Exotic shorthair

The Exotic Shorthair is a breed of cat originating in the United States. This medium to large sized cat is the short haired variety of the Persian. He is also known as the Exotic Shorthair, sometimes he is nicknamed "Persian in Pyjamas". The sexual maturity of the Exotic Shorthair is late and the litters are of average size. Difficulties are frequently encountered during births, due to the large volume of the kittens' heads. It is quite common to find kittens with long or semi-long hair because of crossings with Persians, regular in the breed. These kittens are classified as Persian in Europe while they will be classified as "Exotic Longhair" in the United States. Genetic feature The gene responsible for long hair is recessive, so the breed is either heterozygous or homozygous. Heterozygotes are more numerous given the many infusions of Persian blood in the breed, which explains why long-haired kittens are regularly found in litters. The recessive long hair gene reappears from time to time in exotic litters. The Longhaired Exotic is considered a Persian by FIFe and TICA and a variant of the Exotic by the CFA and GCCF. This difference in appreciation reflects a debate on belonging to a breed, namely according to its origins (pedigree) or according to its appearance: the long-haired exotic is identical to a Persian, but has exotic shorthair parents and all the federations do not recognize it in the same way. The character of the dense, straight hair is determined by many genes with weak individual effects. These genes, called polygenes, are very difficult to attach, which is why exclusive mating between two Exotic Shortairs results in a flat coat. Persian blood infusions are therefore essential for the time being. Health Unlike the Persian, the Exotic Shorthair does not require complicated grooming, but due to the particular shape of its face, its eyes tend to run and must therefore be cleaned regularly. The Exotic Shorthair is quite greedy: his master must watch his diet to avoid overweight.

It was born from the crossing of the Persian with the American Shorthair between 1950 and 1960, following breeding programs carried out in the United States. In the 1950s in the United States, breeders had the idea of ​​crossing their short-haired cats with Persians, with the aim of giving them a rounder morphology comparable to that of their English competitors, the British shorthairs. The result was surprising because some hybrids had the characteristic Persian head while having short hair. They were presented for the first time in the United States in 1960, during a cat show. After a few crosses of these hybrids with Persians but also Russian Blues to give a fluffy appearance to their fur, the breeders fixed the characteristics of the breed which was recognized in 1967. Subsequently, the breed was listed in 1984 by the Federation Feline International, then in 1989 by the International Cat Association. The breed is very successful in the United States but is far from achieving the notoriety of the Persian.

The Exotic Shorthair would have a calm, cuddly and playful temperament. Some like to say that it is a little more restless than Persian, although this is not an established reality. They are also said to be easy-going and do well in apartment living. These character traits remain however perfectly individual and are above all functions of the history of each cat.