Persian Cats: The Silver And Golden

It has been said that in times passed the silvers were hard to handle. This is not true today. Persian cat breeders have worked hard to eliminate behavior problems. The silvers are however, described as being different in personality from Persians of other colors. Some of those differences are:

• More active
• Lower birth weights in general
• Females leave the nest box quite early
• They mature sexually at an early age, but do not look their best until they are three to five years old
• Some of the silvers are smaller in size and lighter in bone when compared with other Persians
• They are outgoing cats with unique personalities
• They are intelligent, affectionate and people-oriented lap cats
• They are not couch potatoes as Persians have often been described
• They are sensitive and need to be socialized from an early age
• They do not like isolation and confinement
• Many have profuse coats, some have the difficult-to-groom “cotton candy” coat
• All seem to have fine textured hair that breaks easily
• They may have more sensitive skin
• It is best to start grooming early and gently

Once you see a chinchilla Persian, you may feel there is no other color as striking. The silver and golden division includes the chinchilla Persian as well as shaded silvers and goldens. The chinchilla is a glistening white feline with black or gold tipping lightly sprinkled throughout the entire coat, except for a pure white color on chest and stomach. There are both gold and silver varieties of chinchilla Persians.

The shaded variety of Persian exhibits a mantle of black on its backside with evenly shaded sides. There should be darker tipping on the legs and face than is found on the chinchilla. Golden Persians have a basic color that is a deep, warm cream with the tips of the hairs being black.

Silvers and goldens should have green or hazel eyes with a black rim encircling them as if a makeup artist had applied eye liner either a dark red or rose colored and the paw pads should be black.

Shaded and smoke division contains all Persians with tipped coats, except for those who are found in the silver and golden division. Smoke Persians that fall into this category are:

• Black
• Blue
• Cream
• Cameo (red)
• Smoke tortoiseshell
• Blue cream

A sleeping or lounging smoke Persian will appear a solid color, however, once the smoke Persian begins to move, you will see the undercoat which is a pure snow white.

Source: Persian Cats by Sandra L. Toney, published by T.F.H., the world’s largest and most respected publisher of pet literature, and Cat Fancy Association Online

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