Thursday, April 16, 2009

Persian cat

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. Due to their 'squashed' faces, it is not uncommon for persians to have moderate discharge from their tear ducts. This is easily cleaned, and a persian's eyes should be maintained consistently by its owner. 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
http://www.wikidweb.com/wiki/Catwebsite.googlepages.com
The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia) suggested that the Persian is derived from the Pallas Cat, a belief prevalent at the time. 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.

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 [5] 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, large, wide-spaced round eyes with the top of the nose leather placed no lower than the bottom of the eyes. They are a medium sized cat and the standard calls for a short, cobby body with short, well boned legs, a broad chest, and a round appearance. Everything about the ideal persian cat is round.
http://www.wikidweb.com/wiki/Types-dog.blogspot.com
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 [6]. This has been called ultra-typing [7]. 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.