| The "Rolls Royce" of the cat world is the Silver | | | | 1976. |
| Persian. Its look is timeless and very elegant. The | | | | In 1961, the Shaded Division consisted of chinchilla |
| Silver Persian has always been known as regal and | | | | silvers, shaded silvers, and smokes. It was at this |
| exquisite in appearance. The elegant Golden Persian is | | | | time when cameos were accepted and added to the |
| a pretty close runner up to the Silver. To some, it is | | | | division as well. The smokes were taken out of the |
| the most beautiful of all. A lot of Persian cat breeders | | | | Shaded Division and given their own division in 1965. |
| learn it is more productive to specialize, and almost | | | | Chinchilla goldens and shaded goldens were accepted |
| always, the top winners of each generation come | | | | by CFA in 1976 and added to the Shaded Division. |
| from catteries that breed the silver and golden | | | | The years of 1995 and 1996 brought more changes. |
| Persians. | | | | The cameos and shaded torties were placed in the |
| Chinnie, silver Persian, born in 1882 in England is the | | | | Smoke Division. The division name was changed to |
| earliest documentation of silvers. To date, no pictures | | | | the Shaded and Smoke Division. Silvers and goldens |
| of her have been found, however, historians have | | | | were in a division called the Silver and Golden division |
| found one picture of her famous grandson, "Silver | | | | (not the Green-eyed division). |
| Lambkin." Today, we can trace back to Lambkin in | | | | The early Persians of any color looked little like |
| some pedigrees. It is unfortunate that there was little | | | | today's Persians. Selective breeding, silver breeders |
| record keeping in the early days, so there is not | | | | had almost eliminated tabby markings and leg bars by |
| much in writing to tell us about those days. Of course | | | | the mid-20th Century. This is when color breeding |
| as time went on, people started to pay more | | | | became an absolute must for Persian cat breeders, |
| attention to record keeping. | | | | or else the breeders faced criticism. There was still |
| Silver Persian History | | | | no agreement, however, of how many generations |
| The early records show other colors, often blues and | | | | were required for a silver to be considered a |
| tabbies, were used in the breeding of silvers. We can | | | | "colorbreed" cat. |
| also find documentation of silvers appearing in the | | | | Color breeding remained a necessity for many years |
| pedigrees of Persians of other colors. However, there | | | | to maintain the beautiful trademark coloring of the |
| is no record of when silvers were accepted by the | | | | silver Persian. Since the gene pool was small, certain |
| Cat Fanciers' Association. It is reasonable to assume | | | | physical characteristics seemed to belong exclusively |
| the silvers were among the original colors bred when | | | | with the silver color. These characteristics were:o |
| the Cat Fanciers' Association was organized in 1906. | | | | The cats were generally lighter in boneo And |
| The silvers were imported from England into the | | | | eventually smaller in size |
| United States before 1906. | | | | As the years went on, and the Persian became more |
| Golden Persian History | | | | and more popular, additional colors and patterns were |
| The golden color is recessive to silver. It has a | | | | developed. This resulted in a larger gene pool. At the |
| shorter history in CFA than the Silver Persian. Before | | | | same time, the gene pool of the silvers remained the |
| the golden color was accepted, odd colored kittens | | | | same. Interested breeders began to include other |
| appeared occasionally in colorbreed silver litters. They | | | | colors in their breeding programs. Fannie Mood of |
| were often referred to as brownies and placed as | | | | Delphi Cattery, a former CFA registrar, was one of |
| pets. The 1960s brought a new light to the golden | | | | the earliest who participated in this type of out |
| color. A few breeders became interested and started | | | | crossing. Unfortunately, she was greatly criticized for |
| working with them. There was a unique beauty of | | | | breeding to a blue Persian. |
| their golden coats in contrast with their green or | | | | Continued in Part 2 |
| blue-green eyes that attracted more and more | | | | Source: The Cat Fancier Association Online |
| dedicated breeders. Gradually, the golden Persians | | | | This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. |
| grew in popularity and were accepted by CFA in | | | | |