Page 134 - The Complete Cat Breed Book (DK)

132 C A T AL OG OF BREED S

HOUSE CAT—SHORTHAIR

THESE HARDY CATS MAKE EXCELLENT, EASY-TO-KEEP PETS

The first domestic cats had short coats, and the type still Typical tabby
“M” marking
predominates wherever in the world cats are kept as house on forehead
pets. Random-bred shorthairs occur in nearly every possible
color permutation, with tabbies, torties, and traditional solid
colors being the most common. The majority of these cats
are solidly in the middle range when it comes to body shape.
Selective breeding, which has created some extreme lines,
has largely bypassed the shorthaired house cat, although
occasionally a hint of, for example, the lean Oriental shape
suggests an out-of-the-ordinary parentage.

RED CLASSIC TABBY AND WHITE
Irregularly Large size and a dense coat could point to
spaced ring British or American Shorthair in the history
markings
on tail of this handsome cat. However, his green
eyes may be part of a different inheritance.

BROWN TABBY
The broken stripes
on this cat are, in
BLUE AND WHITE fact, intermediate
In house cats white markings are rarely as symmetrical between mackerel
as those considered desirable in pedigrees. However, and spotted tabby
a solid color splashed with white is always striking, patterns. Tabby
and a random effect adds individual charm. markings often
occur in domestic
cats and show up
Mixture of well on short coats.
colors

CALICO
Tortoiseshell, or tortie, patterning occurs in BLUE MACKEREL TABBY AND WHITE
many color forms, black and red being the While tabbies with white markings are very
traditional combination. A calico, tortie with common, the blue variation would be a lucky
white areas over more than half its body, is find in a random-bred cat. This one’s markings
known as a tortie and white cat in the UK. are indistinct against the background color.