HISTORY OF THE AMERICANSHORTHAIR CAT
byValerie Anne Edwards
EARLY BREED HISTORY
The exact origin of the American Shorthair is unknown. The first cat toresemble him, the European, is believed to be derived from the European wildcatand the early Egyptian cat.[1] The original color was therefore presumed to bethe brown tabby in both the mackerel and classic patterns. Many of the colorvarieties, attributed to mutation and natural selection, were developed beforethe breed set foot in England.
The American Shorthair phenotype most closely resembles the nearlyextinct Scottish variant of the European wildcat, known as The ScottishWildcat.. A small captive breeding program,conducted by several Scottish zoos,is actively working to preserve and extend genetic diversity among captivepurebred wildcats, so that a wider gene pool can eventually be released toprevent extinction of this endangered species. Meanwhile, enjoy the similarappearance and hunting talent of its domestic relative, the American Shorthaircat.
In the early tenth century, the Romans brought the European Shorthairinto the British Isles, where he was received with admiration as the protectorof the scarce British grain supply. Hywel Dda, Prince of South Wales, putseveral laws into effect in 948 A.D. for the protection of these rodenthunters. One of these laws fixed the value of newborn kittens, young adults,and proven hunters. The penalty for stealing or wounding a cat was one ewe andher lamb. The penalty for killing a cat was enough grain to cover the tip ofthe cat's tail when the cat was suspended by his tail with his nose touchingthe ground.[ 3][4]
Interest in cats died out in the eleventh century as the belief inwitchcraft spread. Cats were burned and tortured along with the poor old womenwith whom they took refuge. It wasn't until the fifteenth century that peopleagain recognized the inherent value of cats. [6]
As more short haired cats were bred in England, giving more choice ofcolor and type, people began to favor larger cats with rounder faces andsweeter expressions. Through the years, a large full-chested, sturdy cat with astrong set of well proportioned legs and a somewhat rounded head became theideal. [5]
Early paintings displaying cats comparable to American Shorthairs showup in the art of the Spanish painter Francesco Goya's "Don Manuel Orsoriode Zuniga" displaying a calico female, a solid black and a blue (orsilver) mackerel tabby, all with brilliant gold eye color and type similar tothe modern American Shorthair, in a painting from the 1700's. Another paintingof note is the English painter Hogarth's 1742 painting "The HogarthChildren" which shows a gold-eyed silver tabby climbing over the back of achair. Both of these paintings exhibit the eye shape, square muzzle, ear shapeand set that came to belong to the breed initially called simply"Shorthair" an all-inclusive name that covered British, American andEuropean Shorthairs of pure breeding.
SincePersians and other Longhairs were not imported to England until the 1860's, theHogarth painting proves that the silver tabby color existed in purebred EnglishShorthairs well before Longhairs arrived.
byValerie Anne Edwards
EARLY BREED HISTORY
The exact origin of the American Shorthair is unknown. The first cat toresemble him, the European, is believed to be derived from the European wildcatand the early Egyptian cat.[1] The original color was therefore presumed to bethe brown tabby in both the mackerel and classic patterns. Many of the colorvarieties, attributed to mutation and natural selection, were developed beforethe breed set foot in England.
The American Shorthair phenotype most closely resembles the nearlyextinct Scottish variant of the European wildcat, known as The ScottishWildcat.. A small captive breeding program,conducted by several Scottish zoos,is actively working to preserve and extend genetic diversity among captivepurebred wildcats, so that a wider gene pool can eventually be released toprevent extinction of this endangered species. Meanwhile, enjoy the similarappearance and hunting talent of its domestic relative, the American Shorthaircat.
In the early tenth century, the Romans brought the European Shorthairinto the British Isles, where he was received with admiration as the protectorof the scarce British grain supply. Hywel Dda, Prince of South Wales, putseveral laws into effect in 948 A.D. for the protection of these rodenthunters. One of these laws fixed the value of newborn kittens, young adults,and proven hunters. The penalty for stealing or wounding a cat was one ewe andher lamb. The penalty for killing a cat was enough grain to cover the tip ofthe cat's tail when the cat was suspended by his tail with his nose touchingthe ground.[ 3][4]
Interest in cats died out in the eleventh century as the belief inwitchcraft spread. Cats were burned and tortured along with the poor old womenwith whom they took refuge. It wasn't until the fifteenth century that peopleagain recognized the inherent value of cats. [6]
As more short haired cats were bred in England, giving more choice ofcolor and type, people began to favor larger cats with rounder faces andsweeter expressions. Through the years, a large full-chested, sturdy cat with astrong set of well proportioned legs and a somewhat rounded head became theideal. [5]
Early paintings displaying cats comparable to American Shorthairs showup in the art of the Spanish painter Francesco Goya's "Don Manuel Orsoriode Zuniga" displaying a calico female, a solid black and a blue (orsilver) mackerel tabby, all with brilliant gold eye color and type similar tothe modern American Shorthair, in a painting from the 1700's. Another paintingof note is the English painter Hogarth's 1742 painting "The HogarthChildren" which shows a gold-eyed silver tabby climbing over the back of achair. Both of these paintings exhibit the eye shape, square muzzle, ear shapeand set that came to belong to the breed initially called simply"Shorthair" an all-inclusive name that covered British, American andEuropean Shorthairs of pure breeding.
SincePersians and other Longhairs were not imported to England until the 1860's, theHogarth painting proves that the silver tabby color existed in purebred EnglishShorthairs well before Longhairs arrived.
