You can’t count on the kittens to be of a certain type, temperament, or even hair length. That means it will “breed true.” A beautiful domestic shorthaired cat likely has a mix of genes that will lead to unexpected traits in her kittens. The difference is that an American Shorthair is a purebred cat. In fact, many randomly-bred domestic shorthaired cats look a whole lot like their more carefully bred American Shorthair cousins. If you’re confused about the difference, you’re not the only one. How is an American Shorthair different from a domestic shorthaired cat? So, “Domestic Shorthairs” were rebranded to American Shorthairs and the rest is history. No one was willing to pay very much to a breeder for a “common” kitten. It confused the public who thought it referred to ordinary, randomly bred household cats. These cats were first referred to as Domestic Shorthairs. In the early 1900s, a group of cat fanciers began a selective breeding program to preserve the sturdy, hardy, mild-tempered American-bred shorthaired cat that they loved. In between, there was an attempt to differentiate between types of Shorthairs, specifically, an American type and a British type. American Shorthairs didn’t get their own specific breed registry until 1966. “Shorthairs” were among the first registered cat breeds. Owners had to place a value for their cats in the show catalogue and so they posted something outlandish. But this was just to prevent someone from buying him. It’s widely reported that Jimmy was offered for sale for £2,000, which would be about $375,000 in today’s dollars – a ridiculous amount for any cat. One, a handsome silver tabby named Champion Jimmy, is the likely ancestor of all silver-tabby American Shorthairs today. “Shorthairs” were exhibited at the first official American Cat Show in 1896. We see cats that look like American Shorthairs depicted in paintings from the 1700s, like this one, called “The Graham Children” by William Hogarth. This name covered a wide-range of purebred cats of British, mainland European, and American descent. This must be a special cat.īefore there were American Shorthairs, there were just Shorthairs. In 2020, the American Shorthair was ranked by the CFA as the ninth most popular pedigreed cat in the world. How did the American Shorthair come to be? Some were ships’ cats who became barn cats, and some may have been cherished family pets, but none were the American Shorthair we know today. The first cats to come to America were a mixture of types, colors, and hair lengths. It’s important to note that none of these were American Shorthairs – yet. American shorthair breeder and Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) judge Kay Thomas McQuillen claims her family bible includes an entry by her great-great grandmother stating that a calico accompanied her on the Mayflower. And finally, there were cats on the Mayflower, at least according to one source.
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