New Cat Breeds

The most recent New cat breed? - Elf cat - experimental - not recognized by cat associations - photo © Kristen Leedom

The heyday of cat breeding and new cat breeds was in the 1980s, when 12 new breeds were either "discovered" or created and the 1960s when an astonishing 15 new breeds were started, more than one a month. The 1960s were the "good times" for cat breeders it seems. Things have changed a little. There is perhaps a greater sense of realism about cat ownership and in any case there are only so many cat breeds that can be created or discovered. The market for cat breeds is already crowded. There are then few new cat breeds.

Also, the cat associations will not recognize every "new" cat breed. And without the breed being recognized and made a pedigree cat it is not formally a cat breed, just a plain 'ole Moggy (I love Moggies though).

Here is a chart showing how many cat breeds were started by decade - you can see the start dates of all the cat breeds by clinking on this link:



That said, if one takes the last 18 years, which is fairly recent, you can count approximately 6 at least. I say at least because it is hard to find accurate information about the origin of cat breeds. Although the haziest origins are for those cats that were "discovered" in some far flung country, such as for the Sokoke a rare cat breed looking like but smaller than the Savannah cat.

Update 31 January 2010: Read about the birth of a new cat breed in Cyprus. The Aphrodite and the St Helena

The 6 new cat breeds that were started/created/developed since 1900 are the following:

2008 - Elf Cat
A very rare experimental cat breed that is a cross between the the Sphynx and the American Curl. This cat is then both hairless (or near hairless) with curled ears. The link above takes you to a page about this breed. This cat is rare as only 2 catteries (associates) breed this cat and it is the beginnings of a possible new cat breed but who knows where it will go. Some cat breeds never get off the ground, meaning that they are never accepted by the cat associations, which gives the breed credibility and makes it a bona fide recognized cat breed.


1998 - Minskin
This is a dwarf cat founded by Paul McSorley in Boston USA. Dwarf cats are normal sized cats with short legs. The body should be normal. They are generally healthy but like a number of purebred cats they can suffer from the occasional genetically inherited condition. Read about dwarf cat health.


1995 - Chausie
A wildcat hybrid (Jungle cat and domestic cat). A fine looking cat, athletic and perhaps it is fair to say more demanding than the average domestic cat.


1994 - Serengeti
The name of this cat breed tells us where the founding cat breeder was coming from when she decided to create this breed. Think exotic cat, think wild type cat but fully domestic in terms of character and behavior. This cat is very much in the same bracket as the wildcat hybrids in terms of appearance but she is not a wildcat hybrid. This cat was developed to satisfy the demand for wild cat look-a-likes. It is peculiar that humankind destroys true wildlife and then recreates it to suit his tastes.


1993 - RagaMuffin
This is a true looking domestic cat and a close relative of the Ragdoll. The history of the Ragdoll and RagaMuffin are very closely intertwined. The RagaMuffin was created by a breakaway group of cat breeders who were once part of the founding group of Ragdoll breeders.


1990s - Peterbald
A bald cat from St. Petersburg, Russia. One of the hairless cat breeds. The most well known is the Sphynx.


New Cat Breeds to Cat History