Cats

252 photos across 45 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 37 Semi-long 12 Long 26 Double & dense 25 Curly & rex 14 Hairless 12

SizeSmall 29 Medium 53 Large 27

FromNorth America 109 British Isles 37 Europe 35 Asia 23 Africa & Middle East 21

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Kinkalow

Rhubarb was promoted to meticulous museum curator; unfortunately, a tiny red carpet refuses to lie flat.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Javanese

Radish III was promoted to photographer arranging a portrait of one potato; unfortunately, a feather duster gets stuck in a tiny chandelier.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Highlander

Truffle was promoted to overwhelmed airport baggage manager; unfortunately, a pile of cushions slowly topples.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Genetta

Marigold III was promoted to stern orchestra conductor; unfortunately, a stack of empty bowls wobbles dangerously.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Foldex

Noodle was promoted to camping guide assembling a tent much too small; unfortunately, one toy suitcase circles endlessly.

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

Colorpoint shorthair

Biscuit II was promoted to meticulous museum curator; unfortunately, a balloon bouquet pulls a tiny chair upward.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Cheetoh

Rosemary IV takes lifeguard duty seriously. Eleven ducks, one pool, and a cushion pile that is going over.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Chausie

Clemence V has called action, and the one suitcase on set is going round in circles again.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Chantilly-tiffany

Tansy is up on her back legs inspecting the monstera, and the green wool has got everywhere in the process.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

California spangled

Primrose III was promoted to stage manager during a curtain emergency; unfortunately, a mountain of carrots blocks the doorway.

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

American wirehair

Mistral IX conducts, and tonight the orchestra is rubber ducks, seated properly, all the way to the back.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

American ringtail

Truffle was promoted to post-office clerk sorting blank miniature parcels; unfortunately, a balloon bouquet pulls a tiny chair upward.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

American bobtail

Nectarine VII has stopped the baggage belt with her own two paws and is telling everybody about the ribbon situation.

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.

The cat emergency you have hours, not days, for
A blocked male cat dies within a day or two without treatment. The signs, why the litter tray is the warning, and what actually reduces the risk.
What a flat face costs
Brachycephalic dogs and cats have the same soft tissue in a shorter skull. What that does to breathing, eyes, teeth and heat, and how to choose better.
The health tests to ask a breeder for
A carrier of a recessive disease looks healthy. Which tests exist for dogs, cats and horses, how to read the results, and the answers that should worry you.
There is no hypoallergenic dog or cat
Low-shedding is not low-allergen. What actually causes pet allergy, why the claim keeps being made, and what genuinely reduces symptoms if you are allergic.
How to photograph your pet
Light, height, focus and patience — what separates a good pet photo from a blurred one, and how to handle black cats, white dogs and animals that never sit still.
Coats, and what each type actually needs
Single, double, wire, curly and hairless coats need completely different things. Why you never shave a double coat, and why a mat has to be cut out.