The European Shorthair is a cat breed created by European breeders in the mid-20th century. The peculiarity of this breed is the presence of its purebred representatives of unique hunting qualities, especially appreciated by people who breed these cats.
Origin of the species.
There is still some debate about the origins of these cats in Europe. According to some accounts, they originated from the time when the Roman conquerors came. Other sources say they come from ancient peasant villages. There is even an opinion that they are descended from the famous Egyptian cats. Be that as it may, the ancestors of these animals were common cats (domestic) from the north of Europe. Breeders were interested in them because they were considered to be excellent catchers, including rats. Bred this breed in the last century (in Sweden in 1946) through long-term breeding efforts of scientists from several countries (Swedish, German, British, Danish, French). At that time it was called Swedish domestic cat. But for a long time nobody wanted to recognize it as an independent species, merging it with British Shorthair breed. And only in 1982 these species have finally separated, and European Shorthair became a separate full-fledged breed with its own standard. Later on, the American Shorthair cat and the Carthusian breed evolved from them.
Breed exterior description.
Like all officially recognized breeds, Europeans have their own standard of certain data, compliance with which, determines their belonging to the species. And still it is difficult to give uniform description of appearance of these cats.
These cats are beautiful and have a certain article. Standard European shorthair cat can only be natural color with a short very thick coat with a nice sheen: white, black, beige, gray, and their shades (a total of 35 species). They can be tiger, spotted or a combination of several colors of wool. Colors of fur resulting from crossbreeding with other species are not allowed (eg, purple or chocolate).
In terms of size, she can be either small or quite large. She has a large head with an almost round noble face, well formed cheeks and strong chin, with a medium strong neck. She has a straight, straight and not long nose, wide set ears with rounded tips (tassels can be found). Her eyes are almost round, wide open. The color of her eyes can be different: blue, green, yellow. There are individuals with different colors of eyes (for example blue and yellow).
The structure of the body is sturdy, well-developed cats with strong round feet and a thick, slightly tapered to the end of the tail. According to the standard, this breed is not distinguished by compactness and elegance of the body, but despite all this, it has a decent and intelligent appearance.
Non-standards include: deformed jaw and tail, long, too soft or cloudy (no luster) fur, weak undeveloped chin.
Character.
Both in appearance and character traits, these cats are vividly individual. They are perhaps the only breed of cat of natural origin. Their genetics are free from breeder interference and compounding with other cat species.
If you summarize the many observations of them, you can put together the following portrait. European cats are not only of excellent physical health, they are very psychologically stable. Among their merits one should note: steadiness of character, contactiveness, unobtrusiveness, sufficient taciturnity, absence of caprices and mood swings, faithfulness and loyalty. They are very affectionate and well adapted to the lifestyle of the owners. But despite all this, they are quite playful up to their old age and are completely independent of humans. They will not obey a human if it does not please them.
They are modest, and getting into an unfamiliar place, they immediately begin to look for a secret hideout: pillows, bags and anything else that can hide them. But after getting accustomed to them they behave themselves in a masterly manner. By the appearance of this cat you can understand when she begins to be nervous. This is expressed by redness and moistening of the ears, nose, pads.
From their ancestors, who were already domesticated, they inherited another positive quality - they do not leave home (do not roam), perfectly coexist both in the countryside and in urban conditions. At the same time, they do not require special care.
It should also be noted that the nature of the cat is greatly influenced by the methods of education.
Care.
As already mentioned, this breed requires minimal care. It boils down mainly to infrequent brushing with a metal brush and washing. We need to wipe the eyes as needed and clean the ears once a week. Once every three weeks, if necessary, trim nails gently (2-3 millimeters).
Currently, the improvement of this breed are engaged mainly French, as well as Italian and Czech breeders and cat lovers. They select the best healthy strong individuals and work towards creating a stable offspring of the same type. In Russia it is practically the most widespread and numerous breed. Although many people think they do not stand out, in terms of their qualities they deserve no less attention than all the others.