# Cat Breeds - Advice on Ragdoll, Persian, Siberian



## Jess2308 (May 12, 2009)

Hi There,

Im not looking for now necessarily (need to save my pennies up as i have chosen expensive breeds lol) but after a little while having no luck with rescue cats due to owning dogs, im now leaning more towards a kitten. My dogs are very cat friendly as i've had cats since i was very young and the dogs have been brought up with them. I currently have a 16 year old moggie who is living with my mum since her 15 year old cat went deaf, my Simon is her cats ears as well as a companion, bless him  

Anyway, as a family we've always had Ragdolls and love the breed, they make the best pets!! But, as they are what i have always known i want some input from others as i might want a change this time 

The two other breeds im thinking of is a persian or a siberian. We had a persian when i was a teenager who sadly died when he was only a couple of years old. But, i know about the grooming requirements so thats not an issue. I would ideally want either a white one, or the one we had before which was registered as Pewter... Are these colours hard to get or fairly common?  We also didnt have dogs when we had Willow the persian so how do they generally get on with cat-friendly dogs?

The other cat i was looking at, that i have no experience of at all is a Siberian. I just think they are stunning and sound like very loving, affectionate cats! Anyone with any experience of these? Input would be gratefully recieved!!

As a bit of info on me, im home most of the day, but i may be in full time work later in the year so thats something that may be an issue in choosing a cat. I own my own small semi-detached house with a fully enclosed (6ft solid fenced) garden but would mainly want a house cat that would maybe like exploring in the garden just whilst im out there, i dont want one thats not happy in the house  Like i've said, my dogs are used to cats, but they wouldnt be with the cat unsupervised, they are shut in the dining room and hall when im out of the house 


Any advice and opinions would be great


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## Cazzer (Feb 1, 2010)

well I have a middle aged raggie, several elderly colourpoint persians and two wedgie kittens. As a first time cat owner I had persians who I loved and still do. Our first two were sisters a blue tabby and a pewter. Shona the tabby was pts last year aged 17. But I don't like the way the breed has gone though and prefer a less typy nose, and as a result probably will never have one again . As a result when we were looking for another kitten we chose a ragdoll. As much as I love him he is hard work more so than the persians. He is very clingy very stroppy [ok can be exceedingly bad tempered!] or incredibly loving as the mood takes him. He was enough to put my OH off the breed. He was a real shock after the laid back persians!!! As a result we spent an afternoon at the supreme last year looking at other breeds and decided that wegies were the way to go. Kalle and Kyrre have only been with us a month and we are hooked. All seem to be happy as house cats

we've certainly enjoyed having different breeds.

Don't know anything about siberians I'm afraid.


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## Jess2308 (May 12, 2009)

I've never heard of a wedgie! Do you have any pictures?

Its interesting you say your raggie was bad tempered, i have only ever found them to be exceptionally loving and affectionate, i've never met a bad tempered one!! I suppose a lot of it is down to the individual cat so i could be running the risk of getting a less friendly one with any breed i choose...


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## Cazzer (Feb 1, 2010)

Sorry a wegie is a Norwegian Forest Cat!


yes the raggie probably is the most loving and affecionate cat in the house when he wants. Having said he is bad tempered he is now 7 and seems to be less stroppy than he was so I think he is past his teenage years


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## raggs (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi Jess,
We have 4 raggies and i must say that we have had no problems with temperment they get on with our other two pets{jack russells} i would not want anything else they are so loving and great with children,Its like any breed of cat you do get the odd one that can be difficult. I agree that the persians have changed and i do prefer the older type. I cannot comment on the persian or the siberianas as pets as i have never had the privilage to own one.I have seen them at shows and they do look stunning.


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## Jess2308 (May 12, 2009)

I did consider norwegian forest cats but am not sure about their compatibility with dogs, i have heard they can be a bit stroppy with dogs.

