The Maine Coon is one of the largest domesticated breeds of cat. It has a distinctive physical appearance and valuable hunting skills. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, where it is the official state cat.
A tabby is any domestic cat with a distinctive 'M' shaped marking on its forehead, stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail, and, characteristic striped, dotted, lined, flecked, banded or swirled patterns on the body—neck, shoulders, sides, flanks, chest and abdomen. "Tabby" is not a breed of cat but a coat type seen in almost all genetic lines of domestic cats, regardless of status.
The Bengal is a domestic cat breed developed to look like exotic jungle cats such as leopards, ocelots, margays and clouded leopards. Bengal cats were developed by selective breeding from hybrids of the Asian leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis, with domestic cat, backcrossed to domestic cats, with the goal of creating a confident, healthy, and friendly cat with a highly contrasted and vividly marked coat.
The Ragdoll is a cat breed with blue eyes and a distinct colourpoint coat. It is a large and muscular semi-longhair cat with a soft and silky coat. Like all long haired cats, Ragdolls need grooming to ensure that their fur does not mat. It is recommended Ragdolls are given baths once a month. Developed by American breeder Ann Baker in the 1960s, it is best known for its docile and placid temperament and affectionate nature. The name "Ragdoll" is derived from the tendency of individuals from the original breeding stock to go limp and relaxed when picked up. Particularly popular in both the United Kingdom and the breed's native United States, ragdoll cats often are known as "dog-like cats" or "puppy-like cats" due to behaviors such as their tendency to follow people around, their ease at being physically handled, and their relative lack of aggression toward other pets.
The Sphynx cat is a breed of cat known for its lack of coat (fur). It was developed through selective breeding, starting in the 1960s. The skin should have the texture of chamois, as it has fine hairs. Whiskers may be present, either whole or broken, or may be totally absent. Their skin is the color that their fur would be, and all the usual cat markings may be found on the Sphynx cat's skin. Because they have no coat, they lose more body heat than coated cats. This makes them warm to the touch as well as heat-seeking.
Calico cats are domestic cats with a spotted or particolored coat that is predominantly white, with patches of two other colors. Outside North America, the pattern is more usually called tortoiseshell and white. In the province of Quebec, Canada, they are sometimes called chatte d'Espagne. Other names include brindle, tricolor cat, tobi mi-ke, and lapjeskat ; calicoes with diluted coloration have been called calimanco or clouded tiger. Occasionally, the tri-color calico coloration is combined with a tabby patterning; this calico-patched tabby is called a caliby.
A kitten is a juvenile cat. After being born, kittens are totally dependent on their mother for survival and they do not normally open their eyes until after seven to ten days. After about two weeks, kittens quickly develop and begin to explore the world outside the nest. After a further three to four weeks, they begin to eat solid food and grow adult teeth. Domestic kittens are highly social animals and usually enjoy human companionship.
The Siamese cat is one of the first distinctly recognized breeds of Asian cat. Derived from the Wichianmat landrace, one of several varieties of cat native to Thailand, the Siamese became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America in the 19th century. The carefully refined modern Siamese is characterized by blue almond-shaped eyes; a triangular head shape; large ears; an elongated, slender, and muscular body; and point colouration. The International Cat Association describes the modern Siamese as affectionate, social, intelligent, and playful into adulthood, often enjoying a game of fetch. Siamese tend to seek human interaction and also like companionship from other cats.
The Persian cat is a long-haired breed of cat characterized by its round face and short muzzle. It is also known as the "Persian Longhair" in the English-speaking countries. In the Middle East region they are widely known as "Iranian cat" and in Iran they are known as "Shirazi cat". The first documented ancestors of the Persian were imported into Italy from Iran around 1620. The exact history of the Persian cat does seem to be a bit of a mystery but many of these long-haired cats were seen in hieroglyphics. The story has it that these long-haired cats were then imported into Europe as their popularity grew and breeding took place in Italy and France.
Creme Puff was a domestic cat, owned by Jake Perry of Austin, Texas. She was the oldest cat ever recorded, according to the 2010 edition of Guinness World Records, when she died aged 38 years and 3 days. Perry had another cat, Granpa, who was claimed to have been born in Paris, Texas, in 1964 and died in 1998, aged 34 years and 2 months. Granpa was posthumously awarded 1999 Cat of the Year by Cats & Kittens magazine. Granpa was featured in an earlier edition of Guinness World Records. The co-authors of at least one book have pondered whether the longevity of Perry's cats may have had something to do with an unusual diet of, among other things, bacon and eggs, asparagus, broccoli, and coffee with heavy cream, concluding that Perry "must be doing something right."
Tardar Sauce, nicknamed Grumpy Cat, was an American Internet celebrity cat. She was known for her permanently "grumpy" facial appearance, which was caused by an underbite and feline dwarfism. She came to prominence when a photograph of her was posted on September 22, 2012, on social news website Reddit by Bryan Bundesen, the brother of her owner Tabatha Bundesen. Lolcats and parodies created from the photograph by Reddit users became viral. She was the subject of a popular Internet meme in which negative, cynical images are made from photographs of her.
The Scottish Fold is a breed of domestic cat with a natural dominant-gene mutation that affects cartilage throughout the body, causing the ears to "fold,” bending forward and down towards the front of the head, which gives the cat what is often described as an "owl-like" appearance.
The British Shorthair is the pedigreed version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively chunky body, dense coat and broad face. The most familiar color variant is the "British Blue", a solid blue-gray with copper eyes, medium tail, but the breed has also been developed in a wide range of other colours and patterns, including tabby and colorpoint.
A feral cat is a cat that lives outdoors and has had little or no human contact. They do not allow themselves to be handled or touched by humans, and will run away if they are able. They typically remain hidden from humans, although some feral cats become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them. Even with long term attempts at socialization, feral cats usually remain fearful and avoidant of humans.