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Cat breeds – where they come from?
The entire cat family is closely related. The biggest among them, the Siberian Tiger (weight around 850 lbs or 385 kg) is very similar to the smallest „moggie“you can see on the street every day. Experts can't really claim which of 39 wild cat species is predecessor of domestic cats. The European Wild Cat, Felis sylvestris is probable predecessor because it looks remarkably similar to the ordinary tabby, only larger and stronger. But there also one other good contender, African Wild Cat, Felis lybica, because it is very easy to tame, unlike European Wild Cat. Cats were found in the human cultures about 8000 years ago in Cyprus , and are suspected to been bred in Egypt , which is consistent with idea that African Wild Cat is progenitor. At those times they still haven't been bred to a specific shape because except for several wealthy people, others didn't have any use for cats. Dogs were working animals, protectors, hunters and herders. Breeding of cats is suspected to have started around 3000 BC. At that time humanity have created their first settlements and started to store grain. With all that food around, vermin started to share their living space with humans. Then humans realized cats could be good companions for protecting that grain, and very cheap to sustain. They look very pretty and they can catch their own food. This relationship has grown to a special symbiosis. At some point cats were even believed to be gods themselves.
While dogs have been bred selectively for centuries for specific purposes, selective breeding with cats started in 19th century. And planning and controlling of cats' breeding process began for their looks. At this point there are over 100 different breeds of domestic cats, but not all of them are recognized by all Breed Registries. There are many of them but the biggest are Cat Fancier's Association (CFA), The International Cat Association (TICA), Britain 's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), Federation Internationale Feline (FIFé) and International Progressive Cat Breeders Alliance (IPCBA). Down here is listing of breeds recognized by most of them. Why some breeds is recognized by one and not the other association is decision of judges in those associations. But you can discuss it in forum.
Here is the listing of all major cat breeds in alphabetical order. Some breeds have more than one name so there is possibility that different names will lead you to a same site. If you don't know which breed is your cat, try finding it by picture search.
Or search your cat by information you know about your cat. Just fill it down here.
