My Snow White is Not a British Shorthair
by Finn Frode
(Denmark)
Snehvide
We have two cats. Milly is a purebred Norwegian Forest Cat with pedigree papers to prove that her parents were purebred too. Snehvide (Danish for Snow White) is a shelter cat of unknown origin.
She does not however, look like a typical Danish moggie, who generally look more like European Shorthair - a breed created mainly from Swedish moggies.
But Snow White's head is much too wide for that - actually most tomcats around here would envy her...
So what breed is my Snow White? Looking at the various breeds, the closest is probably British Shorthair - both her cobby build, dense coat and balanced character fits the breed description. Except for the eye colour she is actually spot on.
It seems probable that there is some British Shorthair in her genes. Maybe her mother or father or maybe a grandparent or just a great-grandparent. But does the fact that she has the characteristics of a British Shorthair make her one of that breed?
No, I found her at a shelter with no papers and only cats that have pedigree papers can claim to be members of a specific breed. This definition is not a snobbish put-down on mixed breed cats - it's more like a copyright or a guarantee.
Cat breeders have put a lot of effort (and money) into refining the various breeds and they don't want these efforts spoiled by uncontrolled breeding. If you pay for a Tiffany cat, you expect it to have Tiffany offspring - and not a litter with some kittens looking Siamese.
So per definition Snow White is a mixed breed - and I have no problem with that. Actually I would be the snob if I insisted on her being a particular breed without knowing the facts. She is not a British Shorthair and don't think she cares about that either. She's my chubby moggie and I love her for that - and she knows. :-)
Finn
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