2007 Breed Council Ballot ~ Proposals and Results

Persian - General:
 
Total Members: 206 ~ Ballots Received: 143 ~ 60% for passing: 86
 
RESOLVED: Add the following section to the Persian standard:
TRANSFER TO AOV: colors not accepted for championship status.

RATIONALE: This is a housekeeping change. Section provides direction to judges as to how to handle cats in colors not accepted for championship status, that is, colors not described in the Persian standard. The new section would be inserted in the standard prior to the DISQUALIFY section.
 
Yes-126, No-15
Motion carried, Feb 2008 Board Meeting

 
RESOLVED: Revise the DISQUALIFY section of the Persian standard by adding a last sentence as follows:
For silver and golden cats, also disqualify for eye color other than blue or blue-green.

RATIONALE: The addition of a sentence in the Persian standard noting that silver and goldens are required to have green or blue-green eye color reinforces that any other eye color is a disqualification. This is not a new disqualification, just a second notation of this disqualifying feature - the first one being in the color descriptions for Shaded and Golden colors and now adding a second in the DISQUALIFY section of the breed standard, similar to that included for the Himalayans.
 
Yes-110, No-28
Motion carried, Feb 2008 Board Meeting

 
The results for the question below are for informational purposes only, given that outcross rules are part of registration rules, and not part of a breed standard:
 
RESOLVED: The Exotic breed will not be allowed to continue to outcross to the Persian breed after May 1, 2013.
 
RATIONALE: It would seem reasonable to expect that a "breed" should be able to reproduce itself without indefinite outcrossing to another breed; otherwise, how can it be called a "breed"? The CFA Board moved to accept Exotic Shorthairs for championship status in September 1966. It has now been over 40 years since the acceptance of Exotics - isn't it time the Exotic became a stand-alone breed and disallowed outcrossing to other breeds? This resolution would give Exotic breeders five more years in which to continue to outcross to Persians as much as they want, to further increase the size of their gene pool.
 
In the past, Exotic breeders have insisted that continuing to outcross to Persians is necessary to maintain the proper density and texture of the Exotic coat. If the Exotic, a beautiful and thriving shorthair breed, expects to keep its identity as a breed then it would seem desirable for it to breed true, not only for its physical qualities but also for its coat. Nowadays, Exotic breeders claim that the quality of their AOV Exotic longhairs is comparable to that of the Persian. Exotic longhairs have been used quite successfully in current Exotic breeding programs, and would contribute even more in the future if the Persian outcross allowance were to be removed in five years. As an example, the first Exotic male to attain DM status is an Exotic longhair and there are many other longhair Exotics which have and will continue to contribute with great success to the Exotic breed.
 
Yes-81, No-59
 


 
The results for the question below are for informational purposes only.
 
RESOLVED: Exotic breeders would like to show their longhair variants for championship status in a LH Division of the Exotic Breed. As a Persian breeder, would you be in favor of the creation of a LH Exotic Division?
 
RATIONALE: Below are listed some PROS and CONS for the creation of a LH Exotic division.
 
Yes-64, No-78
 
PROS: If Exotics were no longer allowed to outcross to Persians, this option: (1) might encourage the development of Exotics as a true breed, as titled LH Exotics might be more likely to be used in Exotic breeding programs and (2) would allow both SH Exotics and their LH variants to be shown while maintaining the integrity of the Persian breed. Furthermore, this action might eliminate any further misregistration of LH Exotics as Persians.
 
CONS: Permitting cats of different breeds that look alike to be shown in two different breeds creates public relation problems for CFA. Furthermore, encouraging the proliferation of LH Exotics may make it more difficult for Persian breeders to sell their pets.
 
More importantly, however, is: What will it do to CFA's policy as to what constitutes a breed? In order for the Board to create a LH Exotic Division, the Board will have to vote to overturn CFA's "Definition of a Breed". Such action has the potential to impact adversely any breed (not just the Persian) which has been used as an outcross by another breed (e.g., Siamese, Abyssinian).
 
CFA's Definition of a Breed is published on CFA's Exhibitor's Corner website under Breed Standards and Structure. CFA's Definition of a Breed states that "No breed of any classification may be merged in whole or in part with a Natural or Established Breed". Furthermore, CFA's Definition of a Breed indicates that for breeds which have an outcrossing plan, that plan must provide "a guarantee to breeds that might be used as an outcross in such a program that any look-alike cats produced by such will outcrossing will not at any time seek to be returned either to the registry or show classes of the breed and/or breeds being used for outcrossing, nor will petitions to show such offspring in any other breed classes be entertained". In addition, CFA's Definition of a Breed states that "The establishment of classes in any breed which: (a) in the case of a hybrid or currently outcrossed breed, mimic the parent breed(s); or (b) in the case of a new breed, mimic an existing breed, will not be permitted".
 
