Alia Butt has a muse: her all-white, doll-face (traditional) Persian cat. Alia Bhatt is one of several Bollywood actresses who love cats and live with them. Bhatt lives in Mumbai with her sister Shaheen according to NDTV.com. They used to share their apartment with three cats. Sadly, in January, they lost their Sheeba. We are not told if she died. It looks that way. They adopted her in 2008 as a stray. Well done in rescuing her.
Shahen said that she fought for her life to the end. So the pair have two cats, currently. That number may need updating so please don’t bank on it.
There is a really nice photograph of Alia with her white Persian. The cat looks a bit grumpy but the facial expression is misleading. A beautiful cat.
Persians are the most popular purebred cat in India. This is probably because they are one of the best established cat breeds and India is just waking up to the idea of a cat fancy and adopting purebred cats. Another old cat breed, the Siamese, is also popular but less so than the Persian. White Persians seem to be the number one pick.
The Bollywood stars might be aware that there are health issues associated with the Persian. Although there are usually linked to the punch-face variety. You know, the flat-faced, contemporary cat. The extreme and unnatural breeding distorts the anatomy causing breathing issues and tear duct overflow. There is a preponderance of polycystic kidney disease in Persians due to poor breeding practices.
I don’t know if the cat fancy has done anything about this.
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Note: these sometimes stop working. If it has I am sorry.
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