American Shorthair

Who a American Shorthair suits

The all-rounder for busy family homes — good with children, tolerant of a household dog, undemanding without being aloof. It asks less than most on this list and gives back reliably. The only people it disappoints are the ones wanting something more dramatic.

How to build the bond: Let it choose the moment — an American Shorthair gives affection reliably, on a fair schedule. That sits on top of how the species works generally: Trust is earned in stillness: slow blinks, shared silence, respect for territory. The cat closes the distance — your job is to hold the door open.

The American Shorthair against the other nineteen

Lined up stillest to liveliest, the American Shorthair is 7th of the twenty cat breeds here, one of 6 in the balanced band — enough appetite for activity to stay interesting and enough of an off-switch to be livable, which is the widest fit of the four bands and the least distinctive.

Ordered by how near each one sits to the American Shorthair on the energy axis, then by the notes they have in common. Every cat breed reads this table from its own position, so no two of the twenty are ordered alike.

The birth years a American Shorthair sits easiest with

This half of the reading is the species rather than the breed — every cat meets a given birth year the same way. These are the communities that sit easiest with one:

• Lion Spirit Guardian—1950,1962,1974,1986and later
• Cat Spirit Guardian—1951,1963,1975,1987and later
• Snake Spirit Guardian—1953,1965,1977,1989and later
• Horse Spirit Guardian—1954,1966,1978,1990and later

A birth year outside that list is not a warning — it is the half of the reading this page cannot settle on its own. Seat the pair on the board and it reads the rest. What the cat is like as a companion applies to the American Shorthair as much as to the other nineteen.

A pairing that involves an animal returns a word rather than a percentage. The board's deepest layer reads two inner selves against each other and an animal cannot hold one, so the result is described rather than scored — what is read here is the keeper's birth year against the species, and the breed decides everything about living with it day to day. An animal does get a chart of its own once its birth hour is known, one rung further up.

Frequently asked

What is a American Shorthair like to live with?

The all-rounder — an American Shorthair is famously good with kids, dogs and busy households, keeping a hunter's edge behind an easygoing face. On the energy axis this catalogue uses, the American Shorthair reads as balanced — 7th of the twenty cat breeds here when they are lined up stillest to liveliest.

Who is a American Shorthair a good match for?

The all-rounder for busy family homes — good with children, tolerant of a household dog, undemanding without being aloof. It asks less than most on this list and gives back reliably. The only people it disappoints are the ones wanting something more dramatic.

How do you bond with a American Shorthair?

Let it choose the moment — an American Shorthair gives affection reliably, on a fair schedule. That sits on top of how the species works generally: Trust is earned in stillness: slow blinks, shared silence, respect for territory. The cat closes the distance — your job is to hold the door open. The thing that most reliably undoes it — Grabbing the affection you were about to be given sets the clock back weeks — forced holds teach a cat to keep an exit in view.

Which cat breeds are most like a American Shorthair?

Norwegian Forest, Domestic Short Hair, Maine Coon — nearest first, measured on energy band and shared traits. At the other end of the same twenty sits the Siamese, two bands apart. Every one of the nineteen is ranked against the American Shorthair further up this page.