I am a hoarder. I collect pure-breed Persian cats. I am addicted to their cugliness and their needy, sticky temperaments.  

Any opportunity I have to foster a rescued Persian, I jump on it. I even adopted two that were rescued from pet shops who dumped them to die. Thanks to them, I know by heart the price list of all the ultrasounds, kidney support and other treatments my vet offers.

I love my pure-breed Persians, but I also know what it entails to have taken them in.

Nature has wonderful ways. Animals live in wide gene pools, where their criteria to select a suitable partner are based on their survival instinct. The animals on top of the reproduction ladder are the ones that are the strongest the healthiest, the fastest, or any other criteria that maximizes their offsprings’ chances of having long and healthy lives.

In the farming industry, farmers apply selective breeding techniques using additional criteria – breeding chickens with the biggest boobs, porks that gain weight the fastest, turkeys with the least feathers, cows that produce the most milk. Thanks to years of selective breeding, the chicken breast in your plate is bigger, and cheaper.

In the pet industry, profitability does not come from health, long life, flesh or secretions productivity; it comes from looks.

The pet industry is to me the most fashionable industry to this day in China; Pure-breeds gain and lose their trendiness within months. 

My brother bought 2 pure-breed cats due to what I like to call the Myth of Purebred Superiority. He was willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money to have ‘superior cats’ thought to be untouched by disease, viruses or physical weaknesses; cats without a history.

Thing is…. A lot of pure-breeds because of their morphology and hereditary background are prone to getting:

-Breathing problems (ask Medusa who snores louder than an obese man and who is banned from flying many airlines)

-Ear infections

-Conjunctivitis

-Skin infections

-Spine problems

-Eye infections

-Joints inflammation

-Brain infection

-Heart condition

-Syringohydromyelia (affliction is as disgusting as the word sounds)

-Inability to breed without artificial insemination and human assistance

-Eye inflammation

-Hip dysplasia 

Pure-breeds do not come with a user manual and warranty.

Unfortunately, most pure-breed owners melt for the looks of their babies and discover later on that it came with ‘extras’. 

In a few cases, you can counter or slow down the appearance of those health conditions with appropriate diets and rigorous daily care.