What breed is Luhu the Cat? This is a question posed by Internet surfers using Google, which I attempt to answer it on this page. You’ll see that I have decided that she is a purebred cat and the breed is the American Shorthair. This is quite a big guess by the way but please read on and correct me in a comment if necessary.
Luhu is described by everybody as the saddest cat on the Internet. Obviously this is because this cute cat has a very sad appearance but as expected it is misleading. Domestic cats don’t express emotions to this level in facial appearance. It’s a face which reminds me of Grumpy Cat. The idea of turning her into a celebrity cat probably came from the success of Grumpy Cat. Or was it the other way around?
I have permission from Lulu’s owner, Maggie Liu, to publish her photographs on this page. I have been asked to link to Luhu’s Instagram page which you can do by clicking on this link. This cat is definitely an Internet celebrity and has 139,000 followers on Instagram (at the time of this post) and there are almost 4,500 pictures on her Instagram webpages.
She has two brothers who have what I would call “normal appearances”. Luhu is a silver or grey tabby cat with classic tabby markings. I asked Maggie Liu whether Luhu is purebred. Maggie didn’t respond to the question. Therefore, I will have to try and answer it myself judging by her appearance.
My initial impression when looking at this cat is that she is purebred. I think this is an example of unsuccessful cat breeding in truth, which has resulted in this cat’s slightly abnormal features which gives the impression that she is sad when she is not. Sometimes, too, she opens her mouth and sticks her tongue out to breathe through her mouth. I’ve seen this before in another celebrity cat, Lil BUB. There is possibly an obstruction in her nose due to a slight anatomical abnormality which is linked to her sad appearance. Her eyes are overly large. I have seen this in poorly bred Persians and Exotic Shorthairs.
I’m going to suggest that this cat is a badly bred American Shorthair because the markings and general appearance (excluding the abnormal appearance) is typical of the classic American Shorthair cat. That is not meant in anyway to be an insult directed at Luhu. She is very cute and adorable.
Luhu lives in China as I understand it. There is a book about this cat and it is for sale on the Japanese version of Amazon.
But for the slight abnormality in facial features, this cat would not have become a cat celebrity. I do not want in any way to upset Maggie Liu. She sounds like a nice person. I thank her for letting publish her photos.
People also ask what Luhu means. In terms of the name I don’t believe a meaning is intended but the word refers to an Indonesian language according to Wikipedia.
Such a sweet-looking kitty. I hope she is not exploited as so many cats are.
Let them live their lives out with a loving family and much love and understanding.