ORIENTAL SHORTHAIR

The Oriental Shorthair is of medium size, her body is slender and long, yet with a very well developed muscle strength, which is quite hard and firm. The legs are high (long) and slender with fine oval paws. The boning is fine and delicate.
The head builds a long wedge which tapers to a fine muzzle. The nose is absolutely straight and long. The jaws are fine built. When viewing the head in profile a long straight line can be seen, which starts at the top of the head and continues straight to the tip of the nose. When viewing the head from the front side the outer edges of the head build a long triangle.
The skull is not supposed to be flat, it is rounded, as if the cat would wear a round helmet.
The neck is long, slender and graceful, thus emphasizing the elegant lines of the Oriental Shorthair.
The eyes are almond in shape and slanted to the base of the ears. In all colours their colour is of an impressing green colour. This combination between the almond shape and the oblique placement of the eyes emphasizes the oriental appearance of this cat.
The ears are very large, very wide at their base, thus completing the triangular shape of the head and continuing the outer lines of the head.
The coat is extremely short, very fine and lies sleek to the body. When you stroke the coat you get the feeling of pure silk. Oriental Shorthair exist in all colours. This contrast between the coat colour and the green eyes makes this breed very attractive.
The tail is very long, rather thin and tapers to its tip.

Traum von FF Okonor, Ebony
Breeder Thea Friškovec

• black, blue. The black Oriental Shorthair is also called Ebony.
• chocolate and lilac. The chocolate Oriental Shorthair is also called Havana, while the lilac Oriental Shorthair is called Lavender.
• red and cream
• cinnamon and fawn
• tortie, i.e. with tortie patches (patches are red in black, chocolate and cinnamon cats, and patches are cream in blue, lilac and fawn cats), all colours as mentioned above
• and all these colours exist also with tabby pattern - blotched, mackerel, spotted and ticked, f.e. blue mackerel, black ticked, red blotched, etc.
• all these colours exist also with silver as Smoke or as silver tabby, f.e. black smoke, chocolate smoke, tortie smoke, red silver spotted, blue silver ticked, bluetortie silver mackerel, etc.
• all these colours can be also with white, f.e. black and white, red and white, blue blotched with white, etc.

Vienna Blue Vasin, lilac spotted
Breeder Christel Schirrer

Ch. Traum von FF Havanna, chocolate
Breeder Thea Friškovec

Int.Ch. Silver Fox' Rhea, black silver spotted
Breeder Wendel Stoop

The Oriental Shorthair is the full coloured version of the Siamese, and is a man-made breed. Amongst the early Siamese there were also self coloured cats, which were vetoed from the Siamese breeding programme by the English Siamese Club in 1920. Before World War II existed already black and blue Oriental Shorthairs in Germany.
The early Oriental Shorthair in England was a result of cross breeding between Siamese and domestic cats and Russian Blues, they were given quite unique colour names, like Ebony for the black Oriental Shorthair, Chestnut Brown Foreign Shorthair for the chocolate Oriental Shorthair, which had been registered in 1958 by GCCF as Foreign Shorthair, and was later on in 1970 called Havana. Those Havana were exported to the USA, where they only retained the green eye colour and the chocolate brown coat colour, their body type became heavier and more cobby, which are now registered in the US as a separate breed, called Havana. Today over half of their descendants are self or bicolour Oriental Shorthair, and fewer than a quarter are Siamese (pointed cats).

Nianguaview Kansas Tornado, black and white
Breeder Thea Friškovec

Sphinx Aradia, chocolate tortie spotted
Zos Kia cattery
Owner Michael Bauer

Oriental Shorthairs are talkative cats, they can get quite loud sometimes. Females, which are in heat, and lonely studs can cry with an ear splitting voice. The Oriental Shorthair loves to communicate with her owner. They are active cats, who like to play. If they feel lonely without any playmate, they create one, and anything will be dedicated to become their playmate. Oriental Shorthairs like to jump quite high, but they keep their balance between the narrowest things with great elegance, thus disrupting or disturbing very seldom something.
Oriental Shorthairs are no outdoor cats, they like a cosy warm place. They like to sleep on top of radiators, the television or the computer, or anything which creates heat.
They love their owners and demand attention and affection, they enjoy riding on their shoulders or cuddling on their knees, or to cuddle in bed under a warm blanket.
These extremely intelligent cats make very good companions for people, who like to have constant companionship. Oriental Shorthairs will follow you, wherever you go, if you sit down, they will sit on your lap, if you eat, they will sit besides you on the chair, without being demanding or begging for food, if go to bed, they will enjoy to sleep in your bed with you. With Oriental Shorthairs you will have a very attractive companion and they will be your friends for a life time.

Oriental Shorthairs require little grooming. Rubbing their coat with chamois skins will remove dead hears and will produce a silk-like glistening coat.