Showing posts with label Persian cat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Persian cat. Show all posts

Friday, 20 September 2024

List with links to 14 diseases inherited by the Peke-face Persian (infographic)

The list is pretty comprehensive. It may not be entirely complete but there are enough inherited diseases listed in this infographic to put the wind up anyone who is considering buying one of these cats. 

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I know that I am going on about this, perhaps for too long, but it is important that everybody is clear that the Peke-face Persian cat inherits these diseases because of decades of extreme breeding to create this abnormally flat face. The extreme breeding even feeds back into a disease called lordosis which is not to do with the face by the way! And it effects giving birth. Yes, the whole cat's being is affected and always negatively.

This extreme breeding affects the cat of course because they are likely to be much less happy than they would have been if they were blessed with normal anatomy. And it affects the caregiver because there's a lot more work to do in maintenance and it is likely that they will be obliged to take out a pet health insurance policy which in the modern era are quite expensive. 

And also at the moment there are a lot of people who are concerned about their financial affairs because there's been inflation and we are still, if we are honest, coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's impact is still felt.

And the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is still being felt in Europe because of the need to source oil and gas from places other than Russia. I won't go on anymore but I hope people click on the links in this Infographic which go to more infographics for easy reading explaining these diseases.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Wednesday, 11 September 2024

The most obvious inherited health issues of the Peke-face Persian: BAS.

Although the Peke-face Persian (flat-faced Persian) can suffer from all or one of 16 inherited diseases, the one highlighted in the infographic below is the most obvious. It is perhaps the classic consequence of breeding cats with unnaturally shaped heads and faces to try and meet an aesthetic which pleases the eye of some. Heavens knows why because the Peke-face is certainly uglier than the Doll-face.

There is no cure for this or the other Peke-face Persian inherited diseases because they are caused by a distorted face and head due to extreme breeding. You have to change the breeding practices over a long time if you are to 'cure' this shameful state of affairs where the cat fancy have abdicated their responsibilities to ensure that they breed healthy cats. In fact I think you'll see that the CFA demands in their breed standards that health should not be compromised BUT IT IS (in the most gross way)! And has been for decades in really serious ways causing distress and unhappiness in these cats. 

If you click on this link: Infographics on Peke-face Persian health problems, you'll see some more health issues associated with this breed, if that interests you. Each one is a 60 second read. The goal is to explain sometimes complicated medical information in studies in an infographic. I want everyone to have access to this kind of information as it is good for cat welfare and to educate potential adopters of purebred cats.


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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Sunday, 8 September 2024

America's top 2 cat associations should be ashamed of the Peke-face Persian

Here is another infographic about the health problems associated with the Peke-face Persian which is bred to extreme to create an entirely unnatural facial appearance which leads to many serious health problems. More to follow! Here are three concerning the mouth, coat and eyes. I am on the attack against cat associations which refuse to amend their breed standards to prioritise health in breeds.

When these cat associations - The International Cat Association (TICA) and the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) insist on certain anatomical features such as a sheer, flat face and a super-long hair you get the kind of health problem referred to in the infographic.

It is just not right that these cat associations have been encouraging and supporting breeders to create these unhealthy cats through their breed standards which, in Germany, would be called 'torture breeding' and banned.

There are other breeds that are inherently unhealthy and which should not exist such as the breed made popular by Taylor Swift who is incredibly influential; the Scottish Fold. She should be ashamed too. She is looked up to but she has her flaws, one of which is promoting an unhealthy breed that is also banned in Germany. The breed should not exist.


Below is a picture of a champion Peke-face Persian cat on TICA's website. Behind that image there is pain and distress in many ultra-Persian cats. It is a false representation of the state of this breed. It is a con basically.
 
America's top 2 cat associations should be ashamed of the Peke-face Persian
7th Best Kitten Of The Year IW BW Dark Diamond’s Sebastian/CF. Image credit as stated in the photo.

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Saturday, 7 September 2024

The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) are accused of cat cruelty by me over the Peke-face Persian

The flat-face Persian has been described as a piece of the furniture meaning passive and not doing anything. It can't apply to all flat-face Persians and certainly not to the traditional Doll-face Persian which is prettier anyway. 

But this passive and inactive character which might seem charming hides a far more serious reality: the inadvertent dumbing down of the extreme-bred Persian due to decades of misguided selective breeding as directed by the cat fancy particularly the CFA which has consistently promoted the Peke-face Persian.

The CFA's behaviour over decades is an act of animal cruelty; no less because 30% of Peke-face Persians according to the study referred to in the infographic suffer from hydrocephalus because of this cat breed's rounded and shortened (brachycephalic) skull.

