Cats

252 photos across 6 breeds

🐈 Cats domesticated themselves, more or less. They arrived alongside stored grain in the Near East around ten thousand years ago, and unlike dogs they were never bred for a job — which is why cat breeds differ mostly in coat, colour and build rather than in what they were made to do.

That also means temperament varies less between breeds than it does between individuals, with real exceptions at the edges: a Siamese or a Burmese is genuinely more vocal and more people-dependent than a British shorthair, and a bengal is genuinely more active than almost anything.

🐾 Several of the entries on this page are not breeds at all. Tabby and tortoiseshell are coat patterns that turn up in dozens of breeds and in none. Domestic shorthair, longhair and mixed-breed are simply cats — and they are the overwhelming majority of cats kept anywhere in the world, healthier on average than the pedigrees precisely because nobody selected them for a look. They are listed because they are what people photograph.

🧶 The decision that shapes daily life more than breed does is coat length. A Persian is a daily commitment with a comb and no negotiating; a British shorthair is twice a week; an oriental shorthair is essentially nothing. Long-haired cats that are not combed do not stay scruffy, they mat to the skin, and the mats have to be shaved off under sedation.

🏠 The other one is indoors, outdoors or a secure garden, and it is worth settling before the cat arrives rather than after. An indoor cat needs height, scratching posts, window views and things to hunt, or it will find its own entertainment in your furniture. Some breeds — ragdolls especially — are too trusting to be safe outside at all.

Any breed Domestic shorthair (11)Abyssinian (3)American curl (3)American shorthair (3)Balinese (3)Bengal (3)Birman (3)Bombay (3)British shorthair (3)Burmese (3)Chartreux (3)Cornish rex (3)+89 more — use the search

Cats feed

CoatShort 13 Semi-long 7 Long 7 Double & dense 17 Curly & rex 2 Hairless 6

SizeMedium 9 Large 8

FromNorth America 25 British Isles 18 Europe 17 Asia 2 Africa & Middle East 10

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Norwegian forest cat

Saga walks the fallen log every morning and considers the entire wood hers.

FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

Russian blue

Sasha watches the rain and the entire city from that sill, and comes to bed at midnight.

FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

Siberian

Tundra walks the log at sunset, and the coat does all of that on its own.

FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

Chartreux

Margot supervises the kitchen from the one surface she is definitely not allowed on.

FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

Birman

Suki crosses the wet terrace at sunset and pretends she meant to get her feet wet.

FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

European shorthair

Sorrel IV was promoted to chess champion facing pieces taller than itself; unfortunately, a toy wheelbarrow tips at the worst moment.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Before you get a cat

Cats live a long time. Fifteen years is ordinary and twenty is not rare, so this is a longer commitment than most dogs.
Coat length decides your workload. A Persian or Himalayan needs combing every day without exception; a short-coated cat once or twice a week.
Indoors, outdoors or a secure garden is worth deciding before the cat arrives rather than after. Some breeds — ragdolls especially — are too trusting to be safe outside.
Two cats are often easier than one, particularly in the intensely social breeds. Introduce them slowly and separately; the first week decides the next decade.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common serious inherited condition across pedigree cats, and several breeds have DNA tests or scanning schemes. Ask for the results rather than an assurance.
Teeth are the cost nobody budgets for. Dental disease turns up in a great many of the breed profiles here, most cats have some of it by middle age, and it is the commonest reason a cat is anaesthetised. It is also largely silent — cats eat through a painful mouth rather than stop.
Learn the two emergencies. A cat that has not eaten for a day needs seeing; a male cat straining in the tray and producing nothing is a blocked bladder, and that is measured in hours rather than days.
Lilies are the one to memorise. Every part of a true lily is severely toxic to cats — pollen on the fur is enough — and so are several other common houseplants. Check before a bouquet comes into the house.
One litter tray per cat plus one, somewhere the cat is not ambushed, cleaned daily. Most house-soiling is not behavioural spite; it is a tray the cat has decided against, or a urinary problem, and the second needs a vet.

General guidance, not veterinary advice. Anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.

Cat breeds worth knowing about

A place to start rather than the whole list. Every name is a page.

Domestic shorthair
Not a breed — just a cat, and the commonest and generally healthiest one there is. If you have no particular requirement, this is the sensible answer and there are thousands in rescue.
Maine coon
The largest domestic breed, semi-longhaired and unusually dog-like in temperament. Screen for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hip dysplasia — big cats get the latter too.
British shorthair
Dense, plush and famously undemonstrative — a cat that likes you nearby rather than on you. Combing twice a week, and a strong tendency to put on weight.
Siamese
Loud, clever and genuinely people-dependent. A Siamese left alone all day is not a quiet cat that misses you; it is a cat that tells the street about it.
Persian
The most high-maintenance coat in the species: daily combing, without exception. The flattened face of the modern show type brings tear-duct and breathing problems, so the older doll-faced type is worth seeking out.
Ragdoll
Large, placid and inclined to go limp when picked up, which is where the name comes from. Also too trusting to be safe outdoors, and a breed with a well-known HCM mutation that can be DNA-tested.
Bengal
The most active cat most people will meet — a wild-hybrid-descended breed that climbs, swims, opens things and does not settle for a quiet flat. Early generations are legally restricted in some places.
Sphynx
Hairless, which means more maintenance rather than less: weekly bathing because the skin oils have nowhere to go, and a cat that actively seeks out heat and laps.

Guides for cats

The subjects that come up on breed page after breed page, written out properly.

Adopting a rescue animal
Rescue animals arrive without a history and settle on their own timetable. What decompression means, what the first three months look like, and what helps.
Hip and elbow dysplasia, and how to read a score
Hip dysplasia is the condition breed profiles mention most. What it is, what a hip score means, how to compare one against a breed, and what an owner controls.
Luxating patella, and the skip that gives it away
A kneecap that slips out of its groove is one of the commonest faults in small dogs. What the grades mean, the sign owners miss, and when surgery is the answer.
Ear infections, and why they keep coming back
Most repeat ear infections are not caused by water or dirt. What actually drives them, why cotton buds make it worse, and when it needs a vet rather than a bottle.