Instead of trying to get acceptance of their LH variants for championship status, it would seem advisable for Exotic breeders to concentrate on making their breed one which can reproduce itself without the need to indefinitely outcross to another breed with the resultant, continued production of cats that mimic the parent breed. The Definition of a Breed is too central to the mission of CFA to have it overturned so that the LH variants of a small breed can be shown. Why should we ask the Board to overturn CFA's Definition of a Breed for the Exotics, when by doing so, we are putting all other natural or established breeds at risk? For example, will the Board next be asked to permit the Oriental Shorthairs, the Colorpoint Shorthairs, the Balinese and the Javanese to each create a division of Siamese look-alikes within their respective breeds?
 


 
The question below was submitted to the Board by Regional Director Regina Shaffer during the June 2007 Board Meeting. Regina Shaffer proposed that the breed classification of Persian be changed from Natural to Established. Breeds and standards issues are normally handled at the February Board meetings. Thus, the Board moved to postpone discussion of the motion until the February 2008 Board meeting. The Board further moved that the question be put, for informational purposes only, on the Persian ballot with a rationale for or against by the Persian Breed Council secretary.
 
RESOLVED: Change the Breed Classification of the Persian from Natural to Established.
 
RATIONALE: Below is the CON position from the Breed Council Secretary. The PRO position is that submitted by Regina Shaffer to the CFA Board in June 2007.
 
Yes-39, No-98
 
CON: The breed classification nomenclature serves an important historical purpose for CFA in providing definitions of how breeds have developed over time, whether in terms of years, decades, or even centuries. At the time of recognition for registration, CFA assigns a breed into one of four classifications - Established, Hybrid, Mutation, or Natural. The Persian was assigned the classification "Natural". Why should that classification be revised now? The classification was reasonable when it was assigned and the breed is not seeking to be reaccepted for registration.
 
The Persian has one of the oldest histories as a breed with CFA, and has been used over time to help create a number of other Established, Hybrid, and Mutation breeds (e.g., Established: British Shorthair, Hybrid: Exotic, Mutation: Selkirk Rex) - many of which have become quite popular and two of which are currently allowed to outcross to the Persian.
 
Go read most any book on the origins of the domestic cat and you will learn that the Persian is considered to be one of the oldest identifiable domestic cat breeds. They have been appearing at cat shows since the 1800s. However, they were first seen in Europe some 300 years earlier than this. It would be a farce to change the classification of the Persian breed today from Natural to Established.
 
Article III of CFA's Rules for Registration defines a Natural Breed as one for which "Both parent cats and all ancestors must be of the breed as the cat to be registered". How far back must we ... (another Natural Breed). Obviously, Persians can document their parentage better than some other Natural Breeds.
 
It's a well known fact that some breeds have a black sheep in the family tree from breeding practices during WWII in England. For example, Russian Blues (another Natural Breed) were outcrossed during WWII due to the lack of availability of cats from their own breed for use in breeding. Today's Persians are little different. For example, the Persian was outcrossed only a few times to the Siamese to create the Himalayan. In the U.S., Persians were first outcrossed to Siamese in the 1930's. The resulting progeny was bred together to produce longhair cats with the pointed pattern. These cats were then bred back to Persians and to each other. Today's Himalayans now reflect 60 years of strictly Himalayan or Himalayan/Persian breeding in their pedigrees. Despite the arguments over the purity of bi-color Persians, the fact remains that the earliest records of the cat fancy do list bi-colors and calicos. In the U.S., they are in CFA's first stud books, and blue & white and orange & white Persians are in show catalogs from the early 1900's.
 
If Persians were to be accepted as a new breed today by CFA, the Persian breed might well again be classified as a Natural breed.
 
PRO: After reading all the materials presented to this Board for the February 2007 meeting, it's become clear that the Persian breed is not a Natural breed. To continue to show this breed as Natural is a disservice to the Persian Breeders and CFA.
 
Reading the article written by Dick Gebhart: "Why Himalayans Are Persians", printed in the Cat Fancy Magazine, April 1985, and others, it is clear how the calico and bicolor Persians began... by breeding Persian to "domestic shorthairs and longhairs" of the color/pattern necessary to add "and White". Calicos were given championship status in 1955. Bi-colors (including the male counterparts to the Calicos) were given championship status in 1970. Completing the current breed, Himalayans (a recognized hybrid of Siamese & Persian) were merged with the Persian in 1984.
 
