European Shorthair
Breed Profile
Origin: Continental Europe
Colour: Various
The modern pedigree European Shorthair has been developed from the ordinary working cats and pet cats of Continental Europe
Owner's Guide
Domestic Breed: The modern pedigree European Shorthair has been developed from the ordinary working cats and pet cats of Continental Europe, with careful, selective breeding replacing the casual breeding that had been going on for centuries.
Appearance: A stocky cat with a round, longish head, rather thick, strong legs and a medium-length tail. In fact, this is generally a rather 'medium' breed in most respects. However, this is not so surprising, bearing in mind its incredibly mixed ancestry.
History: Up until 1982 no distinction was made between the British Shorthair and the European Shorthair, but then they were formally separated for show purposes. Since then have been diverging slightly, although it is still easy to confuse them. The European breed has a less stocky body, longer legs, a slightly longer head and larger ears.
The most confusing aspect of this breed is that it is possible to find three separate definitions of it, according to the kind of author writing about it.
It has been defined as:
(1) Any domestic short-haired cat living as a household pet in Europe
(by authors writing about the history of cats in general).
(2) Any British Shorthair Cat living on the mainland of Continental Europe
(by British authors writing about British pedigree breeds).
(3) A distinct breed of pedigree cat not to be confused with the British Shorthair Cat
(by authors writing about international breed classifications).
Personality: Terms used to describe this breed include: hardy, rugged, quiet, untemperamental, adaptable, moderate, sensible, active, intelligent, shrewd, inquisitive, brave and lively.
Colour forms: Essentially the same as the British Shorthair. A huge variety of colour forms is available . (For details see British Shorthair)
Articles
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- Short Haired Cat Breeds
- The earliest cat shows in the final decades of the 19th century lumped all cats with short coats into one category 'Short-haired cats'. There were some that were named simply by their fur colour, while others has distinctive breed names like Siamese or Ma More »
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