Family Cats
There isn’t as many breeds of cats as there are dogs, and in general most types of cats will be a welcomed addition to any family. Some cats can become jealous if they have been around before your children, this can lead to them lashing out at you or your little one. Other cats many get nervous or panicky around loud noises, which means they wouldn’t take kindly to children and the noise they bring. There are some pets that are more popular amongst families than others, and here is a selection of some of the most common family cats:
The Abyssinian is a natural breed, which means that they weren’t an invention by humans; this was until the breed was found in the late 1800s, though it isn’t 100% it is believed the breed come from Egypt. Since the 1900s a number of breeders have breed Abyssinian cats to make the domesticated Abyssinian cat that so many people now have.
The Abyssinian breed is of medium size; they have a strong and slender body with muscular feel and look about them. Their ears are quite large and set far apart, they have what’s described as a wedged shaped head, in general they have rather large features as their eyes are big too, with the edge of both eyes pointing up towards the base of their ears. The breed is most know for its ticked coat, this means that each individual hair are made up of more than one colour, for this breed the colour goes from a ruddy brown to a gray yellow or from black to a grey yellow colour, their fur medium length, thick and very silky. Over the years breeders have developed the Abyssinian in more colours though some traits have always stayed the same such as their feet and the back of their hind legs being darker than the rest of the coat and the markings of their fur has remained as having more than one colour too it, though it can now be a number of colours rather than the original as mentioned above.
Popular colours for the breed now include a cinnamon colour with chocolate brown ticks to the coat and on the back of their hind legs, feet and paw pads. Blue Abyssinians are also popular, with a little beige base colour to them and blue ticking along with blue hind legs, paw pads and feet. Another colour of the breed that isn’t actually recognised by all Cat Association groups is the Silver Abyssinian, they have a silvery white undercoat and markings which can go for blue, black, a warm cream and cinnamon colour. There is some difficultly when trying to achieve this colour of the breed as some may have tan markings to them, which are a lot more visible on darker fur. All Abyssinian kittens are born with dark fur that slowly lightens over time.
Abyssinian’s are cats with a lot of intelligence, but they are also playful active and have an element of extrovert to their personalities, they love toys to play with and some will often play fetch with you. Aby’s as they are nicknamed, love to explore and play so they aren’t always cats that will sit on your lap for ages, they need a family that will play with them, which is why they are good with children as they are normally more than happy to play with them. Aby’s do need love and attention off their owners, so are probably better suited to families that can give them this. Although they like to explore new things and places, Aby’s are sensible cats and will avoid danger and risks.
The British Shorthair has been the UK’s most popular pet for years, and a number of cats from breed have won cat shows around the world. British Shorthairs were extremely popular, and then their popularity decreased in the 1940s, but increased again after the Second World War and have ever since been a breed at the top of the most popular lists with families.
They have a square, strong body shape, they have short thick legs to hold their muscular body, due to its board shape for a cat, and the breed is often referred to as the bull dog of the cat world. Male British shorthairs are a lot larger than the females as they are rounder and broader, both genders of the breed have broad and large heads, with chubby cheeks, which has lead to them being described as having a chipmunk appearance. They have small ears which are set apart from one another with rounded tips to them; however they have very large copper coloured eyes.
Even though some people on looking at a British shorthaired have said they look like an imposing cat due to their size, they are actually one of the most easygoing breeds of cats you can get. Their stable character means they will happily settle to anyway of living, this includes as indoor cats, meaning they are the perfect pet if you live in an apartment. They aren’t an attention seeking pet and they don’t demand to sit on you either, they tend to be happier to sit next to you or near you. They do enjoy playing both on their own and with their families, and they also enjoying watching household activities from a warm comfy spot in the house. Due to their easygoing nature they are also good cats for people who work a lot, as they will happily laze about all day without wrecking your house, though its advised if you do work all day that when you get in you should take time to make a fuss of your cat so that they still feel loved and wanted by you.
British shorthairs don’t require masses amount of grooming either as their short coat doesn’t tangle of mat easily, so a brush every now and then will do. You should take note though if your cat seems to be suffering from a lot of hairballs, as this will mean that you should up the amount of times you are brushing them. As well as that you should also up the amount of times you brush them whilst they go through their seasonal shedding. Due to them being big boned cats they can become obese so you do need to make sure that you are giving them a balance diet, especially if they are living as an indoor cat.
British shorthairs are great with children as they enjoy being playful, they are also very intelligent cats and have the ability of being taught tricks. The breed its extremely popular with the film industry and trainers because of their intelligence and the ability to pick things up quickly, this have meant that a number of British shorthairs have been used in a number of Hollywood films.
