Domestic cats come in different sizes, shapes, colours, and coats. House cats are also called alley cats, moggies, and house cats. In cat shows, they are called "Household Pets."
Most new cat breeds are made by expert breeding programmes or by chance. Sometimes the foundation is made up of unusual kittens from domestic litters.
Bobtail started out as a brown tabby kitten in the 1960s. There is a rumour that it came from a domestic cat-bobcat mix on a Southwest U.S. reservation.
Due to a genetic mistake, the first American curl kittens were born in Lakewood, California in 1981 to a stray cat with unusual ears.
The Cornish Rex is the oldest Rex cat breed. It was created in 1950 when a barn cat litter had a mutation.
There were cats with short legs before the Munchkin breed was officially recognised in Louisiana in 1983.
In 1994, the International Cat Association and the American Cat Fanciers Association both agreed that Pixiebob was a breed.