THE MESSYBEAST.COM CAT BREED LIST INDEX
Cat Breeds (Recognized/Unrecognized, Common/Obscure), Variants, Mutations, Hybrids, Archaic/Alternate Names.
Copyright 1994 - 2006 Sarah Hartwell
This impartial unaffiliated list is not specific to any registry or country. Different registries have different definitions of breeds and permissible colours/patterns. The same name may be used by different registries for different breeds. The same type of cat may have different breed-names in different registries. This list contains brief descriptions of breeds/types including historical, unrecognized, experimental and extinct breeds. Longer descriptions are given for rare breeds. It contains the most up-to-date details I have. If you cannot see details on a particular breed, this is because I don't have any further details. Info can be sent to sarah.hartwell[at]blueyonder.co.uk- but remember - this list is impartial and disregards breed society politics! It represents 25 years of research - if you do copy parts of it (and many have), please do so accurately!
Click to join Newbreedcats
Click to join rarecatbreeds
With so many different registries with different views, the exact status of some breeds is hard to define. I have used the following terms:
Alternative Name: An alternative name still in use; might have been a proposed name while breed was being developed.
Archaic Name: Historical name no longer used.
Banned. In parts of Europe some breeds are prohibited because their defining traits are considered harmful deformities. These include Manx/Cymric (spinal problems related to tailless mutation), Munchkin (dwarfism), Scottish Fold (skeletal problems), Sphynx (hairlessness is considered detrimental to the breed) and Blue-Eyed Whites in any breed (deafness).
Crossbred: Informal variety always created by crossing 2 other breeds.
Current: A currently recognised breed (means recognition by at least one registry in the world)
Experimental: Early stages of development. Some have provisional or preliminary recognition, but others do not seek or achieve registry recognition.
Extinct: No individuals of the breed exist e.g. Mexican Hairless
Fake: An attempt to decieve the public by representing a cat as something it is not.
Fictional: "Breeds" such as cabbits, squittens, Chinese Hairless and Egyptian Hairless that exist only in fiction or folklore (but people believe they are real).
Local Variety: Unrecognised distinct strain of cats found in a particular locality e.g. Buckfast Blue.
Mutation: Distinct strain that occurred through mutation; some are incorporated into similar-looking breeds (e.g. different Rex strains with the same gene mutation).
Proposed: Not even off the drawing board!
Unknown: Reported by reputable source, but with no other information, possibly a one-off.
Variant: Purebred cats that do not meet the breed standard due to hidden genes e.g. longhaired Bengals. Some are recognised in other countries under a different name.
CAT BREEDS TIME-LINE - A list of dates when breeds and varieties (i.e. populations which bred true) were discovered or recognised (now held on its own webpage due to the increasing size of this list). CAT COLOURS & PATTERNS - A plain English guide to cat colours and patterns, including breed-specific colours/patterns.
About this List of Breeds and the Breeds Time-Line