House Cat Breeds

House cat breeds - Doll Face Persian - photograph copyright Dani Rozeboom. Dani runs a cattery, Yeri Shaes (named after a superb Persian named Yeri). She has an enclosed garden as far as I can tell. Dani is a fine (one of the best) cat photographers and her cats are fabulous.

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Please use the navigation bar on the main site to see a list of purebred cat.

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A search for House Cat Breeds probably means the person is looking for a domestic cat that is suited to permanent indoor living. Keeping cats indoors in far more common in the USA than the UK (and perhaps on the Continent in Europe). Although some people assume that it is OK to keep a cat indoors, I discuss whether this is OK.

It is almost accepted by many that their cat will never go out and I guess cats get used to it. The best solution, though, is an enclosure and they aren't that expensive. I let my cat go out (without an enclosure) because she is old, nervous and a bit scared and therefore doesn't go far. There is also a large garden for her to go into.

As to suitable cats for indoor living one cat springs to mind and one group of cats come to mind as unsuitable. The former is the Persian. The Persian is meant to be on the low end of the cat intelligence spectrum (the Sphynx at the top end). I am not sure if this is true, I somewhat doubt it, but it does seem to be inline with the sedate "doing nothing" type nature of the Persian that makes her suitable to be one of the house cat breeds.

Other house cat breeds that come to mind as being similar in character are the Himalayan (pointed Persian), the Ragdoll (known for an accommodating and docile character) and the RagaMuffin (a Ragdoll with a wider range of coat types). Another for this list would be the Sphynx.

Although the Sphynx is intelligent and quite lively this cat breed is naked and rare and this cat stands out from the crowd very noticeable. These factors make this cat less than suitable roaming outside where (s)he would be in danger. It's warmer inside too (in most countries). Sphynx cats feel the cold a bit more.

A final cat that comes to mind is a designer cat that the breeders claim is suited for the modern age. Modern age living means being at home less and having less space; and includes apartment living. This cat is an exotic cat - the Toyger. She is an ordinary domestic cat in terms of mentality but a fantastic looking cat. The best examples have a superb and eye catching appearance. These then are the most suited cats on my assessment. Of course all the cats between those mentioned and the most active will also adapt to indoor living but I personally think it a bit cruel.

Indoor living forces inactivity. If you add convenience cat food like dry food (high in carbohydrates and frankly not that natural for a cat) you are heading for potential health problems for your cat. This may come from becoming overweight, unless you are careful.

Of the cats that are probably unsuited are the more active and inquisitive cats (a Shpynx is inquisitive but the other characteristics override this). Such cats are the wildcat/domestic cat hybrids. These are definitely unsuitable; too demanding and active. An example would be the Chausie and the Savannah. The Bengal is in this category (strictly speaking) too but as breeding has developed this cat breed can now be considered a middle of the road domestic cat, almost but not quite. The Bengal is still very active, inquisitive with particular characteristics.

One last point. People searching for house cat breeds might simply be looking for domestic cats. If that is the case just start here and pick one.

House Cat Breeds to Persian cat

Burmilla Origin and History

Burmilla Origin and History -- I'll open up with a post on the origins and history of this cat in a style that I hope suits visitors. There is often a lot written on the Internet but for me in any event a lot of it is a little verbose. Here's the history in detail of the Burmilla:

1981 - Miranda Bickford-Smith buys a Chinchilla Persian for her husband. The cat's name is Jemari Sanquist.


Burmilla cat copyright jtlondon under CC

1981 (early) - Before Jerami is to be neutered he meets by accident a lilac Burmese female (not sure where this happened) called Bambino Lilac Fabergé. One website says that both the Chinchilla Persian and the Burmese female were waiting to be breed in the same building ("nearby rooms"). A cleaner inadvertently left the door (doors?) open and voila. Sounds a bit hazy that.

1981 - September 11th - Four black shaded silver females born to the above accidental mating. They quickly developed a foreign type and a short dense coat. Thérèse Clarke (who recounted the story in detail and from which in part this post is taken) says that she was impressed by two of the offspring, Galatea and Gemma. Three things struck Thérèse, their type (required appearance for a breed), temperament and "spectacular" look. These factors prompted Miranda and Thérèse to start a cat breed.

1981 - Jemari Sanquist (the original Chinchilla Persian) was then mated with another of Miranda's Burmese queens (breeding female cat).


Burmilla cat copyright jltondon

1981 - 27th March - A single male was the result of the mating. His name, Jacynth. He was to join Gemma later and together they founded the Kartush line (the breeding line founded by Thérèse).

{Note: the hybrid created by mating a Chinchilla and Burmese will result in silver cats with shorthair. These cats will carry recessive genes that may present their phenotype. These genes are the Burmese "self" gene and the Chinchilla longhair gene - "self" means a solid color -Burmilla Origin and History}.

