American Shorthair Cats Available For Sale. All Colors. TICA & CFA Registered

Home » Cats » American Shorthair Cats

Browse American Shorthair Classifieds, view photos of American Shorthair Kittens and find American Shorthair Breeders, by Pets4You.com.

Jump to American Shorthair Advertisements

I confess to being a bit surprised to learn that there is a pedigreed cat with very strict breeding standards that is known as the American Shorthair.  I had formerly thought that shorthaired cats were just…shorthaired cats--seen everywhere, all the time, in all color configurations. 

And so it was in this country until the early 1900s, when a group of breeders began a selective breeding program to preserve the mild temperament, natural beauty, and rugged hardiness of the pure breed they called the American Shorthair.  During the period from 2006-2007, the Cat Fancier’s Association rated it the eighth most popular breed of cat in the U.S.

Shorthaired domestic cats arrived hundreds of years ago in America with the Europeans. Evidence indicates that several cats may have sailed over from England with the pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620. Upon arrival, these cats joined the new American workforce, and became working felines in the barns and fields. Years of natural selection and adaptation to their environments turned them into a strong, hardy breed with a dependable, calm temperament.  With the import of foreign breeds, however, the original American Shorthair bloodlines became diluted, and that’s when breeders stepped in to try to preserve the purity of the original Shorthair line.

Acceptance in the show ring was a long time coming for the American Shorthair, however. As late as the 1960s, American Shorthairs were treated like the poor relations of the cat family, and were not considered to be of high-enough quality to merit competing in shows.

Breeders also had to deal with much confusion between their carefully bred American Shorthairs and randomly bred domestic cats. While a non-pedigreed domestic cat may look like a pedigreed American Shorthair, the mix of indiscriminate genes means that the domestic generally will not breed true; you cannot count on type, temperament, and length of hair in the kittens as you can with a purebred American Shorthair.

The first American Shorthair to be registered in this country was an orange tabby male named Belle that, ironically, was imported from England in the early 1900s. It wasn't until 1904 that the first American-born American Shorthair (named Buster Brown) was registered under the breed name of Shorthair.

Later, the breed was renamed Domestic Shorthair, and in 1965 the breeders voted to change the name again, this time to the American Shorthair. The same year, CFA named a silver tabby male (Shawnee Trademark) Best Cat, and the breed finally began to receive some hard-earned respect in the cat fanciers world. Today, American Shorthairs are playing at show rings everywhere, and finally earning their due share of admiration and rosettes.

The American Shorthair is a very athletic cat, with a larger, leaner, and more powerfully-built body than its relation, the British Shorthair. It is also known as a "working cat.” These cats have long tails and usually slender bodies.

A non-pedigreed shorthaired cat (called a Domestic Shorthair) might resemble an American Shorthair, just as another non-pedigreed cat might look like a Siamese, Persian or Maine Coon. The difference, however, is that American Shorthairs are a purebred cat and are recognized as such by the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA).

According to the CFA, American Shorthairs are low-maintenance cats that are generally healthy, easy-going, affectionate with owners and sociable with strangers. Males are notably larger than females, weighing eleven to fifteen pounds when fully grown. Mature females weigh eight to twelve pounds when they achieve their full growth at three to four years of age.

American Shorthairs can live fifteen to twenty years, like most felines, and often only require annual vaccinations, veterinary checkups, and a quality diet in order to live a long, happy life.  Since they derive from a large and healthy gene pool, with few genetic defects, American Shorthairs are among the healthiest of the cat breeds.

The American Shorthair is recognized in more than eighty different colors and patterns ranging from the brown-patched tabby to the blue-eyed white, the shaded silvers, smokes and cameos to the calico van, and many colors in between. Some even come in deep tones of black, brown, or other blends and combinations. The most striking and best-known color is the silver tabby; more than one-third of all American Shorthairs exhibit this color. With the black markings set against a brilliant silver background, the pattern is dynamic and exquisite.

“When describing the American Shorthair, the expression 'happy medium' springs to mind. These all-American cats are medium in size, build, type, and temperament; neither too big nor too small, not overly cuddly nor distant, neither couch potatoes nor hyperactive. Breeders note that the American Shorthair is the perfect breed for the person who wants a cat that enjoys being in your lap but not in your face.”  (Barron’s Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds.)

American Shorthairs are known for their moderate voices and adaptable, malleable personalities; they are sociable, easily trained, and adapt well to other animals and children. They often do not like to be picked up, however, as they seem to cherish their freedom like their Pilgrim companions who left England to find independence on foreign shores.

“Oh, I ADORE my Shorthairs!” said Meg Mello, owner of the Bayou Ash Cattery in Louisiana.  “They are the most loving, loveable, friendly, NICE cats I have ever found!”  She went on to say that they are polite, playful, healthy, and get along well with everyone: her own terriers, other cats, children, elderly people.  They just want to please and be pleased, they want to be with you all the time, but they are not intrusive.

Meg started as a breeder with Bengals, eventually adding a Serval cat, with the original intention of breeding Savannahs.  But then she attended a cat show, and saw a red American Shorthair, and fell totally in love.  She went on to obtain a red and a tortoise shell, she showed them, they both won “Supremes”—and Meg was hooked!  She been raising Supreme-quality Shorthairs ever since.

Meg loves the huge range of colors and patterns that appear amongst purebred Shorthairs, and, unlike some other catteries, she does not specialize in raising “silvers,” which are the most popular of the Shorthair colorations.  The Bayou Ash Cattery has a particularly delightful website that begins with:

“Bayou Ash Cattery is an American Shorthair Cat Boutique featuring only lovable, laidback “Cat-Fishin’” type cats, but, at the same time, they can chase a laser light with the “speed of a bullet”!!  My cats are my joys!”

Tell the Breeders you found them on the Pets4You® Website!