Choosing Your Cat:

A Visual Guide to Selecting the Feline for

You

By: Alyson Manley

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Ideal for:

People who like dogs or desire a

larger sized cat

Ideal for:

People who desire a

smaller cat breed.

Ideal for:

People who

desire a long haired

cat, or people with cat allergies

Savannah

SingapuraNorweiganForest Cat

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Ideal for:

People who don’t want to deal with

fur or shedding

Ideal for:

People who

desire a medium-length-fur

cat.

Sphynx

Russian Blue

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Ideal for:

People who desire a medium-length-fur

cat.

American Shorthair

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Now that you’ve seen the different varieties of cats available to different personality types, you probably

have some questions about the selections.

One of the most common misconceptions about cat allergies is that a short-haired cat will be best for

people with allergies. The truth is, people are allergic to cat dander, which is dead skin, not cat fur. A hair-less or short-haired cat may be the worst possible op-tion for someone with allergies because of the expo-

sure to the cat’s skin.

The next step for someone with allergies is to adopt a cat with medium or long length fur. The only

option left after that is to decide how much time a cat owner is willing to devote on their cat’s fur. A cat that sheds less often needs to be groomed more of-

ten since shedding is a natural process. This way, the fur that is lost can be contained by the owner’s

grooming habits. However, if a cat that sheds reguarly is adopted, the fur will end up on every surface of the

owner’s house.

All images courtesy of Wikimedia.