1981 (2) - the name was sorted out. The two people who looked after Miranda's cats suggested the winning name, Burmilla. The first 4 letters fairly obviously represent the first four letter of the word Burmese. The last four letters represent the last four letters of the word Chinchilla.
That was quite easy really wasn't it! (it always does in retrospect).

1983 - It was agreed between the founding Burmilla cat breeders, Miranda and Thérèse that they would develop the breed in different ways. Thérèse focusing on the Burmilla as seen in Gemma and Jacynth (the founding cats) within the Cat Association of Britain (wound up 2004) and Miranda developing the "Burmilla and its related breeds" within the GCCF.

1983 - Burmilla Breed Standard drafted and accepted by GCCF

1984 - (Jan. 21st) Burmilla Cat Club founded (Thérèse co-founder)

1984 - Two Burmillas imported into Dennmark and the breed promoted in the continent by Birgit Behammer

1985 - Miranda founded The Asian Group Cat Society

1994 - FIFe recognize Burmilla and breed standard drafted (not sure when)

1995 - GCCF recognize the Burmilla

2003-8 - Burmilla Origin and History moved on and the Burmilla Breeders Association of Australia formed and the Burmilla breed is bred in Australia.

Sources: The Enchanting Story of the Burmilla By Thérèse Clarke and other websites

Burmilla Origin and History to Pictures of cats home page

Cat Breed Selector

Abyssinian cat - Rico - a rescued (National Abyssinian Rescue, U.S) Aby and a charming and handsome boy cat photographed by his foster mum editrx (photograph copyright editrx). The Abyssinian is probably the best cat breed. Rico is three years old in this picture and small, weighing just 5 lbs.

What is a cat breed selector? Can you have such a thing? I'm not sure you can. I don't think that you can have a computer program that selects a cat breed for you as there are probably too many variables. In any event you need to look at the cat breed to get a good idea of appearance, which means looking through lots of pictures of cats. The idea of pushing buttons and getting the name of a breed at the end of it is, probably, unworkable.

As a substitute you can do some quick and easy research, by first looking at pictures of cat breeds. You have got to make sure that the cats that you are looking at are of the correct type (i.e. correct appearance for a cat of that breed). A lot of cats of a certain breed are not very typey (you can see some of these on the big picture websites such as Flickr and Photobucket for example, you can also see some great typey cats).

Fortunately you can see probably the best pictures of cats of the best cats on this and its main website. That's the best cat breed selector you can get. The cats that Helmi photographs are normally show cats photographed at shows. You couldn't get better than that. Helmi works and lives in the USA, the biggest domestic cat market in the world by far.

I'd have a look at all the cat breeds first, they're on three pages listed from A-H, J-P and R-T with easy access from the pictures to lots more information and more photographs. These pages on each breed contain information about health issues as well, where appropriate. Some breeds have genetic disorders and some have propensities to disorders.

Once you have seen the breeds and whittled the list down you can read about health issues on one page, which includes a summary of the most common illnesses and genetic disorders.

If you're looking for a large cat you can see what I think is the biggest cat breed and the smallest cat breed.

If you're looking for the rarest of the rare cat breeds and/or all the cat breeds, I discuss that on this page.

If your looking for a cat breed that became a breed because of a genetic mutation look at these cat breeds: Dwarfs, Scottish Fold, The Rex cats - start at the Devon and end at LaPerm, Hairless - The Sphynx, Peterbald and Don Sphynx, Tailless cats - start at the Manx and go from there (you can see all the genetic mutation breeds in the photographs in the alphabetical listing mentioned above).

That pretty much covers all you need to know and see. One last thing, I argue my case as to the best cat breeds as well - see if you agree. This page is a manual cat breed selector.

From Cat Breed Selector to Abyssinian cat

Raw Diet Cat Food

Raw Diet Cat Food with the proper supplements is arguably best for a cat. Why can't we buy this? Cats have a greater need than dogs and other omnivores for protein in their diet. Cats are obligate carnivores. Cats are adapted through evolution to a low carbohydrate (CHO) intake. Their saliva doesn't start the digestion process as it lacks the required enzyme. Their intestine and pancreas is the same.

There are limitations to substituting plant origin food for animal origin food which are being ignored by the big manufacturers. Cats in the wild eat high protein, moderate fat and minimal CHO. Commercial cat food can lead to protein malnutrition. Cats can't adapt to lower amounts of protein in food. For cats, protein in food is required for energy as well as structural purposes.

Making your own cat food. Photo in public domain.

Cats have a need for increased amounts of amino acids such as taurine, arginine, methionine, cysteine. A cat's natural diet contains these. Taurine is essential to a cat. Some is lost into their bile. Long term (several months) deficiency of taurine can lead to blindness. You can test levels of taurine in blood.