There are other enormous health issues with this cat breed. Here is another: click this link: INFOGRAPHIC explains Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) in Persian cats in straightforward terms. There are more 😱 The Peke-face Persian is a disgrace.
Why Peke-face Persian cats can be ‘dummies’ by Michael Broad

And as explained in the infographic above this serious brain condition can cause cognitive deficits. To put that in layperson's language: Peke-face Persians are often as thick as bricks. That is sad. Extremely sad and as I said the CFA are animal abusers.

Strong words. A stark accusation but it must be factually true. The organisation should be prosecuted. In Germany the Peke-face Persian would never exist as it is an example of torture breeding.


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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Friday, 6 September 2024

Time for the cat fancy to do something about the Persian cat's polycystic kidney disease

It is well beyond the time when the cat fancy - and I'm referring mainly to the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) - does something tangible about the shameful health of the flat-faced Persian cat, created through decades of selective inbreeding of cats carrying the disease to fix the cats strange appearance which as a consequence, and as a side effect, has led to this breed suffering, interminably, from a nasty kidney disease which quite often proves fatal.

That disease, as mentioned in the title, is polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Cysts form on the kidney rendering the organ ineffective and it can start at a very young age. Ultrasound detects it which is why sometimes it cat shows you will see an ultrasound engineer on site to scan the interior of a Persian cat and other cats if need be. See video at end of article. The infographic sums it up.
Update: Some cat associations such as the UK's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) require breeding Persians to be screened for the PKD gene defect. Langford Veterinary Diagnostics have documented a decreasing prevalence of the PKD gene in Persians in the UK, from ~28% in 2005 to ~2% in 2016, showing how effective this type of targeted intervention can be. - quote from the following study: Persian cats under first opinion veterinary care in the UK: demography, mortality and disorders.
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) in Persian cats in an infographic by Michael Broad


I know I have banged this drum for far too long. I've become boring in constantly restating my distaste at knowing that the cat fancy has allowed this ill-health to be perpetuated for so long. The Persian cat was an extremely popular cat. In fact it was the top cat breed in terms of popularity for many years in America.

But nowadays, it has relinquished that top position to other cat breeds such as the Maine Coon. And it is very plausible to argue that a major reason is this inherited health problem combined with other inherited health problems such as tear duct overflow due to a distorted tear duct thanks to the flat face.

It's just not right. We don't have to be so obsessed with the appearance and in any case the cat fancy has overshot the mark with the Persian cat because initially they wanted the face to be a little more flat but now it has to be completely flat as if the cats been punched in the face. All the elements of the face of got to be in vertical alignment which is frankly madness. How did they get to this situation?

My answer to that is that the CFA administrators have been working in this closed shop for decades feeding off on another and supporting each other with what can only be crazy ideas. They think that the flat face is attractive compared to the traditional Persian cat which has a much more normal face which is in truth far more attractive. They tried to make that attractive Persian face more attractive but ultimately they went in the other direction and made the cat very unnatural and unattractive in my view and I would argue in the views of many others.

Let's tackle this PKD problem in Persian cats as soon as possible. The only way to do that is to lay down some laws regarding the breeding of this cat which would introduce fresh genetics into the Persian breeding lines to improve genetic diversity, to remove some of the inbreeding which would change the appearance of the cat but most importantly improve their health. And as mentioned to screen for PKD and 'cull' (remove) these cats from breeding programs.

Inbreeding causes inbreeding depression among other things. This is a weakened immune system and general ill-health.

Health supersedes appearance if we are really concerned about domestic cats. Unfortunately for many years appearance has trumped health in the cat fancy or in various elements of the cat fancy. I can't generalise because some breeds are healthier than others and clearly some administrators are more concerned about health than others.

On this page is an Infographic, as you can see, which was created by me and which summarises in a few words the important information about PKD in Persian cats. I hope it helps.

Below is a video of ultrasound scan on a Persian cat at a cat show in the US to check for PKD:



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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Tuesday, 24 October 2023

Flat-faced Persians bought for social media 'likes' are being abandoned

The title comes from The Telegraph which I can't read because you have to subscribe nowadays to this online newspaper. This, by the way, is a growing trend. The online newspapers simply aren't making enough money through advertising but I don't think people will subscribe to them in sufficient numbers.

Anyway, I digress because I know what The Telegraph is talking about even though I cannot read their article. It's a well-known phenomenon actually.

RSPCA campaign against the flat-faced Persian in which they tell the truth about the breed. Image: RSPCA.

The RSPCA can provide some information. They say that there has been a rise in Persian cats being abandoned to them between 2018 and 2022. 

On Facebook, the RSPCA state that: "Worryingly, there's been a 92% increase in Persian cats coming into our care in the last four years as the popularity of this flat-faced breed continues to rise. These cats are often seen as being cute because of their features, but in reality, they can suffer from: breathing difficulties, eye problems, difficulty sleeping."

