A sweet tabby and white Exotic Shorthair picture by Helmi Flick of a
cute little cat. This is one the best pictures of this cat breed that I
have seen. You can see the crisp ticked tabby and white coat. Camelot has
a classic tabby pattern.
It seems that the Exotic Shorthair was created in 1966 as a way of
regulating what was unregulated breeding by crossing the American
Shorthair with Persians. This hybridization resulted in the American
Shorthair losing its characteristics. This caused confusion and so in
1966 in order to clear up matters a new breed was named: the Exotic
Shorthair.
I have always wondered why this breed was called "exotic". That title
is usually used for wild cat hybrids these days. I suppose that when
this cat was compared to the moderate looking American Shorthair, it
looked pretty exotic because of the extreme flat face.
This is a contemporary Persian cat with a shorthair, dense coat, which is
relatively easy to care for. The head should be round and "massive".
The cheeks should be full and the ears small (to not conflict with the
roundness of the head, I suppose).
Without wishing to be critical of the breed Ross D Clarke in his book, Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects
of Purebred Cats, says that cats of this breed may have
"deformities in the jaw or teeth" and "breathing difficulties".
There are other potential health problems such as sinus problems due to
the extreme flat face. The well known tear duct overflow is also
potentially present in this cat breed. See Persian Cat Health Problems.
