Cat Breeds
Cat breeds originated naturally as domesticated cats made their way around the world. All cats adjusted to their different natural surroundings which made for different types of cats and some cats were isolated so they interbred and created offspring that were all very similar.
The Egyptian Mau is considered by many to be the oldest known natural cat breed. They are short haired cats with a spotted coat. They are seen in Egyptian paintings dating as far back as 3400 years ago. The paintings showed them as revered paintings as well as domestic pets. Cats in these days were very respected for their ability to kill rodents. The rodents would harm the Egyptians crops and so this ability to hunt and kill rodents was seen as being highly valuable.
The Abyssinian breed closely resembles the ancient cats of Egypt.
Some cat breeds as noted previously originated through interbreeding and isolation among these breeds are the Persian and the turkish Angora which are the earliest known long hair cats. These long hair cats first showed up (of course) in the colder parts of the Middle East and Russia.
There is considerable debate over what actually constitutes a cat breed.
The CFA (Cat Fanciers Association) currently lists 41 different cat breeds. Alphabetically as follows: Abyssian, American Bobtail, American Curl, American Shorthair, American Wirehair, Balinese, Birman, Bombay, Brisith Shorthair, Burmese, Chartreux, Colorpoint Shorthair, Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, Egyptian Mau, European Burmese, Exotic, Havana Brown, japanese Bobtail, Javense, Korat, LaPerm, Maine Coon Cat, manx, Norwegian Forest Cat, Ocicat, Oriental, Persian, RagaMuffin, Ragdoll, Russian Blue, Scottish Fold, Selkirk Rex, Siamese, Siberian, Singapura, Somali, Sphynx, Tonkinese, Turkish Angora, and the Turkish Van!
For all MCWC entries labeled "Cat Breeds"
