~ Luv SnowOaks Cattery - Persian Breed Profile ~

The Persian breed is one of the most popular breed of cat in the United States. The long, flowing coat was most likely a mutation which came about naturally to deal with a cold climate. The early evolution of the Persian most likely occurred in the high, cold climate plateaus of Persia (now known as Iran and Iraq). It is supposed that the Persian was secreted across the desert on caravans among the rare jewels and rare spices. The travelers considered the most value cargo they carried. The Phoenicians and the Romans brought the long, silky, haired cats to Europe, and the Europeans were very impressed. Acquiring a Persian was high on the list of the esteemed "possessions" by royalty, from the King of Persia to the Kings and Queens of England. They were called Persian's for their "country of origin", but hieroglyphic references as early as 1665 B.C. shroud forever their exact beginnings. The Persians of today have been bred to maintain and accentuate the longhaired trait.

The Persian cat is a very loveable animal who is calm and gentle. They are usually docile, easily trained, intelligent and more dependent that other breeds. A Persian is typically very tolerant of other household members, especially dogs and children.

Persians can disappear as quickly as they appeared if there is a over-active, loud child in its presents. However, it may take a little while for a Persian to warm up to strangers that come into the home because of their tendency to have a favorite human. T

A Persian is very content to sitting alone inside, observing its surroundings when she feels secure. They need lots of attention from their human. They can keep themselves entertained for hours with their favorite toy, empty box or, just about anything that the can bat around or chase. Persians are playful, but never demanding, they love to pose on a window sill or on your sofa and are lovely couch potatoes.

A Persian is a medium-sized, hardy cat. According to CFA standards, a Persian should have a sweet expression and soft round lines. A large, round head, round eyes and a snubbed nose are the most well-known characteristics of a Persian cat. Today the trend is to make the nose more flat than the original breed standard. The ears are small, round tipped, and sit forward. The legs and the neck of a Persian are short and thick. The tail is short and in proportion to the body. They like to have their feet firmly planted and are not known for jumping high or climbing. Long, thick hair stands away from the body, is fine textured and glossy and can be as long as six inches or more. Persians have a sweet, open-faced expression and communicate delightfully with their large, expressive eyes. Their long, flowing coats require an indoor environment. Keeping your Persian's coat in pristine condition requires a daily combing, and is very important to avoid any matting, tangles or hairballs. A routine bath when the Persians are kittens will ensure a very well mannered cat when it comes to bath time. Using a "greyhound comb" is the best comb to use for combing.

The Persian comes in almost every color imaginable. The Persian is divided into seven color divisions for the purpose of showing.
These are:

Solid Color Division

Silver and Golden Division

Shaded and Smoke Division

Tabby Division

Particolor Division

Bicolor Division

Himalayan Division

Exotic Short Hair Division

Keeping a Persian inside is very important, as they have no built-in "flight or fright" mode. The Persian will not know how to protect itself from a predator because they are a sheltered breed. Another reason to keep your Persian inside which will also keep her safe from fleas, diseases and parasites.

Making sure that your Persian has the proper nutrition and care. Along with a yearly checkup by your veterinarian, the Persian can live as a companion as long as 15 years and some have lived as long as 20 years.

A well-bred Persian is a hardy and healthy cat and is not more prone to illnesses and respiratory infections than any other breed. However, the large eyes do mean that a certain amount of tearing is normal, and a daily face wash is recommend.

You will need to "baby" proof your home, as you would for a small child. Persians are notorious for opening cabinet doors with their large paws and sticking their heads where they don't belong. Below is a list of other precautions that you need to be aware of:

Never leave your dishwasher, washing machine or dryer door open; chemicals, Pine Sol, Lysol, dishwashing powders, cleaning supplies;

Never leave bleach, pine sol or Lysol where your kitty can lick it or, walk in it. All of these are poisonous to a cat. Pine Sol and Lysol have phenols in them and are deadly to your cat. Beach is a caustic product and if your kitty gets it on her feet and licks her paws, it will lead to a horrible death from internal caustic burns.

If the chemical turns white in water, then it is not safe to allow your cat to walk in it.

Never leave sharp objects laying around, such as sewing needles, knitting needles, pin cushions, staples, scissors, paperclips. sharp knives;

Persians can use their large paws to pick up small objects and put them in their mouths. They can even pick pins out of a pin cushion and put them in their mouths.

Never leave yarn, string, elastic, buttons, or any other sewing object where your Persian can get to it;

Same reason as above.

I know a lot of you love Christmas tinsel on your tree, but if you have Persians this is a NO-NO;

Your sweet, loving and nosey fur-ball loves shining objects and will do her very best to remove every piece of tinsel that she can reach. This can be eaten and can get tangled up in her stomach and intestines causing her not to be able to absorb her food or go potty. In this instance, means a very sick and painful situation for your kitty as well as am expensive surgery to remove the tinsel from her stomach and intestines. Also the swinging, sparkly tinsel can cause a very bad cut to a Persians eye. Another hazardous and painful situation for your kitty, including a very large vet. bill.

Hot pans on the stove;

Discourage your kitty from getting on your kitchen counters. You can spray them with water us a spray bottle. This might work or not;

My Persians love water so spraying them with water doesn't work. If I catch one on the counter, my method is to use the word NO firmly, remove them from counter with another firm NO!

Repetition is the key to teaching a Persian what she can do or, not do. It might take a while for her to get the point but she will. Persians know the word no, they just don't want you to know they do.

Hot irons and ironing boards;

Persians can jump on the ironing board for an nap and fall off in her sleep causing injury. Or, she could knock the hot iron off or, pull on the cord and topple the iron over on top of herself, causing a very serious injury or death.

I suggest that if you are an ironer, that you do it in a room where your kitty does not have access. Better safe than sorry.

Tea bags or plastic bags are another hazard to a kitty;

Don't leave T-bags or plastic bags were your kitty can get them. T-bags can get lodged in her stomach resulting in surgery to remove it. Plastic bags are made with fish oil which will attract you kitty. They love to play with paper bags because they rattle, same goes for plastic bags. They an get their heads hung in the openings and strangle.

Venetian and vertical blinds can be dangerous for cats and kittens. They can get caught in he cord or chains at the bottom and strangle to death;

You can put a cup hook midway of the blinds and hook the cords over this so that your kitty cannot reach them.

Collars;

Do not use a collar on your kitty. They are likely to get the collar hung on something such as a door knob, handles, etc. and a collar could end up killing your cat. This more likely if you have more than one Persian in your household -- if they play together one of them could become entangled in the others collar.

Headboards and mattresses; You might want to stick several pillows between your headboard and the mattress to prevent your kitty from getting her head stuck in between and not be able to get out. I have heard of a kitten choking to death from being caught in this situation.

Your kitty loves to play with just about any thing and can keep herself entertained for hours with a cardboard box or, a wadded up piece of paper. Be cautious with toys that have strings, bells, or anything else that that dangles from the toy. Your kitty an pull off pieces of it and swallow them. They also love newspaper and will shred it to pieces if given a chance Be sure and dispose of all your newspaper when everyone has read it.

Be sure that you have ample toys that are safe for your kitty to play with.

I have listed all the things that I think pose a danger to your Persian. If you can think of anything that I have missed, please send me an email and I will add it to the list.

luvsnowoaks@hughes.net

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Last Update: October 06, 2011