Balashah Persians

Little is known of the Persian's early history but it is thought they originated in Mesopotamia, which was then Persia and is now modern day Iran.  The nobleman Pietro Della Valle is credited with bringing the first long haired cats to Europe in the 17th century.  Long haired cats, called Asiatic cats were exhibited at the first cat show in 1871 at the Crystal Palace in London.  They became favorites of Queen Victoria.  They were imported to the United States in the early 19th century where the breed was then developed more fully by American breeders.

The modern day Persian breed standard calls for a large to medium sized cat with heavy boning and short, thick legs.  Forehead, nose and chin in vertical alignment when viewed in profile.  Nose is short, snub and broad with the break centered between large, round eyes giving a sweet expression to the face.

While some Persians are categorized by some breeders as teacup or doll face this is actually a misnomer.  Teacup Persians are simply small Persians and not a breed unto itself.  The same goes for doll faced Persians.  This is just a Persian that does not meet the breed standard because of a longer nose. 

At twelve weeks, kittens have had their first round of kitten vaccines and have developed the physical and social abilities needed for a new environment.   Keeping a Persian indoors is a must, as well as providing acceptable surfaces (e.g. scratching posts) for the natural behavior of scratching.  Declawing a kitten or cat is mutilation by amputating the last bone of each toe.  This can then result in both physical and behavioral complications for the cat such as inappropriate elimination and aggressiveness.  Think how well you would do in life with the tips of your fingers amputated.