Persian Cat Facts

Persian Cat Profile

Cats, like all domestic animals, are prone to selfish and tortuous breeding practices, at the mercy of the market’s terrible sense of fashion and desire to accessorise with an animal over a partnership with it. This has led to some of the most glorious-looking and respectable breeds decaying into flat-faced, diseased runts with miserable lives, all because people find that ‘cute’.

Today’s animal is the perfect example of this: In a reflection of its country’s tragic journey from complex and spectacular to straight-up troglodytic, the Persian cat is much better appreciated in its traditional form than the abomination it has become.

Persian Cat Facts Overview

Persian cats are probably not from Persia, but they have the same history of brilliance as they would if they had! Traditionally, Persian cats were well groomed, long-haired, stunning animals with large, intelligent eyes and a pleasant demeanour; sadly, the modern trend of breeding them with shorter faces, wonky teeth and bulging eyes has seen their genetic stock shrink to the point of poor health, and this has inspired some countries to rightfully deem the practice torture and ban it.

Interesting Persian Cat Facts

1. They may not be Persian

The Persian cat is a domesticated breed of cat, thought to have descended from the African wild cat, Felis lybica. This strange and ancient relationship between Neolithic humans and ancestral cats has been going on for a while – probably at least 10,000 years – and happened all over the world. Over time, breeds differentiated from one another and aesthetic traits were chosen on top of practical ones.

The earliest records of the Persian cat may come from a 1620 import into Britain from Afghanistan and others from Syria into France. So, already this suggests that the Persian cat stock wasn’t from Persia, but recent genetic analyses have supported the idea that the Persian breed as it stands originates entirely from the Western European stock.

The modern-day Persian cat seems to be most closely related to the British shorthair, which was bred from a mix of American shorthair and Persian cat stock. ¹

2. They were once glamorous

Much like the country, Persian cats are renowned for their elegance and dignified presence. They have long, dense fur that needs to be maintained and kept clean, which makes them a high maintenance breed, but a glamorous one that has earned them their reputation.

Today, this breed is often depicted as having a short face, being somewhat cross-eyed, and derpy-looking and we’ll come to why this is a bad thing soon, but they weren’t always this way.

Traditionally, Persian cats were far more glorious animals, and far from the astigmatic ability to see both ends of a long train at the same time, their eyes were a defining feature in their beauty. ²

3. They have pretty eyes

Traditional bred Persian cats have large, bright eyes that come in a variety of colours. They can be blue, rusty, green, or a mixture of these; sometimes each eye is its own colour.

The older breeds had both eyes set the right distance apart, both pointing in the same direction, above a standard-length snout. This was a very dignified animal, and with its glorious coat and calm temperament, it was well-suited as an indoor cat.  

4. They’re good indoors

Owning cats is a complicated ethical dilemma, a balance between imprisoning them and devastating the local wildlife. Some breeds do better indoors than others, and this is one of them.

They have been described as quiet, even placid, and rate highly in affection towards strangers. They’re also clean, especially for a long-haired cat, vocal and easy to be around, though as their glamorous appearance would suggest, they are also said to be quite fussy with food. ³

5. They’re sick

The Persian is a pedigree breed, so as you’d expect, it has a portfolio of genetic predispositions to affliction.

But modern Persian cats have been bred ad absurdum and now come with a face that gives them the appearance of having run into a wall. Their reduced, pug-like snouts and wonky, sometimes bulging eyes are traits that, for some reason, many owners find cute.

But these are all products of in-breeding, and even more, create problems with breathing, eating and seeing – three things that all cats really like to do.

This inability to eat is so profound among the breed that there is specially-formulated Persian cat food to help them eat like a normal animal.

Their wonky eyes lead them to having tear duct infections and other issues, and their short noses predispose them to airway obstructions and infections as well.

Then, there is a host of hidden effects: kidney issues, a weak heart, retinal myopathy and skeletal problems are all rife in the modern Persian breed, culminating in a reduced lifespan of between 10 and 12 years on average – far less than most cats.

Despite perhaps not originating from Persia specifically, this was once a glorious animal, reduced to a snuffling, in-bred curiosity, and therefore a perfect mascot for why pedigree breeding needs to be far better regulated at best, and perhaps done away with entirely.

6. They’re no longer ethically viable

The plight of the modern Persian cat is not unique. Pedigree breeding is by its very nature a selective process from a limited pool of genes compared with the wider population.

This, in theory, doesn’t have to result in harm if the genetic stock is varied enough, but in practice, the ease with which breeders can take shortcuts and the number of undesired animals that come out of the practice in order to breed a single “perfect” product is industrialised cruelty.  

Owners are as responsible as breeders for this, as they are the market that drives the demand. Preferring “cuter” features such as wonky eyes and jagged teeth encourages this practice to continue, and the quality of life for animals like the Persian cat suffers.

Some countries are catching onto this slowly, with Germany and Norway often leading the charge in banning bad practices. Germany goes as far as to call the breeding of such unhealthy animals as “torture breeding”. ⁴

Persian Cat Fact-File Summary

Scientific Classification

1. Jean-Pierre Digard (2013), “CAT II. Persian Cat”, Encyclopedia Iranica.
2. Janelle Leeson (2013), “Persian”, PetMD by Chewy.
3. , “Top Tips for Offering Fussy Eaters Cat Food”, The Cat Vet.
4. Sandy Syperek, “Torture breeding means lifelong suffering for animals”, Deutscher Tierschutzbund.