ii. PERSIAN CAT In western Europe and in North America, what are
called “Persian cats” are a breed of longhaired domestic cats
with a massive body, measuring 40 to 50 cm in length, and up to
30 cm in the height of their withers (FIGURE 1). According to
the standards (Vallat, 1992, p. 121), these cats must present a
strong bone structure, important muscular masses, and short,
straight paws. The head is large, round and heavy, with small
round ears, a bulging forehead and a not very prominent nose,
which is both large and high and slightly turned-up. The eyes
are large, round, well separated and very expressive. The tail
is short, never more than 30 cm long, and very hairy. The fur,
which provides the most remarkable character of these Persian
cats, has to be thick and silky, never woolly, but soft and
long, the fur of certain champions indeed reaching 12 or even 15
cm. At present, there are more than eighty known varieties of
Persians in terms of the colors of their coats, their
distribution and combinations: