Persian Breed

History
Persians have enjoyed a long reign in the cat fancy and have featured prominently in shows since 1871, the year of the first modern cat show held at London?s Crystal Palace. At this famous affair, organized by the ?father of the cat fancy,? Harrison Weir, many representatives of the breed were present, starting a supremacy that continues today.

Persians have been around for much longer than 125 years. Longhaired cats, including the ancestors of the modern Persian and Angora breeds, were first seen in Europe in the mid- to late 1500s, introduced by Roman and Phoenician caravans from Persia (now Iran) and Turkey, according to documents of the era. Researchers believe the recessive gene for long hair appeared spontaneously in the cat population in the cold mountainous areas of Persia. An Italian traveler by the name of Pietro della Valle (1586?1652) is credited with bringing Persian cats to the European world in the 1600s. Both Angora and Persian cats are mentioned in the manuscript Voyages de Pietro della Valle. He described the Persians as gray with very long, silky, glossy fur. He noted that the cats resided in the province of Khorazan in Persia, and that they came from India with the Portuguese.

Other travelers brought Persian and Angora cats into France and then into England, causing them to be called ?French cats? for a number of years. These cats quickly became popular in Britain. During this time and for centuries after, the Turkish Angora and Persian varieties (among others) were commonly crossed.

At first, Angoras were preferred for their silky white coats. Eventually, however, the British fanciers came to favor the stockier Persian conformation. By the time of Weir?s cat show in 1871, distinct differences between the Persian and the Angora could be seen, the former being stockier with small, rounded ears, and the latter being slender and tall-eared. By the early 1900s the Persian had become overwhelmingly popular. Blue Persians were particularly prized, probably because Queen Victoria owned two.

In the early 1900s the British Governing Council of the Cat Fancy decided that the Persian, as well as the Angora and Russian Longhairs, should be known simply as Longhairs, a policy that continues today. Each color is considered a separate breed in the British cat fancy. In North America, however, the Persian is considered one breed, regardless of color.

Persians were imported to America in the late 1800s, where they were enthusiastically received. The Persian quickly shoved aside the competition and quickly took its place as the top cat. Using British standards as a starting point, American breeders began their own breeding programs to refine the coat, color, and conformation. Soon the American Persian developed a style of its own and evolved into the type we see today.

Personality
If you want your cats bouncing around like hyperactive popcorn, don?t buy a Persian. Persians are perfect companions, if you like placid, sweet-tempered cats. Don?t count on using your Persian pal as a furry doorstop, however. They love to play between periods of regal lounging on your favorite davenport. Proponents say that Persians do not deserve their ?furniture with fur? reputation?they are intelligent, just not as inquisitive as some breeds, and not as active.

Persians are devoted to their humans, but can be selective in conferring that honor. You must earn their trust and love. They crave affection and love to be petted and fussed over, but won?t harass you for attention the way some breeds will. They will, however, let their feelings be known if they are not getting the requisite amount of attention.

Owning a Persian requires a significant time commitment. That beautiful coat requires daily grooming to keep it in good condition and free of mats. Because of the long coat and docile temperament, Persians should be considered indoor-only pets. Many Persian fanciers keep at least part of the coat clipped, particularly the hindquarters and around the anus to avoid the accumulation of feces. This should be done, though, only if the cat will not be shown soon.

Conformation
Over the years, the show trend has been toward a flatter, more extreme facial type for the Persian. This troubles some fanciers, who feel the extreme face can be harmful to the breed. Reported problems include upper respiratory problems, ?weepy? eyes, malocclusions, and birthing difficulties. The Peke-face red Persian, named after the Pekingese dog, has an even more extreme facial arrangement. For those who like a less extreme facial arrangement, the Traditional Cat Association (TCA) recognizes and promotes the Traditional Persian, also called the Doll Face Persian. This type possesses a less extreme look and emphasizes the sweet expression.

Persians come in many colors and patterns. The various colors, along with the breed itself, have a long history of selective breeding. Breeders have worked long and hard to perfect each, and each breeder usually specializes in a few favorites. Within the divisions are a multitude of colors and patterns, adding up to more than 80 varieties. The body and face type does differ slightly from one color to the next, and therefore judges are given some leeway in judging. The overall balance is more important than individual traits.

Do Cats Dream?

Cats can spend up to 23 hours a day snoozing, catnapping, catching forty winks or otherwise dead to the world. They have 2 main mottos - "If in doubt, wash" and "If bored, sleep".

They are masters of the art of sleeping draped over branches or chair backs, curled into impossibly tight balls or sprawled out, snoring, on freshly fluffed duvets. As they slumber, paws flex and relax, claws extend and retract, legs and whiskers twitch and mouths make quiet chattering or mumbling noises. Do our purry furry friends dream and, if so, of what?

Human dreams are based on things we've experienced, seen or read, sprinkled with a liberal dose of imagination. Cats also recall previous experiences; vanishing when the flea-spray appears. They also remember things they've seen - like how to open cat flaps after watching other cats doing it. Scenes from wildlife programs or 'video catnip' tapes, where the prey is tantalizingly out of reach, may well feature in feline dreams.

Though it may seem odd to credit cats with powers of imagination, they sometimes think problems through rather than solving them by trial and error. One pair of imaginative felines quickly worked out how to reach door handles by standing one on the other's back rather than just jumping up at the handle. Others seem adept at unbolting cat flaps.

