All cat breedsdefinitive list of cats

A list of all cat breeds which provides a quick reference guide to different cat breeds from around the world.

Worldwide there are some 70 registered cat breeds.The origin of many of the breedscan be debated and some experts may disagree with the country oforigin.

Unfortunately, in some instances, there is very littledocumented historical proof on the breed"s origin.

Our point ofreference will be based on the most commonly held beliefs andinformation available.

Whetherthe cat breed list is based on the country of origin or defined by the coat length, characteristics or morphology, thedetailed information regarding the breed remains standard. (Well, thatis apart from the minor differences recognized by the governing bodies)

A recent study conducted on the DNA of a statistically significant sample of domestic catshas shown that cats (over 500 million of them) areprobably descended from a sub-species of cat that originally inhabitedcountries in the Middle East.

Spontaneous (natural) mutations has resulted in new cat breeds e.g. Balinese, Somali, Ragdoll, Peterbald, Munchkin, Sphynx Cat, La Perm, Cornish and Devon Rex.

Hybrid cat breeds such as the Bengal catbreed (crossed with an Asian Leopard) and the Oriental cat (Crossedwith Abyssinians, Burmese, Russians) were created by cat breedersin a careful and planned cross-breeding program.

The Exotic Shorhair, on theother hand, emerged by "accident" during a cross-breeding program.

Irrespective of how the types of cats came about, they are all uniquely different and beautiful.

Most of the popular or common domestic cat breeds will be reviewed in more depth.

We have attempted to cover all cat breeds here - whether its a large domestic cat breed, like the Maine Coon Cat, or a non-shedding cat breed like a Sphynx - do take a look for your perfect cat.