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.

Alternative cat show commentary of a Persian cat by a veterinarian

Alternative cat show commentary of a Persian cat by a veterinarian. Screenshot.

This video appeals to me because veterinarians have the status in society to have their voice heard and listened to. And there is a need to educate the public about the irresponsible breeding of Persian cats which has been going on for donkey's years with the acceptance of the cat associations. People should not be creating animals that are inherently unhealthy. Simple. Full stop. And yet it happens all the time because appearance trumps health in the cat fancy. It is worse for dog breeds. There are some horrendous stories. 

For instance, the Boxer has 74 inherited health problems thanks to unregulated selective breeding over a very long time which has reduced this breed to a living catalogue of major health issues.

Here is Ben's video on Persians.

I suppose I should not harp on about the Persian too much but it is the paradigm example of cat breeding gone wrong. Someone in the cat fancy decided in the 1950s that flattening the face of this once beautiful cat (c.f. the doll-face Persian) would make it more attractive. How did they figure that one out?

Clearly the peke-faced, punch-face in India, Persian is less attractive than the original Persian. The point is that it is more interesting looking. It is more extreme in appearance and people like something different whatever the 'product' is.

But in flattening the face they distorted the internal anatomy in the head which leads to health issues and breathing problems.

35% of Persians also suffer from PKD; polycystic kidney disease. This describes cysts on the kidneys. Not good, right? People should protest and stop buying the flat-faced Persian until the cat associations make it mandatory to breed healthy Persians by disqualifying all flat-faced ones from cat show competitions.

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.