This page has the long-haired, the hairless and the unusual. Move your pointer and your cat will follow at its own pace. Choose a different cat at the bottom, and tap the notes to open them.
It is the largest breed of pet cat. Big males can measure more than a metre from nose to tail tip.
An old story says it is part raccoon, because of the ringed bushy tail. That is impossible, but the name stuck.
Tufted paws work like snowshoes, and it wraps its long tail round itself to keep warm.
It rarely miaows. It makes soft chirps and trills.
For all its size it is known for a mild, friendly nature, and often gets on well with dogs.
It may not reach full size until it is four or five years old.
The kitchen floor
Move your pointer onto the kitchen floor and wait for your pet to arrive.
Meet them all
Pedigree breed · from Maine, United States
A huge, shaggy cat with a ruff round its neck, tufted ears and an enormous bushy tail. Often brown tabby.
Pedigree breed · from Persia, now Iran
A stocky cat with a very long, thick coat, a round flat face, small ears and big round copper eyes.
Pedigree breed · from California, United States
A large, soft, semi-long-haired cat, cream with darker ears, mask and tail, white paws and deep blue eyes.
Pedigree breed · from Canada
A cat with no fur, wrinkled pink or grey skin, a lean body, enormous ears and a whip-like tail.
Pedigree breed · from Tayside, Scotland
A round-faced cat with big round eyes and small ears that fold forwards and down, like a cap.
A coat pattern, not a breed
A white cat with bold patches of orange and black. In Britain it is called tortoiseshell and white.
Good to know
A long coat knots within days. Start brushing when the kitten is small, so that it learns to enjoy it.
Long-haired cats swallow a lot of fur when they wash. Brushing means less of it ends up inside the cat.
Several pedigree breeds have inherited heart or kidney problems. Good breeders test for them.
Very flat-faced cats can have trouble breathing, runny eyes and crowded teeth.
Many pedigree cats are kept indoors. They need climbing space, toys and company to make up for it.
A pedigree kitten can cost many hundreds of pounds. A rescue cat needs a home just as much.
Cats: 1 more group
Real photos of the pets on this page. Tap one to see it bigger.
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licences. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews. Open a photo to see who took it.
People have bred cats for looks for only about 150 years. Some of the results are beautiful, and some bring problems that a buyer should know about first.
Back to the topOther kinds of pet live on their own pages: choose another.