Persian Cat Breeders in Southern Africa

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INTRODUCTION TO PERSIANS

The history of the Persian is unrecorded prior to 1520 and its origin can never be proven. Persians may have stemmed from cats known as Angoras originating from Turkey, which were crossed with other long hairs from Persia, Afghanistan, Burma, China, and Russia. Cats from these blended lines were brought to Europe about 300 years ago through Italy and France Rustic examples of our modern solid Persians appeared in England among the 160 exhibits at the first British show held on July 13, 1871. At the first cat shows in Britain there were few recognized breeds, so cats were put into classes more or less according to color. There were Longhair classes for some specific colors such as black, white, and tabby, but the majority of cats were entered under the heading of Any Other Color. By the turn of the century British imports began influencing the Persian breed in America. The British cat fancy, although still in its own infancy, laid the groundwork for what would become decades of dominance of the Solid Color Persians in the cat fancy.

Harrison Weir, a well-known British artist and cat lover, studied cats for almost half a century and gave us the first Standards for all recognized breeds and colors. Published in a book entitled Our Cats in 1889, these Standards were called Points of Excellence. And in 1909 D.B. Champion wrote Everybody’s Cat Book which described the perfect show-type Persian. Many phrases from this 1909 description sound quite familiar. round head, short face, snubby nose with stop, round and full cheeks, large eyes, cobby body deep and broad in the chest. At this time, however, each color was treated as if it were a separate breed.

With today’s busy lifestyles the cat has become a popular pet. Cats are best kept indoors and do well in an apartment or a house. The popularity of the Persian has been evident for many years. The Persian represents the largest class in shows and boasts the largest number of cats registered each year. However, Persians require daily grooming to maintain their beautiful coat. For busy people who like the look of a Persian but don’t have time for the daily grooming demands, the Exotics are the best kept secret of the cat fancy. They are bred to meet the Persian standard in every way with one very special exception: the coat has a thick, dense, plush, short coat. The Exotic coat is unique to the breed and gives them a soft rounded, teddy bear look. Their wonderful coat requires much less combing than a Persian’s and will not mat or tangle. Because of the ease of grooming for this special breed, Exotics are sometimes affectionately referred to as the lazy man’s Persian.

SO COLORED PERSIANS

Our present standard recognizes Solid Persians in nine different color classes: white Persians (in blue-eyed, copper-eyed, and odd-eyed) blue Persians, black Persians, red Persians, cream Persians, and chocolate and lilac Persians.

Amongst the Solids, only the pristine whites come in three different eye colors. Some have brilliant copper or deep blue eyes others the surprising combination of one blue and one copper eye of equal intensity. The other solid colors have brilliant copper eyes. The coat color for all solids should be sound to the roots and free from markings or shadings. Blues, once the apex of the breed, have been interbred with other colors to produce a more uniform type. Their pale silver-blue coats are most beautiful when viewed in natural lighting. Blacks have glossy patent finishes that glisten with intensity. Pale milk-colored creams are the dilute of the deep vibrant glowing reds. Chocolates and lilacs, introduced through the combination of Persian and Colour point are rarely seen. The chocolate demonstrates a warm chocolate-brown color while the lilac is warm lavender with a pinkish tone.

We have been given a great legacy of Solid Color Persians. It has been a century filled with famous cats, distinguished breeders, and astounding achievements. In 1876 Dr. Gordon Stables, an early British judge, wrote, "cat shows are only in their infancy. Anyone who chances to have a good cat may nowadays take prizes. In the future years there will be no chance work about the matter at all. Those only who study breeding and rearing of cats in a scientific and sensible manner will be winners." And winners we are. Thanks to the love and dedication of the breeders of the past century, we have inherited some of the brightest stars in the sky. In the future we must look to preserve these fine standards and continue to work to perfect clear coat colors and add additional refinement. As true breeders we are never satisfied. Our eyes are always on the next generation.

TORTOISESHELL

The tortoiseshells are truly unique as this class comprises only of females, it is the only division that cannot reproduce itself without going outside its class. As a result, the tortoiseshells were not taken as seriously, perhaps, as they might have been in the early years of the fancy. The problem may have been partly one of failure to understand the working of color genetics as they apply to sex-linked red. As late as 1939, Mrs. E. Soame wrote about breeding blue-creams and noted that they were, "caused by interbreeding Blues with Creams or Reds in the past, it’s hoped to breed Blue-Cream to Blue-Cream in the future. That is providing we produce some males." That day, of course, never came. Probably because of this misunderstanding about color genetics our lovely tortoiseshell girls did not always get the respect they deserved in the early years. Harrison Weir, writing in the late 19th century was convinced that tortoiseshell was not an original Persian color, since there were no records of any Persians of that color having been brought into England. Because this was a common color in the domestic cats of England, he surmised that the tortoiseshell Persians had originated through accidental mating between black Persians and mongrel tortoiseshells. As he included black, blue, red, and cream among the original Persian colors, his suspicions of the "common" origin of the tortoiseshell and the blue tortoiseshell, as the but was then known, seem unfounded.

It has always seemed a bit silly to claim that particular colors of Persians have distinctive personality traits, but tortoiseshells and blue-creams do seem to have a certain special attitude. They may be pansy faces, but they generally refuse to be shrinking violets or wallflowers. The typical tortoiseshell has a very regal attitude and will usually manage to claim the choice pillow on the couch, or even better a place on the bed next to your head, but they will always be in the center of things when something really exciting is going on. They are generally fastidious, but may object to the attention you wish to give them until they are in the mood, at which time they can be quite demanding. They are usually a delight to show, since they are likely to be bright, alert, and eager to show off their best features. They tend to take travel in stride and assume the crowds at the show are there to see them.