Writer, Barbara Hambly credited cats with powers of imagination in her fantasy novel called, ironically, 'Dog Wizard'. She depicted a world where magic goes awry, allowing imagined things to become real. Discovering this, several of the cats depicted in the book create, and play with, illusory mice which they 'create' in vivid detail. Is this what cats are doing when 'chasing Martians' or during RPM (Rapid Paw Movement)sleep?

What do all those fast-asleep paw movements and chattering noises mean? Maybe the slumberer is remembering a hunting trip. Though not all cats have hunted real prey, they have inherited all the right instincts. Many of those fast-asleep paw movements resemble small pouncing or swatting motions. Cats often chatter in frustration when prey eludes them. By the amount of chattering my cats do when asleep, dream hunts, like real life hunts, are often unsuccessful.

If you watch closely, you might be able to work out what scenario is being enacted or re-enacted in your cat's dream. Those little movements are all clues to what is going on inside that cute furry head. That twitching tail could mean 'stalking prey', 'poised to pounce' or 'seen something interesting'. When followed by a paw-twitch, a whisker twitch and a raised lip (maybe even exposing the canine) the dream prey has been dispatched. Sometimes Aphrodite even licks her lips afterwards, other times she seems to be playing with her catch. Teeth chattering and tail lashing probably means the dream prey got away.

Other experiences surely feature in feline dreams. For some months after being adopted, my ex-stray, Scrapper, had violent dreams with much snarling, hind-leg thrashing and yowling as he fought some imaginary opponent. His dreams were often so violent that he showed signs of very real distress and I took to gently waking him up.

When Sappho's owner died, unfeeling relatives wrenched the cat from her owner's body (she was trying to wake the dead owner) and threw her outdoors to fend for herself. Traumatic incident often stick in our minds and no doubt in feline minds as well. Sappho still has occasional nightmares, waking up whimpering piteously before frantically trying to wake me up. I can only assume she has relived the death of her owner.

My bumbling, inept Aphrodite, must become 'Rambo' in her dreams. When asleep in my arms she mumbles, sighs, chatters, clasps my arm, nuzzles, sucks or licks me and has even delivered a killing-bite. Her tail twitches and thrashes, her whiskers twitch and her hind legs kick against me as I get used as a springboard in some dream assault upon aerial prey. Sometimes she has even raked me with fore- or hind-legs in the course of her dream.

Other pleasurable experiences such as dinner-time, kitten hood, being gently groomed, rambling-in-the-garden, rolling belly-up in sunbeams or tormenting the family dog probably feature in feline dreams. How often do you accidentally wake your cat and get rewarded by that expression which says 'I was having such a lovely dream'? Like people, some cats must dream more vividly or imaginatively than others.

During sleep, our brain releases inhibiting substances to prevent us from acting out our dreams fully, although we may toss, turn and even talk in our sleep. The feline brain works similarly. In laboratory experiments where unfortunate feline subjects have had their brains tampered with so that those substances aren't released, the cats act out their dreams in full. Even laboratory-bred cats which have never hunted, or even seen prey, have been observed to 'catch birds', 'chase mice' and 'bat prey' in the course of their dreams.

Take a peek at your slumbering cat. Are those paws patting your knitting or pouncing on prey? Is that a murmur of contentment or a curse of frustration? That belly-up, blissful snoring pose - a dream of nursing kittens, of sunbathing or of being lovingly stroked? Next time you find your cat in the land of nod, watch closely and see if you can work out what it is dreaming.

Siamese Breed

The Siamese is distinguished by its brilliant blue eyes and coloured points on ears, face, tail and feet, which provide a striking contrast to its light-coloured body.

Siamese were first officially exported from Thailand, or once known as the exotic Siam, in the late eighteen hundreds. The first Siamese to appear in England were a gift from Siam to an ambassador who brought them home. They began appearing in English cat shows almost immediately, and in American shows by the early twentieth century.

With their sleek lines, striking colour contrast, aristocratic heads, deep blue almond eyes, and short silky short, the Siamese is an extremely beautiful and elegant cat. The Siamese is also considered one of the oldest breeds of all our cats. They are intelligent cats with an inquisitive personality and a loving nature. Today this ancient breed has become the most popular of all pedigree cat breeds.

Another distinctive feature of the Siamese is its legendary voice. They are great communicators and like no other cat speak both with their voice and with their body. Siamese are also very people oriented cats. They love company and spending time with their humans and are real lap cats. Siamese owners find the beautiful looks and social nature of the Siamese with their short coat that requires no grooming irresistible.

The Siamese is a small to medium sized slender and elegant cat with a long body, neck and tail with a long wedge shaped head. The main point colours include blue, chocolate, lilac and seal. The seal points are the best known variety and were the first to be recognised. Seal points have pale fawn bodies and extreme almost black points. The chocolate came second with creamy white bodies and milk chocolate points followed by the blue point that has a bluish-white body with slate blue points. Last was the delicate looking lilac point with a white body and pinkish grey points. Other more recently introduced colours include the red and tortie point.

Siamese cats with a rounder, more moderate body and head type than today's show Siamese are called Traditional Siamese, also know as the Applehead or Classic Siamese. They are also talkative, affectionate cats, and appear in traditional seal, blue, chocolate, and lilac point colours. The Traditional Siamese is not considered a separate breed by most breed registries and normally are registered simply as Siamese. The Traditional or Applehead Siamese does not compete at cat shows.

The Siamese also has the most captivating eyes seen on a feline. Eyes are an almond shaped deep vivid blue, set on a slant, an eye's width apart with an intelligent, curious and emotional expression combined in one that is the essence of the Siamese.