Oriental Shorthair Cat

Country of Origin:	United States of America /England
Colors:	White, Blue, Ebony, Cream, Red, Brown, Frost, Platinum, Fawn, Chocolate, Chestnut, Cinnamon, Lavender, Champagne, Seal
Average Size:	Weight: 10 lbs ( 4.5 kg)     Length: Small to Medium
Life Span:	8-12 yrs.
Coat:	Short
Personality:	Needs to be the center of attraction and if ignored, it will become extremely sensitive and cranky
Characteristics:	Energy: Active      Talkative: High          Kid Friendly: Yes       Allergic: Yes

Regardless of their name – and the exotic beauty – it does not necessarily mean that these cats, previously known in Britain as “foreign shorthairs”, originate from the East! The term is actually referring to a breed that has a slender body, pointy head and slanted eyes. In other words, the Oriental shorthair cats are actually Siamese, but without the label (Colourpoint). It is estimated that even today in Thailand, in an area of Bangkok, about 20% of Siamese cats have markings, while others are single-color or single color with white.

After the British fan club Siamese cats decided to encourage the breeding of a blue-eyed Siamese with tags, monochrome yellow or green cat’s eyes were excluded from the Siamese class exhibitions. This announced a new chapter in the history of separate breed known today as the Oriental Shorthair.

Oriental Shorthair cats include all “Siam” (oriental or foreign) forms of the body that do not have labels. Technically, regardless of whether a single color, two color, turtle, striped, chinchillas (tipped) , or smoky, all these cats are a breed, and they all have an elegant, slender and lithe body, long tail and a narrow wedge-shaped head .

In Britain, every different color was considered as a separate breed under the name of Shorthair, while in the United States they were all known as the Oriental Shorthair cats and on exhibitions they appeared under the same breed. To avoid confusion, Britain in 1991 these cats also adopted the name – Oriental shorthair cats.
These blue-eyed white cats in appearance and character were very different from white cats of other breeds. It is important to emphasize that the problems normally associated with white fur cats, such as deafness, didn’t appear. Standards for exhibition in the UK are looking for oriental cats with blue eyes, while in the U.S. and elsewhere are permitted green eyes.

Because of these differences in standards, in Britain blue-eyed white cats are called “foreign white cats”, while in the U.S. and elsewhere cats with blue or green eyes are called “Oriental white cats.”