HISTORY:
The Exotic Shorthair is a man-made breed. The breed was created in the early 1950’s by some Persian breeders who wanted the look of the Persian without the work of the long hair. American shorthairs, some Burmese and possibly some British Shorthairs were bred with the Persians to create the shorthair cat. Once the type of the Persian was achieved, these other breeds were eliminated from the breeding programs. The exotic shorthair is a robust, cobby cat with short legs, round head, short snub nose and large round eyes.
The standard allows for Persian to exotic shorthair breeding, exotic shorthair to exotic shorthair breeding, Himalayan to exotic shorthair breeding, and longhair exotic to shorthair exotic breeding. They have a wonderful temperament and are good cats in all kinds of living arrangements. The exotic shorthair comes in all colors and patterns.
The Longhair Exotic is a result of the Exotic Shorthair breeding. The breed was recognized for championship status in ACFA in 1992. The standard calls for a Persian type cat and comes in all colors and patterns. The registration rules allow Exotic Shorthair to Exotic Shorthair breeding (longhairs can occur), Longhair Exotic to Exotic Shorthair (both longhairs and shorthairs can occur) and Longhair Exotic to Longhair Exotic (only longhairs will occur). The pedigree of ancestry may reflect Himalayan, Persian, American Shorthair, British Shorthair and Burmese. The breed has a wonderful laid-back temperament, but does require the work involved with any longhaired Persian-type cats.
LH Breed Chair: Vacant
SH Breed Chair: Don Finger
