The mane, the thick hair around the head that gives the male
lion its distinctive look, has its counterpart in several longhaired breeds of cats. In house cats, however, this thick
growth of hair around the face is not a mane but a ruff. (Remember that in the 1500s, a ruff was a very fancy type of lacy starched collar worn by people of the upper classes.) Fans of Persians consider the ruff to be one of this breed’s most attractive features.
