Cat Breeds for Apartments

The best cat breeds for apartments are the American Shorthair, British Shorthair, Ragdoll and Persian.  I'll explain why I have made that assessment. Of these four I would chose the British Shorthair.

These are two fantastic British Shorthair cats. Helmi does a great job photographing cats because she also captures the character. You can see the solid, calm, reliable character of this cat breed that makes it suitable for apartment life. However, there should be a greater obligation on the cat's human companion to entertain their cat when living in an apartment, even if that cat is the rather sedate, well mannered Brit SH!

The American Shorthair is a fine all round cat breed and also suitable for children and seniors. The requirements for each group is similar and that is a well rounded, gentle, balanced cat that takes things in his stride and who is in sync. with his human companion.

People (experts) say that the Persian should stay indoors, in which case an apartment seems suitable. This is partly because of the cat's very long fur. It is also a cat that likes routine, quiet and a sense of security. Cats breeds from the same background are: Exotic Shorthair and Himalayan. You can see the passivity of the Exotic compared to the more active Bengal in this video:

As for the Ragdoll, this cat breed has the reputation of being the world's most laid back cat. This is not true because there will be individual cats that step outside the breed trends.

If the breed characteristics narrow down the choice for cat breeds for apartments, the person wishing to adopt should select on individual cat personality with the assistance of the breeder. A quality breeder is important both for advice and cat quality.

Picture of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Cats

This is a photograph of the cross-section of a cat's heart diseased by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The cat's human companion wanted to find out the cause of death. The photograph was taken by the staff at the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic. This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at www.pictures-of-cats.org (PoC). I want to thank Ryan G. Gates, DVM of the clinic for granting permission. If people want to use the picture please ask the clinic first.

HCM is the most common cause of heart disease in cats. It is also the common cause of spontaneous death in full-time indoor adult cats¹.

The walls of the ventricles thicken and the muscle fibers are replaced by scar tissue. The heart is weakened because the heart wall becomes less elastic and the chamber smaller.

Increased heart rate, heart murmur, loss of appetite, increased respiratory rate can be signs. In purebred cats the Bengal cat is known to be predisposed - HCM in Bengal cats. Other breeds are also predisposed including the ever popular Maine Coon - see MC health problems. Other purebred cats that can inherit this disease are Ragdolls, British SHs, American SHs and Devon Rexes. The disease usually affects cats from 1-5 yrs of age

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Note (1) Cat Owner's Veterinary Handbook ISBN 978-0-470-09530-0

Selkirk Rex Picture

A sweet Selkirk Rex picture by Helmi Flick and this is a sweet, gentle cat that looks a bit like a sheep because of his/her curly, crinkly coat. They also say that the coat is not as demanding in respect of maintenance as it looks. This beautiful cat in the Helmi picture looks like a calico although it is a camouflaged under all those curls. All colors and patterns are allowable under the breed standard for this cat breed. Helmi says that you can see the British Shorthair in the face of the Selkirk Rex. This is because the breeding program includes the Brit SH as well as the Persian and American Shorthair. This is a stocky looking cat (semi-cobby). The first signs of a curly coat in kittens are the curly whiskers, which break off. At about 4 months of age kittens lose a lot of their fur but it grows back curly and this time it stays.  The curly hair is due to a dominant gene. Read and see more....

Russian Blue Picture

An impressive Russian Blue picture by Helmi Flick. The Russian Blue is a reserved cat. Except for the color of its coat it is very different in appearance to the European blue cats: the blue British Shorthair and the French Chartreux (which has to be blue like the Russian Blue). This Russian cat is one of the grey cat breeds.

The Russian Blue originates from the North Russian sea port of Archangel. It is not far from Finland. The coat is understandably dense for excellent insulation. The coat has a distinct feel. The plush dense coat of the Brit SH has a similar feel I suspect. It appears that the Russian Blue goes back a long way in Britain as they were mentioned in a book written by the founder of the cat fancy, Harrison Weir. The book was published in 1893. That is at the beginning of the cat fancy. It is thought that the first cats of this breed in the West were shipped over as ship's cats from Archangel in the 1860s. The eyes of this cat are green. The longhaired Russian Blue is the glamorous and rare Nebelung. Read and see more.....

California Spangled Cat Picture

This is a rare California Spangled cat picture because it is a scanned copy of the 1989 calendar that promoted this now rare cat. This cat breed was first publicized in the 1986 Neiman-Marcus Christmas Book. Many orders came out of that but it is very rare to sell a purebred cat through a shop.

Neiman-Marcus is a well known luxury retailer. Clearly the California Spangled was a luxury and rare cat. The only other time I have seen this happen is currently (2010) in relation to the selling of the Savannah cat at the Savannah Cat Shoppe.

The Savannah is a wild cat hybrid while the California Spangled has the wild spotted cat look but is a domestic cat hybrid bringing together breeds such the American and British Shorthairs and the Abyssinian. The idea behind this breed was the same as the Bengal cat; to give cat caretakers a bit of wild cat in the home to allow people to make a connection with the wild and the wild cats and thereby think of conservation. Paul Casey, a true polymath created the breed. He was a talented person and a rare sort himself. Read the full history of the California Spangled.

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British Shorthair Cat Picture

A beautiful classic looking blue British Shorthair cat. This is a purebred pedigree cat. This cat is an American bred cat, photographed in America, probably at a cat show by the well known professional cat photographer, Helmi Flick. Breeders in Russia and in continental Europe probably breed them slightly differently. I remember some pictures of a Russian British Shorthair that had a more rounded and massive head with very large cheeks - slightly exaggerated I thought. This cat is very popular with cat lovers and keepers. It is similar in popularity to the American Shorthair, which has a similar but noticeably different appearance. This is due to years of selective breeding as the ancestry is identical if you go back far enough (1600s!). The Brit SH is a semi-cobby cat with the best coat in the world to stroke. A cat coat won't feel better. The character is even tempered. British in short...This individual cat is a male unfixed boy. Click here to read and see more.

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The photo on this page is protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA). Sorry but Helmi makes a living from photographing cats.

British Shorthair Video

You can also see this British Shorthair video on the main page on this breed. This is a video with a difference. It is me talking. Uhmmm...not sure about that? Well I don't do it out of vanity believe me. It is just that our master, Messrs Google and co. like Flickr at the moment so stuff on Flickr including videos about the British Shorthair cat get noticed more easily. This then helps my main site to get noticed too.

The British Shorthair is one of my favorites because well....I am British..simplezz.  I am loyal to this cat. But it is not actually a British cat any more. That is what I say based on what I read about this cat.

If this cat breed was a refinement of the humble British moggie, mixed breed cat, then it would be a British cat. But if it has been made up out of Persian cats and Chartreux cats which appears to be the case, how can it be truly British?

Love the cat, still. Quiet voice. Stocky body. Crisp dense coat. Loyal and unassuming. Great cat companion. Get one.