The Chartreux breed originates from France and is one of the few breeds of cats that remain the same since it was first found. Cat breeders normally like to ‘improve’ elements about a cat when they breed them to create a fancy pet, but with the Charteux breed they have never done this. Breeders like the purity and natural nature of the Chartreux breed.
The Chartreux breed have a large muscular body which contrasts their short and thin boned legs, they are also known for their smile as the shape of their head with their long muzzle makes them look like they are smiling. They are also known for their blue/grey coat that is the only colour they are breed in, which again is part of the purity of the breed; along with this all Chartreux cats have gold copper coloured large eyes. Another attractive element about the nature of the Chartreux breed is their quietness, they have tiny voices, many of the breed are mute.
They are a very clever and watchful breed and you will notice that they may learn little tricks off you that you hadn’t intended on them learning, it’s been known that some have learnt how to flick the radio on and off and to be able to open latches. Chartreux’s take about two years to reach their adulthood but will remain playful right into old age, because they are clever you are able to teach them tricks like fetch. They are the less aggressive breed of cats, this means they will happily get along with children and other animals, and their nature also makes them good travellers. Chartreux are very loving and affectionate cats, it isn’t uncommon for them to form a particularly strong bond with one member of the house and they may follow you from room to room, however even if they do form that bond they will still be loving towards the rest of the household.
Persian cats are known for their short muzzled round face and they are one of the oldest cat breeds to date. It wasn’t until the 19th century when the Persian breed appealed to cat breeders and it was the English who started to breed them first, the breed is mainly known as the Persian Longhaired or just the Longhaired in the UK. Due to selective breeding the Persian’s fur can now be a number of colours, it has also lead to their faces being flatter than before.
During the 1950s the peke-faced Persian was starting to be bred, their name came from the flat faced Pekingese dog; this breed became registered under their own name, and seen as different due to their faces now being completely flat, unlike the original Persian breed. However their popularity decreased in the 1990s due to the health problems what came with their newly flat-faces. Since then breeders have continued to breed peke-faced Persian’s although not as flat, and only red and red tabby Persians are able to reach the fully flat face.
The popularity of the Persian has always been high and to date they are the most popular breed of pedigree cat in the USA, however the breed was knocked off the top spot in of being the most popular breed in the UK in 2001 by the British Shorthair. Then in 2008 it was recorded that they were the 5th most popular breed behind the Bengal, Siamese and British Shorthair.
The Persian has a long thick coat and short legs, their ears are spread wide apart from one another and they have particularly large eyes and of course their famous muzzle. Persians can have markings on their coats; these can be; tabby, tortoiseshell and pointed. As a breed they are homely, friendly and fairly quite cats. They are very friendly to strangers and will welcome guests into their house; they love the attention and affection of their owners.
Ragdolls are known for their bright blue eyes and its colour-point coat, as they are mainly white all over but have dark patches on their body. They got their name Ragdoll as when people pick them up many cats from the breed tend to go limp and complete relaxed. The Ragdoll breed came from an accident in the 1960s, a longhaired domestic cat was ran over and taken to the vets for treatment, afterwards her own claimed that she believed her cat had been used as a government experiment whilst in the lab as she had become docile and relax when held, and also immune to pain.
The cats then had a litter, which were all the same, as were they litters that they later had themselves. A cat breeder called Ann Baker brought some of the cats off the owner and started to breed her own breed of the cats, and this was the start of the Ragdoll breed. All the litters have the same trademarks of the pervious cats; large, gentle, colour-point coat and going limp when being held.
Barker then went on to breed more Ragdolls; she then went onto trade marking the name ‘Ragdoll’ within her own register the International Ragdoll Cat Association, IRCA. She didn’t want the Ragdoll breed to be under any other register and was particular about cats that were named part of the breed. However a group within the IRCA broke free in 1975 and set out to make the Ragdoll breed mainstream, this was again repeated in 1994 when another group left the IRCA, this lead to the group Ragamuffin being made, the trademark on Ragdoll that Baker had ended and wasn’t review in 2005.
Ragdolls are a large breed, they have a large frame, muscularly body with large legs to hold them, a female can weigh up to 8 pounds and a male can weigh up to 12 pounds. With the colour-point coat comes their gorgeous blue eyes, which put together makes the Ragdoll breed very attractive. Their coat is long, though they don’t have a particularly thick undercoat, which is one of the reasons as to why they don’t really shed nor does their fur tend to mat much. Ragdolls coats can be a number of colours like; chocolate, flame, seal, cream and blue. They can also have different patterns to them, bicolour – which means they are mainly white all over, Pointed – this is when they are darker around their nose, eyes , paws and tails and Mitted – which is the same as pointed but their stomachs and paws are white.
Ragdolls main feature of their personalities is their docile nature which makes them extremely easy to handle, they are also very intelligent, friendly and very loving and affectionate.