Persian Cat

Persian cats are often chosen for the mix of their great long haired looks combined with their gentle temperament. The Persians, whilst quiet, are not shy and make wonderful companions and family pets. They do like to sleep and are a cat for sitting / sleeping on you. For these reasons, they are the most popular breed in the UK and USA.

The Persian’s coat comes in a multitude of colours and lengths. Persians have a relatively wide head with the ears far apart, a shortened muzzle and large eyes.





The first recorded Persians were those that came into Europe in the seventeenth century from Persia and Turkey. The Persians were interbred with the Turkish Angoras. They differed from today's breed by having more normal shaped muzzles which have been bred to todays short muzzle type. They were recognised as a specific breed in the nineteenth century. History does not show when longhaired cats appeared.

Over recent years the breed has suffered from excessive “ultra” breeding of the flat face characteristics. This has exacerbated the Persian's breathing problems with the short muzzle. Because of their squashed faces, they often have a small discharge from their tear ducts.

They are medium sized with a short cobby body, a broad chest and generally everything about an ideal show cat can be described as “round”.


The long hair is prone to matting and needs to be combed and groomed often. There are those experts who believe they should be bathed every week or two, however this is unnecessary if they are kept indoors and regularly groomed. This is especially true if you have not introduced bathing to the cat when it was a kitten. Dealing with mats is particularly difficult, pulling the mat apart or having, in more extreme cases, to cut the mats out with blunt ended scissors, taking particular care that it is the mat you are cutting rather than the skin. Cut away from the body and do a little at a time. If it becomes too difficult, involve a cat groomer or a vet.

Persians have a stubborn streak and can be difficult to litter train.

Persians typically live between ten and fifteen years.

The flat face of the Persian can cause breathing problems

Longevity of the Persian is usually between 10 and 15 years on average.

The Persian can suffer from breathing related difficulties, narrowed nostrils, elongated soft palate with resulting shortness of breath.

Persians also suffer from Epiphora which is an overflow of tears onto the face. This is common but is generally not serious to the cat being only cosmetic. They can, however, suffer from the more serious condition Entropion (similar to trichiasis), the inward folding of the eyelids where the eyelashes rub against the cornea. This can lead to tearing, pain, infection and cornea damage. Often an operation will solve this problem though the animal would not be able to be shown.

If breeding from a Persian, they do risk abnormal or difficult labours – Dystocia - leading to a higher than normal stillbirth rate of around twenty percent.

In later years, from around seven years, around forty percent of Persians are likely to suffer from Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) which causes kidney failure.

Persians also suffer from the common cat heart disease Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM}.

All type of Persians may suffer from a hereditary degenerative eye disease Progressive retinal atrophy .

Persians may develop a skin cancer Basal cell carcinoma with growths on the head, back or upper chest, often benign.

White persian cats, especially those with blue eyes, are prone to deafness like many white cats and even white dogs such as the White Boxer.

Some Persians may suffer from incorrect bite (malocclusion} which makes it difficult for them to hold and chew food. This, combined with their flat face, makes picking up food difficult.

The Persians are related to the Exotic Shorthair - a shorthaired version of the Persian, developed from crossing the Persian with the American Shorthair. The Himalayan is considered by many to be a colour variation of the Persian and is known as the Colorpoint Longhair in Europe.