European Shorthair
Alternative Names: N/A The Egyptian Mau is a fascinating cat, not only because of its past history, but because of its delightful personality and striking appearance.
The European Shorthair cat can be compared to the kind of domestic cat which has developed naturally, i.e. without having been subjected to special rules for breeding.
The ideal European Shorthair is presumed to be free of any admixture of other breeds.
The breeding should be based on the fact that it is a robust and supple- cat which is not different, from the point of view of anatomy, from the European domestic cat.
Body
Medium to large in size, not cobby; robust, strong and muscular. Chest broad and well developed. Legs strong and sturdy, medium in length and narrowing into firm, round paws.
Tail medium long, preferably rather thick at the base and tapering gradually to a rounded tip.
Head
Fairly broad; the face giving the impression of being round but a little longer than the breadth. Cheeks well developed; chin firm. Forehead and skull lightly rounded.
The nose is straight, of medium length and uniformly broad throughout its length; where the nose joins the forehead must be clearly defined. Neck of medium length and muscular. Ears medium in size, slightly rounded at the tips and may be tufted at the tips; set well apart and fairly upright.
The height of the ear corresponds to the width of the base.
Eyes
Eyes are round, widely separated and open, set slightly oblique. Colour may be orange, yellow or green; blue in white varieties; preferably green in silver varieties.
Coat
Short, dense, thick and glossy.
Health N/A Habitat Europe Behaviour In general the European Shorthair is a vivid, playfull and good-natured creature. It is very affectionate. Origin Sweden History The origin of the European domesticated cat is still veiled in obscurity. It is often presumed to be directly descendent from the egyptian domestic, which supposedly, was brought to Greece as early as 500 BCE. If this was the actual situation, the cat must have spread very rapidly towards the north since it already existed in mid Sweden during the Time of the Great Migration (370-600 CE).
Judging from early reproductions from several earlier ages as well as the later Middle Ages, the body type of the european domestic was already sturdier than the Egyptian cat.
In 1946 it became possible to register swedish shorthaired cats. At first under the name of "swedish housecat" which was later converted to European Shorthair. Unfortunately, the early Europeans were judged by the standard of the British Shorthair. This was a great disadvantage since many typical Europeans failed due to some detail, often the eyecolour, not beeing in accordance with the British Shorthair standard.
In 1981 FIFe finally ruled that the two breeds should be judged by separate standards and thereby acknowledged the European Shorthair.
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