They actually suffer from more problems than that such as PKD - polycystic kidney disease (35% of the Persian cats apparently suffer from this disease). And they have tear duct overflow which means the tear ducts are distorted and so tears do not drain away from the eyes but the liquid spills over down the front of the face where they face become stained.

It's a well-known problem that you have to clean the face of a Persian cat regularly. A number of celebrities in the UK have adopted Persian cats. Also, in India you will find that high-profile female celebrities like the Persian cat. In fact, in India, the Persian cat is perhaps the most popular cat breed together with the Siamese. These are very long-standing cat breeds and India has a young, emerging cat fancy and therefore they prefer the old breeds.

Punch-face Persian.

Indians living in India call the flat-based Persian a "punch-face Persian" in recognition of the fact that it looks as though somebody has punched in the face. It is an objectionable label sadly.

For example, in the UK, Kate Beckinsale, is obsessed with her Persian cats, Clive and Willow. They accompany her on her Instagram pages. Taylor Swift has not adopted a Persian cat.

In September 2012, Kim Kardashian adopted a Persian kitten. Although Taylor Swift has not adopted a Persian cat, preferring to select the Ragdoll and Scottish fold, she has promoted the concept of buying exotic domestic cat breeds which I think has encouraged others to do likewise to help create successful social media accounts such as on TikTok and Instagram.

Taylor Swift has, I believe, the highest number of followers on social media of anybody on the planet.


But when a person adopts a flat faced Persian in order to post pictures of them on social media, they will find out about the responsibility that they've taken on in looking after Persian cat which is at a slightly added level to normal. 

They will also find out that it is very hard to acquire lots of followers on social media and have a successful social media webpage. Nearly all of them fail.

So, when they have failed in their attempt to become social media stars, the Persian that they acquired no longer serves their purpose so they abandon the cat to the RSPCA. That, I believe, is the story. It is a great shame because the Persian cat is being used as a means to try and generate social media fame which a lot of people crave. It doesn't work actually unless you are Taylor Swift but then people follow her because of her love because of cats.

Separately, you will find that other well-known cat breeds are also used to try and generate fame for their owner, vicariously. The Maine Coon is a typical example. This is currently a very popular cat breed and because of their size they look very impressive in photographs. 

You will see many TikTok and Instagram accounts in which the account holder shows off her Maine Coon cat and how they develop from kittens to giants. The same objective is being followed for the owner of these cats: to achieve social media fame through their cat.

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Please forgive any typos. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I can't spend long on them as they are not seen by a lot of people nowadays! Sad but true.

Sunday, 25 December 2022

Infographic highlights 5 Persian cat health issues caused by misguided cat associations

The title and the infographic says it all. Breeders of contemporary, peke-faced (flat-faced) Persian cats with extreme facial features have destroyed the cat's health. They have taken away the perfect feline anatomy that was present in the original 'normal' Persian cat around 50 years ago and replaced it with distorted anatomy because of years of misguided but formally sanctioned (by the cat associations) selective breeding. It is horrible.

Wednesday, 13 April 2022

1901 Persian Cat vs 2009 Persian Cat

A pictorial comparison between a Persian cat of 1901 in Britain and a Persian show cat of about 2009 in the United States. The difference shows us how far the development of the Persian cat has come over more than 100 years. Is it a good, positive development?


I'd like to refer you to two pages on PoC that discuss the Persian cat and its development:
  1. Persian cats
  2. Persian cat breeding
And I'd also like to refer to DOMESTIC AND FANCY CATS - A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THEIR VARIETIES, BREEDING, MANAGEMENT AND DISEASE (1901) by John Jennings who was an experienced show cat judge of the time.

Mr Jennings says this of the Persian show cat of his era:
"The ears should be somewhat small. The head should be small for the size of the car. The body should be long and rounding. The Persian should scale 8lb to 10lb."
The CFA standard for the Persian at 2012 says:
"HEAD: round and massive, with great breadth of skull...EARS: small. When viewed in profile, the prominence of the eyes is apparent and the forehead, nose, and chin appear to be in vertical alignment...BODY: of cobby type, low on the legs, broad and deep through the chest, equally massive across the shoulders and rump."
I don't have to add a comment save to say that the long, elegant 1901 Persian cat has become a somewhat dumpy, flat-faced rounded cat of more extreme proportions.

I don't know about anybody else, but it has always mystified me why the cat breeders who administer the CFA decided that the Persian cat should have such a flat face. For some reason they think that the appearance of this extreme Persian cat is more aesthetically pleasing than the original version. I can't see the logic in the decision making. 

The earlier versions are aesthetically more pleasing than the later ones. It seems to me that the cat associations have gone backwards. Not only are the early Persians better looking they are healthier because the extreme breeding alters the anatomy, as you know, of the face which can cause breathing problems and tear duct overflow. 

