http://www.bigcatrescue.org/flat_headed_cat.htm
That is all. Thank you.
'bout enough…innit?
I’m amazed our cat doesn’t look like that, considering how often she runs face first into the wall.
First a flat cat. How about a fat cat?
I think that if ya got one of these
that one of these
would add so much to the entertainment value
I want one. That’s really interesting. I don’t suppose it would mix well with aquaraphiles, would it? Fun to watch though, if you don’t care much for your fish.
You could go with frogs…
shirmp seems a bit unlikely. 
Well I don’t think that head goes with that cat. They did something strange there. Maybe the picture didn’t turn out and they tried to fix it. And how could they know there are exactly two of them left in the world? Here are some other pictures of the flat-headed cat:
Cynth, I think they meant that there are only 2 known examples (both males) in captivity outside zoos, not just 2 left in total…
This is my impression as well. I was also going to post pictures as Cynth did, to show that the original picture is poorly drawn. The flat headed cat doesn’t look like that! It is so cute and raccoonular in appearance. I want one!
I thought the image I posted looked suspiciously like a composite, actually - I believe it to have come originally from a photo, not a drawing - and in any case it certainly looks clumsily retouched (no glint in the eyes, for one), which would make it look possibly drawn or painted, but the one above that Cynth posted shows the same striking coloring differences between head and body, so I don’t believe coloring’s the issue in and of itself unless Cynth’s is a composite, too. Both have short forelegs compared to the rear legs (note that the one in Cynth’s photo is positioned on a gentle upslope). It’s hard to know what to make of the facial expression and body posture of the one I posted, but that in particular along with the low-set small ears was what grabbed me. I think what also points to a possible clumsy retouching is the prominent lower jaw, which is tiger-like, a characteristic not seemingly evident in the other photos…then again, maybe that cat was just a Jay Leno among flat-headed cats. The cats in the other photos look pretty odd to me, too, though - only not quite so.
By the way, my own cat has a flat head. But she wears it well.
This post has caused me to do mini-research into the many breeds of cats. And some of them are strange, like the “Exotic” breed. Those have always looked weird to me, basically a Persian with short fur.
Something about their face just seems to scream “Hi. Nice to meet you, I’m psycho!”
Someday they’ll find the human gene that predisposes people to like cats versus dogs.
I don’t like 'em. They scare me. They’re definitely up to something. It’s global and more complex than freemasonry. It’ll make all of our other problems irrelevent. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Your analysis of what is so strange about the first photo seems to have left no stone unturned. And I agree that the cat is, even in the more normal-looking photos still a really odd looking little fellow . In your second photo he has such a pugnacious look about him—perhaps that’s not the right word—just very determined and out to get his way. In that photo I clearly recognize the face of an old co-worker of mine named Joel. Unfortunately, he was not someone I got along with very well .
I don’t know much about cat breeding, but the breeders have greatly affected the appearance of cats. I find the faces of many Persian cats to be not very lovely.
These photos were taken around 1900. There may be other types of Persian cats that looked more like the modern Persian cats I see, I don’t know. But I think the cat in these pictures didn’t need to change into a flat-faced odd looking cat, if that’s what the breeders did. It was beautiful just the way it was.
I used to be very afraid of cats but I married someone who had a cat and I slowly lost my fear and found that they were wonderful companions. But I do remember when I used to find them quite scary. I’m not one to just go and pick up or mess with a cat I don’t know—I’m that way with all animals pretty much. I think a lot of people like both cats and dogs. I have met some darling, sweet, wonderful dogs. I’m not sure I would be able to give a dog as much exercise and leadership as he needs though. Oh—there’s no way cats could be cooperating in some global conspiracy. They just don’t work together like that. Mine can’t even orchestrate getting in and out the door so that they both end up either inside or outside—and they are trying. You can cross that worry off your list.
The Exotic Shorthair looks like a Persian because it basically is a persian. They bred Persians to American Shorthairs, then bred the short-furred offspring back to Persians to retain the Persian body/face type. There’s really no major difference except coat length.
As for the smushed-up faces of so many pedigreed cats (Persians, Exotic Shorthairs, Himalayans and a few other related breeds), I agree - they look mutated or something. And a lot of them have these flat upper eyelids and drooping lower ones that make them look like they’re constantly p.o.'ed. I don’t see anything “cute” or “beautiful” about them. That smushed look I think came about in the latter half of the 20th century, before then the Persian breed was similar in type to the Turkish Angora, another long-haired breed with a normally-proportioned face that is a fair sight prettier in my opinion.
