Types of Cats: A Complete Guide to Breeds, Coats, and Categories

 

Three different types of cats — a Maine Coon, a mixed-breed tabby, and a Siamese — sitting together on a windowsill.

Ask ten cat owners what "type" of cat they have, and you'll get ten different kinds of answers. One says Maine Coon. Another says tabby. A third just says "the gray fluffy one from the shelter." All three are describing a type of cat — they're just using different systems to do it.

That's the part most breed lists skip over. Cats aren't sorted by breed alone. They're also sorted by coat, size, ancestry, and even legal status in a few U.S. states. Understanding how these categories overlap makes it much easier to figure out what you're actually looking at — or looking for — the next time you're choosing a cat.

What "Type of Cat" Actually Means

Most people use "type of cat" as shorthand for breed, but cats can really be classified in at least five overlapping ways: breed status, coat, size and body type, ancestry, and personality. A single cat usually fits into several of these at once. A Maine Coon, for instance, is a large, longhaired, naturally developed breed with a famously easygoing personality — four categories in one animal.

Classification What It Describes Example
Breed status Whether the cat has a documented pedigree Purebred Persian vs. mixed-breed shorthair
Coat Fur length, texture, or absence of fur Longhair, shorthair, hairless
Size and body type Overall build and proportions Cobby (Persian) vs. oriental (Siamese)
Ancestry How the breed came to exist Natural (Maine Coon) vs. hybrid (Bengal)
Personality General temperament tendencies Lap cat, independent, high-energy

The sections below walk through each of these categories, along with current U.S. breed data.

Purebred vs. Mixed-Breed: Most Cats Aren't a "Breed" at All

Here's what most breed roundups leave out: the majority of American house cats aren't a specific breed. National pet-ownership surveys put the share of U.S. cats that are mixed breed anywhere from roughly two-thirds to more than four-fifths, depending on the survey year, with the remainder being pedigreed cats registered with an official cat association. Non-pedigreed cats are usually just described by coat length — domestic shorthair, domestic medium hair, or domestic longhair — rather than by ancestry.

That's different from a breed like the American Shorthair or British Shorthair, which are standardized, pedigreed breeds with their own registered bloodlines and breed standards. A shelter cat labeled "domestic shorthair" and a breeder's "American Shorthair" can look almost identical, but they belong in entirely different categories.

Cat registries formalize the purebred side of the picture. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), the largest U.S. registry, recognizes 45 pedigreed breeds. The International Cat Association (TICA) recognizes more than 70, including newer and experimental varieties still being standardized.

Types of Cats by Coat

Coat is the most visible way people sort cats, and it really answers two separate questions: how long is the fur, and what pattern does it form?

Length and texture

  • Shorthair – dense, close-lying fur; the most common length by far.
  • Longhair – flowing fur that typically needs daily brushing to prevent matting.
  • Medium-hair – a plush coat that falls between the two.
  • Hairless – breeds like the Sphynx have little to no fur. Because they lack a coat to absorb body oils, they typically need more frequent bathing than furred cats.

Pattern and color Regardless of breed, most cats display one of a handful of coat patterns: tabby (striped or swirled, often with an "M" marking on the forehead), tuxedo (black and white), calico (tri-color patches), tortoiseshell, solid, and pointed (a darker face, ears, paws, and tail, as seen in Siamese cats). These patterns are genetic traits, not breeds — a mixed-breed domestic shorthair and a purebred cat can share the exact same pattern.

Side-by-side comparison of a shorthair, longhair, and hairless cat illustrating different coat types.

Types of Cats by Size and Body Type

Breeds vary widely in size and build. On the large end, Maine Coons and Ragdolls commonly reach 15 to 20 pounds. On the small end, breeds like the Singapura and Munchkin usually stay well under 10 pounds. Body type follows a similar range: "cobby" breeds (Persian, Exotic) are compact and round, while "oriental" or "foreign" breeds (Siamese, Oriental Shorthair) are long, slender, and angular. Breeds like the American Shorthair fall in a "semi-foreign" middle ground.

