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The original longhaired cats that became the foundation of this breed were brought to Europe in the 19th century by diplomats living in the East (Turkey, Persia, and to a small degree, Russia).
The cats from Persia were more massive than the longer, sleeker cats from Ankara, Turkey (called Angoras, and later the basis for the Turkish Angora that is recognized today). However, they were interbred as their breeders saw fit to develop what would eventually be the basis for today's Persian. But from the beginning, the Persian was a large-boned cat with a large head and big round eyes.
English enthusiasts continued working with the breed and records indicate that it was exhibited at the first cat show held at the Crystal Palace in 1871.
The breed arrived in America sometime in the early 1870's.
In early cat shows, cats were often judged together by color as there were only a few recognized breeds. Early colors of Persians were often treated as individual breeds. As the breed (and the cat fancy) grew and developed, a single breed and standard united these cats.
The breed is still so large in numbers that it is broken down into color divisions for judging purposes. These colors are:
- Solid
- Tabby
- Shaded and Smoke
- Silver and Golden
- Parti-color
- Bicolor
- Himalayan
The breed grew in popularity throughout the 20th century. The look that is the hallmark of today's Persian began when breeders in the 1970's began breeding for a more extreme look as that was the look that both judges and breeders favored. The face flattened so that the nose became short and on the same vertical plane as the rest of the face, with an indentation ("nose break") between the eyes. The eyes became larger and the face took on the sweet open expression we see today.
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