What is going on? What happened? How did the CFA arrive at this situation? And can they go back? They certainly don't want to go back when they should be more open to that possibility. In fact, I would highly recommend that they do, for the reasons stated above.

Associated: Traditional Persian Cat.

Persian Cat and the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals

Note: this is about cat welfare so please don't be put off by the technical title! Sometimes the most boring unpublicised things are the most important. The United Kingdom did not agree to sign up to the excellent but little-known European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals. It came into force on 1/5/1992. A "convention" is a treaty; an agreement between nations. In this case European nations.

European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals
 European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals. States signed and ratified in green.

The reason why the United Kingdom did not agree is because the Convention sensibly required signatories to the convention to ban tail docking. The premier dog association The Kennel Club and other dog associations presumable lobbied Parliament and convinced the government to not ratify the convention (sign up to it) because of the ban on tail docking.

In not agreeing to this excellent document, they appear to have allowed the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) to continue breeding flat-faced "ultra-type" or "hyper-type" Persian cats despite the GCCF declaring they would take steps to control this (see below). 

Flat-faced Persian illustrating the GCCF page on this cat breed
Flat-faced Persian illustrating the GCCF page on this cat breed.

The selective breeding of the Persian cat to create a short skull and nose is referred to in a resolution of experts that is based on the convention. The resolution sets out breeding guidelines. They say that the flat face is something to be avoided in breeding. That is obvious to most people from the point of view of health issues but it is nice to see it stated at a high political level.

It is disappointing to note that the UK, a country seen as a nation of animal lovers, failed to sign up to an agreement that protects animals. People don't in general know about this fundamental failure. We have to ask whether the British really are animal lovers.

At Article 5 the convention refers to the vexed question of ethical breeding.  The eurocrats have done something very good here. They have decided that sometimes breeders of purebred cats and dogs breed to extreme when over-focusing on appearance to the detriment of health.

Here is Article 5:

Any person who selects a pet animal for breeding shall be responsible for having regard to the anatomical, physiological and behavioral characteristics, which are likely to put at risk the health and welfare of either offspring or the female parent.

In short and in layperson's language: when breeding cats and other animals there should be a concern for the cat's health and behavior. Common sense. The Convention simply requires responsible breeding.

As a consequence of the convention and resolution, the GCCF agreed in a declaration (March 1995 - almost 20 years ago) that they would "take necessary measures to control the breeding of animals with genetic or phenotypic characteristics harmful to the welfare of the animals in order to prevent suffering of such animals."

You only have to see the Persians on their website today (May 2012) to conclude that the GCCF still support the breeding of extreme Persians. Can someone tell me why? Have I missed something?

Update: you can see that I first wrote this article in 2012. So, I decided to check whether anything has changed. It has not. It should be noted that this convention is not limited to EU members. It is wider than that. The UK is listed as "not signed" but it is a part of the Council of Europe member states.

Wikipedia states that the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals can be described as follows:

A treaty of the Council of Europe to promote the welfare of pet animals and ensure minimum standards for their treatment and protection. The treaty was signed in 1987 and became effective on 1 May 1992, after at least four countries had ratified it. Adherence to the treaty is open and not limited to member countries of the Council of Europe. As of June 2020, it has been ratified by 24 states (most recently by Spain in July 2017).

Some member states who have signed are exempt from the prohibition of tail docking as allowed by this convention. Wikipedia states that: "No country that has ratified the treaty has made any reservations regarding the other cosmetic surgeries prohibited by §10: cropping of ears, removal of vocal cords, and declawing."

It seems that tail docking is the problem area for members of this Convention. The reference to declawing is interesting because although it is commonplace in America it is simply not on the radar in Europe or the UK. And I'm referring to declawing for non-therapeutic reasons.

Interestingly, the GCCF Persian breed standard does not say that the cat's face should be flat as far as I can see and rather particularly it states that the head of the Persian should be "well-balanced". How can it be well-balanced when one side of it is entirely flat? The CFA breed standard for this cat states that the face must be flat and so I wonder why British Persian cat breeders are still reading flat-faced Persians?

Tuesday, 25 January 2022

Are hairless cats really envious of longhair cats?

The title is amusing when you see the video. This couple of hairless cats are so committed to grooming the white Persian that you would be forgiven for believing that they were envious of her hair. I don't think it's true. The emotion of envy is a human one. The desire to groom a friend of yours, if you are a cat, is a strong motivator. You probably know that it is called allogrooming. 

If a cat is envious of another cat because they have hair, the cat who experiences the emotion of envy must recognise the fact that they don't have hair. In order to recognise that simple fact they have to be self-aware. They have to be self-conscious. And this is one of those massive debates. People aren't sure whether cats are self-conscious. 

