Oriental Shorthair
As loud as a Siamese, but bold with absolutely everyone.
- extrovert
- talkative
- bold
- opinionated
- social
- theatrical
Why you are an Oriental Shorthair
You talk as much as a Siamese and, unlike one, you deliver it to the entire room. New people are not a risk to assess, they are an audience that has just arrived. You have opinions about everything and you share them at volume. You are physically fine-boned and light, which contrasts oddly with how much space you occupy socially. Within ten minutes of anyone arriving, you are the loudest presence in the house.
The real Oriental Shorthair
In CFA this is one breed named simply "Oriental," with Shorthair and Longhair as divisions rather than separate breeds — structurally the same arrangement as Himalayan under Persian. Shorthair championship came in 1977, Longhair in 1988. CFA allows an enormous range of colour, pattern and coat combinations. Figures circulate claiming "around 300 colours"; CFA's own material says both "over 600" and "over 150" in different places, and TICA says 281, so no single number is safe to quote.
- Registry status
- CFA: yes — one breed, "Oriental," with Shorthair and Longhair divisions. TICA: yes.
- Origin
- Developed from Siamese outcrosses to produce the Siamese type in a wide range of colours and patterns.
- Coat
- Short, fine, glossy and very close-lying.
- Size (registry wording)
- CFA describes a svelte, fine-boned, long and tubular cat with firm muscle — the same type as the Siamese.
- Weight — commonly cited, not registry-verified
- 6–12 lb (2.7–5.4 kg)
A note on those two figures. No cat registry publishes numeric weight ranges — CFA and TICA standards are descriptive — so any weight you see anywhere, including here, comes from commercial sources. And the two lifespan rows measure different things: life expectancy at birth includes kittens that do not survive, so it runs lower than the ranges breed guides quote. They are shown separately because averaging them would produce a number that is true of nothing.
Honestly, what is hard about an Oriental Shorthair?
This is the loudest, most socially relentless cat on the list, and it genuinely cannot be left alone all day — a poor match for a quiet home or anyone sensitive to noise.
Documented in the breed
Familial AA amyloidosis is documented in Siamese and Oriental cats; one post-mortem series found it in 12 of 194 (6.2%) cats of those breeds.
This is general, descriptive information about a breed, drawn from registry statements and veterinary literature. It is not veterinary advice and says nothing about any individual cat.
One more thing
No reliable colour count exists for this breed — CFA's own materials say both "over 600" and "over 150" combinations in different places, while TICA says 281.
The other 17 results
While you are here
- Cat Name Generator — thousands of names by colour, theme and gender.
- Cat Age Calculator — convert cat years to human years, with a full chart.
- Cat Personality Test — profile your own cat instead of yourself.
Quiz results are for entertainment. Breed information is general and descriptive, is not veterinary advice, and does not describe any individual cat. For questions about your own cat's health, please consult your veterinarian.