Cats

252 photos across 8 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 115 Semi-long 32 Long 57 Double & dense 72 Curly & rex 19 Hairless 18

SizeSmall 9 Medium 9

FromNorth America 12 Europe 6

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Sphynx

Ra found the one warm flagstone on the terrace and will not be moved from it.

FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

Lykoi

Nox walks the glasshouse under a full moon and I have given up explaining him to guests.

FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

Ukrainian Levkoy

Basil IV was promoted to photographer arranging a portrait of one potato; unfortunately, a single enormous sock appears without explanation.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Peterbald

Ivy II was promoted to camping guide assembling a tent much too small; unfortunately, a model sailboat becomes stranded in a teacup.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Minskin

Rosemary V was promoted to botanist studying an absurdly large houseplant; unfortunately, a balloon bouquet pulls a tiny chair upward.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Dwelf

Cinder was promoted to ambitious roadside lemonade vendor; unfortunately, a feather duster gets stuck in a tiny chandelier.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Donskoy

Zinnia was promoted to photographer arranging a portrait of one potato; unfortunately, a balloon bouquet pulls a tiny chair upward.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Bambino

Olive V is moving the entire luggage trolley herself, and the train waiting on the platform is not helping.

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.

Dental disease, and why bad breath is not normal
Most dogs and cats have periodontal disease by three years old, and it is almost entirely silent. What it does, what actually prevents it, and what to avoid.
What the extra weight actually costs
Around half of dogs and cats are overweight, and lean-fed dogs live nearly two years longer. How to body-condition score, and how to feed for it.
Leaving a pet alone
Some breeds were made to be companions and cope badly by themselves. How long is reasonable, how to build up alone-time, and when it is a panic disorder.
Gene pools, popular sires and closed studbooks
A great many of the breed profiles here mention a narrow gene pool. What that actually means, why one stallion can reshape a breed, and what to ask a breeder.
Heatstroke, and the first ten minutes
Heatstroke kills quickly and is entirely preventable. Which animals are at risk, the signs, and the cooling that current evidence actually supports.
Deafness, and the coat colours that cause it
Congenital deafness travels with white coats, merle and piebald. Why pigment and hearing are linked, what a BAER test is, and how deaf animals live.