BI-COLOR AND CALICO PERSIANS

The piebald gene is among the most common of all natural mutations, and manifests in many different forms dealing with the restriction of color pigment in a specific pattern. Some form of this gene appears in all species of domesticated animals, but is absent in almost all wild animals. Under Mother Nature’s ruthless methods of culling, the flashy markings would mean death for either predator or prey in the wild. A notable exception is the zebra, but its stripes serve as camouflage in its natural surroundings In domesticated animals though, the colorful markings are appreciated and selected for.

Where did the bi-color and calico Persian originate? Today’s Persian is an amalgamation primarily of the long-haired cats imported into England and other parts of Europe during the mid to late 1800s from the geographical areas around the then countries of Persia and Turkey. The piebald gene was especially prevalent in the latter of these two, often masked by the epistatic white gene that was particularly prized in Turkey.

The Bi-Color class consists of calicos, bi-colors, smoke and whites and tabby and whites. Calicos have white coats splashed with vivid patches of red and black, while the dilute calico is patched with blue and cream. the chocolate and lilac calicos have white coats splashed with vivid patches of chocolate and red or lilac and cream respectively.

A van pattern is a white cat with color confined to the head and extremities. A maximum of two spots of color is allowed on the body. Bi-colors (black, blue, red, cream, chocolate or lilac with white) commonly exhibit white on the feet, legs, undersides, chest and muzzle. All established colors and patterns of tabbies with white and smokes with white are shown in this division. All have brilliant copper eyes except for the silver tabby with white, which also may have green or hazel.

Snob appeal, in the early years of the cat fancy as now, dictates much of fashion in cats. In the shows at that time, all long-haired cats were judged together, and "breed" designations were made more on the basis of color than on country of origin. White cats were all judged in one class, whether their ancestry traced to Persia, Turkey or the local Maine cats (originally stowaways from Viking sailing vessels). This practice facilitated the near-demise of the Turkish Angora cats, as they were assimilated into the larger breed that became known as the Persian.

The early books of the cat fancy leave some gaps. We do know from the Simpson book and others that around the turn of the century bi-color and calico Persians were a part of the earliest registry and show scene We know that they were not as "prized" in England as were the solid-colored cats, and that, in fact, some active efforts were made to cull them. One 1904 article in Cat Review suggested, in reference to bi- colors, that "it is far better to chloroform such mismarked specimens or sell them entirely for pets than to keep them as breeding cats, thereby tending to ruin their strain both in value and reputation."

By the time the amalgamation of the long-haired breeds into what was to become the Persian was complete in the early 1900s, there was no need for a different breed designation within the category of Long hairs until the advent of the Colour point as a breed in the 1950s. Bi-colored and calico Long hairs (Persians) can be traced through the British and American Stud Books, even during the period of time that they were considered declasse (that old "snob appeal" again) and were barred from being shown. The exact period of time that bi-color or calico Persians could not be shown is difficult to pin down, but was certainly relatively short. We know that they were still on the show bench as late as 1933.

Not only has there been a veritable explosion of bi-colors during the ’80s, but the breeders have also built upon the type established in the decades previous to produce stunning Persian type.

The appeal of this flashy Persian cannot be denied, but neither are they for the faint of heart. Some breeders will now choose some of the less populous Persian divisions that they perceive to be "easier." Best guess is that the numbers seen in shows will begin to level off, with the bi-color and calico division sitting firmly alongside the solid division in popularity.

COLORPOINT

The Colour point Persian is one the few feline breeds which has a very well described ancestry. It is of Persian body type with the colour pattern of the Siamese cat. It is one of the most popular of all Persians. Colour is restricted to the facial mask and extremities with the body of various shades of white to fawn. Breeding Persians to Siamese to combine the Siamese point coloring with Persian type developed Colorpoints. After many years of cross breeding they were approved as accepted color variations of Persians. All must have deep vivid blue eyes, as eyes other than blue are a disqualification.

The kittens are cream-colored at birth, with pink noses, footpads and ears. The masks and points darken with growth, and the final colour may not be complete until 18 months of age. Recognized colours include seal point, chocolate point, blue point, lilac point, flame point, Tortie point, blue-cream point, chocolate solid colour and lilac solid colour. Eye colour is usually vivid blue in the points and brilliant copper in the solids.

SILVER AND GOLDEN

The exquisite silvers are considered the most ethereal of all Persians. The chinchilla is a sparkling white cat with black tipping scattered as evenly as stardust, ever so lightly, on the face, legs, tail and body. Shades show a mantle of black on the back, shading evenly down the sides. The tipping on the legs and face should match and is darker than the chinchilla. Goldens are either chinchilla or shaded. Their ground color is a rich warm cream tipped with black. Silvers and goldens have green or blue-green eyes rimmed with black, black paw pads and brick red or rose nose leather.

The Shaded class includes the shell and shaded cameos, which have red tipping with a white undercoat. The cream shell and shaded cameos demonstrate a white undercoat tipped with cream The shell and shaded tortoiseshells have a mantle of black tipping with well-defined patches of red tipped hairs while the shell and shaded blue-creams have blue tipping with well-defined patches of cream tipped hair.

The smoke Persian is one of the most striking patterns of the Persian colors. There are six separate colors, black, blue, and cream, cameo (red), smoke tortoiseshell and blue-cream smoke. In repose, the smoke appears to be a solid color cat. In motion, the coat will break open, giving glimpses of a startling white undercoat. All should have the characteristic white ruff and ear tufts. The perfect balance of undercoat to overcoat is transitory and the perfection of color balance can usually only be seen six to eight weeks annually. Their brilliant copper eyes seem almost like burning embers within the smoke setting.

Thanks to the Persian Breeders Group who supplied this breed description and history.
Please contact Su Jacobs at 0823735976 for further information about the breed and availability of kittens.