A domestic short-haired cat is a

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

possessing a coat of short fur, not belonging to any particular recognised

cat breed The following list of cat breeds includes only domestic cat breeds and domestic and wild hybrids. The list includes established breeds recognized by various cat registries, new and experimental breeds, landraces being established as standardized ...

. In Britain they are sometimes colloquially called moggies. Domestic short-haired cats are distinct from the

British Shorthair The British Shorthair is the pedigreed version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, dense coat, and broad face. The most familiar colour variant is the "British Blue", with a solid grey-blue coat, orange eyes, ...

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, in 2020, i ...

, and other standardized breeds with "Short-hair" names recognized by various registries. Domestic short-haired cats are the most common kind of cat in the United States, accounting for around 95% of their number. Other generic terms include house cat and alley cat (the latter may be used more specifically to refer to

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

cats).

Description

In the cat fancy, and among

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

s and animal control agencies, domestic short-haired cats may be classified with organisation-specific terminology (often capitalized), such as: *Domestic Shorthair (DSH) * House Cat, Shorthair (HCS), or * Shorthair Household Pet. PDF version: http://www.wcf-online.de/WCF-EN/library/HHP_en_2010-01-01.pdf Such a pseudo-breed is used for registry as well as

shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ...

classification purposes. While not bred as show cats, some domestic short-haired cats are actually

pedigreed Purebreds are "cultivated varieties" 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 ...

and entered into

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 pedigreed and companion (or moggy) cats are admissible, althoug ...

s that have non-purebred "Household Pet" divisions. Show rules vary; Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) permits "any eye colour, all coat colours and patterns, any coat length or texture, and any length of tail" (basically, any cat). Others may be more restrictive; an example from the World Cat Federation: "All classic colours are permitted. Any amount of white is permitted. The colours chocolate and cinnamon, as well as their dilution (lilac and fawn) are not recognized in any combinations (bicolour, tricolour, tabby). The pointed pattern is also not recognized. The description of colours is listed in the general list of colours." Domestic short-haired cats are characterised by a wide range of colouring, and typically "revert to type" after a few generations, which means they express their coats as a

tabby cat A tabby is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, d ...

. This can be any colour or combination of colours. They also exhibit a wide range of physical characteristics, and as a result, domestic short-haired cats in different countries tend to look different in body shape and size, as they are working from differing gene pools. DSH cats in Asia tend to have a build similar to a "classic" Siamese or Tonkinese, while European and American varieties have a thicker, heavier build. Cats that did not go through selective breeding are much less vulnerable to the genetic problems for which purebred cats must be carefully screened, due to their diverse gene pool. Since freely breeding domestic short-haired cats form distinctive

landrace A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolatio ...

s in wide geographic areas, they have been the basis of several recent formal breeds such as the European Shorthair (Celtic Shorthair), and American Shorthair. Obesity is a common disease in pet cats. However, adult obesity is not significantly affected by birth weight and litter size. File:Bastian on the judge's table.jpg, Non-pedigree cats can also compete and win at

s. File:Callie Asciutto Cat.jpg, House trained domestic shorthair cat looking at the camera

References

{{domestic cat Cat landraces

Description

See also

References