[andysandmikesmom]

Thats interesting...I did not realize that Himalayans were actually the same cat breed as Persians..thanks for that info...I seems like the main difference is that those Himalayans have that little flat nose, whereas the Persians have a regular kitty nose...

[meowmeow]

Actually it can go either way. I didn't know Himalayan's were Persians either until I started shopping for new ones. Crossing the Siamese with Persian aims to capture the color gene from the Siamese so you have Persians with "color points." Of course other traits seem to creep in sometimes. Our last kitty had the Siamese wail - she was very talkative and VERY loud! These kitties are very quiet. They sort of have points but they are black on not-so-black (which CFA says is chocolate but they look black to me!) with a silvery undercoat.

They also have the flat "doll" faces (last cat didn't) so when they drink out of their water dish, they get drippy chins. I'm pondering getting one of those kitty drinking fountains for them.

[pbmaltzman]

I think the main difference between Persians and Himalayans is the coat colors that are allowed in each breed. Himmies are the ones with the Siamese-like points.

The differences in how flat the face is, and how close to the eyes the nose is, are not really different between Persians and Himalayans. Some breeders (within each breed) strive for a certain "look" to their show cats, and some of them are breeding very extreme faces these days, with the nose right up there between the eyes.