The Siamese shares a similar story, only with the facial structure going in the opposite direction - they’re now artificially long-faced. Both breeds can have health-related issues with these modified head shapes, but the Persian by far suffers the most, having many of the same problems as brachycephalic (short-faced) dog breeds like the Pug including sinus problems and difficult or impossible non-caesarian birthing.
I’ll stick with “alley” cats myself. They tend to be healthier in the long run and can be just as pretty as the pedigreed beasts.
Ditto. I fail to see how cat breeders can also be cat lovers, deliberately breeding for traits they like to see, not what the cat wants or needs.
We have a B&W alley cat Charlie, who adopted us about 14 months ago, and he has a wonderful life popping in and out whenever he can. Cats really know how to relax, and seeing him stretched out on the sofa relaxes me.
It’s possible the breeders didn’t mean to end up with flat faces but were originally trying for other traits. (Though after they noticed the effect they may have liked it for being ‘different’ or ‘new’.) There’s a good book by Temple Grandin that, among other things, talks about the ‘side effects’ of breeding for one trait without looking at the animal as a whole.
I agree that alley cats are the best. Two of the best cats I’ve ever had started their lives on the streets.
I’ll have to try to read that book. We don’t have special breeds of cats for our pets, but I have often wondered what the breeders could have been thinking, although there are some really beautiful breeds out there—I saw a Russian Blue once and boy, that was a beautiful animal. I can see, though, how a desired characteristic, something that would be good for the cat’s health even, might be genetically linked to something else.
A few months ago there was an interesting series on PBS about people who showed different sorts of animals. One show was about people who showed cats and a number of those people were breeders. The show concentrated on a few people and did in-depth interviews, showed them at home with their cats, their set-ups and the cat shows. They did all seem to love their cats very much, but they sure took getting a prize very seriously. For some, I think a lot of money was riding on breeding a prize-winning cat, for others it just seemed like an obsession, their hobby I guess. There was one really great (for the viewer, not for the cat) segment showing one cat at a show who just suddenly took off, slipped right out of the judge’s hands and wreaked havoc in the audience. I don’t have anything against showing cats if the cat is used to it and likes it, but I must say I felt like cheering for that cat. Another woman had entered a cat who became quite violent and could not be gotten out of the cage safely and so was disqualified—she was heartbroken. But surely she could not have been surprised—I would think he had given hints before that he didn’t like being handled, especially in such a strange situation. She did love him though, that was clear.
Our cat Hannah, now gone, was left behind on a campus at the end of the school year and so she was on her own for awhile. She always retained a certain wildness. She gradually got more gentle and I learned to pick up on the signals she was giving and to be a little more assertive (like I finally dared to move her from my spot on the bed when it was time to go to bed ). The two we have now came from a shelter and I think they must not have lived on their own because they are so gentle compared to Hannah. It was really a new experience to not be wondering if someone was going to let me have it if I had to mess with her a bit and she wasn’t in the mood. We couldn’t have loved Hannah more though, she was a wonderful, wonderful cat. You just didn’t want to cross her .
Say, ava, I just checked on some titles for Temple Grandin. I’m wondering if you are refering to Animals in Translation or maybe Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals? They seemed to be the most likely candidates, although she is editor of the second one I listed, so probably that’s not it. They look quite interesting.
Pedigreed dogs and cats all have a “breed standard” to which the dog or cat fancier breeds toward. This breed standard is a description of the “perfect” specimen of a particular breed. The Persian’s breed standard at least at one point indicated that the animal’s forehead, nose and chin should all form a straight line when seen in profile (this taken from a book published in 1989, this may have changed). This facial structure was no mistake - somebody at some point decided that this is the way that Persian cats should look and the rest of the breeder community agreed; that’s why it’s in the standard.
This page has the entire breed standard for the Persian: http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/standards/persian.html
You’ll notice that the animal’s head is worth 30 points - more than any other part of the animal.
These standards are occasionally revised but generally only in an emergency, such as if the breed is in danger of extinction and outbreeding (breeding to other pedigreed or non-pedigreed cats outside of the breed) is necessary to preserve the breed.