American Shorthair
The working farm cat of colonial America, bred on for soundness rather than for looks. Heavy boned, easy going, and best known in silver tabby.
Photo by lisa cee (Lisa Campeau), CC BY 2.0
Overview
The American Shorthair is the working cat of North America given a standard: the descendant of ships' cats that came over with European settlers and earned their keep on rodents for three hundred years before anyone thought to register them.
That history produced a cat bred for soundness rather than for a look. It is muscular, medium to large, with a dense coat, and the silver tabby is the pattern the breed is known for.
Temperament
Easy going and undemanding, which is the whole appeal. American Shorthairs are affectionate without being clingy, tolerant of children and other pets, and content to be in the room rather than on the person.
They retain a genuine hunting drive. A wand toy gets a serious response from this breed, and a household with mice will not have them for long.
Care and grooming
A weekly brush handles the dense coat, more during the heavy spring moult.
They are among the healthier pedigree cats, which follows from having been selected for function. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has been reported in the breed, as it has in most, so a breeder screening for it is a reasonable thing to ask about.
Living and exercise
They adapt to almost any household, which is the reason they are recommended so often to first time cat owners.
The main thing to watch is weight. An easy going cat with a good appetite and an indoor life puts on weight quietly, and this breed is prone to it. Measured meals and daily play are the answer.
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