Persian

History Persian
Almost each cat’s book will tell you about the history of the domesticated cat. It goes back to the time of the old Egyptians. But no matter how far you search, you will never find data concerning long-haired cats which date from before the sixteenth century. At least in Europe. In England and also outside England, the first long-haired cats were called Angola’s, although there wasn’t any indication that they found their origin in Angora (Turkey).

People also thought, without any proof, that they came from Persia, that’s why they came up with the name Persians. A perfect Persian should have a round head, with space between the small ears, a short wide nose and full cheeks, a solid chin, plumed ears and large round eyes.

The cat must have a strong, stocky body, which means: low on short paws and with a good bone structure; a solid skeleton. The tail must be short, full and hairy. It is almost impossible to breed a cat which meets all demands of the standard. It goes without saying that the breeders want to achieve this and it is surprising how they almost succeed to obtain perfection by means of selection, care etc.

General standard of the Persians
Body: stocky, low on solid paws.
Fur: long-haired, silky, a nice full collar
Tail: short, thick and full
Head: Round and wide, large space between the ears, full cheeks, wide frontal view. Short nose with a clear stop & round eyes. The hundred points which are awarded during the inspection are divided over color, fur, figure and eyes.

Character
The Persian with his long, wavy silky fur and his proud expression looks like he only wants to sit on a velvety or silky cushion while he would prefer to have his diner on a silver dish. But despite of his distinguished decorative appearance he is very naughty just like a short-haired mongrel.    

Persians are true individualists. They can attach themselves to the owner very well. They can be real chatterboxes; one cat more than the other, with a huge variety of noises.

You will slowly learn to distinguish them. Of course they also purr, very loudly. Persians are usually good mothers, which are very patient towards their kittens

They are busy with them, play with them and care for them. Just like with the human being there is a large difference in intelligence. Some cats will soon know that tapping against the window means: I want to go inside, other cats rattle the door and there are cats which patiently sit and wait until the door will be opened.
They will never learn. There are cats which are extremely friendly towards strangers, although their sister or brother is very shy towards visitors; they will approach the strangers with stiff paws and will sniff at them and if there can’t find any danger, they won’t pay attention to them. They hate cursing. They like games and if you play with them they don’t want to stop.