The Exotic is the short-haired variant of the Persian Cat. This breed is a good choice for people who like Persian type cats but are not prepared to put in the significant amount of time required to care for their coat. All the colors found in the Persian occur in the Exotic. The first Exotic was bred in the USA. A breeder who kept American Shorthairs and Persians mated an American Shorthair tom with a Persian longhair queen. What resulted was a Persian in type with a the father's short fur coat. Word got around of these kittens and it was decided to start a breeding program to establish the short-haired coat in the Persian type. The coat of the Exotic is soft and dense. It shouldn't lie flat but always stand out from the body slightly. The hair is slightly longer than a British Shorthair's Because the Exotic is a short-haired Persian, the breed comes in all the colors of a Persian Longhair. Exotics can be white, black, blue, red, cream, chocolate and lilac. Then there's the parti-colors depending on the amount of white in the coat and the type of markings. Vans are predominantly white with two spots of color on the head and a spot on the tail. Harlequins are like the Vans but with additional spots on the body. The Bi-color is one third white and another color. The is usually a white inverted "V" on the forehead. The Tri-color has two colors plus white. Tortoiseshell or Tortie Cats have different colors in their coat but no white. There are four different tabby patterns: ticked, mackerel, spotted and classic. Tabbies may be black, red, cream, blue, chocolate, or lilac. This info was taken from Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J. Verhoef- Verhallen ⓒ 1998

 American Shorthairs are thought to have been brought to North America from Europe. They were used on ships to control the vermin population on those long voyages. As they were brought to the new world they spread across the continent being put to use on farms. Excavations and research have caused the scientists to conclude that there were no indigenous house cats in North America before the fifteenth century. This breed is very popular in the United States. They include, the Black Tortie, and the Red Silver Classic Tabby and natural colors such a black, red, blue, and cream with or without tabby and or white markings. They can have a silver undercoat and also be pure white. The eye color depends on the coat color and can be copper or green. The source of this info is from Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J. Verhoef Verhallen.

 European Shorthairs were bred in Scandinavia from short-haired farm cats without the influence of the Persian longhair. European Shorthairs look a lot like the ordinary domestic cat we see every day in Europe and North America. The coat of this feline lies flat and doesn't stand out at all. Colors of their fur coat are black, red, blue and cream that may be with or without tabby or white markings and all white. The color of the eyes correspond to the coat color and may be yellow, green or orange. All white cats may have blue or odd color eyes. Nya is not a European Shorthair because her fur does not lie flat even though she is very soft and silky. Information was taken from Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J.  Verhoef-Verhallen, 1998.

 1st of May and spring is here. We're getting out in the backyard more which means less time for writing. I thought that I would talk about the Shorthair breed of cat. The British Shorthair started in Great Britain around the end of the 1800's as a breed that was developed from breeds that came from many oriental countries and the middle east. Ordinary domestic shorthairs from Britain were crossed with Persians to get the British Shorthair. The British shorthairs' coats come in a great many colors, patterns and markings. Parti-colors are colored cats with white areas on the coat. I think Nya is very close to being a Blue and White Bi-color British Shorthair according to the picture of one I've seen. There are other colors in this breed: Black and White Bi-Color; Black Tortie and White Tri-color; Blue Tortie; Tabbies; the Silver; the Cameo; and the Chinchilla. The Silver, the Cameo and the Chinchilla colors all depend on the amount of pigment in their hair since part of their hairs have no pigment. The information of the British shorthair breed was taken from Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J.J. Verhoef-Verhallen 1998.