Over 8 posts, I am going to go through cat breeds, and cover some basic titbits about the breeds; a little bit of history surrounding the breed, including the original use for the breed, and some other interesting facts.

This, the sixth, post will cover P-R of cat breeds. In the follow-up posts I will look into cat breeds from S-V, and W-Z… basically I am doing an A-Z of cat breeds, covering 1-3 breeds per letter.

If I do not cover the breed of your cat in this post, and you would like me to; please leave the breed in the thoughts comment box below, or post it via the contact page, or get in touch via any social media pages listed at the end of each post – this way I can include your breed in another post (either the follow up, or a repeat with different breeds). Do the same if you want more information than I have provided on any particular cat breed, or if you would like to share a photo of your cat(s)!

P

Persian

Country of Origin: Persia

Lifespan: 10-15 years Breed Size: Medium – Large

Hair/Fur Length: Longhair Colour(s): All colours/ patterns

Breed History: Brought to western Europe, and bred, for aesthetics – the Persian was (amongst the Siamese, the Manx, and other exotic breeds) in the first organised cat show in London, in 1871. The Persian won “best in show”.

Outstanding Physical Trait: The long fur is a signature trait of the Persian. Unfortunately, due to intensive selective breeding, this breed is now also known for their squashed faces and the breathing difficulties that accompanies this aesthetic breeding choice.

Peterbald

Country of Origin: St. Petersberg, Russia

Lifespan: 10+ years Breed Size: Small – Medium

Hair/Fur Length: Very Shorthair – Hairless Colour(s): All colours/ patterns

Breed History: Bred in St. Petersberg, Russia in the early 1990’s this bald cat by crossing a female Oriental Shorthair with a male Don Sphinx. The litter of four kittens is thought to be the origin of this breed. Bred for the bald appearance.

Outstanding Physical Trait: The lack of hair on this oriental-looking breed is the most outstanding feature of the Peterbald cat. There is a type of this breed known as “ultra bald” which does not even have whiskers!

Q

There are no breeds for this letter; however, here is an interesting fact for you all – an un-neutered adult female cat is called a “Queen”! (Fits in with the personality of cats I think!)

R

Ragdoll

Country of Origin: California, USA

Lifespan: 12-15 years Breed Size: Large

Hair/Fur Length: Semi-Longhair

Colour(s): Tabby, seal, blue, red, tortoiseshell, cream, chocolate & lilac colouration in colour-point, mitted & bi-colour patterns

Breed History: Developed in the 1960’s by a breeder named Ann Baker, the origin of this breed is thought to have consisted almost entirely of stray cats. Ann bred a domestic white longhair (named Josephine), that she found loose in her neighbourhood, to other stray cats and also to cats that she owned. By selecting the individuals with the criteria that she wanted, Ann created the Ragdoll breed.

Outstanding Physical Trait: This breed is known for their blue eyes. They are usually born with blue eyes which often stay for life, however not all Ragdolls have blue eyes into adulthood – some deepen to a golden colour as the cat matures.

Rex (Cornish, Selkirk, Devon and La Perm)

Please click the above link to learn more about the La Perm.

Country of Origin: Cornish Rex – Cornwall, UK / Selkirk Rex – Montana, USA

Lifespan: 10-15 Breed Size: Medium

Hair/Fur Length: Cornish – Shorthair / Selkirk – Shorthair and Longhair

Colour(s): Cornish – Solid colours: white, black, blue, red, cream, lavender, chocolate; patterns: tortoiseshell, calico, bi-colour, pointed. / Selkirk – Any colour and pattern

Breed History: Cornish – In the 1950’s Mrs Nina Ennismore and Miss Winifred Macalister, noticed that Serena (their pet tortishell/white shorthair) had an odd kitten in the her litter. The odd kitten was named Kallibunker and was the only one of the litter (of five) born with a curly coat and whiskers; he was the original Cornish Rex. The father of this litter was unknown but it is likely it was Serena’s brother Ginger (a shorthair red tabby).
Selkirk – This curly coated cat originated from a pet cat named Miss DePesto of Noface or “Pest” for short. Pest was found in a shelter in Montana, and ended up with a Persian cat breeder, Jeri Newman, who bred her with a black Persian. Pest produced a litter of six; three of which were curly coated (Selkirk Rex) kittens.

Outstanding Physical Trait: Cornish – Described as having an egg-shaped head, with a rounded forehead and high cheekbones. However, again, the obvious trait is the short, soft and wavy fur. / Selkirk – Described as having a round head with no flat planes; again the curl of the coat is the main outstanding trait. The curl of the Selkirk loose curled, and shows up more on the longhair than the shorthair.

Cornish Rex (left) and Selkirk Rex (right)

All images are open source, Google images, or my own – or photos donated for use by the pet owners.


If you have any questions or comments; please post a comment below, or contact Ali’s Answers via one of my social media pages…
. Google+ (Ali’s Animal Answers)
. Facebook (Ali’s Animal Answers)
. Twitter (@AlisAnswers)
. LinkedIn (Ali Holloway)

Posted in Uncategorised

Leave a Reply

Theme: Overlay by Kaira Extra Text
Cape Town, South Africa