Flat-faced cat breeds including Persians and Exotic Shorthairs suffer from severe breathing and eye problems caused by extreme facial breeding selection.
Breeding cats for extreme flat-faced features condemns them to lifelong respiratory, ocular and dental compromise. Cats with severe BOAS breathe with audible noise and cannot exercise without distress — a state that should be recognised as chronic welfare compromise, not a breed characteristic. Many owners of brachycephalic cats do not recognise abnormal breathing as a health problem. Breed standards that require moderate facial features rather than extremes would prevent the worst welfare outcomes. Prospective owners should be counselled about health costs before acquiring brachycephalic breeds.