This means a person or animal: recognises themselves objectively and can assess themselves compared to others. At the moment people are unsure that cats can do this. They probably can't. If that is true then it confirms what I have said that cats don't feel envy and these two hairless cats are not envious of this beautiful Persian cat's fur.

2 hairless cats lick a white Persian with zeal
2 hairless cats lick a white Persian with zeal. Screenshot.

Some people say that it is a form of dominance but I don't really believe that. It's a question of friendly interactions. Cats do it to people all the time as you know. They do it for the same reason: friendliness. 

This couple of Sphynx cats are certainly committed. They carry on even when there is a miniature crash helmet on the head of the Persian. I find that a bit odd, I confess. Surely these hairless cats recognise that they are no longer licking a cat's hair? 

But apparently not. It looks as if the behaviour is entirely instinctive. Perhaps they lick the crash helmet because it's a bit like licking their own bodies. I think that is the reason behind this behaviour. They accept the hairlessness of the helmet; no questions asked.


Note
: This is a video from another website which is embedded here. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

Saturday, 4 September 2021

33 rescued purebred Persian cats are available for adoption from MSPCA-Angell

MSPCA-Angell is the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Centre. It is a long title and they find themselves in the extraordinary position of having 33 rescued purebred flat-faced Persian cats for adoption to the public.

One of the contemporary Persian cats rescued. You can see how neglected the cat is with a heavily matted coat and dirty
One of the badly neglected contemporary Persian cats after rescue showing the dirty and badly matted coat which needed to be shaved. The cats suffered from upper respiratory infections. They are now ready for adoption. The photograph is by MSPCA-Angell.

The MSPCA at Nevins Farm are in the process of identifying adopters for these purebred Persian cats. They were surrendered to the organisation from a central Massachusetts home on August 23.

The reason why they are available and were rescued is because the cats, primary caregiver passed away leaving a man (husband?) to take care of the cats and he couldn't manage. They say that he quickly realised he could not meet their needs. I would have to argue with that because if he had quickly realised he couldn't do the job then they wouldn't have ended up so matted and in such a poor state in terms of their dirty coats and general health. So, the man took too long about it sadly but he agreed to surrender them to their adoption centre.

CLICK FOR A PAGE ON THE PERSIAN

They say that many of them are previous show cats and several of them were imported from Italy. Over the two weeks that they've been in the care of MSPCA-Angell they have undergone treatment for various ailments and their coats have been de-matted by shaving and grooming. There was suffering from upper respiratory infections and dental health issues. Their coats were matted and dirty, as mentioned. The living environment was cluttered and crowded.

They suggest that the cats need good care from now on but it is unusual, I would say that it is unique, for a rescue organisation to have 33 purebred cats, some of them show cats, up for adoption to the public. I don't think the public will have a better chance to adopt a contemporary Persian cat from a rescue than this one.

The age of the cats varies from 5 to 12 years old. As mentioned, these are contemporary Persian cats with flat faces. Not everybody likes this extreme form of breeding and they can have inherited health issues such as breathing problems, tear duct overflow and on my research, 35% of Persian cats suffer from polycystic kidney disease. I would ask about that when adopting.

Thursday, 15 July 2021

Picture of a googly-eyed Persian cat

This picture caught my eye and when that happens, I like to republish them on this website if permissible. There is one small downside about this picture which I am unsure about. The person who made it stuck the false eyes over the eyes of the cat. I don't like it, but other than that it's a picture which does albeit briefly catch one's attention. It is quite a clever concept. A funny cat picture. It makes the cat look like an alien.

Googly-eyed cat
Googly-eyed cat


The cat appears to be a doll-face Persian, i.e. traditional Persian cat. They are far more attractive than the ridiculous peke-faced Persian or what the Indians call 'punch-face Persian'.

Sunday, 27 June 2021

Brachycephalic Persian cat with bulging eyes can have corneal problems

In this article I want to point out the bulging eyes of the Exotic Shorthair and the Persian, two associated breeds because the former is a shorthaired version of the latter. In this picture we can see the "punch-face" appearance of the Persian. It almost looks as if this cat has suffered a catastrophic injury to the face as it's been flattened. And this, to my mind, leaves the eyeballs bulging outwards beyond the protection of the bones of the face. This leaves the cornea exposed because there is a reduced ability to close the eyelids.

Brachycephalic Persian cat with bulging eyes and flat face
 Brachycephalic Persian cat with bulging eyes and flat face. Photo: Irina Gerasimova.


And of course, the cornea is exposed anyway as it sticks out so far. This contributes to 'exposure keratitis' and it is said probably contributes to corneal sequestrum development (the development of an opaque, dark brown to black plaque on the cornea). Persian cats are predisposed to this.

