Persian Cat - Breed Facts & Characteristics

Tailored health nutrition has a fundamental role to play in maintaining the health and beauty of Persians. Food provides energy to help with vital functions and a complete nutritional formula for cats should contain an adapted balance of nutrients. Feeding them in this way will offer a diet that’s neither deficient nor excessive, both of which could have adverse effects on your cat’s health.

Clean, fresh water should be available at all times to support good urinary regularity. Cats are also naturally adapted to eating small servings - between 7 and 10 times a day. Giving them the recommended daily ration of kibble once a day will let your Persian cat regulate their own consumption.

The following recommendations are for healthy animals. If your cat has health problems, please consult your veterinarian who will prescribe an exclusively veterinary diet.

Growth is an essential stage in a kitten’s life. It is a time of big changes, discoveries, and new encounters. When it comes to their energy, protein, minerals, and vitamin requirements, a Persian kitten’s are much greater than those of an adult cat. They need energy and nutrients to maintain their body, but also to grow and build it. A kitten’s growth comes in two phases:

Construction - From Birth to 4 Months:

Weaning is the transition a kitten makes from liquid - or maternal milk - to solid food. This naturally corresponds to the time when they cut their milk teeth, at 3 to 6 weeks old. At this stage, kittens are not yet able to crunch, so a soft meal (rehydrated kibble or an adapted wet food) helps ease the transition between liquids and solids.

Between 4 and 12 weeks after birth, the natural immunity a kitten receives from the mother’s colostrum - or first milk - decreases while the kitten’s immune system gradually develops. This critical time, called the immunity gap, requires a complex of antioxidants, including vitamin E, to help support their natural defences.

Kittens go through an intense and particularly delicate period of growth during which they’re prone to digestive upset. Their diet at this time should not only be rich in energy to meet their essential growth needs but should also contain highly digestible protein for their digestive system that’s still maturing. Prebiotics, such as fructo-oligosaccharides, can also support their digestive health by helping to balance intestinal flora. The result? Good stool quality, all around.

The kitten’s food should contain omega 3 fatty acids - EPA-DHA - which helps support the proper neuro-cerebral development.

Consolidation and Harmonisation - From 4 Months to 12 Months:

From the fourth month, a kitten’s growth slows down, so a food lower in fats is recommended. This is particularly important after a cat is sterilised.

Between 4 and 7 months, a kitten’s milk teeth fall out and are replaced by permanent ones. When the adult teeth have come through, a kitten needs to eat kibble that’s big enough so they’re encouraged to crunch.

Until they’re 12 months old, a Persian kittens’ immune system is still gradually developing. A complex of antioxidants, including vitamin E, can help support their natural defences during this time of big changes, discoveries and new encounters.

The digestive system matures progressively, with digestive aptitudes reaching full maturity toward twelve months of age. A cat is then able to consume adult food.

The main nutritional goals for adult Persians are:

Helping to preserve the health of their skin and the beauty of their long opulent coat, with the enriched addition of targeted nutrients that reinforce the skin’s role as a barrier, and to intensify the colour, shine, and softness of their coat. Stimulating the elimination of hair that’s ingested during grooming, thanks to selected fibres, to help eliminate hairballs. As indoor cats, Persians are relatively inactive and may spend over 30 hours a week grooming their silky coat, so often suffer from hairballs

Helping to maintain a healthy urinary tract system. The specific way the Persian’s urinary system works makes them more prone than other cats to the development of kidney stones

Supporting optimal digestion and balancing intestinal flora by using highly digestible proteins and prebiotics

Making sure that the food size, shape, and texture is suitable to the cat’s method of picking up food, which is with the underside of their tongue. The Persian has a brachycephalic jaw, marked by a broad, rounded head and a flatter profile.

The food shape should maximize the contact with the tongue and improve adherence, easing the cat’s ability to grasp it.

A senior cat - one over the age of 12 - may sometimes have difficulties with absorption. To maintain the weight of the ageing cat and minimise the risk of deficiency, they should be given an extremely digestible food filled with essential nutrients.

As they get older, cats increasingly suffer from teeth problems, and in some senior cats, the sense of taste and smell may decline as well, which can lead to a lowered intake of food. To ensure they continue to eat enough, the shape, size, and hardness - meaning texture - of their kibble needs to be tailored to their now potentially more fragile jaw.

Note that the best energy level for any cat still depends on their lifestyle, even those who are ageing. A senior cat that continues to go out regularly will benefit from a diet with a slightly higher fat content. On the other hand, ageing does not reduce an indoor cat’s risk of obesity. Their calorie intake should still be closely monitored. A food with a moderate fat content then may be optimal.