Discover the Breeds and Colors

You name it … we’ve got it!

Cats with curled ears, folded ears, long tails, short tails, and even no tails!

We’ve got straight coats, long coats, short coats, tight coats, kinked coats, wavy coats, and even hairless cats!

All this, plus the breeds come in a huge number of colors and patterns. We’ll explain the colors, and patterns, later.

Let’s just take a look at a few breeds first.

The cat on the left is an American Curl.

See how its ears curl backwards? That is something that naturally happens to this breed of cat. No hair curlers are necessary to get this look.

The American Curl comes in both a long coat and a short coat, and is a cat that is full of energy and love for its owner.

How’s this for a cat with a bad hair day?

This is a Selkirk Rex. It has naturally curly fur, that sometimes gets long enough to hang in ringlets. They even have curly whiskers!

The Selkirk Rex comes in both a long coat and a short coat. They have wonderful, quiet personalities. Although they may not always win the beauty pageant, they always win the title of Miss Congeniality.

Isn’t this a beauty?

This white Persian has a short body and short legs, plus that long flowing white coat. White Persians can have one of three eye colors – either copper (like this one), or blue, or even one copper eye and one blue eye (which is called odd-eyed).

Did you know that young white Persians often have a spot of color on the top of their heads that is called a “skull cap” or “kitten cap”? They may have this color spot as kittens, but it will usually disappear as the cat matures.

The Persian is a sweet, affectionate, and quiet cat .. but they do have their moments when they like to run around the house.

Bet you can identify this breed!

That’s right! It’s a Siamese. The Siamese is a “pointed” cat. That means that it has color on its head, ears, legs and tail. This cat is a Seal Point, which is dark brown coloring on its “points.”

Think “long” when you think of the Siamese. It has long, slender legs and a long, slender body, and a long tail.

The Siamese always has blue eyes, likes to talk and is very affectionate with its owners. It’s also a very active breed that likes to play … a lot!

Look, no tail!

This is a Manx, a tailless cat from the Isle of Man (that’s an island in the middle of the Irish Sea between Ireland and Great Britain).

It has a “heavy” body with a thick, dense coat, and its back legs are longer than its front legs. Can you see that in the photo?

The Manx comes in many colors and patterns. Not all Manx are born without tails, but only those with no tails can compete at cat shows. Some pet Manx have short tails or even normal, long tails. They are sweet and friendly cats.

Big, aren’t I? Just look at the size of my paws!

I’m a Maine Coon Cat, and most people call me the biggest of all the domestic cats. I have a smooth, but shaggy, coat and can weigh up to 20 pounds when I am full grown. That’s pretty heavy for a youngster to pick up and carry around!

Did you know that a Maine Coon Cat, named Cosey, was chosen Best Cat at the first major cat show ever held in the USA?

The Maine Coon Cat is an intelligent, inquisitive and loving breed that is good with children and dogs.

Can you see my wavy fur?

This is a Cornish Rex, and if you look closely at its back, you can see the ripples of tight waves that cover the body. All those waves makes the coat really, really soft to the touch.

The Cornish Rex has a body that is often compared to that of a Whippet dog because of its arched back, barrel chest, small waist and very long, fine legs. They also have large ears set high on their egg-shaped head.

This breed is active and very affectionate.

Just look at all my wrinkles!

This interesting looking cat is a Sphynx. This breed is commonly called a “hairless” cat, but it is not always totally hairless; there can be a fine down on the body, which makes the cat feel like a warm peach. Some light hair is often present on the nose, tail and toes.

The Sphynx can be registered in a wide variety of cat colors. The color is seen in the pigment of the skin and the few hairs that they do have.

One of the questions most asked is, “Don’t they get cold?” Well, of course, if it is too cold for you, it will be too cold for a hairless cat, too. However, these cats are smart enough to find a warm human, dog or cat to curl up with or they will get under your bed covers.

How about all these spots?

Don’t the black spots on this cat really show up against the silver background? This is a silver spotted Egyptian Mau, which is the only natural spotted breed of domestic cat.

The Egyptian Mau comes in the colors Silver, Bronze and Smoke. Regardless of color, this breed always has a random spotting pattern, although the spots are sometimes a little more difficult to see on the Smoke color. The spots can be small or large, round, oblong, or irregular shaped.

Their expressive eyes must be a gooseberry green color, with distinctive mascara lines.

Wait a minute! I have spots, too.

Yeah, yeah, we know, but the spots on this Ocicat are different than those on the Egyptian Mau. The spotted Ocicat has a much different pattern to their spots than does the Mau. Whereas the Mau has a random spotting pattern, the Ocicat has large well-scattered, thumbprint-shaped spots on the sides of the body, that looks like a classic tabby pattern in spots- with a spot circled by spots in place of the bull’s eye.

The Ocicat is actually a man-made breed, selectively bred to look like cats of the wild. The origin of this breed is in the interbreeding of Abyssinian, Siamese and American Shorthair cats. Now, you can find spotted Ocicats in a wide variety of colors, although the Chocolate Spotted Ocicat, like this one, is the most popular color.

Like my cute little pompom of a tail?

This delightful cat is a Japanese Bobtail, which comes in both a shorthair (shown here) and longhair variety. This breed has existed in Japan for centuries, and can be found on many ancient paintings.

The Japanese Bobtail always has a tail with curves, angles, or kinks. Plus, it usually has a fluffy or pompom look to it. Kittens always have this kind of tail, as Japanese Bobtails are never born without tails or with normal tails.

The Japanese Bobtail is an active, intelligent, and talkative cat that comes in many colors. The most popular color is the Mi-Ke (black, red and white). They usually have vividly contrasting colors and bold dramatic markings.

This is just a small introduction to some of the recognized breeds that have unique features. But, there are more!!

Do you know that over 40 breeds are recognized by the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA)?