A question about Persians

I am currently reading a fascinating book called `The Noble Cat'. It is very informative and I have learnt loads already. It it thorough and traces cats back to their earliest known ancestry, outlines and details every breed of domestic and wild cat, talks about their physiology, environment, habitat etc... It really is like a cat encyclopaedia.

Anyway, when it gets to the long-haired section it does spend quite a lot of time on the Persian, and there are a number of pictures. Nearly all of the pictures show the purebred Persian's faces to be considerably less flat than what I thought was the standard.

It then goes on to describe a `Peke-faced Persian' - something I originally thought was just a normal Persian. Here is what it says, `This cat is a very extreme type of the Persian cat recognised by only a few associations. Others have prbably refused recognition because the foreshortened muzzle can cause problems with the cat's tear ducts and respiration... ...The Peke-faced Persian is similar in conformation to the Persian ... the difference lies in the flattened face, very like that of the Pekingese dog from which the breed takes it's name. A totally different head bone structure gives it high set ears and a distinctively wrinkled muzzled. The Peke-faced is recognised ONLY in Red and Red Tabby'.

I found this extremely interesting, and wondered what you think? I have to say that I find what they class as a standard Persian to be a much prettier cat, however I thought that the `Peke-face' was actually the standard??

I am not a breeder ... but this is my understanding... Peke faced or as we call them in the states doll faced are no longer the standard persian but the old fashioned variety ( ie simliar to applehead siamese)...

I always thought it was the other way around, but I am not a breeder. I thought the old style persians had the faces like the ones you have pictured and the new style persians have extremely flat faces. That is why they are not recognized and often criticized becuase people breed them that way for the looks rather then having concern for the problems that can occur with the really flat faces.

As I said I am not a breeder though.

Yah Peke-faced persians are an extreme pugged muzzle. They are not the norm and can have considerable health problems making them frowned upon by breeders/associations. Then there is a normal persian that has a flat face. Then there are doll-faced which actually has a bit of a muzzle that isn't flattened.

Solarity put it best. I can post some examples here...

my boy Ares...is a Doll face..



This is Maia who we took in..she sounds like a litte pot bellie pig when she cleans, LOL

I am confused on this as well. I have a persian and his face is flat and to me he no longer looks like the persians in the show hall. The faces of the persians now are almost sunken in and their eyes look like down syndrome in my opinion. I thought persians originally did not have flat faces. I am also surprised that the persian is the top breed in CFA. I love mine but I will not choose another persian. My persian eyes are always goopy, he sneezes alot, breathes hard, and his hair matts so terrible I have it shaved off. Plus I cannot stand the new bugeyed look.

As a breeder of Old-Style Siamese, I also feel strongly about the way certain associations interpret or have edited the standards for many breeds. These cats did NOT start out this way and in many cases, the edits to the breed standards are NOT, IMO, an improvement designed to bring betterment to the breed as a whole.

As lovers of any given breed, the only way to address the issues we have with the current standard is to not support the breeders by buying their kittens. If a breed isn't popular, the breeders will stop breeding it and hopefully, this will allow the various breed committees to take a long hard look at making room for the serious traditional or old-style breeders.

Originally Posted by kitytize

I am confused on this as well. I have a persian and his face is flat and to me he no longer looks like the persians in the show hall. The faces of the persians now are almost sunken in and their eyes look like down syndrome in my opinion. I thought persians originally did not have flat faces. I am also surprised that the persian is the top breed in CFA. I love mine but I will not choose another persian. My persian eyes are always goopy, he sneezes alot, breathes hard, and his hair matts so terrible I have it shaved off. Plus I cannot stand the new bugeyed look.

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Any Persian cat is going to mat if you don't have the time to groom it regularly and keep up on it daily. I have both peke faced (extremely mushed, modern persian) and doll faced (which is the traditional persian). My peke faced, "bugeyed" persian is so cute and has the nicest personality. He's a real sweety. And even my doll faced (or traditional) persian's tend to get the brown tears in their eyes. This just happens to be a breed of cat you have to be very dedicated to and be willing to spend some time with. It takes me less then 15 minutes a day to wipe three pairs of eyes, run a quick brush through three cats fur, and comb the spots mats like to hide in most. I've had up to 5 persians at any given time and the only time I've had to have one shaved is one that was chronically ill.

Gayef, I much prefer the traditional Siamese also.

Simba is my persian but I have a problem brushing him. He will bite me if I try to brush the back of his legs or his belly. Because of this he gets severly matted in those spots and I find it easier to have him shaved. I bought Simba when I was 18 and totally unknowledgable about persians. Simbas eyes need to be wiped many times during the day to keep them clean and I admit I am lazy and dont do it. With persians being so high maintanance is why I wonder they are the number one breed in CFA. I love my Simba he is 9years old now and I have learned alot having him and his personality is wonderful.

I think they are #1 breed just because they are so exotic looking and Persians are very laid back cats (as a rule) and have great personalities just like your Simba.

We don't have "Peke faced" Persians here - they are the ultra extreme Persians that have health problems - there are as many of them in NZ as the long nosed Persians which people in the states sometimes call Doll faces.

I breed Persians and Exotics, like the Persian in my signature - she almost conforms to the standard apart from she has a real bitchy personality.