Pictured: Best of Breed
GC, BW, NW OJUS1 ASTON OF TEAKATUT, Cream Point Colorpoint Shorthair Male
Photo: © Chanan  
Colorpoint Shorthairs are an affectionate breed, devoted and loyal to their people. Sensitive to their owner's moods, Colorpoints are more than happy to sit at your side or on your lap and purr words of encouragement on a bad day. Colorpoints, like the Siamese, are talkative and want to discuss their day with anyone who will listen. If you don't seem to want to pay attention to them, they will insist, following you around the house chattering away in their somewhat raspy voice. Colorpoints are very intelligent and easily learn to play games such as fetch. An item as simple as a wad of paper or as sophisticated as a stuffed mouse will become the object of their full attention as they demand that you throw it for them to bring back to you.

Pictured: Second Best of Breed GC, RW KATSMITH WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GOGO, Chocolate Lynx Point Colorpoint Shorthair Male Photo: © Larry Johnson     The Colorpoint Shorthair, like many of CFA's breeds, is a man-made breed. In the 1940s-1950s, a few adventurous breeders decided that the beautiful Siamese would look nice in red rather than just the traditional seal and blue points that were most often seen. A seal point Siamese was bred to a red tabby American Shorthair and a breed was born! CFA advanced the Colorpoints to championship status in 1964 with the red and cream points, and advanced the lynx points and tortie points in 1969. The Colorpoint Shorthair breed currently includes 16 colors, with body and head type identical to the Siamese.     Pictured: Third Best of Breed GC, RW HOTZCATS CAJUN GYPSY, Seal-Tortie Point Colorpoint Shorthair Female Photo: © Larry Johnson     Today's Colorpoints are elegant and refined, with long, hard bodies, fine boning, and wedge-shaped heads with large, flaring ears. Their almond-shaped eyes are a deep vivid blue, slanted towards the nose, in harmony with the shape of the wedge head and the placement of the ears. A blindfolded person holding both a good Siamese and a good Colorpoint should not be able to tell the difference.   Like their Siamese cousins, Colorpoint Shorthairs require little grooming. An occasional simple bath will usually do – just wet their fur and they will groom themselves dry. Bathe with gentle shampoo only when your cat is dirty and be sure to rinse thoroughly, allow the coat to air dry. Gentle brushing with a rubber brush will remove loose hairs, and the coat can be ‘finished’ by smoothing with a chamois cloth. Breeders recommend a balanced diet high in protein, since part of the natural beauty of the Colorpoint is its muscular tubular body. Heed the instructions of your cat's breeder when you acquire your Colorpoint Shorthair, and you will be blessed with a long-lived joyous companion.   Since the Colorpoint is a close relative of the Siamese, there are sometimes Siamese-color kittens in the litters. These are called AOVs and they cannot compete for titles and points in CFA, although they can be registered and bred. With respect to being someone’s beloved pet, a Colorpoint Shorthair AOV is just as wonderful and loving as a showable cat and you will not notice the difference.   Pricing on Colorpoint Shorthairs usually depends on type, applicable markings and bloodlines distinguished by Grand Champion (GC), National Regional winning parentage (NW or RW) or of Distinguished Merit parentage (DM). The DM title is achieved by the dam (mother) having produced five CFA grand champion/premier (alter) or DM offspring, or sire (father) having produced fifteen CFA grand champion/premier or DM offspring. Usually breeders make kittens available between twelve and sixteen weeks of age. After twelve weeks, kittens have had their basic inoculations and developed the physical and social stability needed for a new environment, showing, or being transported by air. Keeping such a rare treasure indoors, neutering or spaying and providing acceptable surfaces (e.g. scratching posts) for the natural behavior of scratching (CFA disapproves of declawing or tendonectomy surgery) are essential elements for maintaining a healthy, long and joyful life.     There are CFA clubs devoted to the promotion, protection and preservation of the Colorpoint Shorthair breed. For more information, please send inquiries to CFA at cfa@cfa.org. Text: Debbie Kusy and Mary Kolencik Last Updated: Tuesday, August 16, 2011     Related Links: Colorpoint Shorthair Breed Standard Article: The Colorpoint Shorthair (From Cat Fanciers Almanac, 1992)   Return to Breeds Index