1. CAT BREEDS

2. EYES  Kittens open their eyes at 7-10 days – they are blue.  Range of eye colors develops from orange to shades of amber and green to blue.  Odd eye colors – one blue and one orange – this is common.  White cats with blue eyes are often deaf.  During embryogenesis the dominant white gene, W inhibits the migration of auditory nerve cells required for hearing.

3. EYES  Eyeshine – The glowing of cat’s eyes in the dark.  Tapetum – layer of cells behind the retina.  This layer of iridescent cells at the back of the eyeball reflects the light, which adds to the cat’s ability to see at night.

4. VOCAL CORDS  Cats have 2 sets of vocal cords.  Lower vocal cords - produce the meow  Upper vocal cords – produces the purr and growl

5. LIFE EXPECTANCY  10-14 years  10 years in a cat = 50 years in a human  Short life in a cat – road traffic

6. BALANCE AND ORIENTATION  Spine – Flexible spine allows for innate balancing mechanisms enabling them to land on their feet.  Tail – can be used as a rudder to adjust the direction of a jump in a confined space.  Cats go down a tree backwards – their claws point in wrong direction.  Cats can jump 5-6 times their own height.

7. TONGUE  Sense of Taste  The cat’s tongue is long and flat, with almost parallel sides. It tapers slightly in front and somewhat more in the back of the mouth. The upper surface of the tongue is covered with rasplike papillae which enable the cat to scrape every piece of meat off a bone or to lick its coat clean.  The tongue is covered with taste buds, particularly at the tip and at the back of the throat. These taste buds react to chemical stimuli to produce sensations of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and saltiness.

10. ABYSSINIAN  Balanced medium sized animal of foreign type.  Beautiful ticked, resilient coats  Four common colors: Ruddy, Red, Blue and Cream

11. AMERICAN CURL  Medium sized, alert animals with an elegant appearance and a sweet, open expression complimented by their remarkable ears  Available in long haired and short haired and come in any color or coat pattern

12. BALINESE  Coat is of medium length, and very silky and fine  Solid point colors: seal, blue, chocolate, lilac, red point, cream point, lynx and tortie

13. BIRMAN  Average sized cat  Medium length coat  Pointed cats with white paws  Eyes are always blue  Body should be eggshell color or golden depending on markings

14. BURMESE  Medium sized cat with a rounded head, expressive eyes and a sweet disposition  Many colors are recognized, but the 4 main ones are sable, champagne, blue and platinum

15. COLORPOINT SHORTHAIR  Appear in red point, cream point, lynx point and tortie point  Personality is highly interactive, devoted, playful, and fun-loving

16. CORNISH REX  Soft, wavy, curly hair  Coat feels like crushed velvet to the touch  Slender, racy bodies  Found in a wide variety of colors and patterns

17. DEVON REX  Soft, short, naturally curly coat  Personality is like there appearance, impish, clever, enterprising and outgoing  Wide variety of patterns and colors

18. DOMESTIC LONGHAIR  Heavier body and dense overcoat and coarser hair  Any color pattern  Needs daily grooming and house cleaning

19. DOMESTIC SHORTHAIR  Wide range of coloring  Not purebred cats, but are of mixed ancestry

20. EGYPTIAN MAU  Active, athletic cats have the randomly spotted tabby pattern resembling wild cats  Come in colors such as bronze, silver, and black smoke  Fastest breed of domestic cats

21. EXOTIC SHORTHAIR  Cross between Persians and various other shorthaired breeds  Found in the same wide variety of colors and patterns as the Persians

22. HAVANA BROWN  Noted for its warm, chocolate brown color  Most are chestnut brown, although a lavender frost color is also seen  Very rare breed

23. MAINE COON  Head is slightly longer than it is wide, ears are wide at the base, moderately pointed and well tufted inside  Wide range of colors and patterns  Tail is as long as torso

24. MANX  Stocky, solid cat with a dense double coat, a compact body, very short back, hind legs that are visibly longer than front legs, big bones, wide chest and greater depth of flank  All colors and patterns exist in both coat lengths

25. PERSIAN  Available in a veritable rainbow of colors and patterns  Most popular and perhaps the most recognized breed of cats

26. PERSIAN HIMALAYAN  Identical in type to the Persian, with the exception of its blue eyes and point coloration  Fur of the body is white or cream, but the points come in many different colors such as seal, blue, lilac, chocolate, red and cream

27. RUSSIAN BLUE  Noted for its short, plush, silvery blue coat, brilliant green eyes and semi-foreign body type with long legs and body  Solid silvery blue coats

28. SCOTTISH FOLD  Best known for its distinctive ears, which are folded forward and down, and by its large rounded eyes  Great number of colors and patterns

29. SELKIRK REX  Naturally curly coat  Rounded, stocky body type  Wide variety of colors and patterns  Coat should be soft and curly, with random curling rather than a patterned wave or marcelling pattern

30. SIAMESE  One of the oldest recognized and established breeds of cats  Distinguished by its brilliant blue eyes and its colored points which provide contrast to its light colored body.

31. SOMALI  Longhaired Abyssinian  Commonly available in blue, fawn, red and ruddy  Has a bushy tail