Persian Cat

Abbreviation:

Persian Cat

FIFe:

PER

Place of Origin:

England

Ancestors:

Persian Cats from the Middle East

Breed type:

Long-haired Cat

Body type:

Large, medium to large cat

Weight:

3.5 - 7kg

Colour Variety:

A wide variety of colour variants

History: Ancestors of Persians cats are considered by Turkish Angora cats. The first Persian cats came to Europe with sea sailors from Turkey and Iran in the 17th century. They gained popularity by European royal courts and they spread to England through France. Persians were dominated at the first British Cat Show in London in 1871, after they soon arrived to the United States. On both continents, a different look of the standards of this breed still prevails. A cat with a very short nose is considered to be a "modern type" in the US.

Nature: very calm nature, ideal for cat shows, sometimes phlegmatic. It is truth that it is exceptionally friendly and good-natured. It is getting well with cats and dogs. In addition, these cats enjoy children too.

Body: Persian cat's body is robust, compact. The Persians have a broad chest, a short and strong neck. The legs are the same, paws are round and large. The tail is short with a rounded toe. The head is just as massive and round, full of faces. These cats have a wide jaw and a short nose. The ears are set wide apart, small and rounded; in every ear we can find a brush. The eyes are also built wide apart, full and shining. Eyes have different varieties according to the colour of the coat, copper, orange, green or blue, as well as variants of various-coloured Persians.

Care: It is very demanding, requires a daily care of combing hair. The coat, which is very soft and dense, unfortunately it is also easily snaps. It is important to have a regular, daily ritual of combing with kittens, ideally right from the kitten to prevent any resistance by older cats. In addition we must look after eyes too. The Persians often tear and create softer grooves around their eyes.

Coat: Coat of Persian´s cats is dense, long, soft and silky. A collar around the head, the tail is also bushy. In the spring and summer they naturally have less dense hair. The most beautiful is in autumn and winter. The original Persians had a white coat colour, which was subsequently acquired by Persians with Blue Coat. Today they act in many (more than 60) different colours of coat and patterns. The popularity of colour shades of Persian tends to fashion´s trends. However, the popular white colour with the dominant W gene is inclined to deaf, especially blue-eyed white cats. For most cats, adult colour can be found in 18 months of cat's age because many young cats have white, rusty hairs or annealing hints that disappear later.

Colourful variety: At present, all breeding organizations, including FIFe, recognize more than 350 colour varieties by Persian cats. And there are still more. Some colours are very common and common, others are very rare and some are only theoretically possible and they are not presented. Recognizing these theoretically derived colours serves to promote breeding, to further enrich the breed. Knowledge of hair colours to derive new colour varieties requires the knowledge of genetic patterns that are subject to general genetic rules. The colour variety by Persian Cats (and not only by them) can be divided into several groups.

The first group consists of full colours (without patterns and badges), also called solid or self-colour. These coats include black, blue, chocolate and lilac. Black and Blue have been known since the beginnings of targeted breeding. Chocolate and lilac have a shorter tradition, originated in the thirties of the last century when breeding Persians with Siamese badges. Intensive red (reddish) is very difficult to breed, its thinned twin, creamy, is very elegant. In the full colour group we also include the colour of tortoiseshell, namely black, blue, chocolate and lilac tortoiseshell.

A special group consists of cats with a white coat colour. These cats have been known for a very long time, and because of their genetic nature, it is dominated by the dominant W gene, they are also very widespread. White Persian Cats are divided into different varieties according to the colour of the eyes. White Persian Cats can have eyes orange, blue, peculiarities are white with colourful eyes.

Another group is represented by colours with a tabby. There are three types of patterns: marble, tiger and dots. They appear both in base colour (black on a brownish base) and in diluted forms (blue, chocolate, lilac) and also in red and cream. All types of patterns are also found in silvery forms.

A large and also very attractive group are colours with tipping, when only the end part of the hair is coloured in different lengths. The remaining part of the hair is silvery stained by gene I (inhibitor). Depending on the intensity of silvery, it is divided into smoke, shaded and shell. The remaining part of the hair is silvery stained by gene I (inhibitor). Depending on the intensity of silvery, it is divided into smoke, shaded and shell. Silver shaded and silver shell (chinchilla) have beautiful green eyes. The other colour variety has orange eyes.

Breeding and history is an interesting group of golden cats. They are mistakenly called golden chinchillas because they are born to silvery parents and have green eyes. In the literature is said that it belongs to a group of colours with tipping. Breeding practice suggests that gold cats should be included in a group with a patterns.

Two-coloured Persians form a group with a white spot. They are in a variety of colours (black, blue, red ...) and are combined with white. It is not easy to keep cats of two colours with the ideal ratio and colour distribution. Gene S, conditioning the white spot, it works in a series, so the amount of white coat can be very variable. We divide them into three separate groups: classic bicolour, harlequins, and van.

The last group is the colours with acromelanic badges, it is also called colourpoint, formerly the Kmer cats. These varieties were the result of a purposeful breeding work in the 1930s in the United States and Great Britain.

According to today's knowledge, nine genes are involved in colouring cats' hair. Combination of them can produce a lot of colours, shades, halftones.