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Complete Domestic House Cat Encyclopedia

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Persian Cat Breed

While the history of the Persian breed is mainly unrecorded, we do know it has been around for centuries. There are even hieroglyphic references to a longhaired cat in the region. The exact origins will never be known but we do know that the first cat shows in Britain included Persian cats. These early cat fanciers defined the standard that was to give the Persian its modern look. The early Persian descriptions sounded very like today's description: round head, short face, snub nose with stop, round full cheeks and a cobby body with a deep full chest. Since the late 1800s, cat fanciers have been selecting for rounder heads, smaller ears, shorter noses, bigger eyes, cobbier bodies and heavier boning. The Persians of today look little like the Persians of yesteryear.

The long, luxuriant coat is the hallmark of the Persian. A heavy ruff surrounds the head, the coat flows over the body reaching to the floor in top examples of the breed and the tail is a thick flowing plume. The Persian coat takes time to maintain and each color and pattern has a distinct texture that requires special care. Their heads are round with open sweet expressions earning them the comparison to the beautiful pansy. The ideal Persian has a head as round as a ball and a square body balanced by a short thick tail. Huge round copper eyes light up the face and the snub nose sits right between the eyes. The break is the center of the face and the round dome is as high above it as the round chin is below it.