6. The Persian cat almost went extinct.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe Persian might be the second most popular domesticated cat breed in the United States, but this wasn\u2019t always the case \u2013 and we can count ourselves lucky to still have the Persian today, since they almost went extinct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As with many cat breeds, the breeding of Persian cats eventually ran into problems \u2013 but not because we were breeding with the Persian as you might have thought at first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The issue originally happened when we tried to breed with <\/em>the Persian and other<\/em> breeds in order to strengthen other breeds with the strong Persian line \u2013 but this was done so many times that it led to near-extinction of the entire breed, and it needed the intervention of several cat breeding organizations who had to (slowly and systematically) restore some order to the genetics of the Persian cat breed. <\/p>\n\n\n\nToday, responsible breeding is encouraged \u2013 and breeding clubs are there to help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n7. You can take your cat for a walk.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nHave you ever seen a photo of someone taking their cat for a walk and thought that must be badly Photoshopped? Well, unless the cat you\u2019re looking at in the picture is eight feet high, that\u2019s probably a real picture \u2013 and yes, it\u2019s possible to put a leash on your cat and take them for a walk if you have a well-trained cat that\u2019s used to everything that it might encounter in the great big wild outside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to do this with your cat, choose a spot that\u2019s generally quiet \u2013 and don\u2019t go too far away from home, no matter how many times you go for a walk. Make sure that your cat isn\u2019t easily spooked, and try to get them to follow you around from one point to another without the leash and some treats before you attach the leash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Persians are one of the few cats you can take for a walk! <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n8. They cope well in packs.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nThere are some types of cat breeds that will cope famously well on their own \u2013 and in fact, some cat breeds prefer to be entirely alone for a huge part of the day. But this isn\u2019t true for the majority of cat breeds in spite of what people might think, and the cat breeds that actually prefer to be alone are few and far between. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solitary definitely doesn\u2019t describe the Persian cat\u2019s style, and they cope very well when you have more than one cat running around the house. They prefer to be in a pack, even if it\u2019s a family of people \u2013 and they\u2019ll usually attach themselves to a specific member of the family that they will stick close to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember that all cats are initially scared of one another, and new cats are always best introduced to the rest of the family slowly or you just might have a fur-tornado. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n9. They\u2019re also known by many other names.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nJust because your cat isn\u2019t called a Persian, doesn\u2019t mean it isn\u2019t one \u2013 and there are many different names that can still refer to a Persian cat, depending on the type, the subtype and the area they\u2019re found in. Persian cats are also most often known as Iranian cats, and that\u2019s just because they happen to hail from the same general area \u2013 and can, of course, be found in both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you aren\u2019t sure just what subtype of Persian cat you have and can\u2019t identify your cat\u2019s breed just by the information in this article, it can sometimes help a lot if you speak to your vet first. You can also approach your nearest cat breeding club (registered ones only, of course) if you\u2019re struggling to find out just where your cat fits in and if you\u2019d like to take better care of your cat \u2013 or just know something specific about their breed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n10. They can be fussy eaters.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe one thing that many Persian cats are known for is the fact that most of them are very fussy eaters at the best of times. Your Persian cat will be quick to let you know if they don\u2019t approve of what you\u2019re feeding them \u2013 and many times it\u2019s about more than just their preference for food, but could actually be pointing to them trying to tell you something much more important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a cat tries to tell you something about their food, try a switch \u2013 because the food you\u2019re feeding them now could be making them sick, and this is the only way to tell you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cats aren\u2019t always fussy when it comes to eating, they\u2019re smarter than humans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when it comes to fussy eating, many Persians can be \u2013 for this, an occasional treat and change of food to another brand should be enough to do the trick for your cat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n11. There was a decline in the breed for years.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhile the Persian cat is one of the most popular cat breeds we have today, this wasn\u2019t always the case. There was a severe decline in the numbers of registered Persian cats between the years 1958 and 1995 \u2013 this was largely because many Persian cats had experienced severe problems with their health. Only about 98 of them were ever registered during this time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The genes of the Persian cat are so good that they were used to strengthen the genetic lines of other cat breeds, which unfortunately led to a huge flaw in the genes of the Persian to the point where these severe issues with their health became recurring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took years just to restore the damage that had been done to the Persian line over time, but by now the Persian line has been better defined and more responsibly bred to ensure that Persian cats have considerably better genes today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n12. There are several types of Persian cat.<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhen it comes to every breed, there are usually several accepted registered shades for the cat to count \u2013 and then once you have the shade figured out, there are sometimes several different types of cat depending on what traits of the breed were accentuated to create this specific subtype. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several types of Persian cats that would all still count as Persians. These include the longhair, exotic shorthair, Himalayan and the teacup variety \u2013 in each case, the cats have their own specific traits that are a little bit different from your standard Persian. For example, the teacup variety has been bred to be the smallest type of Persian if you haven\u2019t guessed this by now, and they might not, for example, cope as well with a larger dog than another type of Persian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re not sure where your cat fits in, then the quickest answer is to ask your vet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n13. Some Persian traits are bred to be accentuated.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhen officially breeding with cats, it\u2019s usually common to accentuate some traits or characteristics of that breed \u2013 and in many cases, this is how breeders managed to create a range of breeds as diverse as what we have today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each breeds has their own personality and physical traits that go along with them, and breeders usually focus on many of these traits because it\u2019s one of the things that makes the breed special. For Persian cats, there are several traits considered to be special to the breed, including their long-haired coat, ears that appear much larger than other cats and their facial expressions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Persians, some traits (like the flatter nose) have been increased through breeding over time to give the Persian its characteristic flat-faced look that almost mirrors that of a Pekingese dog \u2013 this is why some Persian cats are referred to as being peke-faced: That\u2019s the \u201cpeke\u201d park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n14. Breeders are discouraging these accentuated traits.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe Persian\u2019s appearance of a flatter face and nose is part of what makes the breed look the way it does \u2013 but it\u2019s true that over time some of these characteristic traits of a cat\u2019s breed can become a problem for the rest of the breed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When this happens, it often leads to very serious health issues with cats \u2013 usually things like sinus issues or bone density problems that result from a direct breeding effort gone wrong. This can even happen to the Persian, especially in cases where they\u2019ve been bred to accentuate features like the flatter nose \u2013 and this is why breeders have started to discourage the accentuating of these features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s accepted that the Persian has to be bred carefully in order to avoid over-accentuating the wrong features and causing later health issues, and this has led to a considerably effort to cut down on health issues the breed will experience. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n
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