Oriental Shorthair

Not to be confused with Exotic Shorthair.
Oriental Shorthair
A blue-eyed white Oriental Shorthair kitten. The line of the nose, eyes, and middle of the ear form a triangular wedge.
Green-eyed blotched or “classic” tabby Oriental adult
Other namesForeign Type
OriginUnited States (landrace stock from Thailand)
Breed standards
CFAstandard
FIFestandard
TICAstandard
WCFstandard
ACFstandard
ACFA/CAAstandard
CCA-AFCstandard
GCCFstandard
Domestic cat (Felis catus)

The Oriental Shorthair is a breed of domestic cat that is developed from and closely related to the Siamese cat. It maintains the modern Siamese head and body type but appears in a wide range of coat colors and patterns. Like the Siamese, Orientals have almond-shaped eyes, a triangular head shape, large ears, and an elongated, slender, and muscular body. Their personalities are also very similar. Orientals are social, intelligent, and many are rather vocal. They often remain playful into adulthood, with many enjoying playing fetch. Despite their slender appearance, they are athletic and can leap into high places. They prefer to live in pairs or groups and also seek human interaction. Unlike the breed's blue-eyed forebear, Orientals are usually green-eyed.[1] The Oriental Longhair differs only with respect to coat length.

While the breed's genetic roots are ultimately in Thailand, it was formally developed in the US by a number of New York area cat breeders, led by Vicky and Peter Markstein (PetMark cattery), who in 1971–72 were intrigued by lynx patterned and solid colored cats of a Siamese body type at Angela Sayers' Solitaire Cattery[2] and at Patricia White's.[3] These were based on solid-colored cats with the body of a Siamese, bred by Baroness von Ullmann over the 1950s.[3][4] An "Oriental Shorthairs International" was formed in 1973,[2] and Peter Markstein presented the breed to the 1976 Annual Cat Fanciers Association, at the same time as the Havana Brown was presented by Joe Bittaker.[5] In 1977 the Oriental Shorthair was accepted by the Cat Fanciers' Association for championship competition. Since 1997, it has also received recognition from the GCCF and various other cat breeding organizations. The breed is among the most popular among CFA members.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference ticaOS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Heather Lorimer, "Oriental Shorthair", 1992-1993 CFA Yearbook, pp. 106-117.
  3. ^ a b Leigh-Ann Andersen, "Cat Breed Facts: Oriental Shorthair", 13 January 2011.
  4. ^ Vicky Markstein, "The Oriental Shorthair on the Oriental Express", 1978 Annual CFA Yearbook, pp. 257-268.
  5. ^ Norma Placchi, "CFA Havana Brown Standard History", Havana Brown CFA Breed Council, last visited 19 August 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference CFA profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).