Oriental Shorthair
The Oriental Shorthair is a domestic cat breed with a slender body, large ears, a short coat, and a wide range of colors and patterns.
Siamese cat: A cat breed known for a slender build, color-pointed coat, and blue eyes. The Oriental Shorthair shares the Siamese body type and ancestry, but permits many coat colors and patterns.
Siamese cat breeding: The selective breeding of Siamese cats for appearance, coat pattern, and lineage. Breeders used Siamese cats as the foundation for the Oriental Shorthair’s body type.
Cat show: An organized competition in which pedigreed cats are evaluated against breed standards. Judges assess Oriental Shorthairs against standards for body shape, head, ears, and coat.
British Shorthair: A domestic cat breed with a compact, sturdy build, round face, and dense coat. Its broad, rounded proportions contrast sharply with the Oriental Shorthair’s long, fine silhouette.
Colorpoint Shorthair: A cat breed with a Siamese type and color-pointed coat, recognized in some registries as distinct from the Siamese. Its restricted color-point pattern contrasts with the Oriental Shorthair’s broader coat variety.
Oriental cat: A cat breed group characterized by an elongated body and wedge-shaped head, including shorthaired and longhaired varieties. The Oriental Shorthair is the shorthaired variety within this broader breed group.
Cat breed standard: A formal description of the ideal traits used to register and judge a cat breed. The standard defines which physical traits count as correct for the Oriental Shorthair.
Abyssinian cat: A shorthaired cat breed with a muscular build and a ticked coat. Its distinctive coat pattern and different head and body proportions separate it from Oriental type.
Oriental Longhair: A cat breed with Oriental type and a medium-length, fine coat. It shares the Oriental type but differs in coat length.
Cat Fanciers' Association: A United States organization that registers pedigreed cats and publishes breed standards. Its breed recognition and standards helped establish the Oriental Shorthair’s formal identity.