Animal Lovers
Cats have been living alongside humans for roughly ten thousand years, and in that time they have managed to develop an impressive variety of shapes, sizes, temperaments, and stories. Some breeds are ancient, revered by civilizations long gone. Some are accidents discovered on Scottish farms. All of them are considerably more interesting than they generally let on.
The Siamese is one of the oldest recognized cat breeds in the world. In Thailand — historically known as Siam — these cats were considered sacred and were kept exclusively by royalty and monks. Ancient Thai manuscripts called the Tamra Maew, dating to the 14th century, depict and describe the Siamese with their distinctive color-pointed coats. When a member of the royal family died, a Siamese cat was selected to receive the departing soul, after which the cat lived out its days in a temple with monks as servants. This is a life arrangement that most cats would consider merely adequate.
The Maine Coon is the oldest natural breed in North America and the official state cat of Maine. Their origin involves several competing legends: one claims they descended from cats sent to America by Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution. Another insists they are the result of a ship captain named Charles Coon whose cats bred with local New England cats. The actual explanation — that long-haired cats arrived with early settlers and adapted over centuries to Maine's harsh winters — is probably more accurate and considerably less dramatic, but Leon finds all three versions charming.
The Turkish Angora is one of the oldest cat breeds, originating naturally in the Ankara region of Turkey. These cats were so prized that the Turkish government established a breeding program at the Ankara Zoo in the early twentieth century specifically to preserve the white variety. The Smithsonian has written about how Angora genetics influenced the development of Persian and other long-haired breeds through European breeding programs in the 1800s.
In 1961, a Scottish shepherd named William Ross noticed a white barn cat on a farm in the Tayside region of Scotland. The cat, named Susie, had unusually folded ears that gave her an owl-like appearance. Ross acquired one of Susie's kittens and began a breeding program. Every Scottish Fold alive today traces its lineage back to Susie on that Scottish farm. The distinctive fold is caused by a dominant gene that affects cartilage throughout the body.
In 1960, a curly-coated kitten appeared in a litter in Devon, England — one year after a similar curly cat had been discovered in neighboring Cornwall, leading to the Cornish Rex breed. Breeders initially assumed the two curly breeds were related, but test breeding revealed they carried entirely different genetic mutations. The two counties have been quietly competitive about their respective curly cats ever since, in the way that neighboring English counties tend to be quietly competitive about nearly everything.
Despite its name and vaguely pharaonic appearance, the Sphynx cat has no ancient Egyptian heritage. The breed began in Toronto, Canada, in 1966 when a domestic cat gave birth to a hairless kitten named Prune. This was a natural genetic mutation, and selective breeding developed it into a consistent breed. The name "Sphynx" was chosen later for marketing purposes, which is the kind of honest commercial decision that Leon respects.
The Norwegian Forest Cat, known in Norway as the skogkatt (forest cat), appears in Norse mythology as the cat that pulled the goddess Freya's chariot. They were likely brought to Scandinavia by the Romans and adapted over centuries to survive Norwegian winters — developing a dense double coat, tufted ears, and the ability to climb rock faces with their strong claws. They nearly went extinct during World War II; a dedicated breeding program in the 1970s saved the breed.
Russian Blues are believed to originate in the port of Arkhangelsk in northern Russia, from which they were brought to Western Europe by sailors. They were favorites of Russian czars and reportedly kept by Queen Victoria. Their distinctive blue-grey coat and emerald green eyes made them immediately recognizable. During World War II, the breed's population collapsed significantly, and British breeders crossed them with Siamese cats to restore numbers — an influence that was subsequently bred back out over decades.
The Manx cat, famous for having no tail or a very short one, originates from the Isle of Man — a small island in the Irish Sea. The taillessness results from a spontaneous mutation that became fixed in the island's isolated cat population. Isle of Man folklore offers several explanations, including that the Manx was the last animal to board Noah's Ark and had its tail shut in the door. The genetic explanation is somewhat less poetic but equally definitive.
The Birman, also called the Sacred Cat of Burma, carries an origin legend involving a golden goddess, a white temple cat, and a dying monk. The legend has all the components of a proper origin myth, complete with transformation and divine intervention. The actual history is murkier — the breed may have been developed in France in the early twentieth century from cats imported from Burma, or may genuinely be an ancient breed. The legend is better, and the cats do not appear to feel any obligation to clarify.
The Abyssinian's exact origin is disputed among cat historians, which is a sentence Leon did not expect to write today. Some believe they originate from Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia); others note that the first documented Abyssinian appeared in England in 1868, possibly brought back from the Abyssinian War. Their distinctive ticked coat pattern, where each hair has multiple bands of color, is one of the oldest coat patterns in domestic cats and resembles the coloring of wild African cats.
The Ragdoll is a genuinely modern breed, developed in the 1960s by a breeder named Ann Baker in Riverside, California. Baker built the breed from a white Angora-type cat named Josephine and selected specifically for large size, gentle temperament, and the characteristic tendency to go limp when held — hence the name. Baker was famously protective of her creation and established her own registry rather than work with established cat fancy organizations, making the Ragdoll's early history unusually contentious by cat breeding standards.