Chinchilla Golden Silver

These three cats were the original Persian breeds before it became one family, and are distinguished from each other only by the colour of their coats. If you look carefully they do vary slightly in some other details, particularly the Chinchilla, but they are a close group. The Chinchilla first appeared in England around 1880.

The Chinchilla Cat Club was founded in 1908 and the cats began to be exported to the United States. It was not long before the breed spread to other parts of Europe, and in the numerous varieties of Chinchilla the signs of its individuality as a breed can always be seen, as well as it relationship to the Persian.

A cat of great character, it is very intelligent and will follow its owner from one room to another, chattering away to him or her. The tone of its miaows will change according to what it wants. Happy and playful, it likes lots of attention. Its very beautiful coat needs brushing every day. A healthy cat, it will fare even better given the opportunity of a garden to play in.

The Chinchilla needs a balanced, carefully weighed diet. The Golden Shaded Persian is the result of crossing Chinchillas and Silvers and is difficult to breed, as the kittens are likely to be born either Silver or Chinchilla. The same problem occurs when trying to breed Silvers. It is difficult to imagine a more beautiful fur than that of the Golden Shaded Persian.

The colors of the coat, underlined by a golden undercoat and darker hair ends, go beautifully together. In this cat, as in the other two, colour tipping plays a big part in the typical appearance of the coat. Colours may vary from a warm brown to apricot, softening on the mouth area and the chest.

The Silver Shaded Persian is very like the Chinchilla with its basically white fur, but black tipping produces a silver effect, making it quite different. The Golden and Silver Shaded Persians have the same temperament and qualities as the Chinchilla but with one difference: they make a lot less noise!

General:

Stocky body with short, thick feet and legs.

Head:

Wide, round head with a wide muzzle and short nose which is not as flat as that of the pure Persian and is brick red in color? Big, expressive eyes, outlined in black. Usually the eyes are blue green or emerald.

Coat:

The three types differ here. The Chinchilla has an all white coat with tipping about an eighth of the way along the length. The undercoat is pure white and the whole effect is of a shining silver. The Golden Shaded has a "multicolored" coat whose underlying shades give a wonderful effect. The Silver Shaded has "shadows" in its coat, being more ticked than the Chinchilla. There are also blue, lilac and chocolate varieties of the Silver Shaded. A further variety is the Cameo Persian, basically a Chinchilla with some red markings.