Havana

Siamese ancestry, which is obvious from the long slender build, triangular face and slanted eyes. There is no direct connection with Havan...

Bombay

black patent leather. There are no connections at all with the city of Bombay in India, but the breeders chose the name because the cat rem...

Mr. Will

George F. Will, the newspaper columnist and political commentator, is known for being fond of baseball—and cats. In one essay, Will noted, “...

Tonkinese

The beautiful Tonkinese is the result of crossing Siamese with Burmese. The breed has the blue eyes of their Siamese ancestors as well as th...

Stud jowls

Just as old male orangutans develop distinctive fleshy cheek patches, older tomcats—unneutered toms—develop “stud jowls,” a widening at the ...

American Curl

California in 1981, and the breed is now recognized by most American cat associations. Curl cats are an acquired taste, but one that is e...

Egyptian Mau

As noted elsewhere in this book, mau was the ancient Egyptian word for cat. (And it’s no coincidence that mau sounds a lot like meow.) The M...