Tag Archives: cat facts

Hemingway’s Polydactyl Cats

Ernest Hemingway was first encouraged to visit Key West, Florida on the advice of fellow writer, John Dos Pasos whom he met in Paris during the mid 1920s. He and his wife, Pauline made their home there for several years, and here Hemingway developed his routine of writing very early in the morning when the temperatures were at their coolest. He worked mostly on a war story that he had started on their passage to Key West, and when it was published in 1929 it was entitled “A Farewell to Arms.” Ernest Hemingway was a man who not only knew … Continue reading →

The Serengeti Cat: Grand Jungle Design

Karen Sausman of the Kingsmark cattery in California established this breed in 1994, and it has since been accepted into the Foundation registry of the International Cat Association (TICA). These cats are the result of a cross between Oriental Shorthair Cats and Bengal Cats, although they greatly resemble still another jungle cat, the Serval. The gene pool for the Bengal cat is very large and contains both wild and domestic genes from at least eight different varieties of felines, including: the Asian Leopard Cat, the British Shorthair, domestic shorthair, the Indian Mau, the Ocicat, the Egyptian Mau, the Abyssinian and … Continue reading →

The Honeybear: Sweetness And Beauty

Believe it or not, a woman named Ann Baker created this breed in a laboratory in California when she for some unknown reason, selected genes from a skunk, deposited them into a female Persian cat and mated that cat with a random male cat. The resulting kittens looked a lot like skunks (surprise!), being born silver and later turning black with stripes along the head, back or underside (no smelling mechanism however). These cats were so exceptionally sweet and friendly that they became the foundation stock for the Honeybear breed, which was sustained by crossing the males from that and … Continue reading →

The Oriental Shorthair: A Delightful Blend

This English breed dates back to 1950, and the Baroness von Ullman of the Roofspringer Cattery. In between her numerous duties as baroness, she decided to create a shorthaired, solid-colored cat with the body characteristics of the Siamese, Abyssinian and Russian Blue breeds. Cat Fancy in England initially accepted them as “chestnut foreign shorthairs,” but soon an all white blue variant was created and became very popular. These cats became known as “white foreign shorthairs.” Siamese cats were then introduced into the foundation stock so the resulting body type would come closer to it. Peter and Vicky Markstein of the … Continue reading →

The American Shorthair: Our Nation’s Own

The American Shorthair is an old and distinguished breed that dates back to 16th century Europe. Transported to North America via the early settlers, these sturdy felines are sometimes referred to as “Mayflower cat.” Records from that very ship indicate that several of these cats were aboard to hunt for and destroy rats. For centuries, these “working cats” flourished despite extreme and very harsh temperatures and conditions. Their pioneer owners highly valued these hearty and robust felines who kept the vermin population at bay and provided companionship with their loving natures and sweet ways. They were so prized that at … Continue reading →

The Exotic Shorthair: The Best of Two Worlds

It looks like a Persian cat, but it isn’t, as the fur is decidedly different. What is this adorable creature that almost looks like a teddy bear? The Exotic Shorthair seems to be a Persian cat whose plush coat was somehow stolen. Dating back to the 1960s, this breed occurred when an American Shorthair was crossed with a Persian cat. The result was a creature that retains all of the loving and placid ways of the Persian, but none of the work associated with maintaining that glorious but labor-intensive coat. This breed is sometimes referred to as “the lazy man’s … Continue reading →

The Burmilla Cat: An Enchanting Accident

In England back in 1981, an accidental mating occurred between a Chinchilla Persian named Sanquist and Faberge, a Lilac Burmese. The resulting kittens were so beautiful, sweet and healthy that a new and unexpected breed was born for which they became the foundation stock. The Burmilla reached North America in 1995 and achieved championship status in Canada in 1998. The Burmilla is a medium-sized cat, weighing from 8 to 10 pounds, with a muscular body that can have either a short and silky coat like the Burmese or a long fine and silky one like its Persian ancestors, capped with … Continue reading →

The Ojos Azules Cat: Rare and Camera Shy

If there is a photograph to be found of this rare breed of cat, I for one do not know where it can be. This is a relatively new breed of domestic feline that was discovered in New Mexico among the indigenous feral cat populations. The have dark blue eyes (the translation of their name), and the very first cat discovered was a tortoiseshell named Cornflower in 1984. She was bred to males lacking the blue-eyed trait but it proved to be a dominant gene because all of her kittens possessed it. Their eyes are truly unique and unlike the … Continue reading →

The Ocicat: A Spotted Delight

With a name that derives from the Ocelot, this beautiful spotted cat looks like the product of a wild and domestic cross, but it isn’t. This large, muscular and very attractive feline is the result of selective cross breeding between the Siamese, Abyssinian and American Shorthair breeds. A “designer cat,” it was originally bred in the 1960s and was the unexpected result of an experimental cross to produce an Aby-point Siamese. In the last fifty years, this breed has become popular the world over and advanced to championship status in 1987. The Ocicat is large and muscular with an athletic … Continue reading →

The Nebelung Cat: Silvery Elegance

The Nebelung, which means “creature of the mist” in German, is a long haired Russian Blue named for the luminous quality of its silver-tipped coat. The breed is not widely recognized and began in 1980 in the United States when a Russian Blue male was mated with a female that carried the long hair gene. The foundation stock was taken from two litters of that cross. Still rather uncommon, the breed is found mostly in America, although a small number of longhaired Russian Blues have been discovered in Russia. There are currently a number of Russian breeders interested in developing … Continue reading →