American Shorthair Cat

Facts about American Shorthair Cats, The scientific name for American Shorthair Cat is Felis Catus". The American Shorthair is a descendant of European cats that were brought to North America as domestic cats by the early settlers. The American Shorthair Cat were mostly useful in protecting the settlers’ cargo from destructive rodents such as rats and mice. American Shorthair Cats can see at levels of light six time lower than a human, this is why cats can catch mice so easily at night. There are over 500 million domestic cats in the world and 88 million in the United States Approximately 40,000 people are bitten by cats in the U.S. annually.

The American Shorthair Cat breeds does not have many variants as compared to the other types of breeds. In 2012, the Cat Fancier’s Association (CFA) rated the American Shorthair Cat as the seventh most popular breed of cats in the whole of United States.


Characteristics
The body of the American Shorthair Cat is athletic, large and powerful. The American Shorthair Cat breed matches the description given by the Cat Fanciers’ Association of a working cat. The American Shorthair Cat compared to other breeds does not cost much to maintain because they are easy going, healthy and affectionate with both owners and strangers. This is why the American Shorthair Cat are some of the most preferred pets. The American Shorthair Cat is a clear distinction between the males and the females. The male American Shorthair Cat are larger in size and weigh anything between 11 and 15 pounds (5 to 6.8 kg) when fully mature. The females on the other hand weigh about 8 to 12 pounds (3.6 to 5.4 kg) and attain full growth in about 4 years.

The lifespan of the American Shorthair depends on the diet that they are given, the love, care and attention. The American Shorthair Cat can live up 12 to 15 years or even longer especially if they are vaccinated and have regular veterinary checkups. Thee American Shorthair Cat bodies are muscular and powerful with shoulders that are well developed. Their hind legs and the chest are among the strong muscled body parts.

Coat Color
This breed has lots of variations in terms of colors and patterns. According to research, the American Shorthair Cat are more than 80 identified colors ranging from the blue-eyed white, the brown-patched tabby, smokes, shaded silvers, cameos, calico van and many others. There are even some American Shorthair Cat which have deep tones of black and brown. These colors help the American Shorthair Cat especially in hunting as they give them great camouflage.

American Shorthair Cats on average sleep 13 to 14 hours a day and when they are awake, the spend a lot of time liking themselves to keep themselves clean. A female cat is called a "queen or molly", male cat is called a "tom" and the name "clowder" is called a group and young or baby cats are called kittens. American Shorthair Cats have very sharp hearing and their sense of smell is fantastic. The reason why American Shorthair Cats can squeeze through very small spaces is that they have no collarbone and free-floating clavicle bones that their shoulders are attach to their forelimbs, that's why a American Shorthair Cat can fit through a hole the same size as its head and they use their whiskers to determine if they can fit through the space.

American Shorthair Cats outer ear uses 32 muscles to control it, and a human has only 6 muscles in its ear and a American Shorthair Cat can move its ears 180 degrees. A American Shorthair Cat can move their ears independently. A American Shorthair Cat can climb up a tree well but can not climb head first down a tree, because all the claws on a cat’s paw points the same direction, to get down from a tree, a cat has to back down. An American Shorthair Cat can run at a top speed of about 30 mph (48.2 km) over a short distance. A cat rubs against a person to not only to be affectionate but also to mark out its territory. A Cat does not like water because its fur is not insulate it well when it gets wet. A American Shorthair Cat averages about 12 whiskers on both side of its face. A American Shorthair Cats jaw can not move sideways, there for a cat can not chew large pieces of food. A American Shorthair Cats back is highly flexible because of its 53 loosely fitting vertebrae. The body of a cat has 230 bones. While a human body has 206. Compared to a humans who only have 34. The average American Shorthair Cat temperature of a cat is 101.5 °F. The American Shorthair Cats heart beats at 110 to 140 a minute, That is almost twice as fast as a human heart.