They mat easily and need to be combed out every other day or so and brushed thoroughly on a weekly basis. Hairballs, or clumps of fur caught in the cat’s digestive system, can be a constant problem with longhaired cats, requiring medical attention. If your cat’s mats get out of control, you need to have her professionally groomed — most likely shaved — and that costs money. (Yes, you can do that at home, but you need to learn the skill, buy clippers, and, most importantly, have a tolerant cat.)
Longhaired cats are more challenging to live with in other ways, too. Their urine and feces can get caught in their coats (which is why many owners generally prefer to keep those areas of their cats clipped short), and litter may catch on the tufts of fur in their paws and get tracked all over the house.
Your cat’s coat also has a bearing on whether you can consider letting him be an indoor-outdoor cat. The sparse coats of some of the Sphynxes and the Rexes offer no protection against sun or cold; on the other end of the scale, although the hearty coats of the Maine Coons, Siberians and Norwegian Forest Cats stand up to the elements, the silkier coats of the Persians may need to be protected from the elements.