Exposure keratitis also occurs in people and it is described as a medical condition affecting the cornea of eyes which can lead to corneal ulceration and permanent loss of vision due to corneal opacity. Normally the cornea is kept moist by blinking and during sleep it is covered by the eyelids. When the cornea is exposed to the air, it can cause increased evaporation of tear from the corneal surface leading to dryness of the corneal surface. This can lead to corneal epithelial damage based on my research on Wikipedia.

I'm not saying that this particular, individual in the photograph is going to have problems with their cornea. I wouldn't say that. I'm just commenting generally about this desire to create flat-faced brachycephalic Persian and Exotic Shorthair cats with these bulging eyes

I think the bulging eye problem is particularly noticeable with the Exotic Shorthair cats. I've seen a lot of this and I think it is an unfortunate side effect of this extreme selective breeding. I don't think the breeders want this but it goes with the territory of the flat-face as does other health problems which you read about by clicking on this link.

I think you will find that the majority of the public would like to see the breed standards of the Persian and Exotic Shorthair 'detuned' by which I mean made less extreme so that the breeders follow guidance which doesn't drive them to creating unhealthy cats which arguably look less attractive than the traditional Persian. I think you will find that the vast majority of the public prefer the appearance of the traditional Persian over the contemporary variant. So, there's no need to breed cats like this in the first place.

Perhaps the problem is that the cat fancy is too inward-looking. Perhaps they should conduct a poll with the public and ask them what they think. They may have been encouraged to breed cats like this because the Persian has been very popular for many years but they have gradually drifted into this extreme look without, I believe, touching base with the public on the issue as to whether this was a wise thing to do. It has taken the cat fancy around 60 years to create this strange appearance.

Monday, 14 June 2021

Dracula cat became a celebrity because of her grossly misaligned jaw

Am I the only one who doesn't get this? Why do people make what appears to be a poorly bred, black Persian cat with a misaligned jaw a celebrity? I have never seen an undershot jaw so pronounced as this and in my view it is a case of poor cat breeding. 

Poorly bred Persian cat with grossly misaligned jaw is a social media celebrity
 Poorly bred Persian cat with grossly misaligned jaw is a social media celebrity. Photo: Instagram.

Two people found this cat on the New York streets we are told and they rescued her. I'm guessing, which I fully admit, but it seems to me that somebody has bred, perhaps informally, a Persian cat and it has gone horribly wrong so they abandoned the cat on the streets. 

I don't think a cat breeder produced this cat. Perhaps somebody adopted a Persian from a cat breeder that was unsterilized and they bred from her. I don't know the history so I'm guessing wildly but this is a flat-faced, brachycephalic cat, which is exactly what Persians are. 

But what sets this cat apart from any other is this horribly misaligned jaw and I just don't get why that warrants this cat becoming a celebrity. Humans are celebrating a deformity which is very sad for the cat although I'm sure she doesn't feel any pain or discomfort but it may affect her eating. We shouldn't celebrate human mistakes. We don't put humans who suffer from some sort of skeletal deformity on a pedestal and chatter about them with enthusiasm!

Princess Monster Truck
Princess Monster Truck! A feel sad for her. She should live a quiet, enjoyable life out of the limelight. Photo: Instagram

I have seen many Exotic Shorthair cats with this jaw deformity. These are shorthaired Persians. They are very closely related to the Persian. The most famous was Lil Bub. What is the obsession with misaligned jaws in cats? Is it the Dracula look? I think it is.

They have given her the name Princess Monster Truck, which I can't understand either. They've even claimed intellectual property rights over the name. I wouldn't bother to try and protect the copyright of that name because it bloody awful.

Saturday, 1 May 2021

Jacqueline Fernandez meditates on the balcony of her apartment in Mumbai with Bengal cat in background


Jacqueline Fernandez and her white Persian showing tear staining due to tear duct overflow. Photo: Instagram.


Jacqueline Fernandez is a Bollywood star born in Sri Lanka and a former model. She likes animals. Thank God for that because the more celebrity animal lovers we have on the planet the greater likelihood that humankind can gradually start to live in harmony with animals. We are very far from that at present. Jacqueline Fernandez lives with four cats we are told. I know that one of them is almost certainly a Bengal cat (see below) - the one you see in the photograph on her Instagram page - another is a pointed Persian A.K.A. a Himalayan cat and a third is an all-white Persian. Both flat-faced with associated health issues such as tear duct overflow.

Fernandez mediating on her flat balcony with her Bengal cat. Photo: Instagram.


The Persian is a contemporary bred cat with a flat-face. They are called "punch-faced Persians" in India because it is as if they have been punched. Not a great description I would hasten to add. Perhaps the description might, just might, encourage cat abuse. But a strong counter to that is Jacqueline Fernandez and her love of animals and cats.

Yoda, I believe, a pointed Persian with a flat-face (Himalayan). Photo: Instagram.

