Different Cat Breeds
All Types of Cats

There are a plethora of different cat breeds found across the world and there are several ways in which to differentiate all the types of cats.

The first major differentiator would be to divide felines into Domestic Cats and Wild Cats. Domestic cats have evolved over centuries and today there are scores of different types of cats to be found.

Domestic cat breeds can also be differentiated by coat length and type (i.e. shorthair, longhair, rexed or 'hairless' cats), unusual physical features or natural mutations (i.e. curled or folded ears, short tails and short legs), size, and finally hybrid cats developed by man crossing wild cats to domestic cats.

Longhair Cat Breeds

Longhaired cat breeds are ideal for colder climates. The best known longhaired cat is the Persian, but the Maine Coon, Ragdoll and Birman cats are very popular amongst cat lovers. A recessive gene is responsible for the longhair trait in cats. Longhair cats have glorious coats, but they do require daily grooming. The table below includes different cat breeds and are longhaired and semi-longhaired varieties.

Rexed Cat Breeds

There are numerous rexed or curly-coated cats. The curls, kinks and waves are as a result of a natural mutation, (either from a dominant gene or a recessive gene). Different mutations are responsible for wavy or bristly coats in cats. The Cornish Rex was the first rexed-coated cat, followed by the Devon Rex, the American Wirehair, the La Perm and the last arrival the Selkirk Rex. The Devon and Cornish Rex both carry recessive genes which means that outcrosses produce straight-haired kittens. The La Perm, Selkirk and American Wirehair curly and bristle coats are caused by a dominant mutation.

Hairless Cat Breeds

Hairless cats have been documented since the 1500's. The Sphynx cat is probably the best known of the 'hairless cat' breeds. The Sphynx is not entirely hairless, they do have a fine peach-like down covering. The Donskoy on the other hand has various coats, ranging from truly bald, to velvety fuzz to a sparse, wiry brush coat. Hairlessness in cats is caused by a natural mutation of a recessive gene or a dominant hair loss gene. The Bambino, Dwelf and Minskin are 'designer' cats as they were created by man by crossing the Sphynx with other cat breeds.

Short-tailed Cat Breeds

Short-tails in cats is caused by a natural mutation. The length of the tail varies in the different cat breeds mentioned below. In some breeds the tail may be completely absent. The gene that results in the short tail may be dominant or recessive.

Short-legged Cat Breeds

The Munchkin cat, the original short-legged cat, resulted from a spontaneous automsomal dominant mutation. Many other short-legged breeds have been 'created' using the Munchkin as the foundation cat. These new short-legged cat breeds are often referred to as dwarf cats. These different cat breeds were created by crossing the Munchkin cat and breeds like the Sphynx, La Perm, American Curl, Selkirk Rex and even the Persian cat. At this stage, the Munchkin is the only dwarf cat to be recognized by cat registries. The other dwarf cats are new designer cat breeds and the founder breeders are working with the registries to gain acceptance.

Cat Breeds with Unusual Ears

Unusual curled ears and lop or folded ears are caused by a natural mutation. There are only two different cat breeds with unusual ears, the American Curl and the Scottish Fold. The Dwelf and Kinkalow are 'designer cats' (and dwarf cats) created by man by crossing the Munchkin, Sphynx and American Curl to create the Dwelf and crossing the Munchkin and American Curl to create the Kinkalow.

Hypoallergenic Cat Breeds

Hypoallergenic cats will cause an allergic response, but to a lesser degree than other cats. A glycoprotein produced by the sebaceous and salivary glands is responsible for causing allergic reactions in humans. During grooming, this protein is spread over the skin and fur of the cat. When the cat sheds hair or dander (dead skin flakes) the protein becomes airborne causing respiratory allergic reactions. All different cat breeds produce dander (even hairless and cats with thick fur) and thus the potential for an allergic reaction in humans.

Listed here are different cat breeds that are believed to be hypoallergenic (i.e. causing fewer allergies):

Hybrid Cat Breeds

A hybrid is the offspring resulting from cross-breeding.

Cat breeders have, over decades created hybrids crossing different cat breeds. These hybrids can be created by crossing two different domestic cats or by crossing wild cats with domestic cats. Whilst hybrids are man-made, free roaming domestic cats can and do under normal circumstances mate resulting in cross-breeds. Domestic/wild cat matings are unlikely and are in most instances created by man. Many countries and states do not recognize these 'wild' hybrids and in some instances impose restrictions and potential owners may require permits to keep them as pets.

'Wild' hybrids include:

Popular Cat Breeds

The most popular cat is the moggie or household domestic cat.

The most popular pedigree cat breeds, according to the 2010 CFA registration statistics, are:

Small Cat Breeds

The smallest recognized cat breed is the Singapura Cat. Mention is made of tea cup cats (pocket, miniature or toy cats), but visit our write up on this subject. Dwarf cats or short-legged cats are not teacup or small cat breeds.

Shorthair Cat Breeds

The vast majority of cats (pedigree and moggies) have short, close-lying coats that come in a variety of colors and patterns.

There are many different cat breeds with shorthair. In some cases a breed may have a longhair and shorthair version and retain the name, in other instances, the breed is given a separate name. For example, the longhaired Abyssinian cat is called the Somali, a longhaired Manx is known as the Cymric and the longhaired Siamese is known as the Balinese.

Cat Related Pages:

Cat breed list - lists of different cat breeds

Types of cats - cat photos for identification of the cat breed

Pictures of cats - stunning cat picture galleries