Natural, Man-Made, and Hybrid Breeds

Ancestry offers another useful lens. Natural breeds developed largely on their own in a specific region over a long period, and were later standardized by breed clubs rather than deliberately engineered — the Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cat, and Siberian are classic examples. Man-made breeds were purposefully created by breeders, often by crossing existing domestic breeds for a specific look, such as the short-coated Exotic (a Persian variant) or the curly-coated Selkirk Rex.

Hybrid breeds go a step further, crossing a domestic cat with a wild species. Bengals trace back to crosses with the Asian leopard cat, and Savannahs trace back to crosses with the African serval. Earlier generations, usually labeled F1 through F3 or F4, carry more wild ancestry and behavior, and a number of U.S. states and cities regulate or restrict them: some ban early generations outright, some require a permit, and a handful restrict the breeds entirely. Later-generation hybrids (roughly F4/F5 and beyond) are legal in most places and behave much more like typical house cats. Anyone considering a Bengal or Savannah should check state and local law first — rules vary significantly and change over time.

A Bengal cat, an example of a hybrid cat breed descended from crosses with the Asian leopard cat.

The Most Popular Pedigreed Cat Breeds Right Now

A Maine Coon cat, the Cat Fanciers' Association's top-ranked pedigreed breed for 2025.

Each year, the CFA ranks pedigreed breeds by U.S. registration numbers. Its 2025 rankings, based on 2024 registrations, put the Maine Coon in the top spot for the first time in several years, edging past the longtime leader, the Ragdoll:

  1. Maine Coon
  2. Ragdoll
  3. Persian
  4. Exotic
  5. Devon Rex
  6. Abyssinian
  7. British Shorthair
  8. Siberian
  9. Sphynx
  10. Russian Blue

These rankings only reflect registered, pedigreed cats — a small slice of the overall pet cat population — but they're a solid snapshot of which standardized breeds U.S. cat fanciers currently favor.

FAQ: Types of Cats

How many types of cats are there? It depends on the system you use. The CFA recognizes 45 pedigreed breeds, and TICA recognizes more than 70. Factor in coat types, patterns, sizes, and mixed-breed cats, and the number of practical "types" is much higher — most individual cats fall into several categories at once.

What's the most common type of cat in the U.S.? The domestic shorthair: a mixed-breed cat with short fur and no specific pedigree. It isn't an official breed, but it's the type most American households actually have.

Is a domestic shorthair the same as an American Shorthair? No. "Domestic shorthair" describes any mixed-ancestry cat with short fur, while the American Shorthair is a specific pedigreed breed with a documented bloodline and breed standard.

Are hairless cats hypoallergenic? No cat breed is completely hypoallergenic. Cat allergies are triggered mainly by a protein in saliva and skin secretions, not fur itself, so low-shedding or hairless breeds may cause milder reactions in some people but won't eliminate allergy symptoms entirely.

Can I legally own a Bengal or Savannah cat? It depends on your state and sometimes your city. Early-generation hybrids face the most restrictions; later-generation cats, typically F4 or beyond, are legal in most places. Check your state's wildlife or agriculture agency before buying one.

What type of cat is best for a first-time owner? There's no single best type, but a mixed-breed domestic shorthair or a moderate-energy, established breed is often easier to manage than a high-energy hybrid or a longhaired breed that needs daily grooming.

Conclusion

"Type of cat" isn't really one category — it's five overlapping ones: breed status, coat, size, ancestry, and personality. Most American cats are mixed-breed domestic shorthairs rather than a specific pedigree, and even among purebred cats, details like coat length and hybrid ancestry matter as much as the name on the registration paper. Before choosing a cat, or a particular breed, figure out which of these categories actually matters most for your household — grooming time, size, temperament, or any state restrictions on hybrid breeds — and let that guide your search.

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