16 Nov 2023
Reluctance to take on the Persians from charity’s rescue centres at odds with popularity of kittens.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
The RSPCA has been campaigning to raise awareness of brachycephalic cats. Image: RSPCA
Persian cats are among the most commonly overlooked pets in rescue centres, potentially because of their severe health issues, according to the RSPCA.
The brachycephalic breed is the most-common pedigree breed found in RSPCA care, but it can take on average 68 days to rehome one compared to an average of 29 days for a domestic shorthair or typical moggy.
The RSPCA believes the reticence is due to awareness of the often-severe health and welfare issues Persians suffer from as a result of the way they have been bred.
But it said this knowledge is at odds with the growing popularity among some owners for flat-faced kittens.
Alice Potter, cat welfare expert at the RSPCA, said: “Unfortunately, this could be a case of cute versus truth – an online kitten ad is unlikely to tell potential cat owners about the possible issues they will suffer from, whereas reputable rescue centres will inform potential adopters about their complex needs.
“Someone who impulse buys a kitten online because they thought their ‘flat-faced’ features are ‘cute’ is far less likely to be given information on the issues because the seller simply wants to make a profit with some kittens being sold for more than £1,000 online, or they may not even know themselves.
“This means they are still increasingly popular pets and more are being bred to meet this demand – but the challenging reality of caring for them can mean they end up in rescue centres where they are sadly then often overlooked for adoption.”
Other flat-faced breeds, British shorthairs and Birmans, take 46 days and 40 days respectively on average to find new forever homes, while a domestic semi long-haired cat finds one in 27.
The statistics have been revealed in the charity’s “Save our Breath” campaign, which aims to raise awareness of struggles faced by brachycephalic cats.
Ms Potter said: “While many face long waits in rescue centres, we know that the popularity of these cats with unsuspecting, impulse buyers is increasing. This is something we’re concerned about as often these ‘flat-faced’ cats suffer from brachycephaly, which means they struggle to breathe, suffer from eye and dental issues, and have difficulty sleeping and grooming themselves.
“The latest rehoming figures reveal that it takes much longer to rehome these cats than your typical ‘moggy’ and one of the reasons for this could be the often severe health issues they struggle with and the information potential cat owners are armed with before rehoming versus buying.”
She added: “These cats require regular grooming as their coats can become easily matted, especially for those that struggle to groom themselves properly. They can sometimes need treatment to help with their weeping eyes and in very extreme cases, they may even need surgery to help them breathe.
“For some potential adopters this means they may require too much time, money and resources to care for them properly, which is putting people off adopting them – but buyers taking them on directly from a breeder instead may be unaware of this commitment.
“We want to see breeders prioritise the health and welfare of the animals and not breed them for traits which sadly cause them to suffer, and mean they are often abandoned, given up, or overlooked by potential owners.”
