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Standard and health? A provocative question?
Let us read the standards regarding the aspects of their
proportions and implications for health.
Standard Persian in TICA,
Persian Breed Group Standard, 05/01/2004:
HEAD:
Shape: Round, broad, smooth domed, with great breadth.
Should be medium to large in size and in proportion to body.
Jaws broad and powerful with perfect tooth occlusion. Cheeks
should be full and prominent. Overall sweet expression.Chin:
Strong, full, well-developed, fitting into the face.
Nose: Almost as broad as long with open nostrils. Muzzle
should be short, broad and full.
Profile: Short, snub-nose, definite break directly between
eyes. Forehead, nose and chin in straight line. |
The top of the head shall be rounded like a dome.
In fact, the modern Persians have an extremely developed forehead
and top of the head, and thus the face has been shifted into the lower
half of the head.
What does "domed" mean?
In Webster's dictionary the following explanation can be found:
Main Entry:
2dome
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): domed; dom·ing
transitive verb
1 : to cover with a dome
2 : to form into a dome
intransitive verb : to swell upward or outward like a dome |
Main Entry:
1dome
Function: noun
Etymology: French, Italian, & Latin; French dôme dome, cathedral,
from Italian duomo cathedral, from Medieval Latin domus church,
from Latin, house; akin to Greek domos house, Sanskrit dam
1 archaic : a stately building : MANSION
2 : a large hemispherical roof or ceiling
3 : a natural formation or structure that resembles the dome or
cupola of a building |
When taking "dome" by its word, the top of the head shall look like
a dome, it shall be domed. This is a very disputable description.
The head shall be with great breadth, medium to large
in size.
Also this description shows in reality, that the head has become too
broad and too large in proportion to the body.
It is problematic to give such measurements like "great breadth" and
to give such sizes like "to large", as the head of the Persians has
already reached the other end of the scale today, the scale "large".
Let us make the following comparison:
The head of the modern Persian has become larger, but the pelvis
has not become broader in the same proportions. How does a bowl fit
into a container, whose aperture is too small?
It is not surprising that the number of caesarean sections has
increased.
Have you ever watched the little babies closely when born, that the
head of the newborns is somewhat deformed and that it takes 1-2 days
that the head looks round again.
The head should be round.
In reality the shape of the head can be inscribed into a
horizontally lying rectangle. If the head would be really round, its
shape could be inscribed into a square.
The nose shall be almost as broad as long, it shall be a
snub-nose with a definite break between the eyes.
Such a phrase can also be read in this way: The nose shall not be
longer than its width. This description is questionable and risky, as
the reality of those ultra-short noses of the modern Persian and their
consequences demonstrate very clearly: crushed or degenerated
lachrymal ducts and weeping and crying eyes.
Certainly, some will argue now, that degenerated lachrymal ducts are
not necessarily due to a short nose. Just think logically in terms of
anatomy and physics, the lachrymal duct and all its parts (and there
are more than one part in this organ!) need space and a certain
length to be able to fulfill their function properly, i.e. to deduct the
lachrymal fluid. And exactly this space and length needed are not
existing any more.
 |
 |
| This is today's so called modern type. |
And this would be - according to today's
reality - an old fashioned type. |
| The length of the nose can be seen between the
white and orange middle line. |
|
The definite break shall be between the eyes.
In the left picture one can see already, that the break is almost at
the upper edge of the eyes.
In the picture to the right the stop is between the eyes, according to
the standard. And - never the less - this cat would loose against the
cat to the left.
There must be made a difference between a break (a non-rounded
indentation), as seen in the picture to the left, and a stop (a
rounded indentation), as seen in the picture to the right.
You can also see in the picture to the left, that the upper edge of the
nose leather is turned upward, as it is usually in a snub-nose, and
that the edge of the nose leather is above the lower edge of the eyes.
 | Therefore the question, where a fully functioning lachrymal duct
shall find its space here, is legitimate, when the stop is almost at
the upper edge of the eyes and the upper edge of the nose leather is
already far above the lower edge of the eyes. |
| Also the question is legitimate, why cats, which deviate from
their standard in such a way, get a better judgement in shows of
today's reality. |
| And an essential question is legitimate, if it can be good for a
free breathing, when the nostrils are higher than broad. |
Standard
Persian in FIFe, issued 01.01.2010:
Head
Shape: round and massive, well balanced, very broad skull
Forehead: rounded
Cheeks: full
Nose: short, broad, with a definite stop, but not a snub
nose. The nose bridge and the nose leather must be wide. Nostrils
well open, allowing free and easy passage of air. Stop to be
between the eyes, neither above the upper eyelid nor below the
lower eyelid
Chin: strong
Jaws: broad and powerful
Expression: nice open |
The skull shall be very broad.
