Polesden

Origin

Persian cats were first brought to Europe in the 16th centuary from Persia, modern day Iran. These cats looked very different from the Persians today.

The Chinchilla is a tipped variety of the Persian cat.  There are in fact more than 60 varieties and colour variations of Persians.

The first Chinchilla can be traced back to the 1800's, a famous chinchilla called Silver Lamkins who won most of the major awards at the Crystal Palace cat show in 1888.  It seems he was the originator of this distinctively coloured cat, however he looked a lot different to the Chinchillas of today.

Description

Chinchillas can live for between 10-18 years.  They reach their full maturity at about 3 years of age.   

The Persian is a medium sized cat that should have a long, thick coat, short legs, wide head with rounded ears set far apart, large eyes, short broad nose and an extremely foreshortened muzzel.  The forehead, nose and chin should be in vertical alignment.

There are two distinct face types:  The modern flat-faced Persian and the traditional doll-faced Persian.  The doll-faced Persian has a more proportioned face, with the mouth and nose located well in front of the eyes, while retaining the basic broad, round and flat look.

Chinchillas kittens are usually born almost black with heavy tabby markings.  These disappear as they get older.  The adult coat is long, thick and silky.  It should be white and sufficiently tipped with either black, silver or gold to give a shimmering, transluscent appearance.  The tipping should be restricted to the head, back, legs, flanks and tail.  The underbelly, chest, chin and ear tufts should be white. Chinchillas that are tipped with silver are called shaded silvers whilst those with gold tips are called shaded goldens.

Their noses are brick red and outlined in black.  Their paw pads black.  Their eyes are large, round and outlined with black and the eye colour should be green or blue-green. 

Temperament

Persians Chinchillas make excellent pets and companions as they have a very laid back, affectionate and loving nature.  They are relatively quiet and love to lie around looking decorative.  They are very suited to being house cats as they seem to prefer to spend much of their day inside.  Due to having such thick, long coats they do need regular grooming.

Chinchillas are most content when they are receiving your adoring attention. They are an attentive, loyal and loving breed and usually become very attached to their owners.

If you have seen the James Bond film 'Diamonds are Forever' you will remember Blofeld holding and stroking a Chinchilla cat in him arms whilst plotting his world domination.  This image accurately shows you the temperament of a Chinchilla - placid, quiet and quite content on having lots of love and attention!

Colours

Persians come in a huge variety of coat colours they are in 7 colour divisions:

Solid Colour, Tabby, Silver & Golden, Parti- Colour, Calico & Bi-colour and Himalayan

                        Doll-Faced Persian                                      Flat-Faced Persian