Most Popular Cat Breeds

While most people are familiar with the differences between dog breeds, cat breeds often remain a mystery. Below, we've collected information on the ten most popular cat breeds as ranked by the Cat Fanciers Association with information on each breed to help you decide which one would fit best into your home.

Persian

Since the CFA has been tracking cat breeds in 1871, the Persian has been the most popular breed. This large cat is generally calm, easy to handle and quiet with an affectionate temperament. Grooming is usually a chore for Persian owners because of their breed's thick coat.

Maine Coon

Like Persians, Maine Coons have also had a long stay on top of the most popular cat breed list. Maine Coons are very active, making them perfect for their original purpose of hunting mice and rats.

Exotic Shorthair

Exotic Shorthairs are basically Persians with much shorter hair. Like Persians, Exotic Shorthairs have a quiet, sweet temperament, but they only require brushing twice a week.

Siamese

This distinctive breed is very active and vocal. Siamese cats often "talk" with their owners, and can get frustrated if they are ignored. While Siamese cats love being the center of attention, they are also extremely loyal to their owner. Because Siamese cats have extremely short hair, they are very easy to care for.

Abyssinian

Abyssinians are often considered the friendliest type of cat. They are "people cats" and love being near their owners at all times. These cats are small and thin with a shiny coat.

Ragdoll

These cats are extremely large, weighing up to 30 pounds. While Ragdolls are often huge, they are also laid back and quiet. Ragdolls have a thick coat that requires constant attention.

Birman

Birmans will greet their owners at the door and follow them around the house. These are very loving cats and will do almost anything for attention and affection. Birman cats have beautiful eyes and a long coat that doesn't require much additional grooming.

American Shorthair

American Shorthairs make great family cats. While they are friendly and affectionate to all family members and other pets, they have also retained their hunting instinct and will go after household pests.

Oriental

The Oriental is similar to the Siamese. These cats are intelligent and curious, causing them to act like kittens for much longer than most other breeds. Orientals have distinct large ears and almond-shaped eyes.

Sphynx

The Sphynx makes it into the ten most popular breeds even though it is one of the rarest and most unusual types of cats. While the Sphynx looks like it is naked, it actually has very short hair that helps keep it warm. Sphynxes are affectionate, intelligent and extremely athletic.

The Toyger Cat

History and Recognition

In the 1980’s Judy Sugden, from EEYAAS Cattery, embarked on a project to improve the markings on the mackerel ginger. As she did this she noticed markings on her cats similar to that of a tiger. An idea was formed to develop a cat with striking markings that resembled a Tiger.

The cat was to have a large, long body, with the markings of a Tiger. Instead of the rosettes of some tabbies, or the stripes of a mackerel tabby, the toy tiger, or Toyger, was to have elongated rosettes, each a broken or branched stripe in random patterns, and the head was to have the distinctive circular markings of the Tiger. In addition a placid temperament was wanted to make it an ideal pet.

Two cats were central to the breeding program. A Domestic Short Hair with striped markings and a Standard Bengal Tabby with the desired body structure. In 1993 a street cat from Kashmir, India, was imported and added to the breeding program due to its colouration and markings.

Anthony Hutchens, of JungleTrax, and Alice McKee, of Windridge, joined Judy in the breeding program. In 1993 they were successful in gaining registration for the Toyger with TICA and advancement to New Breed Exhibition Class in 2000. In 2007 TICA granted the Toyger championship status.

Big boning of the Toyger often makes for clumsy kittens but they quickly outgrow this stage

Description

The Toyger has bold vertical stripes in broken or branched patterns covering its body. The stripes are dark with a vivid orange background like a Tiger with a white underside. Facial markings are circular. The Toyger has a short, plush, brilliant pelt in a range of variations from black on tan through to browns, orange, gold and mahogany-red.

The Toyger has a long, deep rectangular body, with large bones and muscular contours. They are low slung with high shoulders, giving them the powerful yet graceful rolling gait of the Tiger. Their inverted heart shaped face tops a muscular body, giving them the appearance of a toy Tiger replica.

A fully grown male Toyger weighs in at between 4.5 – 7kgs (10-15 pounds) with the female coming in slightly smaller at 3-4.5kgs (7-10 pounds).

Personality

The Toyger is an outgoing, friendly cat that loves being around people. They are laid-back while still being active and alert and fit well into any household, with or without other pets. Toygers are also highly intelligent and can be easily trained.

Overall they are a fantastic pet and with their size and colouring makes you feel as if you do, in fact, have a toy Tiger in your home.

Health

While the Toyger is still a reasonably new breed they generally display robust health with an average lifespan of 10 – 15 years. In fact many of the early generation Toyger’s born in the late 1980’s are still active.

With this being said, some genetic problems have occurred throughout the breeding program, including heart murmurs, rolled rib cage (although this has generally improved over time to become a healthy adult cat) and some cases of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) have been recorded.

The Future

The breeders behind the Toyger have made a commitment to continue development of the Toyger until they have reached the vision they have for the breed, a work in progress to eventually resemble the tiger to a much closer degree.

Breeders are aiming to achieve smaller rounded ears, a wider nose bride and tip, more pronounced and shaped chin and smaller eyes to more closely resemble the Tiger. Temple markings, cheek ruffs and whitening of the chest and stomach markings are also highly sought after in their evolution.

The future of the Toyger. Computer generated imagery of how breeders wish the Toyger to evolve.

Toyger with computer generated interpretation of how it would look with widening of the nose and rounded ears