The European shorthair is a breed of short-haired cat originating in Sweden. It's a recently recognised breed established to resemble the look of naturally occurring cats that have lived in European villages and cities for ages. Many people incorrectly refer to any stray cat as a European Shorthair.

The breed is bred mainly in Scandinavian countries and especially in Finland it belongs to the most popular shorthair breeds. But it is not very popular outside Scandinavia as there are still huge populations of similar-looking homeless cats in Europe.

European Shorthair Cat Origin

European Shorthair is a recently recognized breed of cats that was created to distinguish the Scandinavian cats of Europe from those of United Kingdom. The term European shorthaired cat sometimes brings confusion. If well in the Anglo-Saxon countries its identified with the British shorthair, in the European continent it is distinguished between the European cat and the British, developed in the United Kingdom from the European, but also with Persian blood. Felinological associations recognized both types of cats as a single breed so that they were judged by the same standards during cat shows. It was so until 1982 when FIFE registered the Scandinavian type of European Shorthair as a separate breed with its own standard. The European Shorthair is not recognized by any of the U.S. cat clubs.

The European Shorthair goes back to cats that lived in Rome during the time of the Emperors. As the Romans spread their culture throughout Europe, these cats went with them. European shorthair cat has been developed from house cat by crossing the most beautiful individual cats. The objective was to create a robust shorthair cat with rounded face. Occasionally the Persian longhair cats have been crossed to accelerate the appearance unification process.

European Shorthair Cat Appearence

The European Shorthair is a muscular, medium-sized to large cat, with a broad, well-muscled chest. The body should be rectangular in shape with substantial bone structure and good muscular development. The neck should be of medium length and muscular.The strong legs are average length and the paws are round. The tail is fairly thick at the base, tapering to a rounded point. Coat structure short and dense.

The relatively large head is rounded, with well-developed jowls , but it is not as round as the British Shorthair 's head. The forehead and skull should be slightly rounded. The transition between the forehead and the nose is marked by a shallow indentation between the eyes. The ears are medium-sized, they are as long as they are broad at the base, with slightly rounded tip. They are quite wide-set and upright.

The eyes should be of medium size, rounded and slightly oblique in setting, somewhat more than one eyes width apart. Eyes are accepted in a variety of colors including blue, green or yellow. Colour clear and pure. Open expression. Nose of medium length, straight and uniformly broad. Cheeks should be welldeveloped with strong chin.

European Shorthair Cat Colors and Coats

The European Shorthair's dense coat is short, soft and glossy, and should lie flat. Coat is double layered and somewhat coarse and thick, in possible adaptation to the cold winters of Scandinavia. Coverhair should be fiarly coarse and approximately 3-5 mm longer than underhair. Characteristic that coat does not get soaked when put through normal wetness like rain, wetness stays in hairtips and is easily shaken off. FIFe recognizes European Shorthairs in a variety of colors and patterns. They are often seen in different tabby patterns, as well as tortoiseshell and solid colorations. Unlike the British shorthair cats, the European shorthair cats are recognized only in natural colours, i.e. in colours which historically belong to Northern European domestic cats. These are:

• white
• black / blue / red / cream
• black / blue tortie
• black / blue / red / cream / black tortie / blue tortie smoke
• black / blue / red / cream / black tortie / blue tortie tabby
• black / blue / red / cream / black tortie / blue tortie silver tabby
• van / harlequin / bicolour

 

The European Shorthair Temperament

In terms of temperament and appearance the European Shorthair is comparable to ordinary domestic European short-haired cats.

Because the breed has been developed from ordinary domestic cats, which have very different temperaments, the character of the European Shorthair is impossible to summarise. Temperament of European Shorthairs is thus somewhat unpredictable owing to their diverse ancestry.

Members of this breed may be very affectionate but there are others that prefer to be out mousing. They are generally calm and easygoing cats overall. Most European Shorthairs are strong and healthy, and as a rule they are friendly. They are well behaved normally and go well with all members of the family, including children and other pets. European Shorthairs are intelligent and playful, and most of them are expert at keeping houses and gardens free of mice.