The Oriental Shorthair Cat
Monday, August 25th, 2008Oriental Shorthair is a breed of cats. It is said to have originated in Thailand a long time ago.
Oriental Shorthair is a feline breed that has occurred in Thailand,
alongside the Siamese, for a long time as a self-colored cat and was
brought over with other cats from the Orient to Britain in nineteenth
century. Even as it was initially just considered a non-pointed version
of the Siamese, the Oriental Shorthair gained formal recognition only
in the twentieth century when, in the fifties, development of the cat
was started through breeding with Abyssinians, Domestic Shorthairs,
Russian Blues and Siamese. The cat was termed as ‘Foreign’ in United
Kingdom and ‘Oriental’ in United States. It was another two decades
before official recognition and championship status was given to the
graceful cat. Today it is registered and recognized as a distinct
entity in nearly all cat fancies around the world. Occasionally, as in
the case of Cat Fanciers’ Association, it is coupled with its sister
breed, the Oriental Longhair, into a single breed called simply the
Oriental.
