Did you know cats have been associated with humans for close to 10,000 years? Cat owners know both how sweet and tough they can be, but at the same time cats have evolved and have done so in a way that can be pretty strange at times. Over the years, genetics and selective breeding have created some distinct and unique cats. In some cat breeds, people have a hard time even believing they are even real. So of course we wanted to do a piece on the most bizarre cat breeds. Here are 15 cat breeds you’ll find to be quite unusual. We’ve also provided links to more info about every cat which you can find on this website.
Sphynx
The Sphynx is probably the best known bizarre cat there is. The hairless factor alone makes this breed tops on this list. But did you know that a Sphynx is quite intelligent and one of the top breeds to own? That’s right. You’d be lucky to own a Sphynx and be in great company as well!
Ukrainian Levkoy
The Ukrainian Levkoy is similar to the Sphynx in some ways (the most obvious being its lack of fur), but it’s also very different. This cat has folded over ears. However, that skinless factor still gives me the willies. But many cat owners are into this and maybe I’ll come around!
Cornish Rex
What makes the Cornish Rex stand out is that it lacks two layers of hair that other cats have. Instead, it’s only protected by a silky down layer. Another characteristic that makes this cat unique is that its hair is actually much softer than most cats. So you can pet them all day long!
Scottish Fold
What makes the Scottish fold so distinct is that they have the appearance of not having any ears at all. Which we all know isn’t true. They’re just folded back. The truth is that the cartilage in the ears is creased hence making their appearance what it is. We think it’s cute!
If there’s a cat breed that looks kind of like a teddy bear then it’s definitely the Exotic Shorthair. They have round, punchy, even chubby little faces that are just oh so adorable. But those faces don’t come on most breeds hence why they’re on this list.
Munchkin
Muchkins are known for their really tiny legs. It’s somewhat similar to the Dachsund dog. Plus they’re called Munchkins! How cute is that? Just watching these cute little critters walk is enough reason to go out and pick one up.
Peterbald
The Peterbald is another hairless breed of cat. However the Peterbalds do have care in some cases so they’re not like the Sphynx. These cats are known for their long, lean bodies, large pointed ears, and big, almond-shaped eyes.
Savannah Cat
The Savannah cat is a hybrid of a domestic cat and an African wild cat known as the Serval. Some people have questioned the validity of this breed as well as costly price of owning one. However, they look pretty amazing don’t they?
LaPerm
The LaPerm gets its name because of it’s coat of hair.. The fur of these cats is made up of short, tight curls, long, corkscrew ringlets, and even straight hair. It’s a whole lot going on and the fact is, no cat has a hair pattern like the LaPerm. You don’t see these in homes too often.
Elf Cat
If this isn’t a bizarre cat breed, we don’t know what is. The creation of American breeders Karen Nelson and Kristen Leedom, Elf cats are actually a new addition to cat breeding. These strange looking kitties are the result of a cross between the Sphynx and the American Curl.
Devon Rex
The strange thing about the Devon Rex is the fact that they have very little “guard hair.” This is the stiff, coarse, waterproof hairs present on most furred mammals. They have mostly “down hair”, or soft, fine undercoat fur. Plus when they look at you with those eyes, there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for them!
Japanese Bobtail
These cats are pretty popular in Japan. People say that they have “silver and gold” eyes even though that’s not 100% the case. However, this myth makes these cats pretty expensive. Do you know anyone in the U.S. with a Japanese Bobtail?
Khao Manee
Khao Manee are pure snow white, with the “silver and gold” eyes. This breed is unique in that many Indonesian cultures find the Khao Manee to be extremely lucky. Do any of you own a Khao Manee that’s brought you luck?
Teacup Persians
Teacup Persians are a breed that has become quite popular recently. The reason for this is that space is becoming a new way of life in our culture. Less space is needed and a teacup Persian is perfect for apartments and tight areas where other larger domestic cats would have a tougher time living.
Minskin
Minskins are the result of a Devon Rex Munchkin being bred with a Sphynx cat. They appear simply to be incredibly small Sphynx cats, and require the same grooming.
Don’t care for munchkins. Cats were meant to have long legs. Then again, I’m not fond of pure breeds, period.
Yeah the munchkins are everything that’s wrong with breeding to “create” a new breed.
the savannah cat is another breed that should not exist. the african serval is a wild cat and not meant to be domesticated. go check out Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fl, you’ll learn a lot i did 🙂
Savannahs are illegal to own in several states for that reason.