To assist us in understanding the above, please review our historical data on the Persian breed. Included are graphs taken from data presented in the November 1985 and the April/May 2007 Almanac: CFA Registration Number Tables. These charts present registration data for Persians, year totals 1984 and 2006, as well as registration data for periods 1958-1984 and 1958-2006. The data shows that the Persian breed, once the Himalayans were added in 1984, changed dramatically with then 52% "Pure" Persians registered in the calendar 1984, thus making the total number of "Pure" Persians registered from 1958-1984 to 69%.
 
In reviewing our most recent stats, we see that for the calendar year 2006, only 22% of the Persians registered could be considered "Pure", while the combined total of "Pure" Persians registered since 1958 has dropped to only 44%.
 
Keeping these statistics in mind, it is clear that the Persian breed needs to be moved from the Natural to Established classification.
 


Persian - Silver/Golden Division:
 
Total Members: 31 ~ Ballots Received: 27 ~ 60% for passing: 17
 
RESOLVED: Add the following two silver color descriptions to the list of accepted Silver and Golden Division colors, and list the two colors under separate breed color class numbers.
BLUE CHINCHILLA SILVER: undercoat pure white. Coat of back, flanks, head and tail sufficiently tipped with blue to give a sparkling appearance. Legs may be slightly shaded with tipping. Chin, ear tufts, stomach and chest, pure white. Rims of eyes, lips, and nose outlined with blue. Nose leather: rose. Paw pads: blue or rose. Eye color: green or blue-green. Disqualify for incorrect eye color, incorrect eye color being copper, yellow, gold, amber, or any color other than green or blue-green.

BLUE SHADED SILVER: undercoat white with a mantle of blue tipping shading down from the sides, face and tail from dark on the ridge to white on the chin, chest, stomach and under the tail. Legs to be the same tone as the face. The general effect to be much darker than a chinchilla. Rims of eyes, lips, and nose outlined with blue. Nose leather: rose. Paw pads: blue or rose. Eye color: green or blue-green. Disqualify for incorrect eye color, incorrect eye color being copper, yellow, gold, amber, or any color other than green or blue-green.

RATIONALE: Blue silvers are a naturally occuring color within the breed and worth of obtaining championship status within CFA. Acceptance of these colors for championship status should increase the number of cats competing in the Silver/Golden division.
 
Many silver and golden breeders are using other colors in their breeding programs. As a result, the dilute gene is showing up with increasing frequency. Unless we accept the dilute colors into the silver and golden division, there will be more and more of these lovely and deserving blue silvers produced that cannot be shown and recognized with titles.
 
Yes-15, No-12
Did not pass by 60% - not considered by the Board

 
RESOLVED: Add the following two golden color descriptions to the list of accepted Silver and Golden Division colors, and list the two colors under separate breed color class numbers.
BLUE CHINCHILLA GOLDEN: undercoat ivory to pale honey. Coat on back, flanks, head and tail sufficiently tipped with blue to enhance a golden appearance. Legs and end of tail may be shaded with tipping. Chin, ear tufts, stomach, chest and underside of tail, consistent ivory to pale honey color. The general effect is lighter than a blue shaded golden due to less tipping. Rims of eyes, lips, and nose outlined with blue. Nose leather: rose. Paw pads: blue or rose. Eye color: green or blue-green. Disqualify for incorrect eye color, incorrect eye color being copper, yellow, gold, amber, or any color other than green or blue-green.

BLUE SHADED GOLDEN: undercoat ivory to pale honey with a mantle of blue tipping shading down from the sides, face, head and tail. Legs to be the same tone as the face. The general effect is darker than a blue chinchilla golden due to more tipping. Rims of eyes, lips, and nose outlined with blue. Nose leather: rose. Paw pads: blue or rose. Eye color: green or blue-green. Disqualify for incorrect eye color, incorrect eye color being copper, yellow, gold, amber, or any color other than green or blue-green.

RATIONALE: Blue goldens are a naturally occuring color within the breed and worth of obtaining championship status within CFA. Acceptance of these colors for championship status should increase the number of cats competing in the Silver/Golden division.
 
Many silver and golden breeders are using other colors in their breeding programs. As a result, the dilute gene is showing up with increasing frequency. Unless we accept the dilute colors into the silver and golden division, there will be more and more of these lovely and deserving blue goldens produced that cannot be shown and recognized with titles.
 
Yes-15, No-12
Did not pass by 60% - not considered by the Board
Return to top of page