Cat Breeds · 30 full guides

Cat Breed Guides

WARN publishes full guides to 30 cat breeds, each with coat type, lifespan, temperament, grooming demands and the health problems the breed is prone to. Browse by popularity, coat length, or the household the cat is going to live in.

Browse by what you need

Each list says how it was compiled. Where a list is our editorial selection rather than a filter over recorded data, it says that too.

Most Popular Cat Breeds The most popular cat breeds ranked, with coat, temperament, lifespan, common health problems and what each breed actually needs from an owner. 30 breeds →
Long-Haired Cat Breeds Long-haired and semi-long-haired cat breeds compared on coat type, grooming demands, temperament, lifespan and inherited health problems. 13 breeds →
Short-Haired Cat Breeds Short-haired cat breeds compared on coat, temperament, activity level, lifespan and health — including what short-haired does and does not mean for allergies. 20 breeds →
Best Cat Breeds for Families Family cat breeds compared on tolerance, sociability, grooming and health — plus an honest note on why an adult rescue cat is often the better choice. 10 breeds →
Best Cat Breeds for First-Time Owners The most forgiving cat breeds for first-time owners, compared on temperament, grooming, independence and health — and why a rescue adult often beats a kitten. 9 breeds →

All 30 breeds, A–Z

Every breed has a full guide covering history, temperament, grooming and care needs, lifespan and the health problems the breed is prone to.

Cat Breeds: frequently asked questions

How many cat breeds are there?

Between roughly 45 and 75 depending on the registry, which is far fewer than dog breeds. Registries disagree on which varieties count as separate breeds. WARN publishes full guides to the 30 most searched.

What is the most popular cat breed?

The Maine Coon and Ragdoll lead most international registries, with the Persian, British Shorthair and Siamese close behind. But the most common cat in the world by a large margin is the unpedigreed domestic shorthair, which no registry ranks.

Which cat breed should I get?

Start from how much time and quiet your household has. Grooming is the biggest hidden commitment for long-haired breeds, and activity level is the biggest mismatch risk — an oriental breed in a quiet home is unhappy, and a placid breed in a chaotic one is stressed.

Are some cat breeds unhealthy by design?

Yes. Flat-faced breeds such as the Persian and Exotic Shorthair can have lifelong breathing and tear-duct problems caused by their skull shape. The folded ear that defines the Scottish Fold comes from a cartilage defect that also affects the joints and causes painful degenerative disease. These are consequences of breeding for appearance, not incidental illnesses.

Is it better to adopt a cat or buy a pedigree?

Adopting is usually easier and cheaper. A rescue adult comes with a known temperament, is generally neutered and litter-trained, and has been assessed around children and other animals. Pedigree kittens cost considerably more and their adult character is much less predictable.

Before you go

The cats in the meat trade are mostly somebody's pet

An estimated ten million dogs and cats are killed for human consumption across South-East Asia every year, around a million of them cats in Vietnam alone. They are not, for the most part, strays. Investigations consistently find that a large share are stolen pets — taken from yards and doorsteps by collectors and moved across borders in conditions that spread rabies and other disease.

WARN funds partner-led rescue, safe-house capacity and legal advocacy to end that trade in Indonesia and Malaysia. Reform is already coming from inside the region: several major cities have introduced bans or formal commitments to end it.

Help end the cat meat trade → What the trade actually looks like