Raggs - Thanks for your reply! I am the same as you, love raggies completely, they are just THE perfect pet cat to me, but i would like to consider other breeds before i just go for a raggie as i just love the look of persians and siberians too. I dont want to rule them out just because i love raggies so much as i might end up loving persians or siberians as much if i get one of those lol


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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

My Auntie has 3 NFC's, and they are bossy with her big dog


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## Cazzer (Feb 1, 2010)

I don't have any dogs so can't help you there!


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## deedeedee (Apr 2, 2008)

Hi

We have 2 Siberians at the mo and 1 Maine Coon - Siberians are very loving, allways after a cuddle and love to play with anything! Our Coonie girl is more laid back. I love them all to bits.

One of our kittens last year went to a home with a Siberian husky dog and are best of friends

D xx


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## messyhearts (Feb 6, 2009)

Siberians, NFCs & Maine Coons are all quite similar. I know Maine Coons are sensational with dogs so would imagine the other two would be too?


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## Jess2308 (May 12, 2009)

My mum told me i should get a maine coon if i dont go for a raggie as that was her other choice when she got the raggdoll lol Maybe that should be added to my shortlist...


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## ChinaBlue (Feb 3, 2008)

Why not visit an all breed cat show and have a chat with the exhibitors there - at least you get to see all the breeds in the fur so to speak! I actually quite like Somalis; quite a pretty affectionate breed - have you thought of them?

Of course I would be totally biased towards the Raggies!

By the way the Semi Longhair Cat Association Show is on 20th March 
at Cooks Moors Woods Leisure Centre, Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 6ER

SLHCA-index


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## Cazzer (Feb 1, 2010)

yes that's good advice which is we we why went to the Supreme last year. We did also contemplate Maine Coons but decided against them and in favour of NFC due to the fact they are slightly smaller. [and I too have a soft spot for Somalis if you fancy a smaller more delicate cat]


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## Kiskasiberians (Oct 2, 2008)

Siberians have a fantastic temperament, dont require a lot of grooming, dont need constant attention and are ok to be left while you are at work. They get to the same size, weight wise, as a Maine Coon but are more compact and muscular. They are very good with dogs and other cats and can be very dog like in their behaviour. They like the attention of children, although they probably couldnt eat a whole one! 

One of their best traits is that mostly they are ready to be played with. We have 3 5 year old cats and they are still as playful as he was when they were kittens. Zara still does a back flip for a cat teaser @ 6!


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## poshmog (Mar 2, 2009)

Jess2308 said:


> I did consider norwegian forest cats but am not sure about their compatibility with dogs, i have heard they can be a bit stroppy with dogs.
> 
> I have 2 persian and 2 wegies(NFC) ,we have 3 dogs ,a sheltie and 2 8month old Jack Russell x's ,they all get along fantastically,infact it has been known to come in and find the 2yr old norwegian rolling around and playing with the pups.
> At one point the game was pull the norwegian across the laminate floor by his tail while he was lying on his back,and he let the pups do this!!!
> ...


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## jenny armour (Feb 28, 2010)

well i have four raggies and three wegies (norwegian forest cats) and both would get in with dogs. two of my wegies who are now 9 and 5 months old both came from breeders who had dogs and they are bombproof. jj who is black and a real hooligan but very loving and wouldnt harm a fly.
my raggies (ragdoll) range from 16 to 9 years old and i can vouch that they are the most laid back of breeds.
i have heard alot recently of ragdolls being stroppy, and to me this is not the breed that i first fell in love with some years ago.
as regards to any cats beit coonies wegies or raggies please make sure that they have been tested for hmc. i know coonies are suspectible to this illness.
i personally for robustness affection and disposition i would go for wegies every time, even though i still love my raggies. oh i also have a bsh who also has a very good temprement. not sure how they would be with dogs, but if the cat is coming in as a kitten, i would have thought it would adapt


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## jenny armour (Feb 28, 2010)

by the way wegies dont always come up smaller. nellie my wegie who is now almost four is about 17 lbs in weight


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