A Domestic Shorthair is among the most popular pets worldwide, particularly in the U.S. Approximately six hundred million domestic shorthair cats exist altogether. Keep under consideration that the domestic shorthair is not a separate cat breed but a combination of various breeds. These cats vary in appearance, personalities, and other traits.
Domestic Shorthair History
The domestic shorthair is the descendants of the British Shorthair. These cats were utilized for the purpose of helping, especially in minimizing rodents. The pilgrims brought the domestic shorthair to America.
The domestic shorthair has been famous in North America since it first arrived. They have impressive physical agility, which makes them an ideal pet and helps in keeping pests away. The domestic shorthair has predator traits as they love capturing smaller prey.
The domestic shorthair is recognized and registered by the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA). It is comprehended in the domestic pet grouping and won the award of best household pet previously. The domestic shorthair is known for its uniqueness, appearance, sweet nature, and fast learning traits.
Domestic Shorthair Key Facts
A Domestic Shorthair cat has diverse range of traits and characteristics. But despite their color, size, and origin, all domestic shorthair cats have large muscular stature. These cats are known for being a food lovers and can eat continuously, so they have a higher risk of getting obese.
One of the cutest facts about the domestic shorthair the most prominent is that it is very affectionate. It owns its owner and is always loving and friendly towards strangers. Being the intelligent cat breed, the domestic shorthair always responds to its name quickly. It has a sharp memory and responding nature.
How Big Do Domestic Shorthair Get?
The domestic shorthair varies in color, stature, and size, but it would be accurate to fit it into the medium-sized cat category. It is a muscular and healthy cat with an average weight ranging from eleven to fifteen pounds for males and six to twelve pounds for females.
Domestic Shorthair Lifespan
The average lifespan of the domestic shorthair lies between twelve to fourteen years. These cats are low maintenance with fewer health complications. With frequent checkups, vaccines, a good diet, and a loving environment, the lifespan of the domestic shorthair can be enhanced.
How Much Does A Domestic Shorthair Cost?
The domestic shorthair kitten typically costs somewhere between $500 to $800. The cost depends upon the pedigree and breeder you are buying from. The domestic shorthair can be found easily, so you won’t have to hustle a lot to get one. You may also have to pay extra for accessories like toys, beds, and litter.
Domestic Shorthair Personality
A domestic shorthair’s obvious personality traits include being playful, docile, affectionate, and calm. It is not an aggressive breed by nature, making it the best playmate for children and infants. The domestic shorthair is also known as a working cat due to its appreciable endurance and balancing skills.
The hunting skills of this breed are already well known. The domestic shorthair is full of energy and needs a wider space to roam and run around. One of the fun activities you will see your domestic shorthair cat performing is watching birds for hours, and this indicates its observant nature.
Caring For A Domestic Shorthair
Caring for the domestic shorthair is quite easy, as it is a low-maintenance cat. Although some protocols need to be maintained, such as its need for attention and love needs to be fulfilled. If you are going to be a cat parent, you need to take out some time for your cat in order to make it happy.
Domestic Shorthair Nutrition
Feeding the domestic shorthair is simple and easy; in kittenhood, you need to feed it according to its body weight. As the kitten grows, the requirements increase as for as food is concerned to feed your domestic shorthair with a high protein and low carb diet. Make sure your domestic shorthair stays hydrated throughout the day.
How To Groom A Domestic Shorthair?
As the name indicates, the domestic shorthair is a short-length coat cat breed that only requires weekly brushing. This way, healthy and soft fur will be maintained. Metal brushes are best for these cats because they loosen the dead fur and remove all dush particles trapped in the hair.
As cats naturally groom themselves, don’t stress about bathing them too much, but if you want to bathe them, always use a high-quality shampoo. The domestic shorthair, just like other cat breeds, is not really fond of water, so bathing too much can make them unhappy. Nails need to be properly groomed weekly so that it doesn’t damage the furniture of the home.
Domestic Shorthair Activity Levels
As mentioned above, a domestic shorthair is active and full of energy. It loves playing with a ball and catching smaller insects. Being active physically simulates its mind and helps in providing it a happy atmosphere. Proper exercise also ensures that your cat stays healthy and away from problems discussed below.
Being energetic doesn’t mean that this furry fellow is restless. It needs optimal time for sleep too. Don’t try to train your cat to stay quiet throughout the day, as this will make this breed go dull and unhealthy. Physical activity is necessary as obesity is quite prevalent in the domestic shorthair.
Domestic Shorthair Health Concerns
Although a healthy cat breed, the domestic shorthair doesn’t have a wide range of health complications. Yet certain elements should be kept under consideration, such as ear mites, skin disorders, respiratory tract infections, and hyperthyroidism are some of the common cases seen in it.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which means the thickening of the heart muscles due to the hyperactivation of the thyroid gland, is seen in domestic shorthair cats. Similarly, another common health complication visualized is Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) which includes a deficiency of taurine amino acid. This condition is characterized due to less protein intake.
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