16/07/2022
The earliest Persian cat fossil dates back to 100 million years ago in North America. At that time, the genus Bovis sp. (a type of rodent) lived in Central and South America, and parts of Africa. Then the first step toward domestication occurred in the Upper Paleolithic (500 to 1500 years old). With that, European settlers moved over to Asia and brought these native animals along with them.
Most of the Persian community died off through hunting, but the upper Persian group did not make it so well, and it died out until after 1600 CE. Then in 1530 AD, three Persian cats were imported into England.
They were called Greyhound, Red Indian, and Blue Indian and appeared to be descended from a female Persian cat that lived in China, and which became the ancestor of the present form of a Persian cat. From that point onward, the Black Persian Cat became extinct (as opposed to the greyhound which continued long after the last one went missing) and remains one of the most elusive creatures in Asia.