Here is written the little, but very important word "very".
The same questions have to be raised, such descriptions support the
unhealthy development that modern Persians got too broad heads, as the
reality already proves.
The forehead shall be rounded.
The German translation does not correspond to the English
version, because in German is written gewölbt = arched = domed.
Between rounded and arched is a distinct difference. When something
is arched, the grade of roundness is usually larger than, when
something is only rounded.
And exactly this has lead to the present situation, that the Persian
has an over proportionally prominent and arched forehead, which does
not harmonize to the rest of the head.
Even you do not like to hear that, the veterinary and the
scientific literature call this Brachycephalia.
See the
Medical dictionary of Roche:
so called shortness, roundness or broadness of the head with
flattening of the occiput.
The nose shall be short and broad.
There is no further description, like in the standard above, how
the proportion between the length and the broadness of the nose shall
be. This is left up to subjective interpretations.
In reality the nose has become extremely short, as pictured above. It
would be better to use the wording 'medium short'.
The nose must have a stop, which is between the eyes.
The word "between" is also not explained, like in the
standard above, "between" is only restricted that the stop shall not
be above the upper eyelid (to be logic, probably the upper edge of the
eyes is meant here).
Between the upper and lower edge of the eyes is left plenty of room
for interpretation, that the stop can be shifted as high up as
possible, and that is already the case in reality.
There is a distinct difference between a break and a stop. A break is
a non-rounded indentation, a stop is a rounded indentation.
Both standards do not make any statement, where the upper edge of
the nose leather shall be placed. In reality the upper edge of the
nose leather is already above the lower edge of the eyes.
It would be better to request, that the upper edge of the nose leather
must be below the lower edge of the eyes. This would ensure a certain
length of the nose.
Standard
Persian in CFA, Revised: 2009
| HEAD: round and massive,
with great breadth of skull. Round face with round underlying
bone structure. Well set on a short, thick neck. Skull structure
to be smooth and round to the touch and not unduly exaggerated
from where the forehead begins at the top of the break to the
back of the head, as well as across the breadth between the ears.
When viewed in profile, the prominence of the eyes is apparent
and the forehead, nose, and chin appear to be in vertical
alignment. NOSE: short, snub, and broad, with "break" centered between the
eyes.
CHEEKS: full. Muzzle not overly pronounced, smoothing nicely
into the cheeks.
JAWS: broad and powerful.
CHIN: full, well-developed, and firmly rounded, reflecting a
proper bite. |
The skull must have great breadth.
Also this description has shown in reality, that the head is too
broad compared to the shoulders.
It is also problematic here to give such measurements like "great
breadth", as the head of the Persians has already reached the other
end of the scale today, the scale "too broad".
What is the meaning of the word "skull"?
Medical dictionary of Roche:
"the bony skeleton of the head, divided into the cranium
viscerale and cranium cerebrale (including the base of the skull)
| Does the standard really mean the entire skeleton of the
head? |
| Is the proportion between the cranium viscerale and the
cranium cerebrale harmonic today, when the upper part of the
head is almost as high and large as the entire face? |
Merriam-Webster:
Definition of SKULL
1
: the skeleton of the head of a vertebrate forming a bony or
cartilaginous case that encloses and protects the brain and chief
sense organs and supports the jaws
2
: the seat of understanding or intelligence : mind
One is almost tented to ask:
If the Persian shall have a large skull, they must have also a
larger intelligence, because there is more room for the brain.
Let us put this joke aside, however, the function of this bony
case must make us thinking and the following questions are mandatory
to be raised:
| Does the skull of the Persian still fulfill its function
to protect the chief sense organs, to which also the eyes
(vision) with all their important parts (including also the
lachrimal apparatus) belong? |
| Does such a bone structure of the skull really still support
the jaws, when you think of the various deformations of the bite
(especially the prognathism and the canines, which are twisted)? |
The structure of the skull (meant is here the upper part of the
head 1)) shall not be unduly exaggerated.
The face shall be round.
Reality is different than this standard writes correctly. The
upper part of the head makes already one third part up to the half of the entire head,
and the face - which shall be round, according to this standard - has
become oval and has been shifted to the lower part of the head.
1) Why is meant the upper part of the skull here?
When you read the standard carefully, the word "skull" is restricted
to the upper part of the head here:
"from where the forehead begins" .