High amounts of CHO may have a negative impact on cats. Cats cannot use starch. Abnormally high levels of CHO are used in dry cat food to make the manufacturing process work.

High levels of CHO reduce protein digestion and increases fecal pH (more alkaline). A cat's liver doesn't contain an enzyme that metabolizes (breaks them down to be digested into the body) sugars. Cats prefer foods flavored with animal products and not sweet flavors unlike people and dogs. Carnivores rely mainly on fats to provide energy.

A cat has specific and unique vitamin needs. She requires higher levels of B vitamin (thiamin, niacin). Anorexic cats can suffer from thiamin deficiency. A cat eating high levels of sea food (high in thiaminase) can suffer from thiamin deficiency. The symptoms are sever muscle weakness. B vitamins are found in animal tissue. They are added to commercial cat food demonstrating how artifical it is.

Commercial cat food has added vitamin A but caution is required in supplementing this vitamin as it can be toxic at incorrectly high levels.

Cats drink relatively small amounts of water getting it from the prey eaten. This reflects their origins in desert regions. Cats eating a dry cat food (kibble) will drink half the amount of water than if eating wet cat food. They do not compensate adequately by drinking water. Wet cat food can increase dental tartar however. My thought: balance between the two but raw diet cat food plus correct supplement is best. Mimic as near as possible prey. Why isn't this available commercially?

An estimated 25%-33% of cats are obese. Obesity can bring health problems such as diabetes. There are several reasons for this. One reason being scrutinized is the quality of cat food. High CHO cat food plus inactivity (indoor cats) means the cat is consuming too much energy producing food and not burning it off. CHO that is not used by the cat is stored as fat. The weight loss diets are not necessarily healthy either as the high fiber content can impair protein digestion.

The more I read the more I am convinced a Raw Diet Cat Food is best but how to prepare it and do we have time?

Source: Debra Zoran DM "Timely Topics in Nutrition - The carnivore connection to nutrition in cats". This source has been greatly reduced in size and content in this post. But the tenor of the source and essential information has been preserved as accurately as possible. I have only referred to limited parts of the original text.

Associated:

• See all the posts on cat food by clicking here.
• From Raw Diet Cat Food to Low carbohydrate cat food

Smallest Cat Breed

Above: Singapura photo by Helmi Flick. The smallest cat breed is fairly easy to find. First, it is commonsense that the vast majority of domestic cats are going to be of a similar size. The mixed breed cats are all medium sized cats with what I would term "normal" (i.e. to be expected of a domestic cat) appearance. They are well balanced cats, they haven't got wedgie heads or extra long legs.

Although some purebred cats will be a bit on the bigger or smaller side they would normally find that happy middle ground. However, the cat fancy demands that cats be of type (the right appearance for a particular breed) and over a long period of time this objective has separated out cat breeds in terms of size making them more distinct.

That said, one cat is known to be probably the smallest cat breed and it is the Singapura, otherwise known as the Drain Cat (see one in a drain). Thus cat is meant to be native to Singapore but they are very few in Singapore as it happens (if any). This cat is probably a hybrid cat created by the cat fancy. You can read more about this breed on the main website.

Although the Singapura is probably known to be the smallest cat breed there are others that might pose a good challenge to that title. In fact there is more than one. The group of cats called Dwarf Cats would probably produce one or two individual cats that are small enough to be a the lower end of the spectrum of cat size.

There are number of dwarf cat breeds. The founding breed is the Munchkin, a not uncommon cat. The other dwarf cats are quite rare or very rare. These are the Napoleon, Skookum, Kinkalow, Lambkin, Genetta, Knook, Minskin and Bambino. There is one other the Dwelf but there is only a drawing of this cat breed the last time I looked.

These cats are normal cats with short legs due to the dwarfism gene. This will automatically make the cat smaller. I'm guessing here but cat breeders of dwarf cats will probably breed from smaller normal cat breeds (crossed with the Munchkin) as a dwarf cat looks more interesting if she is small. I expect all the dwarf cats to be on the small side.

The Miniature cats and Teacup cats are obviously the smallest but these are not recognized cat breeds. They are normally Persian cats (Traditional Persian) bred small through prolonged selective breeding. I cannot include them in this post as the smallest cat breed.

Finally some cats that are normally mid ranged in terms of size can be smaller and more delicate. The Devon Rex comes mind as such as cat, especially when bred to an extreme. Some of the Modern Siamese and Orientals are also lightweights and smaller than average.

You can see the full range of cat breed sizes on this page: Largest Domestic Cat Breed. The smallest wild cat species is the rusty-spotted cat by the way.

Photograph: Singapura cat copyright Helmi Flick  - please respect copyright. Helmi is a professional photographer.

Smallest Cat Breed to Home page