Of the four cats that she lives with, one is also a Ragdoll in my opinion. The cat appears to be a seal-pointed Ragdoll. I don't know the breed of the fourth cat. But please read more about that if you want to by clicking on this link which takes you to the main website.

Note: embedded videos or photos on this site are typically made by people other than me and held on YouTube servers or the servers of other businesses (not the server storing this website). Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened I apologise but I have no control over it.

Saturday, 6 February 2021

Kate Beckinsale dances in a sports bra for her chinchilla Persian cat Willow

Judging by her Instagram account, as far as I can tell, Kate Beckinsale lives with two Persian cats and a brown, fluffy toy dog. The Persian cats appear to be a chinchilla Persian which is near white with some grey streaks and a grey tabby. They are both what I would call contemporary, flat-faced, punch-face, Persian cats. She likes to dress them up and make them look pretty.

She lives in a very nice modern home and last Friday the actress, 47, posted on her Instagram page a video of herself dancing in her kitchen to Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl". She was wearing a Niki sports bra and some fancy sweatpants over some fancy underwear which she flashed in copious quantities. Perhaps it wasn't underwear but it kinda looks like that.

Her beautiful little Persian cat Willow was, as expected, completely disinterested in Kate Beckinsale's attempts to stimulate some sort of excitement in her. Persian cats are well known to be rather inactive. Sometimes people refer to them as pieces of furniture. I can remember being at cat show with the cat photographer Helmi Flick photographing various cat breeds and you noticed then how some are more active than others. Persians are inactive compared to Bengals.

Ms Beckinsale says that her effort of "Trying to hype Willow up about winter woolly has been low yield so far". Her Instagram page is full of pictures of her cats so she is definitely a cat lover which I like. The other Persian is called Clive, he's the one with a grey coat.

Kate Beckinsale and Clive her flat-faced Persian one of 2 that she lives with
Kate Beckinsale and Clive her flat-faced Persian one of 2 that she lives with. Photo: Kate Beckinsale on Instagram.

She has admitted that she is "very much a cat person". When she was growing up she had cats and a big dog she says. For her, cats are easier than dogs because "you don't have to walk around with a bag of poo like you do with a dog, which I hate to walk around with a bag of poop".

Clive is about 11 or 12-years-of-age. He had cancer and sometimes she shaves him. Shaving a cat with very long hair is not a bad thing to do but you may have to put the cat under a full anaesthetic which is a bad thing to do because it is potentially dangerous.

She inherited Willow from a friend. She describes Willow as "insane". That's why her friend gave Willow to her. They have completely different personalities. Clive likes suitcases and boxes and bags. He likes to climb into things. He has a suitcase bed which suits him perfectly. Willow prefers to "sleep in creepy, psychopath places like the back of a drawer, places that she could die [in]".

Apparently Willow is more difficult but she's pretty so she's forgiven!

Thursday, 3 July 2014

USA: Upcoming Improved Airline Reporting of Pet Travel Incidents

The United States Transportation Department announced on Wednesday last that improved reporting processes will be put in place starting January 1 2015 with respect to pet transportations by airlines. As I understand it, more airlines will be obliged to report and the reporting data will include the number of flights that transport pets as well as the number of incidents thereby allowing people to assess the safety record more accurately.

Pet airline travel safety

Airlines will have to report the transportation of cats shipped by breeders (commercial shipments) in addition to what happens now, which is pets being shipped by owners.

Apparently more airlines are brought into the regulations because smaller airlines will be involved. The new rule places an obligation upon airlines to report on animals that are injured, lost or killed during transportation.  The number of carriers obliged to report has been expanded from 14 to 27.

Between May 2000 May 8, 2010 government statistics indicate that 122 dogs died while being transported by airlines by their owners as cargo.

Animal advocates had asked that the rules be extended further to include all animals, as I understand it, but I believe it was decided that it created too onerous task.

Apparently, Delta airlines has (or had) the worst record in respect of pet transportation incidents but it appears that they have cleaned up their act because Delta reported 16 pet deaths in 2010 and 2 in 2013.  However, in 2011 more than 50% of pets who died during airline travel, flew Delta.

The improvement is put down to restrictions on the transportation of cats and dogs with breathing problems due to their extreme anatomical features. I'm referring to pugs for example and the modern Persian cat. It seems that it is more difficult for a pet to breathe in the hold of an aircraft and if a cat already has some difficulties in breathing then the combination can prove fatal.

Saturday, 2 June 2012

British Royalty Keeping Cats

With it being the Queens's 60th wedding anniversary and with the massive jubilee celebrations taking place in the UK I thought I would find out if I could add the domestic cat into the mix and see whether there are any royals who keep cats and if so what type of cat.

By the way, I'm going down to the Thames tomorrow to have a look at the flotilla of boats accompanying the "Royal Barge" that cost a million quid - we can't afford it, I say.