I have a Japanese Bobtail that I actually “adopted” from a stranger I met online. She’s the kind with the almost non-existent tail that’s just too cute for words when it wags (where a normal cat would be moving its tail up & down or back & forth).
Teacup Persian I would absolutely love
I LOVE them all!
You know what kind of cat is awesome? A basic domestic long or short hair who hasn’t been selectively bred for specific traits and doesn’t suffer the medical consequences of inbreeding.
You’re absolutely right, FaeLynx. My two cats were breeding “accidents” and became cross-breeds. They are intelligent, quick-witted, and very clever at managing humans. Curiously, the same cross-breeding applies to humans and superior intelligence too. After World War II, there were new mixes in the gene pool as G.I.s sometimes married Europeans or Asian women they’d met while on deployment. Tests showed a significant jump in I.Q. in the next generation. A real cat lover doesn’t care about a cat because of its pedigree but because he or she loves cats.
Ironically, every breed on this list (except the Exotic, Elf, Savannah, Persian, and Minskin) came from natural mutations that survived long enough to survive to adulthood, and in the Munchkin’s case breed it’s genes back to the wild population all on its own. And the Savannah is extremely healthy due to hybrid vigor, being a cross of two different species instead of breeds.
LOL. So…. NOT every breed on this list.
My statement still stands. 5 of the breeds were man made, the other 10 were natural.
Siberian are beautiful, funny talkative(very funny) and loyal to a particular person.
Almost like a dog, without the walking and smell better…
They are a natural breed
Just like the domestics, not breeding problems.
And I’ve heard that they are usually free of the allergy protein, making them good pets for cat lovers who have allergies.
I think we will just keep our two regular Persians, they are both cute and lovable, but they do take a lot of grooming.
One of my cats is half Norwegian forest cat and half Siamese. Vikings used to take Norwegian forest cats with them when they sailed off to pillage and plunder. Somewhere along his ancestral line, my cat lost his aggressive raiding tendencies but still manages to keep humans in their place. He’s my morning alarm clock and my bedtime nagger, urging me to go to bed so he’ll have someone warm to curl up with. He’s very large and his favorite occupation is to take books off my bookshelves and stack them up. (Don’t ask me how. He only does it when I’m out of the room.) Living with a cat of any kind is an adventure for a human. It’s truly a walk on the wild side.
Norwegian forest cats and Siamese are fabulous: your blend of the two must be a terrific companion. Thanks for the laugh . . . “my cat lost his aggressive raiding tendencies”: hilarious! I have four cats; one of them is a huge sort-of-Birman rescue I’ve named Malcolm the Destroyer, who is my alarm clock. Anyway, this old Viking lady wants to thank you again for the laugh!
Tell me more about your Birman. Does he have an opposable “thumb”? I
knew a Birman once that did and each year he’d take all the ornaments
off the lower branches of a Christmas tree. Birmans are fascinating with their abilities to manipulate objects like a human.
Robin, my Norwegian forest /Siamese cat, is a kind of destroyer too, like your Malcolm. So far, he’s managed to destroy one floor lamp, one Seiko mantel clock, a beautiful vase I got for Mother’s Day, many tipped over food and beverage containers which means carpet cleaning, shredded sweaters and aerated t-shirts from claw marks, all the leather backs of my dining room chairs (the scratching post was only 5 ft away). This was before he was fully grown and still kittenish. He was clever enough only to do these things when I was out of the room and it was pure curiosity on his part. Oh, well, they can be replaced. Robin can’t.
As I write this, I’m looking at a new stack of books piled on the living room floor. These are all hardcover, really heavy books, compliments of Robin. I wonder if in a past life he was a librarian. If so, he must have done something really good to have the right karma to rise to the status of a cat in this life. He lives like a little prince: no mortgage to pay, no shopping for food or worries about taxes.
My other cat, Nicky, is 14 and has been with me since he was 8 weeks old when he showed up on my doorstep. He’s half American short hair and half Siamese. Only his tail looks Siamese, but when he meows, his heritage is clear, and he has all the Siamese traits: he’s very possessive, he talks a lot (even in his sleep), and he is very clear that if I leave the house it had better be a trip to the store to buy cat food and treats. None of this staying out for hours on end for my own pleasure. When I am away too long (in his opinion), Nicky is coldly aloof and I have to earn my way back into his affections with brushing and choice bits of food (bacon is his favorite). Luckily, I work at home these days or I’d be in big trouble all the time. When I worked in an office, Nicky would meet me at the door and make little huffing noises (a clear sign of his displeasure) while I fixed his food. When slavery ended in America, someone forgot to tell cats who still look on humans as their servants for life.
