"One cold winter evening in 1950, sitting comfortably by a roaring fire, I idly played with the idea of breeding a new variety of cats," wrote Baroness von Ullman of Roofspringer Cattery in England. "My vague wish ... slowly matured into the ambition to breed a self-colored brown cat with green eyes, short hair and of foreign type."

In pursuit of her dream, the Baroness crossed a seal-point Siamese with a Russian Blue, and several generations later produced the desired cat of Siamese (foreign/oriental) body type in a rich, solid, chestnut color. Sometimes called Havanas, these cats were most often referred to as Chestnut Foreign Shorthairs and recognized by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in 1958. (The modern Havana Brown, although sharing a common origin, has developed along different lines into a distinct breed.) The British fancy, as its custom, treated new colors as separate breeds, resulting in Lavender Foreign Shorthairs, White Foreign Shorthairs and others.
 

Other Names

Foreign Shorthair

Native Country

Thailand, Great Britain

Breed Description

History

The Greyhound of cats Both originally from Thailand, the Oriental Shorthair and the Siamese differ only in coat and eye color. Some believe the Oriental Shorthair is the original type, while the Siamese, a colorpoint Oriental Shorthair, is a variety. Both breeds arrived in Great Britain in the late 19th century. From 1920 to 1930, the Siamese was more popular than the Oriental Shorthair, which did not interest breeders until after 1950. By crossing Siamese and European Shorthairs of different colors, breeders successively obtained chocolate, white (Foreign White), and blue Oriental Shorthairs. By 1968, American breeders began breeding programs focused on an extreme morphological type closely resembling today’s Siamese, while the British preferred a moderate type. The C.F.A. recognized the breed in 1972 as the Oriental Shorthair. In 1994 it approved the Oriental Longhair, or Mandarin. The Oriental Shorthair is not very common.

Behavior

Like the Siamese, Oriental Shorthairs are very lively, extraverted, proud, and captivating. They are sociable and do not like being alone. These playful cats can tolerate children. They are affectionate and often very possessive, even tyrannical, toward their owner. Indifference is not acceptable to them. They are “talkative” and have a loud voice. They have the temperament of a hunter. Female cats are sexually precocious (entering puberty by 9 months) and have frequent heats. They are more prolific than average for domestic cats. They are easy to groom, as weekly brushing is enough.