I came to a rapid conclusion that the royals of Britain are dog people. That probably would not surprise most visitors who read this (very few!). The royals are sort of upper class (actually very upper class), hunting, shooting, fishing sorts and with that kind of background you are much more likely to prefer dogs. You know...the outdoor life, country sports lifestyle with hunting dogs etc.

The Queen is famous for her Corgis and that is about all I know about the Queens's animal preferences other than her love of horse racing. She kept or still keeps some racing horses.

One person who is part of the royal family but not at the heart of it is HRH Princess Michael of Kent. She has various talents including writing and interior design. She's a cat person.

People say that she is pushy and unpleasant. I don't know her but anyone who likes cats can't be unpleasant!

She keeps cats (plural). I have seen a picture on her website with two cats. One appears to be a rich dark brown/black cat  (a moggie it seems) with a studded collar and the other is a Siamese as far as I can tell from the picture. You can see a photo on this page.

Blue Persian cat of 1901 the kind Queen Victoria cared for.
The cat is Lady Marcus Beresford's blue Persian "Gentian Landor".

Even royals from the past usually kept dogs it seems. For example, Wallis Simpson who married King Edward VIII liked dogs. Although she owned a diamond bracelet of a panther worth £4.5 million ($7 million) in modern money.

If we go back a bit further we discover that Queen Victoria cared for two blue Persian cats. Victoria was the Queen from 1837 until her death in 1901. This was the era of the beginning of the cat fancy. Persian cats were one of the relatively few cat breeds of that time and very popular they were.

There is a picture of Princess Victoria ("Toria"), daughter of Edward VII & Queen Alexandra (1868-1935) holding a cat on the royal yacht (see picture). I don't how significant this is. It does indicate that a royal personage kept a Siamese cat. The picture was taken in about 1914.

I can find nothing else that indicates that British royalty liked and kept cats. It's a doggy family.

However Siamese royalty was different. Siam is now Thailand and the Siamese cat as you probably know originates in Thailand. At one time, it seems (cat history can be a bit vague) that the Siamese cat was confined to the Royal Palace and the King of Siam. This was clearly a special cat in Thailand in the 19th century and the King of Siam, at the time of the cat's export to the West, was a cat person.

Siamese Cat History
King of Siam 1853-1910

The King of Siam allowed a foreigner to export the Siamese out of Siam to start the breed in the West. The story of the Siamese cat's kinked tail is bound up with the creation of this breed in the West. See also Siamese cat history.

Thursday, 31 May 2012

Meeting the Asiatic Lions of Gir Forest

By Rudolph.A.Furtado (Mumbai, India).

I have been on a four day "Lion Safari Camp" with B.N.H.S (Bombay Natural History Society) tour group  between Wednesday (16-5-2012) to Saturday (19-5-2012) to the Gir forests of Gujarat in India.

The Gir Forest is home to the last species of the Asiatic lion in the world numbering only about 400 approx. It is situated in the north-west of India (see map).


We visited the "Gir National Park" on 5 different occasions on 3 different days, lucky to spot the rare elusive lion. On the last day we saw an entire pride of 6 lions, sitting across our jeep trek road, approx 50 meters away from us. It was a life scene straight out of a "National Geographic Documentary".
Pride of lions walking in a single file
A young lion spotted in the undergrowth bushes of Gir Forest
The pride sighted on Friday (18-5-2012). A rare situation
Doesn't cat Matata my Persian cat resemble a miniature lion?

What baffled and surprised me was the behaviour of these totally wild lions towards the Guards (Wild-Life rangers) of the park. When a lion was spotted in the forest undergrowth by a guard  the tourist jeeps were allowed to approach closer to the lion for photography and viewing. We spotted a lion on all 3 different days of a 3 hour safari ride inside the jungle and every time a forest ranger kept watch on the tourists and the lion.

These guards were familiar to the lions akin to our house-hold cats, hence allowed the guards to approach them on foot and a ordinary wooden baton within a 50 meters distance.

Remember, these are genuine wild forest lions that prey on other jungle species for survival including the nomadic Maldhari's tribal cattle. Yet these same lions have never ever attacked a forest ranger, very strange and also demonstrates that all wild species are basically scared of humans.

On the last day we spotted a pride of 6 lions  relaxing on a mound, later walking in a file alongside the tourist road. The pride was led by a matriarch lioness and there were 3 cubs, a juvenile male lion and another mature lioness.

They resembled a mother cat with her kittens, reminding me of my own cats back home in Mumbai. For the first time in my life I got to observe natural wild lions and realized that our small house-hold cats mimic the behaviour of the "Big Cats".

Read my blog " The Last Asiatic Lion in Gir Forest":-

http://delhionasolobackpackersbudgettour.blogspot.in/

Rudolph.A.Furtado

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