General Characteristics of the Persians - White Angora -Smoke Persian - Blue Persian - Black Persian -Chinchilla - Tortoise-shell - Tortoise-shell and White - Cream Persian - Orange Persian - Brown Tabby - Red Tabby - Silver Tabby.

General Characteristics Of The Persians

AMONGST all the varieties of cats the Persian, in point of beauty, stands pre-eminent, and a first-class specimen of this breed is certainly an adornment to any household. The heading of this chapter shows the reader, at a glance, in what divers colours the Persian exists, and a study of it ought to enable one to satisfy himself as to what colour will best suit and please him.

In town, for preference, the darker shades should be selected, but in rural districts any colour will do.

If about to purchase a Persian, we recommend application to some breeder of repute, stating wants, amount of disbursement, and whether a Tom, Queen cat, or neuter is desired; as the latter is usually lower in price, because a breeder is usually very willing to dispose of all specimens not likely to make winners.

Fig. 5. - Champion: 'Lord Monckton of Dundee.'

Owner - Mrs. Burns Maitland.

The best age to buy at is about four months, and for a first-class kitten five or six guineas is a reasonable price. Do not be misled by advertisements with flowery descriptions of low-priced Persians.

Reverting to the general characteristics, beauty of coat constitutes the primary factor in the whole class of Persians - no matter what colour.

To put the matter plainly, the coat must be long; abundant; dense, and soft in texture. Around the neck the hair should stand off to form a collar or frill - which is usually lighter than the rest of the hair upon the body.

The hair composing the frill must stand well off, and partly hide the shoulders and brisket.

A highly-developed frill is significant of good breeding, but allowance must be made for its defective nature if a Persian is young, or not in full coat.

The head must be massive and well rounded, snipiness being a defect.

The eyes, large, full and brilliant, the iris generally corresponding to that of the body colour.

The ears, well-shaped, small, and covered with fine fur; whilst the tufts springing from their bases at their inner sides - to be of the same colour as the frill - represents the hall mark of pure breeding.

The fore limbs to be of medium length, but big in the bone.

Feet compact; well rounded, with an abundance of hair between the toes.

Body compact, with ribs well sprung, and chest deep. Back and loins strong. Quarters gracefully-turned.

Tail must have an abundance of long soft hair, to form the plume.

Lightness of bone; bent or short limbs; slackness of build; large ears; snipy face; a coat coarse in texture; and a poorly developed frill, with, of course, defective markings, are faulty, though in a variable degree.

The Smoke Persian

There are black and blue varieties of this,

If a Black Smoke, the hair is white towards the skin and a dark grey at the tips; whilst the collar or frill is of a lighter grey.

The face is dark, or black, in the black variety, but in a blue variety is grey.

The fore-limbs must correspond with the colour of the face.

Ear tufts are light.

Iris, orange.

The Blue Persian

The Blue Persian, in reality, is a steel grey, and the chief essential is that the fur must be free from any admixture of white or any other colour of hair; in other words, paleness and purity of coloration are a sine qua non; any tendency towards smoked fur, shadings or markings, being faulty

Fig. 8. - A Trio of Blues.

Property of Mrs. Watson, 53 Barry Road, East Dulwich.

Eyes should be a deep orange.

Fig. 7. - Blue Persian: ' Ruddington San Toy.'

Fig. 6. - Blue Persian: ' Blue Boy II.' (The property of Miss Atkinson, Coulsdon, Surrey.)

The Black Persian

The coat should be of raven blackness and full of lustre - absolutely free from white hair or the slightest rusty tinge;• the last-named being a common fault in blacks, hence the reason why one should never use a sire, or queen, with this fault, to breed from.

The Black Persian is particularly suitable as a town cat, being handsome and durable.

The eyes should be an intense orange - a light eye being a fault.

In conformation, coat, etc., the Black Persian is identical with the description given under the heading of "General Characteristics."

The Cream Persian

In colour the coat is either light or dark cream, but there must be no tendency towards white, although the cream colour has, obviously, been produced by mating the White with some other light self-coloured Persian. Absolute freedom from markings is essential.

The eyes should be a deep amber. There must be no smudginess on the face.

The Orange Persian

As the name implies, the body colour is orange or red, but there must be no tabby markings.

These are very handsome cats, and tip-top specimens command fairly high prices.

It is a difficult matter to breed them uniform in colour, there being a natural tendency towards the development of a mealy shade on the under parts of the body - breast, neck, chin, etc. - and this constitutes a drawback.