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American Shorthair

Owner's Guide

American Shorthairs are gentle companions, great playmates for children, and love being a member of the family. This breed is known for its longevity, robust health, good looks, quiet disposition and amiability with children and dogs.

The American Shorthair's ancestors came to North America with early settlers from Europe. Records indicate that the "Mayflower" carried several cats to hunt ship's rats. For centuries, "working cats" flourished along with their pioneer owners and eventually established themselves as the native North American shorthaired cat. Their beauty and loving nature came to be valued as much as their rat-catching skills.

American Shorthairs are low-maintenance cats. These beautiful cats are not only lovely to look at, but healthy, easy-going and affectionate. Males are significantly larger than females, weighing eleven to fifteen pounds when fully grown. Adult females weigh eight to twelve pounds when they achieve full growth at three to four years of age. American Shorthairs can live fifteen to twenty years, requiring only annual vaccinations, veterinary checkups, a quality diet and plenty of loving care.

The American Shorthair is recognized in more than eighty different colors and patterns ranging from the striking brown-patched tabby to the glistening blue-eyed white, and many colors in between. The most well known American Shorthair color today is the silver tabby, with dense black markings set on a sterling silver background.

A well-loved breed, American Shorthair consistently ranks as one of the ten most popular breeds of cat.

Breed Profile

Origin: United States
Color: More than eighty different colors

American Shorthairs are quiet, affectionate and easy-going. They are very good with children and also good with dogs.