History

Short-hair and long-hair, household pet cat, 'moggy', non pedigreed cat, these terms are used to refer to any cat that is not pedigree or pure-bred. The common domestic cat or moggy has a long history of being a solid companion animal that also fills the function of mouser. The short-haired domestic cat is probably the most common pet around the world and is well known for being an adaptable survivor. Most national cat associations will have a category for showing the domestic or household cats. Because physical confirmation can widely vary, if standards are present they usually relate to a sound healthy appearance and temperament.

Description

The non pure-bred domestic cat comes in a huge variety of sizes, shapes, colours and temperament! Asian domestic cats tend to be slightly more oriental in shape and build whereas the American, Australian and European 'moggy' is of a heavier and thicker build. This is simply due to the different gene pools. The one thing in common that the 'moggies' have is their unpredictability.

They can come in a huge array of colors and patterns but the most common is the Tabby (individual hair shafts have 'agouti' or color changes along the shaft - and an overall hair pattern that is a combination of stripes and splotches). Other popular domestic cat colors are the classic ginger, black and white, tortoiseshell (a mosaic collection of patches with deep chocolate and red colors interspersed with ginger or cream) and calico (tortoiseshell and white).  

Longevity

Size

Medium - can be variable.

Coat

The distinction between the short and long- hair is of course the length of coat - the long-hair having a long and fluffy coat but still available in the full range of colours and patterns. A domestic short-haired queen may produce long-haired kittens and vice versa.  

Temperament

Because of their mixed ancestry, the non pure-bred cats' personality can be hard to predict. They can vary from aloof and independent to very human oriented and clingy! There are generally no differences in the temperament of the long-hair and short-hair. 

Health

The 'moggie' is a very robust cat that is not prone to any particular genetic diseases but is of course vulnerable to common cat diseases. The long-hair does tend to matt if not groomed regularly so it is important that owners groom their cats weekly to avoid painful matts from building up. They also tend to feel the heat more so if you live in a warm climate and cannot provide air conditioning, you will need to consider shaving or clipping your cats coat to provide some relief during the summer. The short-hair will still benefit from the occasional brush to remove loose hair. 

Best Suited

  • To a wide variety of households and environments
  • To those who will keep them contained to prevent them preying on local wildlife

Not Suited

  • Longhairs are not suited to people without the time to invest in grooming and regular maintenance of their coats
  • Longhairs not suited to hot climates