For the third year in a row, the Exotic cat has been named as America's most popular registered cat, knocking the Persian off the podium again after 31 years as the reigning No. 1 breed.
The Persian cat (Persian: گربه پارسی, romanized: Gorbe'-ye Pârsi) is a long-haired breed of cat characterized by its round face and short muzzle. It is also known as the "Persian Longhair" in English-speaking countries.
The first documented ancestors of the Persian cat were imported from Khorasan, Persia, into the Italian Peninsula in 1620 by Pietro della Valle; and from Angora (now Ankara), Ottoman Turkey, into France by Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc at around the same time.
The first Persian cat was presented at the first organized cat show, in 1871 in the Crystal Palace in London, England, organized by Harrison Weir. As specimens closer to the later established Persian conformation became the more popular types, attempts were made to differentiate it from the Angora.[8]
Our pedigree imported long-hairs of to-day are undoubtedly a cross of the Angora and Persian; the latter possesses a rounder head than the former, also the coat is of quite a different quality.