The Persian cat is one of the oldest breeds of cat. In Britain, it is called the "Longhair" or "Persian Longhair". A Persian cat without an established and registered pedigree is classed as a domestic longhair cat.

Contents [hide]
1 Origin of breed
2 Characteristics
3 Gallery of Persian Types
4 External links



[edit] Origin of breed
The Persian cat originates from the Iranian plateau, a large area between the Hindukush mountains and Mesopotamia traditionally known as "Persia" in the West. However, interbreeding of Angoras with native British domestic longhairs in the 19th Century makes the true origin of the breed unclear. The Persian's European debut is credited to Pietro Della Valle, an Italian traveller.


[edit] Characteristics
A show-quality Persian has an extremely long thick coat, short legs, a wide head with the ears set far apart, large eyes, and an extremely foreshortened muzzle. The breed was originally established with a short (but not non-existent) muzzle, but over time this feature has become extremely exaggerated, particularly in North America, and Persians with the more extreme brachycelphalic head type are prone to a number of health problems (specifically affecting their sinuses and breathing) caused by it. However, conscientious breeders eliminate this by careful choice of breeding stock with more moderate head type, as the goal is first and always healthy cats.


Silver PersianPersian cats can have any color or markings including pointed, tortoiseshell, blue, and tabby. Tipped varieties are known as Chinchilla. Point varieties are called Himalayan in the United States and Colourpoint Persian in Europe.

In the USA, there was an attempt to establish the Silver Persian as a separate breed called the Sterling, but it was not accepted and Silver and Golden longhaired cats, recognized by CFA more specially as Chinchilla Silvers, Shaded Silvers, Chinchilla Goldens or Shaded Goldens are judged in the Persian category of cat shows. In South Africa, the attempt to separate the breed was more successful: the SA Cat Council (SACC) registers cats with 5 generations of pure bred Chinchilla as a Chinchilla Longhair. The Chinchilla Longhair has a slightly longer nose than the Persian, resulting in healthy breathing and no tearing of the eyes. Its hair is translucent with only the tips carrying black pigment: a feature that gets lost when out-crossed to other colored Persians. Out-crossing also may result in losing nose and lip liner, which is a fault in the Chinchilla Longhair breed standard. One of the distinctions of this breed is the blue-green or green eyecolor only with kittens having blue or bluish purple eyecolor.[citation needed]

Because their fur is too long and, dense for them to maintain themselves, Persian cats need regular grooming. To keep their fur in its best condition, they must be bathed regularly, dried carefully afterwards, and brushed thoroughly every day. Their eyes need to be checked for problems on a regular basis because some animals have trouble keeping them clean. Likewise, Persians are particularly susceptible to a genetic disease which causes kidney failure, PKD, Polycystic kidney disease, among other diseases. However, cats can now be DNA screened for the gene that causes PKD, so these affected cats are gradually being removed from the Persian gene pool by responsible breeders.
The Persian cat is one of the most beautiful cats with a long,luxurious coat. Owning a Persian gives one the same gratification as owning a beautiful work of art. Persians are noted for their gentle temperament and ease with which they adjust to new environments, making them ideal show cats. In my opinion, Persians are fully aware of how beautiful they are. They are quiet and, although not shy, tend to be undemonstrative. They are quite loving and affectionate and make wonderful companions, and come in a variety of colors.
The Persian cat has graced the show scene for more than 100 years. Judges and spectators have been impressed with their sweet, gentle nature and long flowing coats which occur in multitude of colours and patterns.

"The ideal Persian should present an impression of a heavily boned, well balanced cat with a sweet expression and soft, round lines. The large round eyes set wide apart in a large round head contribute to the overall look and expression. The long thick coat softens the lines of the cat and accentuates the roundness in appearance."
The Cat Fanciers Association Breed Statement

The Origin of Persian Cat
The Persian is one of the most widely recognised and popular breeds in the world - and one of the oldest. As their name suggests, Persians originate from the country that was once Persia, now Iran, in the Middle East.

Experts believe that today's domestic cat is the descendent of Felis libyca, a cat that is still found in Africa and Asia. A short-haired, brown mackerel tabby, its adaptation to the environment caused many early mutations, one of which was the development of the long-haired gene. The first of these cats, the Persian, was believed to have evolved on the high, cold plateaus of the country then named Persia, hence their name.

The cats were introduced into Europe by the Phoenicians and Romans in the 1500s as highly valued items of trade. The Europeans were impressed by the Persian.s long silky coat and purposefully bred the cats to perpetuate the trait. By the 1900s the cats were being exported to the United States and since then their popularity has spread throughout the world.

The Persian is the most popular breed among the long-haired cats; others include Birman, Turkish Van, Ragdoll, Mayne Coon, Norvegian Forest Cat and the Exotic (short hair version of the Persian).

In Australia today, while Persians are still out-numbered by the short-haired breeds, they continue to be popular as both a family pet and for showing purposes.

The Persian is a medium to large cat with heavy bones and excellent balance from section to section.


My Persian Roksanna

I always thought, I am a dog person. I have 5 dogs and I was convinced, never ever will I have a Persian. My friend sent me an email that she found this longhaired cat sleeping in her flower bed but she can not keep it because it does not like her dogs and she does not have time and she would bring it to the shelter. That was my keyword. Shelter - NOOOO.

I took it in, this ragged little furball, full of fleas and ticks. Scared to death and it's big amber eyes full of fear. I gave it a bath, killed the fleas, treated the skin which was scratched and bitten open in many places, cut off the matts and tangles, still working on the ear mites, and brushed and blow dried. And out o that ragged little thing came a purebred Persian, snowwhite. She is the most beautiful and grateful cat. She gets along with the dogs just fine (and with the other cats too).

For now she is still in a cage to heal and get accustomed to her new environment. I named her Roksanna - supposedly Alexander The Great's Persian favorite - Gerti



Longevity is usually between 10 and 18 years on average.