Glamour Puss

The definition of glamorous, the Persian cat is beautiful with its flowing coat, sweet face and charming personality.

The Persian is an old breed that was said to originate in the cradle of civilisation of Mesopotamia, which was later known as Persia (modern-day Iran). The first documented Persian dates back to 1620, when the feline was imported from Khorasan, Iran into Italy by Pietro della Valle, and from Angora (now Ankara) into France by Nicholas Claude Fabri de Peiresc around the same time. It was said that the Khorasan cats were grey coated while the Angora cats were white.

This long-haired breed of cat was known for its round face and short muzzle. In the Middle East, they are widely known as the Irania cat while in Iran, they are known as the Shirazi cat. While they modern day Persian is known for their Middle Eastern roots, recent research has shown that they are related not to the Near East ancestors but rather to their Western European descendants instead.

It wasn’t until the late 19th century when breeding of these cats became popular. While these felines hailed from different parts of the world including Persia, Turkey and Afghanistan, they were simply known as “Asiatic” cats, which often led them to be bred together.

It wasn’t until they were exhibited in 1871, when Queen Victoria grew fond of this breed, that they became more desirable. Over the years, the Persian cat has remained one of the most popular breeds in the world and in 2015, it was ranked as the second most popular breed in the United States.