Here’s a list of cat breeds that were created in the US. Unsurprisingly, no other country comes close to the US in this respect. It is the world’s largest purebred cat market by quite a considerable distance.
- American Bobtail (1960s)
- American Curl (1981)
- American Lynx (1980s)
- American Shorthair (1966)
- American Wirehair (1966)
- Balinese (1940s)
- Bengal (1963)
- Bombay (1958)
- California Rex (1959)
- California Spangle (1971)
- Chantilly (1967)
- Chausie (1995)
- Exotic Shorthair (1966)
- Himalayan (1950s)
- Javanese (1960s)
- Karakul (1930s)
- LaPerm (1986)
- Longhair Exotic (1990s)
- Maine Coon (1860s)
- Malayan (1980)
- Mei Toi (1994)
- Mexican Hairless (1902)
- Missouri Rex (1990s)
- Munchkin (1991-Recognition Date)
- Nebelung (1990s)
- Ocicat (1964)
- Ohio Rex (1944)
- Ojos Azules (1984)
- Oregon Rex (1959)
- Peke-faced Persian (1930s)
- Pixie-bob (1995)
- RagaMuffin (1994)
- Ragdoll (1960s)
- Renegade (1997)
- Safari Cat (1980s)
- Savannah (1997?)
- Selkirk Rex (1987)
- Serengeti (1996?)
- Si-Rex (1986)
- Snow Cat (1990s)
- Snowshoe (1960s)
- Somali (1967)
- Tiffany (1967)
- Tonkinese (1950s)
- York Chocolate (1983)
Why is America the leading country for the domestic cat and particularly the purebred cat? I’ll focus on the purebred cat, which has to be selectively bred. There has to be a cat fancy and cat shows. The first cat show took place in England in 1895 as I recall and the first cat show in America took place in 1897 in Madison Square Garden. You can see what I’m getting at.
The majority of Americans have European heritage. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and its population is a rich tapestry of various ethnic backgrounds. European immigrants, including those from England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, and other countries, significantly shaped American culture, traditions, and institutions.
It is the Europeans who brought their love of the domestic cat to America and that’s why America is the home of the purebred cat. Obviously, there are many other countries where the purebred cat is selectively bred. Russia, for example, is very keen on the domestic cat and purebred cats and they have their own cat breeds such as the Siberian and Russian Blue. But they are no match to the United States.
This is about Europeans being the first to cotton on to the idea of selectively breeding the domestic cat to create cat breeds. They originated the idea of breeding the common moggy cat, to refine the animal through artificial selection and then to create a product which could compete at cat shows and which would catch the eye of the public desiring to adopt a beautiful domestic cat companion.
