The European Shorthair, also known as the European and Celtic/European Shorthair, is a

pedigreed Purebreds are cultivars of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be pedigreed. Purebreds breed true-to-type, which means the progeny of li ...

cat breed. The breed's name has also been used to describe the landrace domestic cat of Europe, causing confusion as the pedigreed cats of this breed also should resemble the typical domestic cats of Europe. The role as the cat breed resembling the original domestic cats of Europe was held until the beginning of the 20th century by the

British Shorthair The British Shorthair is the Purebred, pedigree version of the traditional British Domestic cat (landrace), domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, thick Fur, coat, and broad face. The most familiar colour variant is the "British Blue", wi ...

, even though stockier than the majority of common European cats, until 1949 when the European Shorthair was recognized by the

Fédération internationale féline The (FIFé) (International Feline Federation) is a federation of Cat registry, cat registries. There are currently forty-two member organizations in forty countries. Membership spans Europe, South America, and Asia. FIFé is one of the nine me ...

(FIFe). The oldest known European Shorthair registered in FIFe was born in 1940.

History

Origin

European Shorthair has its counterparts in Great Britain (

) and the U.S. (

American Shorthair The American Shorthair (ASH) is a breed of domestic cat believed to be descended from European cats brought to North America by early settlers to protect valuable cargo from mice and rats. According to the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), it w ...

), though these breeds have been bred for longer. The

, however, was crossed with the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and selectively bred to become a cobbier cat with a slightly shortened muzzle and thicker coat. It was confusing for Scandinavian breeders that the British Shorthair was also called European Shorthair at that time, even though it looked different. Felinological associations recognized both types of cat as a single breed, meaning they were judged by the same standards during

cat show A cat show is a judged event where the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. Both pedigree (cat), pedigreed and companion (or moggy) cats are admi ...

s, until 1982 when FIFE registered the Scandinavian type of European Shorthair as a separate breed with its own standard.

Breed recognition

As of 2023, the European (Shorthair) cat breed is recognised by ACF,

FIFe Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

LOOF Loof or Lööf (Swedish variant) is a Germanic surname that may refer to: * Anders Lööf (born 1961), Swedish male curler * Annie Lööf (born 1983), Swedish politician * Annika Lööf (born 1966), Swedish female curler * Augustine Loof (born 1996 ...

, TICA (registration only), and WCF.

Appearance

The breed resembles a

domestic shorthair A moggy is any cat which has not been intentionally bred. Moggies lack a consistent appearance unlike purebred cats that are selectively bred for appearance conforming to a standard. In contexts where cats need to be registered—such as in v ...

and is of medium size with a muscular body. The face is well rounded with well developed cheekbones. The ears are of medium size and slightly rounded at the tip. Eyes are round and open. The eye can be any colour including odd eyed. The neck is of medium length and muscular. The tail is of medium length, thick at the base with a rounded tip. European shorthair portraits

Coat

The European Shorthair's coat is short, dense, and glossy.

Coat Colour

All natural colours are permitted, such as black, red, blue and cream, with or without

tabby A tabby cat, or simply tabby, is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a coat pattern distinguished by an M-shaped marking on its forehead, stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, around its legs and tail, and characteris ...

tortoiseshell Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle, mainly the hawksbill sea turtle, which is a critically endangered species according to the IUCN Red List largely because of its ...

, silver or

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

markings, though the combination of tabby with white and smoke with white is not allowed in FIFe. Solid white is also permitted. The eye colour corresponds to the coat colour and may be yellow, green or orange. Blue or odd-eyed individuals are permitted if the coat colour is white.

Health

In a review of over 5,000 cases of urate urolithiasis in the US the European Shorthair had the highest rate of the condition with 53 cats having the condition out of a population of 78.

Temperament

The breed has developed from the natural mouse hunters of Europe with the wish to strengthen the most desirable personality traits of the domestic cats. Most European Shorthairs are strong and active, and they are generally friendly towards people of all ages. They get on well with other cats and tolerate dogs well. European Shorthairs are intelligent and playful, and most of them are adept at keeping houses and gardens free of all types of rodents.

Popularity

The breed is mostly popular in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

but also in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, as there are still huge populations of similar-looking cats in Europe, and the European Shorthairs are for those appreciating a supple breed which has had a selection for a good temper. The European Shorthair is on the list of endangered breeds in Sweden and is the national cat of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

.Suomen Kissaliitto

Gallery

File:Female European shorthair in URK cat show Kirkkonummi 2008-03-02.JPG, Blue mackerel tabby female File:European shorthair in POROK cat show Kempele (Oulu).JPG, Calico female File:European-cat show Helsinki 2008.JPG, A brown/golden tabby File:European shorthair TUROK cat show Turku 2010-03-27.JPG, A silver/grey tabby File:Black male with green eyes.jpg, A black male with green eyes

References

External links

Cats United International
(Archived Link) {{Domestic cat Cat breeds Cat breeds originating in Sweden Natural cat breeds