This is a page on the American Shorthair cat written for children and people who like information in plain language with good pictures.
The American Shorthair is an important cat breed. It is part of the history of the United States of America. It is known as a cat that is very good with people, both children and senior citizens. This is a cat that was, and still is, a regular American moggie cat that became one of the most popular purebred, pedigree cats.
History
If the Maine Coon is the American long haired cat the American Shorthair is the American short haired cat. It is believed that both breeds started in the same way in America, from British and European ship’s cats aboard the ships that brought the first people to America from England and Europe. That was over 400 year ago. For most of those 400 years the American Shorthair was a moggie short haired cat, a mouser and a barn cat. It was called a domestic shorthair.
The first purebred, pedigree Domestic Shorthair came about from mating British Shorthairs with American cats. The date was 1904. Then, during the early years of this breed (1920s), breeders at first changed the way the cat looked by mating it with Siamese and Persians. They later realized it would be better to keep this cat looking the way it had always looked. They changed what they were doing to make sure that happened. Also in 1966 the name was changed to American Shorthair.
One of the best known American Shorthair cats from long ago was a cat called “Perfect Gem”. The breed was accepted by The International Cat Association in 2000. Today in 2013, all the cat associations fully accept this cat.
The Way The Cat Looks
This cat can be quite big but they are normally regular cats in the way they look and in their size. They weigh between about 8 and 15 pounds (3.5-7 kilograms). This cat is famous for its silver tabby coat. Although, you will also see this cat in many different coat patterns and colors, including “solid” colors, which are cats without a pattern on their coat.
The muzzle is square. The muzzle is the part of the face that includes the jaw, nose and whiskers. The body is called “semi-cobby” by cat breeders. This means a standard looking body that is muscular. The eyes are large and round. The ears are normal in size and position.
It is important that this cat looks “normal” and regular as that is the way the original cats looked. The video below shows Helmi and Ken Flick photographing a beautiful American Shorthair whose name is Piper at a cat show in America. Piper has the classic silver tabby coat.
Behavior
At the beginning of this page I wrote that the American Shorthair is good with children and grandparents. This means that this cat is a very friendly, quiet and sweet cat. Of all the cat breeds the American Shorthair is the one that is most often said to best with people of all ages. I think that is all you need to know about the behavior and character of this popular cat breed.
Lol
Their faces have some similarities to British Shorthairs – not the cheeks but more the muzzle. They are quite special looking actually.
Yes, they are very similar to British SH. There are British Shorthairs (I say) except for selective breeding to adjust appearance. Basically a refined moggie, which is a good thing. I prefer unrefined moggies though.