‹‹American Shorthair

Our collection of American Shorthair images features champions and best of breed. Whether you are a specialist looking for stock images of breed examples, a designer looking for a striking picture, or you're simply an American Shorthair fan, we're confident we'll have the image you're looking for.

Our images are from top cat photographers from all over the world.

View all American Shorthair images.

American Shorthair overview

Originally known as the Domestic Shorthair, but has been known as the American Shorthair since registration with the CFA (Cat Fanciers Association) in 1965. Bred as a working cat, clearing ships of rats, the American Shorthair embodies power, endurance and agility. An independent, 'outdoor' cat, he thrives on hunting and play, yet makes an easy going and affectionate companion who needs little grooming.

Other known names for American Shorthair

Domestic Shorthair, Mouser

American Shorthair alternative names

Amerikaanse Korthaar (Dutch), Américain à poil court (French), Amerikanische Kurzhaar (German), Doméstico de pelo corto (Spanish)

Origin

Emigrated from Europe to the United States

Breed number/code

ASH

Biological data

Size
Medium to large.
Build
Solid, powerful and muscular, with well-developed shoulders and hindquarters.
Large, full-cheeked face, with a sweet, open expression.
Medium-sized, slightly rounded ears; large, wide eyes, positioned slightly angled and shaped like half an almond.
Hair quality
Short, thick and dense, of a hard texture.
Colours
White
black
blue
red
cream
chinchilla silver
shaded silver
shell cameo (red chinchilla)
shaded cameo (red shaded)
black smoke
blue smoke
cameo (red) smoke
tortoiseshell smoke
blue chinchilla silver
blue shaded silver
cream shell cameo (cream chinchilla)
cream shaded cameo (cream shaded)
blue cream smoke
blue silver tabby (pewter tabby)
blue silver patched tabby (pewter patched tabby)
cream cameo tabby (dilute cameo)
smoke and white
black smoke and white
blue smoke and white
tortoiseshell smoke and white
shell cameo and white
shaded cameo and white
smoke cameo and white
Eye colours
Eye colour varies according to coat colour.
Patterns
Tabby patterns include classic, mackerel, patched, brown, brown patched, blue, blue patched, silver, silver patched, red, cream, and cameo, all of which may also be seen with white.

American Shorthair links we are happy to endorse

External links are selected and reviewed when the page is published. However, Animal Photography is not responsible for the content of external websites.

American Shorthair – Breed standard

The below links are external
TICA, CFA, AACE, ACFA

American Shorthair references and further reading

USA
National American Shorthair Club

Please get in touch

If you are an animal photographer, an expert on American Shorthair cats or a breeder, we would love to hear from you. We strive to have all the latest, most helpful and accurate information on our website, but nobody is perfect, so we do ask for your feedback if we can improve our website.

Please get in touch 
Associations and Specialists – We are happy to link to your American Shorthair association or specialist area, all we ask is for you to return the favour.
Photographers – Please visit our 'join us' page to learn about working with us.
Experts – Spotted some detail that isn't right? Please email us your thoughts.
Breeders – We work with many great cat photographers such as Helmi Flick, Alan Robinson and Tetsu Yamazaki and we'd love to build our contact list of leading breeders. Who knows when you might get a call. Please email us with your details.

American Shorthair
picture ideas

Featured image

AP-YCDREQ - American Shorthair cat
Photo © Animal Photography, Tetsu Yamazaki

American Shorthair kitten

AP-1RLR0B - American Shorthair kittens
Photo © Animal Photography, Tetsu Yamazaki