The American Shorthair is a very active cat that likes to play, a suitable animal for large families, small families or even for a single owner. Due to his past as a hunting cat, he is not a type of cat recommended for small homes. This restless cat needs space to run around and play hunting.
General information about the American Shorthair cat
The American Shorthair is a cross between the Common European Cat breed, carried by the Conquistadors, and the British Domestic Cat breed. It was only recognized as a breed in the 1960s. Nowadays it has a great number of followers all over the world, becoming one of the most popular cats.
Characteristics of the American Shorthair:
- Body: strong and muscular, athletic and with a large chest.
- Legs: medium size but very strong and muscular.
- Weight: in an adult male between 5 and 6 kilos and in females between 4 and 5 kilos.
- Tail: regular size and with the widest base.
- Head: large, rounded and wide, with full cheeks.
- Nose: medium length and firm chin.
- Ears: slightly rounded, narrow and medium size.
- Eyes: large and round. Golden, blue or green, always related to their hair color.
- Hair: short, thick, rough to the touch, but shiny.
Accepted colors for the breed:
- Solid colors: black, reddish brown, white, smoky blue.
- Chinchilla: Belly, chest, chin, and ear hairs white with sides of body black faded, tail with black stripes, head with fine black lines.
- Shell cameo: pancake, chest, chin, and ear hairs red, with sides of the body black faded, tail with black stripes, head with fine black lines.
- Tortoise shell: black hair, with red and cream spots.
- Calico: white coat with black and red spots.
- Cream blue: grey fur with white-cream spots
- Tabby: there are three variants of tabby:
- Mackerel: brown, red and blond tabby.
- Classic: grey and black marble, or blond and red.
- Patched: red, brown, blond, gray and/or smoke.
Personality and behaviour of this short-haired breed
This is not an appropriate cat type for an apartment, because it needs space to play and train its hunting skills. He is a friendly, sociable and playful cat. He enjoys a lot of human company, doesn’t usually have a favourite in the family and is suitable for large or single families.
Special care for the breed
The American Shorthair is a simple cat that only needs a weekly brushing and playing a lot of hunting.
