Persian Cat: Grumpy Face
Photos are copyright Helmi Flick except for center drawing and the picture below the drawing.
The original grumpy cat is not Grumpy Cat but the modern Persian. The modern Persian cat is the forerunner of celebrity Grumpy Cat.
The contemporary, flat-faced Persian cat, as championed by the world’s biggest cat registry and the most important cat association in the US, the Cat Fanciers’ Association, is meant to have a sweet expression. That is an important part of the objectives in breeding this cat.
The CFA breed standard (extract Dec. 2013):
The ideal Persian should present an impression of a heavily boned, well balanced cat with a sweet expression and soft, round lines.
Yet, so often we see Mr Grumpy Cat in the face of this very popular cat breed, the most registered cat breed for many years in the USA. It is very noticeable. What happened? Well, the answer has to be breeding too far and to an extreme while losing sight of the what cat caretaking is all about. The breed standard, I would say, creates a tendency for the Persian to look grumpy. It is about bone structure. The breed standard indirectly creates this bone structure. Grumpy Cat got her grumpy expression accidentally. The Persian was given hers by breeders.
By contrast the traditional Persian has always retained that oh-so-important sweet expression. It comes naturally. I don’t have to write anymore on this. The conclusions are obvious.
Here is Crystalline a trad. Persian in Holland:
Persian cats – Photo of Cristalline a Traditional Persian © D. Rozeboom