The most known and famous animal of Iran, is Persian cat. Although Iran has many many other famous wild and domestic animals but it is the "Persian cat" that you hear, if you ask any body around the world about the Iranian animals. The history of the Persian cat will never be known with certainly, but this longhair cat may have mated with Angoras after it moved to Italy during the 16th century.

It's original roots back to 1684 B.C. But the interesting thing is that this beautiful and lovely pet, just for the last 1300 of 5000 years of the Iranian great history became the most likable pet of the people in this country. The early Zoroastrian Persians that loved and respected the "dog" as a holy animal, had some harsh rules against cats, because they saw it as a symbol of the Satan. This situation changed when the Iranians became Moslems and since then until now, they see the dog as an impure animal and they prefer cats as a pet in their homes. But anyhow black cat stated as a sign of bad luck in the Iranian folklore.

Cats are very close to our history too. For example, when kambiz (the son of great Cyrus) marched to Egypt in 525 B.C He knew that cats are holy for these people. So every Persian soldier took with him a cat and when they arrived to Pharaoh's army, the Egyptian that saw these cats, submit with no fights.? Also it is known that for the first time cat came to China from Iran, as a gift of the king of Persia.

Persian cats later spread to France and Great Britain, where they gained popularity with royal figures such as queen victoria and Edward VII. An exodus to North America began in the late 19th century and In our time Persian cat in number one cat in popularity in the United States.

Persians remain one of the oldest and most popular breeds today, both as pets and show animals. Their coats span a wide range of color including solid, shaded, smoke, tabby, particolor and point colors.

• Persian cat Breed Description:

• Head: Round, massive, domed. Very broad, round skull. Rounded forehead. Round, full cheeks. Strong, prominent cheekbones. Short, broad nose, sometimes slightly turned up. Marked break between the eyes. Short, broad muzzle. Strong, full, well-developed chin. Broad, powerful jaws.

• Eyes: Large, round, wide open, well-spaced. The intense, deep color corresponds to that of the coat (gold to copper for all colors;
  green in the chinchilla, silver, and golden; blue in the colorpoint; heterochromatic in some white-coated Persians, etc.).

• Neck: Short, strong, very muscular.

• Body: Medium to large, massive (cobby), powerful. Broad, deep chest; shoulders and hips of equal width. Broad, short back. Short abdomen. Short, massive bones. Firm, well-developed muscles.

• Paw: Short, strong, straight. Powerful bones, well-developed muscles. Broad, round, strong paws. Long tufts of hair between the toes.

• Tail: Short, in proportion to the body, well-furnished with very long hairs forming a plume. Carried fairly low.

• Coat: Very fine fur with long hair in the topcoat and undercoat. Dense, silky, long hair on the entire body (10 cm on average and up to 20 cm on the frill). All colors are recognized.

• Fault: Long or narrow head. Long nose, narrow muzzle, obvious underbite. Large, pointed ears that are too close together. Small, slanted eyes too pale in color. Narrow, slender, long, high-standing body. Tail too long. Oval paws, long toes.

• Disqualify: lockets or buttons; kink in the tail, serious jaw deformity.