2003 Breed Council Ballot ~ Proposals and Results

Persian - General:
 
Total Members: 214 ~ Ballots Received: 131 ~ 60% for passing: 79
 
RESOLVED: Add the following sentence to the end of the "GENERAL" description of the breed, just after the point allotments:
"Balance and refinement are the essence of the breed, where all parts come together in a harmonious whole, with neither too much nor too little consideration given to any one feature."

RATIONALE: Balance and refinement are each given a 5-point weight in the standard, yet there is no description of the terminology as to what these actually mean when striving for the perfect example of a Persian.
 
Yes-112, No-19
Motion carried, Feb 2004 Board Meeting

 
RESOLVED: Add the following to the description of "HEAD": "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."
 
RATIONALE: Currently, there is no reference in the standard to the actual smoothness of the skull structure, including the forehead. Without direct reference to skull deformities (i.e. "conehead," "unicorn," "flat spots," etc.) this would specifically state the desired smoothness of the entire head and emphasize that structure needs to be felt to be properly evaluated
 
Yes-107, No-24
Motion carried, Feb 2004 Board Meeting

 
RESOLVED: Add the following to the description "CHEEKS," after "full.": "Muzzle not overly pronounced, smoothing nicely into the cheeks."
 
RATIONALE: The muzzle is another point of structure not currently addressed in the standard and which is an important factor in refinement; as above, emphasizes that structure needs to be evaluated.
 
Yes-103, No-26
Motion carried, Feb 2004 Board Meeting


Persian - Solid Division:
 
Total Members: 87 ~ Ballots Received: 59 ~ 60% for passing: 36
 
RESOLVED: The Persian Breed shall be divided into SEVEN divisions, as follows:
  1. Dominant (red, black, chocolate, tortoiseshell, chocolate tortoiseshell, white)
  2. Dilute (blue, cream, blue-cream, lilac, lilac-cream)
  3. Bicolor/Calico
  4. Tabby
  5. Smoke/Shaded
  6. Silver/Golden
  7. Himalayan

 
RATIONALE: We currently have a division of the Persian that can not reproduce itself: the inappropriately named "Particolor" division. The proposed divisions offered above divide the Persian breed more logically into groups that represent the way breeders tend to identify themselves and their breeding programs. By creating a more formalized separate identity for dilute breeders, specialization in the color breeding of these cats is encouraged, in the same way that silver/golden and himalayan division breeders support each other through the sharing of a unique identity.
 
Not only does this divide the Persian breed into more equitable sections statistically by splitting up the solid division, but it singles out for its awards accomplishments in the specialization for exceptional dominant coloration or pale dilute coloration, rather than separating out by color a phenomenon that can not be set to a standard through selective breeding: tortoiseshell pattern. Unlike tabby pattern or bicolor pattern, the coloration of a tortoiseshell is due to random chance, not through the focused efforts of breeders.
 
Yes-22, No-37
Proposal not passed by the Breed Council - not presented to Board

 
RESOLVED: Remove the color descriptions for the Peke-faced Red from the standard. (NOTE: The Tabby Division breed council members are being polled on the removal of the Peke-faced Red Tabby. No action will be taken unless both breed council divisions (Solid and Tabby) pass the question by an approval of 60%.)
 
RATIONALE: This color has not been exhibited in recent memory,and registration statistics with just two individuals plus two colorpoint carriers registered in the past four years (with no proof that they are truly representative of the description in the standard) support removing their descriptions. The unique reference to "dome" in this particular color description has crept into the breeders', exhibitors', and judges' lingo as an acceptable term when describing Persian head structure. The problem is that there are different interpretations of what a "dome" is, as witnessed in the discussion at the Breed Council meeting during the St. Louis Annual.
 
The standard currently addresses the head itself having round underlying structure, and not exaggerated as the word "dome" might suggest. Head structure in the Peke-faced cats, with the "double brow ridge" and "wrinkled forehead" as described, presents a great deviation from that which we are striving for in correct structure in all other colors of the breed.
 
Yes-47, No-12
Motion carried, Feb 2004 Board Meeting


Persian - Tabby Division:
 
Total Members: 44 ~ Ballots Received: 30 ~ 60% for passing: 18
 
RESOLVED: Remove the color description for the Peke-faced Red Tabby from the standard. (NOTE: The Solid Division breed council members are being polled on the removal of th;e Peke-faced Red. No action will be taken unless both breed council divisions (Solid and Tabby) pass the question by an approval of 60%.)
 
RATIONALE: This color has not been exhibited in recent memory,and registration statistics with just two individuals plus two colorpoint carriers registered in the past four years (with no proof that they are truly representative of the description in the standard) support removing their descriptions. The unique reference to "dome" in this particular color description has crept into the breeders', exhibitors', and judges' lingo as an acceptable term when describing Persian head structure. The problem is that there are different interpretations of what a "dome" is, as witnessed in the discussion at the Breed Council meeting during the St. Louis Annual.
 
The standard currently addresses the head itself having round underlying structure, and not exaggerated as the word "dome" might suggest. Head structure in the Peke-faced cats, with the "double brow ridge" and "wrinkled forehead" as described, presents a great deviation from that which we are striving for in correct structure in all other colors of the breed.
 
Yes-25, No-5
Motion carried, Feb 2004 Board Meeting


Persian - Parti-Color Division:
 
Total Members: 36 ~ Ballots Received: 25 ~ 60% for passing: 15
 
RESOLVED: The Persian Breed shall be divided into SEVEN divisions, as follows:
  1. Dominant (red, black, chocolate, tortoiseshell, chocolate tortoiseshell, white)
  2. Dilute (blue, cream, blue-cream, lilac, lilac-cream)
  3. Bicolor/Calico
  4. Tabby
  5. Smoke/Shaded
  6. Silver/Golden
  7. Himalayan

 
RATIONALE: We currently have a division of the Persian that can not reproduce itself: the inappropriately named "Particolor" division. The proposed divisions offered above divide the Persian breed more logically into groups that represent the way breeders tend to identify themselves and their breeding programs. By creating a more formalized separate identity for dilute breeders, specialization in the color breeding of these cats is encouraged, in the same way that silver/golden and himalayan division breeders support each other through the sharing of a unique identity.
 
Not only does this divide the Persian breed into more equitable sections statistically by splitting up the solid division, but it singles out for its awards accomplishments in the specialization for exceptional dominant coloration or pale dilute coloration, rather than separating out by color a phenomenon that can not be set to a standard through selective breeding: tortoiseshell pattern. Unlike tabby pattern or bicolor pattern, the coloration of a tortoiseshell is due to random chance, not through the focused efforts of breeders.
 
Yes-7, No-18
Proposal not passed by the Breed Council - not presented to Board
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