AMERICAN SHORTHAIR CAT BREED

American Shorthair Cat Breed – CatsPlace.org

History
In the 370 or so years that American Shorthair cats have inhabited this continent, the environment and more recently, human-controlled breeding have shaped them into their present form. Shorthaired domestic cats arrived in America with the Europeans. Evidence indicates that several cats may have sailed over from England aboard the Mayflower in 1620. Upon arrival, these felines became working cats in the barns and fields of the early Americans. Years of natural selection turned them into a strong, hardy breed of dependable temperament.

With the import of foreign breeds, however, the original American Shorthair bloodlines became diluted. In the early 1900s a group of breeders began a selective breeding program to preserve the natural beauty, mild temperament, and hardiness of the American Shorthair cat. Acceptance in the show ring was a long time coming for the American Shorthair. As late as the 1960s American Short-hairs were treated like the strays of the cat fancy.

Breeders also battled confusion between their carefully bred American Shorthairs cat and random bred domestic cats. While a no pedigreed domestic cat may look like a pedigreed American Shorthair, the mix of uncertain genes means that the domestic generally will not breed true; you cannot count on type, temperament, and length of hair as you can with a purebred American Shorthair.

The first American Shorthair cat to be registered in this country was an orange tabby male named Belle that ironically was imported from England in the early 1900s. It wasn’t until 1904 when the first American-born American Shorthair cat (named Buster Brown) was registered under the breed name of Short-hair.

Later, the breed was renamed Domestic Shorthair, and in 1965 the breeders voted to change the name again, this time to the American Shorthair cat. The same year, CFA named a silver tabby male (Shawnee Trademark) Best Cat, and the breed finally began to receive some hard-earned respect in the cat fancy. Today, American Shorthairs are playing at show rings everywhere, and earning their due share of admiration and rosettes.