I just checked one of his front paws (he hates it when I touch his paws, so I couldn’t examine it thoroughly) and he does appear to have a small opposable thumb. He picks things up once in a while. He uses his paw to drink water; sticks it in the water dish and licks it off. Takes him forever to get hydrated with that method; I’m glad he also drinks straight from the dish with his mouth. I haven’t had a Christmas tree since I adopted him, since I know he would remove the decorations, bat them around, and leave shattered glass globes all over the place (and he would climb the tree for sure). Not for nothing did I name him Malcolm the Destroyer! Of all my cats, he is the smartest and the most affectionate: follows me everywhere I go in the house. I used to take him outside on a leashed harness; he was the only one of my cats who could handle that. He has a ton of energy for a ten-year-old. I built him a 9-foot ladder covered with sisal rope so he can boogie up and down it.
I must say, I’m kind of surprised to see the Japanese Bobtail on the list, but not the Manx. I have one…Toby has a little “nub” for a tail that he wags for us on occasion. 🙂 They are *extremely* smart and active-if it can be climbed on, knocked over, licked or chewed on, they’ll do it. They have really strong back legs, so much that my friends’ Manx’s name was “Bunny” before they got him! http://www.catster.com/cat-breeds/Manx
All five of my cats came from a shelter…we didn’t seek out the Manx or the Russian Blue (another intelligent breed), we just met them at an adoption fair and fell in love!
It’s so odd. Humans cringe when they think of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster and claim no holds barred when it comes to scientists doing genetic mutations. But let some idiotic every day person who has 2 cats that can breed do just that so that they can get a new “fancy” cat and most people don’t bat an eye! It’s ridiculous to breed anything so that it has “all the better parts.” People have bread Persians until their poor noses are so small they often have severe respiratory issues. They’ve taken the fur off of cats and to add insult to injury, kept breeding them until they are just a pile of skin folds. News Flash: Animals NEED their fur. They can’t pull a sweater out of the closest like you or I can. And then we have the rag dolls, with legs so short and torsos so long that many end up with severe spinal issues, causing pain and crippling. And the same goes for dogs. Dachshunds also bread with legs too short and torsos too long. Google a Dachshund from the early 1900s and see what they are supposed to look like. Same goes for the Bull Dog and Boxer. Bread to have such short snouts that they often have severe respiratory issue and so many folds that they get infections due to either not being cleaned correctly or over cleaned. Let animals breed as THEY see fit. And the bottom line is that there are MILLIONS of animals world-wide that are killed in shelters every year (and many are “pure breads”) because people have to buy designer pets. We have become a very sickening society!
I hear ya. I recently decided to put a basset hound into a book I’m writing, and when I researched the breed, I was astonished to learn that one has to constantly clean the folds in their skin to prevent the infections that can lead to death. Also, when bassets are puppies, the poor things often chew on and injure their own ears while eating because they fall into the food dish.
My four are all rescues…a black Persian mix has the Persian look but with more nose than the smashed purebreds, and she’s going on 17 and still runs and slides after treats. Two are total longhaired mutts (a red tabby and a classic calico), and the baby–an 18 lb. 10 year old–is a ringer for a white and cream ragdoll in looks, personality, and behaviors, but his mama was a diminutive black tortie. Mine don’t breed–but their parents sure did as they saw fit…and I like the results.
“teacup Persian is perfect for apartments and tight areas where other larger domestic cats would have a tougher time living.”
I lived in a studio with apartment with 3 cats. unless you are living in a closet, why does a cat need to be miniaturized?
If we inbred people for big ears or short legs, etc., well, it would be criminal for obvious reasons. So, why is it okay to compromise the genetics of these animals and breed into them comical attributes at the cost of their physical health? Seems cruel if you think about it. 🙁
I have 2 Japanese bobtail mixes. 100% from mom and unknown dad which is why they were free. Great cats, very personable and talky.
I have four rescued feral cats of questionable lineage. They all have very beautiful, interesting markings. The most unusual is marked like a calico, but the orange and black patches have tabby stripes within them. The orange patches have light and dark orange stripes and the black patches have grey and black stripes, then the rest of her is white. The oldest I’ve had for 25 years. She has three legs and is still going strong. She still hunts and climbs trees as well as she did when she was a kitten. The younger ones have taught my female pug to hunt rats and mice which is very handy when one lives in a forest as we do!
Save a cat, get one from the pound
Most of these look horrible. The fact that people don’t see that and are interested in these monstrosities just shows how creepy some people are.