Domestic Shorthair: The cat's 'original edition'

The domestic shorthair is the cat we meet most often in daily life: a short, close-lying coat that is easy to care for, and a nimble build. It looks unremarkable, yet its body hides many fascinating functions — and it shares a ten-thousand-year history with people. Let's meet it.

Its body

House cats descend from a wildcat that began living near human farmyards in the Near East about ten thousand years ago — the mice in the grain stores made the best introduction. Short hair is the cat's "original edition": the long coat appeared later as a gene mutation. In a sense, then, the shorthair is the family's "ancestral form". It is light and agile, with a short, close coat that is straightforward to groom.

Fascinating functions

A cat's whiskers are precision "antennas": their span roughly matches the width its body can pass through, so a cat uses them to judge whether a gap is wide enough. Its ears are remarkable too, swivelling almost 180 degrees to pick up faint sounds far beyond human hearing. Its eyes also work well in dim light, making it an excellent night-time wanderer.

A note for grown-ups

You could look at a cat's whiskers with a child and guess what they are for. One answer is "measuring width" — judging whether it can squeeze through. Moving from a body structure to its real use is the most enjoyable part of watching animals. Do also remind your child: never trim a cat's whiskers, because they are important sense organs.