Persian Cat Picture

An arresting photograph of a purebred, contemporary Persian cat by Helmi Flick. This picture has a strange, slightly unreal quality about it. I have called this Persian "contemporary". What I mean is that the appearance of the modern Persian cat is a far cry from the original long haired cats that were (and are) present in Persia (Iran), which is meant to be the area where these cats come from. Or did this cat breed originate from the Turkish Angora, which was referred to as the "Angora"? The traditional Persian (see picture right of Yeri) is quite a different looking cat and because of that I have listed the traditional Persian under a different heading. The aristocratic Persian has a very distinguished and long history. It is one of the first breeds of the cat fancy being exhibited at a cat show in England (probably at the Crystal Palace) in 1871. Was that the first cat show in England? I think it was. The modern Persian has very long, flowing hair and an extreme roundness of body and head - except for the famous flat face that I personally so dislike. It is a matter of personal taste and breeders decided that the face should be flat; all elements of the face inline vertically! The traditional or doll face Persian has a square shortened face but it is much more natural. Whatever you think about either the traditional or modern version of this cat, it is an extremely popular cat and because of its delicately, docile temperament it is suited to a modern indoor life.