And if you read in Merriam-Webster more at the "skull", you will read
the following:
"Related to SKULL
Synonyms: cranium"
According to Merriam-Webster the cranium is:
cra·ni·um
plural cra·ni·ums or -nia \-nē-\
Definition of CRANIUM
: skull; specifically : the part that encloses the brain : braincase
You can see already in this standard, that the word "skull" is used
here in different meanings:
Once the entire skull = cranium viscerale and cranium cerebrale is
meant.
The other time only the upper part of the head = braincase is meant.
The forehead, nose and chin appear in that way that they are in
vertical alignment
This is an addition to the standard, added since 2007.
If forehead, nose and chin form a vertical line (yellow line in both
pictures), then the face must be arched inwards (I call this plated
face), otherwise the nose would exceed over this straight line.
 |
 |
| To the left: the head of an "old-typed" Persian |
To the right: the head of the modern type of Persians
A typical brachycephalic head - see the chapter "The
forehead shall be rounded". |
If the head shall be round, that means round also in the 3rd
dimension, and not only round in a plane. That means: in all views
(when viewed from the front, in profile). The both pictures above
speak by themselves.
The modern Persian has an oval head, when viewed in profile.
The nose shall be short, broad and shall be a snub-nose.
In this standard - like in the standards cited before - there is
also no statement, in which portion the length of the nose shall be to
the width of the nose. This is left up to interpretations.
But the Persian shall have a snub-nose, which has already supported
the development, that the upper edge of the nose leather is arched
upward, as it is in a snub nose.
The break shall be centered between the eyes.
When reading in Webster's, what the meaning of "centered"
is, one finds the following explanation:
Main Entry:
2center
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): cen·tered; cen·ter·ing
transitive verb
1 : to place or fix at or around a center or central area or
position <center the picture on the wall>
3 : to adjust (as lenses) so that the axes coincide
intransitive verb : to have a specified center : FOCUS
usage The intransitive verb center is most commonly used
with the prepositions in, on, at, and around. At appears to be
favored in mathematical contexts; the others are found in a broad
range of contexts. Center around, a standard idiom, has often been
objected to as illogical. The logic on which the objections are
based is irrelevant, since center around is an idiom and idioms
have their own logic. Center on is currently more common in edited
prose, and revolve around and similar verbs are available if you
want to avoid center around. |
| |
The break must be centered between the eyes, that means: it must be
placed around the central point, where the horizontal axis, drawn
through the middle of the eyes, and the vertical axis, drawn between the
eyes, meet each other.
Unfortunately the reality tells a different story.
Where the two axis (the white lines in the picture) meet each
other, there is the point where the break shall be centered. In
reality the break is placed above, where the red axis is drawn.
Conclusions
| There are some distinct wordings in the standards. The reality
deviates quite a lot from the ideal picture.
Why? Who is involved in and causes these deviations? |
| There is a difference, how the base of the nose shall be, if it
shall be a break or a stop. Both words implicate and express an
abrupt transition between the base of the nose and the forehead. |
| In all standards the head shall be round. That means, its shape
can be inscribed into a square, speaking 3-dimensional: into a bowl.
In reality the head is oval and forms a horizontally lying ellipsis,
and can be inscribed into a cylinder. |
| In all standards the skull shall be very broad. This is a
questionable and risky description, which supports and leads to
heads, which are too broad. |
| The break, the stop shall be between the eyes. In several
standards there is no explanation, what is meant with 'between the
eyes'. |
| The proportion between the length and the width of the nose is
very vaguely described. There are no statements, how short or how
long the nose shall be. There is left plenty of room for
subjective interpretations. And that has led to all those well know
problems of weeping and crying eyes and severely degenerated
lachrymal ducts and heavy breathing problems. |
| It is also not described in any of the standards, where the
upper edge of the nose leather shall be. And this is very
questionable. |
| It is not described in any of the standards, where the face
shall be located. As the reality shows clearly enough, the
proportion between the upper part of the head (the forehead) and the
face is inharmonic, unbalanced and disproportional, because the face
has been shifted to the lower half of the head.
Mostly the face is not round, but oval, which is the logical
consequence of a non-round head. |
Perhaps it is provocative, but hopefully it makes many people thinking:
The standards leave too much room for subjective interpretations and seem not to
be written under the aspects of healthy and harmonic proportions.
© katzenzeitung 2/2007
Update 11/2010
P.S.: There has not been changed anything essential under the aspect
of 'healthy proportions'. |
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