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Snowshoe cat
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Snowshoe cat
The Snowshoe is a rare breed of domestic cat originating in the United States of America in the 1960s. Its short-haired coat has a bicolour colourpoint pattern. The breed takes its name from the characteristic white feet forming the white shoe pattern. It is a pointed cat with blue eyes.
Snowshoes were first produced when a Siamese breeder's cat gave birth to three kittens with white feet. The breeder, Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty, then began a breeding programme to produce what were originally called "Silver Laces", crossing the strangely marked Siamese cats with bicolour American Shorthair cats and other breeds. Despite having existed for 45 years, Snowshoes are rare due to the difficulty of reproducing the correct coat markings.
In the 1960s, a cat owned by Siamese cat breeder Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty produced a litter of Siamese kittens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. Three of the kittens had unique markings, consisting of white points and feet. Intrigued by their looks, she began working to breed cats like them, using black ('seal') point Siamese with bicolour American Shorthairs. The offspring of those cats lacked the Siamese points, but by breeding the offspring to Siamese cats, the desired look was accomplished. Hinds-Daugherty named the breed "Snowshoe" because of their white feet. Hinds-Daugherty promoted the Snowshoe at local cats shows, though they were not recognised at the time. Hinds-Daughtery eventually abandoned the Snowshoe breeding programme, and it was taken up by Vikki Olander.
Olander wrote the first breed standard for the Snowshoe, and succeeded in obtaining the Cat Fanciers Federation (CFF) and the American Cat Association's (ACA) "experimental breed" status for the Snowshoe in 1974. However, by 1977, Olander was the last breeder of the Snowshoe in the United States. After struggling to keep the breed alive, Olander was contacted by Jim Hoffman and Georgia Kuhnell, who were interested in the breed. Other breeders joined Olander, Hoffman, and Kuhnell, and they obtained the champion status from the CFF in 1983. In 1989, Olander left the programme, as her fiancé was allergic to cats. However, by then the Snowshoe had a strong following, and the breed attained champion status with the American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) in 1990 and was recognised by The International Cat Association (TICA) in 1993. Snowshoes were also fully recognised by the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) in 2004. Currently, breeders work to attain acceptance with the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), but struggle with the lack of cats and breeders needed for the association's requirements.
Snowshoes are a relatively rare breed worldwide. In the 2024 statistics of FIFe, one of the major global cat registries, the breed ranked at position 44 out of 54 breeds in popularity, comprising 0,04% of their total registered kittens that year, which translates to 35 cats.
The Snowshoe is a medium-sized cat of foreign type, combining the heftiness of its shorthair ancestors with the length of its oriental ancestors. It has a long, firm body with medium bone and musculature, well-knit and powerful without bulk. Overall balance is essential, with no extremes in size or type. Muscular yet agile, it presents the impression of an elegant, athletic cat, with the appearance of a runner rather than a weightlifter and no feature exaggerated.
The head forms a broad modified wedge with slightly rounded contours. It is of medium length and medium size in proportion to the body. The top of the head is slightly rounded, with a slightly flat forehead. Cheekbones are set high with rounded contours. The nose is straight and of medium length in proportion to the rest of the head, with a slight slope to the forehead creating two distinct planes in profile. The muzzle is of good length, neither extremely broad nor pointed nor square. The muzzle break is slight, forming a gentle contour. The chin is firm. Ears are broad at the base with slightly rounded tips. They are medium to medium-large in size, in proportion to the body.
Eyes are blue, bright, sparkling and expressive. They are walnut-shaped, with greater length than width, of medium size and slanted towards the base of the ears. The eyes are set one eye-width apart and do not protrude. The outer edge of the eye aperture is level with the base of the ears.
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Snowshoe cat AI simulator
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Snowshoe cat
The Snowshoe is a rare breed of domestic cat originating in the United States of America in the 1960s. Its short-haired coat has a bicolour colourpoint pattern. The breed takes its name from the characteristic white feet forming the white shoe pattern. It is a pointed cat with blue eyes.
Snowshoes were first produced when a Siamese breeder's cat gave birth to three kittens with white feet. The breeder, Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty, then began a breeding programme to produce what were originally called "Silver Laces", crossing the strangely marked Siamese cats with bicolour American Shorthair cats and other breeds. Despite having existed for 45 years, Snowshoes are rare due to the difficulty of reproducing the correct coat markings.
In the 1960s, a cat owned by Siamese cat breeder Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty produced a litter of Siamese kittens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. Three of the kittens had unique markings, consisting of white points and feet. Intrigued by their looks, she began working to breed cats like them, using black ('seal') point Siamese with bicolour American Shorthairs. The offspring of those cats lacked the Siamese points, but by breeding the offspring to Siamese cats, the desired look was accomplished. Hinds-Daugherty named the breed "Snowshoe" because of their white feet. Hinds-Daugherty promoted the Snowshoe at local cats shows, though they were not recognised at the time. Hinds-Daughtery eventually abandoned the Snowshoe breeding programme, and it was taken up by Vikki Olander.
Olander wrote the first breed standard for the Snowshoe, and succeeded in obtaining the Cat Fanciers Federation (CFF) and the American Cat Association's (ACA) "experimental breed" status for the Snowshoe in 1974. However, by 1977, Olander was the last breeder of the Snowshoe in the United States. After struggling to keep the breed alive, Olander was contacted by Jim Hoffman and Georgia Kuhnell, who were interested in the breed. Other breeders joined Olander, Hoffman, and Kuhnell, and they obtained the champion status from the CFF in 1983. In 1989, Olander left the programme, as her fiancé was allergic to cats. However, by then the Snowshoe had a strong following, and the breed attained champion status with the American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) in 1990 and was recognised by The International Cat Association (TICA) in 1993. Snowshoes were also fully recognised by the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) in 2004. Currently, breeders work to attain acceptance with the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), but struggle with the lack of cats and breeders needed for the association's requirements.
Snowshoes are a relatively rare breed worldwide. In the 2024 statistics of FIFe, one of the major global cat registries, the breed ranked at position 44 out of 54 breeds in popularity, comprising 0,04% of their total registered kittens that year, which translates to 35 cats.
The Snowshoe is a medium-sized cat of foreign type, combining the heftiness of its shorthair ancestors with the length of its oriental ancestors. It has a long, firm body with medium bone and musculature, well-knit and powerful without bulk. Overall balance is essential, with no extremes in size or type. Muscular yet agile, it presents the impression of an elegant, athletic cat, with the appearance of a runner rather than a weightlifter and no feature exaggerated.
The head forms a broad modified wedge with slightly rounded contours. It is of medium length and medium size in proportion to the body. The top of the head is slightly rounded, with a slightly flat forehead. Cheekbones are set high with rounded contours. The nose is straight and of medium length in proportion to the rest of the head, with a slight slope to the forehead creating two distinct planes in profile. The muzzle is of good length, neither extremely broad nor pointed nor square. The muzzle break is slight, forming a gentle contour. The chin is firm. Ears are broad at the base with slightly rounded tips. They are medium to medium-large in size, in proportion to the body.
Eyes are blue, bright, sparkling and expressive. They are walnut-shaped, with greater length than width, of medium size and slanted towards the base of the ears. The eyes are set one eye-width apart and do not protrude. The outer edge of the eye aperture is level with the base of the ears.
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