The Persian is a heavily built long-haired cat with a round head and flat face, developed in Victorian Britain. Its coat has to be combed every day.
The flat face causes breathing, eye and dental problems, and breeders test for inherited kidney disease.
The Persian is the best-known long-haired cat: heavily built, round-headed and flat-faced, with a very long, thick coat. It was once the most popular pedigree cat in Britain and has declined as concern about its health has grown.
Long-haired cats were brought to Europe from Persia and Turkey in the seventeenth century. Victorian breeders in Britain developed them into the modern breed, and they were among the stars of the first cat show at the Crystal Palace in 1871. In Britain the breed was long known simply as the Longhair, with each colour counted as a breed of its own.
The Persian is medium to large and low on the legs, with a broad chest, a short thick neck and a short, full tail. The head is massive and round with small ears, full cheeks, large round eyes and a short nose. The coat is long all over, with a dense undercoat and an immense ruff.
Colours are numerous, among them black, white, blue, cream, tortoiseshell, tabby, smoke, the silver-tipped Chinchilla and the Colourpoint, which has Siamese markings and is known as the Himalayan in North America.
During the twentieth century the face was bred progressively flatter. Cats with a moderate face and a visible muzzle, sometimes called traditional or doll-face Persians, are still bred.
Persians are quiet, gentle and sedentary, content with a calm indoor life and a regular routine.
The coat mats quickly and has to be combed down to the skin every day. Neglected coats form solid felted pads that must be clipped off under sedation. Many Persians also need their eyes and face folds wiped daily.
Veterinary and welfare organisations advise buyers to choose a kitten from parents with open nostrils, a clear muzzle and dry eyes, and from PKD-tested lines.
The Persian is recognised by every registry. The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy registered 538 kittens in 2023, which placed it eighth among pedigree breeds. The short-haired version is the Exotic Shorthair.