Persian
Country of origin
Iranian plateau ("Persia")
Breed standards (external links)
AACE, CFA, ACFA, CCA, TICA, ACF, Persian Cats, FIFe

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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Greater Iran (in Persian: ایران بزرگ pron: Iran-e Bozorg, also ایران‌زمین pron: Iran-zameen) is a term for the Iranian plateau in addition to the entire region where Iranian languages are today spoken as a first language, or as a second language by a significant minority. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... A cat breed is an infrasubspecific rank for the classification of domestic cats. ... Binomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis lybica invalid junior synonym The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ... A pedigree is a list of ancestors (usually implying distinguished), a list of ancestors of the same breed (usually in the case of animals), the purity of a breed, individual, or strain, or a document proving any of these things. ... A grey and white domestic longhaired cat A domestic longhaired cat is the proper name for any cat with medium or long fur, if it is not a pedigreed member of a recognised breed. ...

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, correspounding to the central territories of the Persian Empire. 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. Greater Iran (in Persian: ایران بزرگ pron: Iran-e Bozorg, also ایران‌زمین pron: Iran-zameen) is a term for the Iranian plateau in addition to the entire region where Iranian languages are today spoken as a first language, or as a second language by a significant minority. ... The Hindu Kush or Hindukush (هندوکش in Persian) is a mountain range in Afghanistan as well as in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. ... For other uses, see Mesopotamia (disambiguation). ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ... Pietro Della Valle Pietro della Valle (April 1586–1652) was an Italian traveler in Asia. ...

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 brachycephalic head type are prone to a number of health problems (specifically affecting their sinuses and breathing) caused by it. The term sinus (Latin for bay, pocket, curve or bosom) is used in various contexts. ...

The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia) suggests that the Persian is derived from the Pallas Cat. A photograph accompanying the entry in the Encyclopædia shows a Blue Persian Cat, the conformation of which we would now call a "Doll Faced Persian" or "Traditional Persian". Early photographs and drawings from magazines show the Persian as a Traditional Persian Cat. The Persian was first registered with the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) in 1871 when the association first kept records. Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... Binomial name Otocolobus manul Pallas, 1776 The Pallas Cat (Otocolobus manul, or Felis manul) or Manul is a small wild cat of Central Asia. ... The Cat Fanciers Association is the worlds largest registry of pedigreed cats. ...

Photographic records indicate that Persians, up until the 1960s, show a difference in appearance to cats of the early 1980s onwards (i.e. from the Traditional "doll face" to the "extreme", "ultra", "flat-faced" or "snubby" face of today). However, the Persian Breed Council's standard [[1]] for the Persian had remained basically unchanged over this period. The Persian Breed Standard is by its nature somewhat open ended and focused on a rounded head.

It is generally accepted (and by the Breed Council) that through selective breeding, in an attempt to develop the ideal Persian appearance, the Ultra Face came about [[2]]. This has been called ultra-typing [[3]]. The Persian Breed Council's standard was changed during the late 1980s to limit the development of the extreme appearance. In 2007 the Persian Breed Standard was altered to reflect the flat face and it now states that the forehead, nose, and chin should be in vertical alignment.

Conscientious breeders take into account and minimize health issues by careful choice of breeding stock with more moderate head type, as the stated goal of most breeders is first and always healthy cats.

Silver Persian

Persian 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. This image is in the public domain. ... This image is in the public domain. ... Point coloration refers to animal coat coloration with a pale body and relatively darker extremities, i. ... A tortoiseshell cat. ... A mackerel tabby, with vertical stripes and white socks. The characteristic M can be easily seen on its forehead. ... This cats coat allows it to blend in well with its environment The genetics of cat coat coloration, pattern, length, and texture is a complex subject, and many different genes are involved. ... Front view of a Himalayan cat Side view of a Himalayan cat The Himalayan, also called colourpoint persian, is a breed of cat with extremely long, fluffy fur, and the blue eyes and the points of a Siamese. ... A Himalayan cat The Himalayan, also called colorpoint Persian, is a breed of cat with extremely long, fluffy fur, and the blue eyes and the points of a Siamese. ...

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]} Typical cat show benching cage in the US. Cats wait here until called to the ring. ...

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. Grooming refers to removing obvious imperfections in ones appearance, or improving ones hygiene. ... Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a progressive, genetic disorder of the kidneys. ...

Longevity is usually between 10 and 18 years on average.

Gallery of Persian Types

Blue Point Persian Image File history File linksMetadata Lyonofmaomar. ...	Red Persian Image File history File links Size of this preview: 428 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (700 × 981 pixel, file size: 155 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Author/Photographer: Alex Kravtsov (PersianKittenEmpire. ...	White Persian Image File history File linksMetadata Iiiiiiiiiiii9bs. ...	Red-and-White Bicolor Persian Image File history File links Orieal_Persian. ...
Persian Chinchilla Image File history File links Chinchila. ...	Persian calico Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 510 KB) gato persa hembra File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Persian (cat) ...	Doll Faced Seal Lynx Point Persian / Himalayan Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...	Shaded Silver Doll Faced Persian Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 474 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (633 × 800 pixel, file size: 143 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Shaded Silver Doll Faced Persian named Kemra I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

External links

• Persian-Cats.com LLC (since 1998)
• The Blue Persian Cat Society (founded 1901)
• The Persian and Exotic Cat Club

• Pictures-of-Cats.org