Group Classification: Longhair
Country of Origin: Persia
Date of Origin: 1620
Weight (M): 12-15 lbs.
Weight (F): 8-11 lbs.
Life Expectancy: 15+ years
History
Pietro della Valle imported longhaired cats from Persia to his home in Italy in 1620; during the same year, Nicholas-Claude Fabri de Peirese imported longhaired cats from Turkey. Della Valle wrote about his travels and described the longhaired cats he had seen in Persia and Turkey. These cats were described as black; the black self color Persians today is fairly uncommon. Whatever else these gentlemen did, apparently both were savvy marketers: almost immediately, the cats were status symbols. They rapidly became the pets of the wealthy and nobles; that continued for centuries, only fading a bit in the late 1700s. In Great Britain in the 1800s, the breed was developed to the standards we know today. Queen Victoria's fondness for Persian cats made their popularity surge once again, and they have never lost favor since. Bred for centuries, Persian cats have definitely changed since the first were shown. Their coats are much longer today and their entire look is'rounder'. The most noticeable change has been the preference for ever-flatter faces, which led to the development of the Pekinese Persian, which has vertical features and a flat profile. (See Health and Care for information on protential problems for brachycephalic cats.)
Persians have been the world's top breed choice for decades.
General Description
Stocky bodies and short broad faces are certainly hallmarks of the Persian but what people notice first and foremost is their coat. Long and thick, their fur appears to flow whether they are moving or sitting still. Their faces have been described as "pansy-like"; their flat stubby noses and chubby cheeks form a sweet expression that illustrates their gentle temperament. Heavily boned legs support the Persian's boxy body. They have a round head with large, round eyes. These are massive cats, sedentary by nature. They come in every imaginable color; in fact, there are so many that in competition, there are separate color categories (see below).
Colors:
There are so many different colors and patterns (over 60!) that for this breed, they are divided into seven categories.
Solid color division: whites, creams, blacks, blues, reds, lilacs, and chocolates. These all have brilliant copper eyes except for the white cats; their eyes may be copper or blue or they may be odd-eyed.
Shaded division: chinchilla silver, goldens, cameos (white with red tips), chinchilla and shaded versions of all the solid colors listed above.
Smoke division: black smoke, cream smoke, blue smoke, cameo smoke, chocolate smoke, lilac smoke and tortoiseshell smoke. Cats in the smoke class usually have copper eyes.
Tabby class: blue, brown, cameo, chocolate, cream, lilac, red, silver and patched tabbies. Each one comes in four tabby patterns: classic (patched), ticked, mackerel and spotted. Most tabby cats have copper eyes.
Tortoiseshell section: blue creams, chocolate creams, lilac creams and tortoiseshell (red and black). Tortoiseshell patterns are of two colors randomly splotched all over the cat. Their eyes are typically copper colored.
Bicolor (Particolor) division: calicos (white with red and black splotches), blue calico, chocolate calico and lilac calico. Plus any of the solid, smoke, shaded, tabby, or tortoiseshell colors plus white will fall into this category. Their eyes are typically copper to orange in color.
Himalayans fall into the newest division. This covers seal point, blue point, chocolate point, lilac point, red point, tortie point, and lynx point. All Himalayans should have blue eyes.
Coat
Long and thick, yet not wooly. Lucky that people are devoted to Persian cats because of their loving and affectionate personalities, their easy adaptability to any circumstances and the fact that these cats rarely jump or climb, because grooming this breed can be a full time job in itself. Most owners groom once a day, but it is not uncommon for those who show their cats to attend to their fur several times daily. Clipping their coats is one approach; having them groomed into a'lion' cut that keeps some of their fur and cuts the rest is another.
Notable Features
Flat round faces, full short tails and long flowing coats are the primary features of today's Persians. The first shown of this breed,
Health and Care
Grooming their coats is a daily and vital requirement for Persian cats. Nearly half of all Persian cats suffer kidney failure as a result of polycystic kidney disease, which is transferred by a dominant gene. Be sure to check with the reputable breeder you select about the incidence of this problem; there are lines that have successfully bred it out of their cats.
There is a genetically recessive gene responsible for progressive retinal atrophy, a group of diseases leading to blindness in cats. Again, a reputable breeder is your best source of information about a particular cat's heredity.
Cat show winners in the 1800s have a'doll face' : a very short muzzle with an upturned nose. A major change in today's Persian cats has been a breeding effort to produce a flatter face with vertical features. This is referred to as brachycephalic, meaning the width measure of the face is at least 80 percent of the length measure. As in dogs (Pugs and others) this configuration can cause breathing problems, particularly in warm weather. In addition, there can be tear duct problems
Resources
The World Society of Persian Breed Fanciers
http://www.persian-catsclub.com/
The White Persian Cat Club