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| CREAM PERSIANS |
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Real glamor cats, the himalayans combine the luxurious sophistication of the Persian family with the poise, good looks and markings of the Siamese. Like the Siamese the himalayan invariably has bright, sapphire-blue eyes and a face mask, ears, legs, feet and tail (the 'points') that are a different color than the rest of the body.
Experimental breeding programs in Sweden and the US during the 1920's produced the first Himalayans, but it was not until the late 1940's after a succession of carefully planned crossbreedings bewtween Persians and Siamese, that the modern cat finally emerged. Himalayans are a subdivision of the Persian breed, whereas a few decades ago, in the CFA, they were presented as a separate breed.
TEMPERAMENT To their owners, Himalayans combine the best of the two worlds: they have the gentle nature of the Persian, and the spirited, conversational nature of the Siamese. They are wonderful companions! Himalayans come in MANY color varieties, such as sealpoint, bluepoint, chocolate point, creampoint, flamepoint to name a few. Crossing in tabby has also produced lynx-points in as many colors.
The CFA breed standard describes the Himalayan persian as follows: HIMALAYAN (POINT) PATTERN: Body: clear color is preferred with subtle shading allowed. Allowance should be made for darker color in older cats but there must be a definite contrast between body color and point color. The points, consisting of ears, legs, feet, tail, and mask show the basic color of the cat. The ideal mask extends from above the eyes down through the chin and stretches beyond the eyes from side to side. SEAL POINT: body even pale fawn to cream, warm in tone, shading gradually into lighter color on the stomach and chest. Points deep seal brown. Nose leather and paw pads: seal brown. Eye color: deep vivid blue.
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To its devoted followers the white persian combines all the virtue of its type: glamor, a noble expression, fur that is silky to the touch, and a sweet tranquil nature. Although pure white cats of the Angora type were the first longhaired cats to be introduced into Europe as long ago as the 16th century, the modern white persian is of the Victorian era. It was developed by crossbreeding Angoras with persians. The breed was shown in London in 1903 and has increased in popularity since. TEMPERAMENT White persians are fastidious cats who take pride in their appearance, regualarly cleaning themselves. They are calm and affectionate and make a superb pet for those confined indoors - a classic salon cat.
The CFA breed standard describes the white persian as follows: WHITE: pure glistening white. Nose leather and paw pads: pink. Eye color: deep blue or brilliant copper. Odd-eyed whites shall have one blue and one copper eye with equal color depth.
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Blue-Cream
and Tortoiseshell Persians The Parti-Color Division of CFA is truly unique among the Persian divisions: as a division made up entirely of females, it is the only division that cannot reproduce itself without going outside its division. Bluecream: A coat that is a pleasing mixture of cream and pale blue-gray has ensured that this breed's enormous popularity will continue. The way in which the color genes are inherited means that male blue-cream persians are rare and most invariably, sterile. In fact, registries sauch as the CFA do not allow the registration of a bluecream male, only females.
Temperament The bluecream persian is considered more outgoing than many persians but is equally affectionate and amenable. The CFA
breed standard
describes the
BLUE-CREAM: blue with patches
of
TORTOISESHELL: "In 1995 the color descriptions for all Parti-Colors were revised to make both patches and areas of intermingled colors acceptable, since it is impossible to breed for a particular Parti-Color pattern (as opposed to Bi-Colors). Also, in 1995, the tortoiseshell color description was revised to eliminate any reference to cream, since tortoiseshells cannot actually exhibit cream as they do not have two dilution genes. The typical tortoiseshell is a patchwork of black and red, usually in a random mixture and in many cases forming a fine-grained mosaic. In other cats, however, there are relatively large areas of clear black and red. If you look closely at the red areas on such a tortoiseshell, you may see that they resemble the coat of a red tabby. This explains the very common, but incorrect, statement that the tortoiseshell exhibits the three colors - black, red, and cream. The cream areas correspond to the pale parts of the red tabby's coat. The colors can look quite distinct when separated by an area of black, but this is only a result of the fact that the non-agouti gene is ineffective on red. A cat either has the dilute gene, or it does not - the dilute gene changes black to blue and red to cream." from CFA webpage
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Most of these striking, flame-colored cats have SOME tabby markings, particularly on the face, legs and tail. There are some fine examples of red (not tabby) persians in the CFA. They are one of the hardest types to breed for exhibition.
The long coat makes the markings less evident.
HISTORY Oranges, as Red Persians were originally known, were being shown in Britain as early as 1895.
In the early 1930's a German breeder produced some excellent examples of the breed, but unfortunately, his stock was destroyed in WW II.
The breed remained rare in Britain during the 1940's but a revival of interest and selective breeding have ensured the Red Persian's continued presence on the show bench.
TEMPERAMENT Polite and friendly, the Red Persian makes a highly decorative and pleasant companion.
VARIETIES CLASSIC TABBY PATTERN: markings dense, clearly defined, and broad. Legs evenly barred with bracelets coming up to meet the body markings. Tail evenly ringed. Several unbroken necklaces on neck and upper chest, the more the better. Frown marks on forehead form an intricate letter "M." Unbroken line runs back from outer corner of eye. Swirls on cheeks. Vertical lines over back of head extend to shoulder markings which are in the shape of a butterfly with both upper and lower wings distinctly outlined and marked with dots inside outline. Back markings consist of a vertical line down the spine from butterfly to tail with a vertical stripe paralleling it on each side, the three stripes well separated by stripes of the ground color. Large solid blotch on each side to be encircled by one or more unbroken rings. Side markings should be the same on both sides. Double vertical rows of buttons on chest and stomach. MACKEREL
TABBY PATTERN: markings dense, clearly defined, and all narrow pencillings.
Legs evenly barred with narrow bracelets coming up to meet the body
markings. Tail barred. Necklaces on neck and chest distinct, like
so many chains. Head barred with an "M" on the forehead.
Unbroken lines running back from the eyes. Lines running down the
head to meet the shoulders. Spine lines run together to form a narrow
saddle. Narrow pencillings run around body
RED TABBY (classic, mackerel): ground color red. Markings deep, rich red. Lips and chin the same shade as the rings around the eyes. Nose leather and paw pads: brick red. Eye color: brilliant copper. |
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The cream coat color is sound from root to tip. The paler and more "buff" the coat color, the better. We do not want to see darkening spread across the back, sides or legs. A reddish or brownish hue to the tips of the coat is undesirable. Nose leather and paw-pads are pink (really a rose color as opposed to a pink shade). The eye color is a brilliant copper. Here, a brownish-copper eye color compliments a cream coat and is the eye color of choice
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