The American shorthair cat, or American shorthair, is a medium-sized, strong and athletic cat that came to the American continent about 400 years ago at the hands of settlers from England, who used for pest control. It began to be bred in a selective way at the beginning of the 20th century. It has a long life expectancy and is a he althy and strong cat, very friendly, adaptive, affectionate, playful and independent. The coat is short and can be solid colors, bicolors or tricolors, although the most common is silver and black tabby with yellow eyes.
Continue reading this article on our site to find out all the characteristics of the American shorthair cat, its origin, character, care, he alth and where to adopt it.
Origin of the American shorthair cat
The American Shorthair is assumed to be an American breed, originating in the United States, where systematic breeding began in the year 1906, when the name 'domestic shorthair cat' was changed to 'American shorthair cat', since cats without pedigree were also included in the old name.
However, it is likely that before the first American settlers these cats did not exist on the continent, since the ancestors of the current American shorthair cat were the ones that accompanied the first Europeans moved to the continent American. These cats, for the most part, were British Shorthairs and were dedicated to controlling rodent infestations on ships and villages. For this reason, its origin possibly comes from English cats such as the British Shorthair.
Characteristics of the American Shorthair cat
The American Shorthair cat is medium-sized, weighing from 3 to 6 kg and height 30-35 cm, with females being smaller than males. It has a strong and muscular body, but with an agile build as it has medium-sized bones, a broad chest, medium legs and a medium, thin tail that tapers toward the tip.
The American Shorthair's head is large, with a strong jaw, a large, square muzzle, a firm, well-developed chin, and a medium-sized nose that provides a concave profile with a slight stop. The ears are medium and rounded and the eyes are lively, bright, attentive and match the fur, although they are often yellowish or bluish-greenish.
American Shorthair Colors
The hair of the American shorthair cat, as its name suggests, is of short length, thick, hard and uniform With respect Regarding coat colors, most breeding clubs accept all colors, although the most frequent or characteristic color is mottled silver. The colors of the American shorthair cat can be the following:
- White
- Blue
- Black
- Red
- Black smoke
- Cream
- Coffee
- Tabby (tabby)
- Two-color with black, blue, cream or red
- Tricolor (calico)
- Speckled Silver
- Hawksbill turtle)
American shorthair cat character
The American Shorthair is characterized by being a feline calm, affectionate, independent, playful and fearful with strangers at first, although afterwards it is usually friendly. In other words, despite the fact that he is an affectionate cat who enjoys and requests pampering and caresses from his caregivers, he also needs time alone.
It is a cat with a high capacity for adaptation, very tolerant with different types of situations, environments and animals, being less sensitive to experience stress from these changes than other cat breeds.
The American Shorthair is a very quiet cat, but he doesn't waste any opportunities to play, which is also good because increase your physical activity and help prevent being overweight, which you tend to suffer from.
American shorthair cat care
The American shorthair cat requires care that does not vary too much from that required by any other type of shorthair cat, whether of breed or not. Starting with hair care, with brushing it about three times a week is enough to keep the hair loose, drag the remains of dirt and dead hair while circulation is stimulated and shine is given to it. However, in the moulting season, which occurs especially in spring and autumn, the frequency should be increased to every day and a half to remove dead hairs that can be ingested with daily grooming and, especially under certain he alth conditions, predispose to the formation of hairballs that can even clog the digestive tract. On the other hand, body areas such as the ears, teeth and eyes should also be kept clean to prevent infections and inflammation that can worsen the cat's quality of life.
The sandbox should be cleaned daily to avoid the accumulation of urine and feces and scratchers and other stimuli should be placed around the house environmental enrichmentto keep the American Shorthair cat entertained and with a good mental activity, especially for the moments when he is left alone. When caregivers are at home, they should also take care of playing with these cats, as they love it, it improves their quality of life and the bond between cat and caregiver.
Finally, within the care of the american shorthair, it also highlights the one referring to its diet. The feeding of these cats must be complete, balanced and intended for the feline species, because only in this way will we ensure that the feline obtains all the nutrients to maintain its he alth. The daily amount should be adapted to your individual conditions, such as physiological state, activity level, age, diseases and climate. In general, they are very gluttonous cats that easily gain weight and can become overweight or obese, with the serious consequences that this can have on their he alth. For this reason, giving them just what they need each day, together with maintaining good daily physical activity, will be the best prevention of these disorders. Discover in this other post What do cats eat to know how their diet should be.
American Shorthair Cat He alth
The American Shorthair cat has a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years, making it a long-lived, strong breed and he althy, without genetic or hereditary diseases to highlight. However, with regard to the latter, over the years it seems that many specimens of the American Shorthair breed end up developing a heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
This heart disease is characterized by thickening of the heart muscle, resulting in a reduction in the total volume that fits into the dilated heart chamber, which in turn also reduces the volume of blood that the heart pumps the body with each contraction. As a result, affected cats exhibit signs such as heart failure, thromboembolism (or obstruction of circulation in a blood vessel due to a thrombus or blood clot), and hypertension. It is important that cats with this disease are not bred, as it is a hereditary disease with difficult and laborious treatment.
On the other hand, to maintain the he alth of this feline breed in the best conditions, it is important to attend regular veterinary visits, as well as follow the vaccination and deworming schedule.
Where to adopt an American shorthair cat?
An American Shorthair cat can be easy to adopt, especially if we are in the Americas. You can ask at protectoras or local shelters about the availability of a copy or search for cat rescue associations of this breed on the Internet. It is true that the American Shorthair cat is a magnificent life companion, but so can any other cat that is up for adoption. Cats, whether they are purebred or not, have the same needs for love, care and affection, so we encourage you to adopt thinking about your lifestyle and character of the cat, rather than whether or not it is purebred.
