No one can dispute the Persian’s popularity. The breed has ranked as the most registered breed in the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) for years. So many Persians grace living rooms across America, in fact, that the CFA divides the breed into seven respective divisions for show competition: solid, calico and bicolor, tabby, shaded and smoke, particolor, Himalayan, and silver and golden.
All Persians are famous for their sweet, expressive eyes. Silver and golden fans say that their cats have extra sparkle in those eyes. “They’re the only Persians that have green eyes,” says Elise Scafani, who breeds silver and golden Persians and Exotics exclusively at Jade River cattery in California. “When you put a really nice color golden with an aqua-green eye, it’s just to die for.”
Those lovely green eyes have another special feature. “They all have mascara,” says silver breeder Sally Daniels of ShadedKnoll cattery in California. “They even have little black eyelashes.” The black “mascara” outline that surrounds the cats’ eyes also extends to other parts of the body, Daniels says. “Their noses are outlined in black, their lips are outlined in black and their paw pads are black.”
**For the full article, pick up the April 2007 issue of CAT FANCY.**
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