Is it a Persian?

About a month ago, my 13 year old gray tabby died of a liver illness. I was completely devestated. I loved Norton more than most people I know. He was my baby. Anyway, I was crying so much that my husband got worried. He went to a regular, but supposedly highly rated pet store, and bought me about 3 weeks ago a "Persian" kitten which we named Jinxy. He is now @ 3 months old. (It helped a little, by the way)

Anyway, I dont know much about Persians, but from what I have managed to find out on the internet so far is that my little guy does not look like one. His color is called shaded silver, he has lots and lots of beautiful silver/white fur like the Persian's I have seen, but his face does not look like the pictures I have seen. His papers said that his mother and father were Persians. His eyes are kind of like what I have seen in Persians, but his nose is not at all pushed in and his mouth does not turn down. His face looks pretty much like the face of my gray tabby except for his eyes and much more fur.

Don't get me wrong, I really don't care because he is the cutest kitten you could ever imagine! However, firstly, we paid $700.00 for him and secondly, I just want to know what the heck he is, because when I tell people he is a Persian, they say that he doesn't really look like one.

Perhaps he has some domestic mixed in, or maybe his features will change when he gets older, or maybe a cat can still be a Persian without the "pushed in" features. Since I am not a cat expert, I thougth this would be a good place to find out about my kitty from people who know a thing or two about them.

Any information about my kitty or about Persian's that you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!



-Jacquie

Hi Jacquie,

I am certain that some of the Persian breeders will respond more intelligently - but I think (I am NOT sure, though) in Persians, there are (like Siamese) two styles; old-style (non-pushed in face) and show-style (pushed-in face).

Chances are exceedingly good that if the papers SAY his parents were Persian, that he is a Persian too, but perhaps only at pet-quality. The best way to find out is to talk to Persian breeders about the cats in his pedigree; are they old-style or show-style? Do you have a copy of his ancestry? Which association carries his registry? If you don't have a copy of his pedigree and want one, you can contact the registering association and request one (for a fee).

It always helps to be able to see the parents, and the grandparents, if we can, when looking to the future appearance of any given pedigreed cat. Since you obtained your kitty from a pet store, this won't be possible, but if you have that pedigree in hand, you may be able to research the ancestors to see what they looked like.

Hope this helps until one of the Persian experts comes along and smashes my theory all to shards. *grin*

Gaye

I am not a breeder, but know a little about them. It would help to see a picture. However, buying a kitten from a pet store almost always points to backyard breeders. The persians didn't always have such a pushed in face. They started with a moderate indentation and they bred to get the extreme you see today. It may be that the lines used are the first ones bred. The bonus will be less problems with the tear ducts and upper respitory infections.

Thanks. I appreciate the response. I will check his papers and maybe call the breeder. Like I said, I really dont care if he is a purebread. I dont intend on showing him, only loving him. I just wanted more information about his breed and anything I should know about them.

About the respiratory thing you mentioned, He does make these little sighs when he is picked up and held, and also kind of snores!! Anything to be concerned about?? It's kind of cute. My last kitty did not make breathing noises at all.

Any other responses are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks!!

-Jacquie

I think that all show Persians are the modern flat faced type. You can read a little bit about this in the breed description in this site:
http://www.thecatsite.com/breeds/persian.html

You can also have a look at the old style sweet Persians in our postcards pages:
http://www.thecatsite.com/postcards/postcards2.html

There's a link to the breeder's site at the bottom of the page. Her name is Sue and she knows a lot about both kinds of Persians.

I don't know about the price range of pet quality Persians (and it sounds like your sweet baby is not show quality), so I can't tell you if 700$ is too much.

I wouldn't worry too much about occasional snoring and sighs, but you may want to tell your vet about it in your next visit.

Congrats of getting a new baby! He sounds adorable!

Thanks, Anne. I loved those sites. I will be reading for days!!

I believe now that Jinxy is a traditional doll-faced Persian. He looks like the picture and its a good thing to know, somehow. I will buy some of the books and keep reading. I will also mention the breathing thing to his vet when I take him in again shortly.

Again, thank you so much for your help. I had not anticipated getting a new kitty otherwise I would have done some research ahead of time. Jinxy was worth every penny that we paid though no matter what. I wish I had a scanner so I could show his picture. He is the cutest thing you have ever seen. I cant stop kissing him!!

-Jacquie