Exotic Cats And Kitten Videos

Question: Why do persian and exotic cats have such flat faces?

(Posted by: on 2012-01-19 05:38:21)

Is there a specific evolutionary reason why their noses are so "squashed "?

Posted by: Ocimom on 2012-01-19, 06:06:14

Nothing "evolutionary " about it at all. If you read the Persian/ Exotic standard they have a shorter nose that is more even with the eyes, nose, mouth. A Persian that is bred correctly to the standard will have a flatter looking face.

Posted by: Kim on 2012-01-19, 08:28:19

No, just bad genetics. There's no evolutionary advantage for brachycephalic breeds.

Posted by: Ariane deR on 2012-01-19, 15:07:16

No it's certainly not natural selection It's artificial selection -- selective breeding. The reason is fashion. Basically what has happened in some breeds (Persian & Siamese being the most dramatic examples) is that breeders have taken the traits existing early in the breed, traits they found striking, and they selectively bred to exaggerate those traits more and more. So in the case of Persians, they already had a rather short face and short nose, and flatter faces became a trend that was popular in the show halls. Breeders selectively bred for this by choosing the cats with the shorter faces and shorter noses to breed; this trend was also spurred along by a mutation that happened in Red Persians that caused a very flat "peke-face " and a different structure of the skull These were not the same as today's Persian standard, they actually had their own different standard. But some of these were bred with other Persians to get quicker to a flatter face. Anyway, Persians ended up with a flat face and very short nose with a very pronounced break, and the breed standard was changed to fit the new look. I actually think they have pulled back somewhat from the extreme some went to, where they were losing the "sweet open expression " that is supposed to be a hallmark of the breed. So for example, a while back the GCCF in the UK changed it to say the nose leather actually could not be higher than bottom of the eyes! ( Good!) And while the U.S.- based registries have not actually explicitly put that into the written standard, it seems they may be going by the same thing. At least I've heard a Persian breeder and a cat show judge discuss this point as if it were actually in the standard, while acknowledging that it is not. Another thing is that they started to breed for large nostrils to offset the constricted breathing passages of the brachycephalic head. That does not necessarily totally solve the problems. Schlueter et al "Brachycephalic feline noses: CT and anatomical study of the relationship between head conformation and the nasolacrimal drainage system. " J Feline Med Surg Nov;11(11):891-900. jfm.sagepub.com/ content/ 11/ 11/ 891.full.pdf+ html This is not to say I don't think they are cute. but I don't like them better than the way Persians used to look up to about the 1970s. It's complex, though. because the breeders who are breeding to the standard ( which is now the flat face) and showing their cats are in general also more likely to be the ones doing other health tests. There are breeders who breed the old fashioned type of Persian that they sometimes call "doll face Persians " or "traditional Persians " but many of them are NOT paying attention to other health issues, let alone going to the effort and expense to organize and try to get them recognized as their own breed, I wish there would be some responsible breeders involved in that maybe linking up with the "Shirazi Persians " in the Middle East. but I don't know anything about it. Unfortuntately it seems like a lot of the people breeding the older type of Persian are just in it for money , not for any greater goal

Posted by: Whortleberry on 2012-01-19, 15:36:52

Sad to say, this is the result of a craze in the Cat Fancy. (That is the term given to people who show cats at cat shows.) Some years ago, it seems judges began favoring the cats with the flatter faces, Ghod only knows why. So of course breeders began breeding in that direction. So now we have homely cats with chronic breathing problems. IMO, disgusting. Poor kitties.