What Are the Five Most Popular Cat Breeds?

Dogs may be a man’s best friend, but humans are a cat’s best friend. If you doubt that, just ask a cat. Or, in the words of Ellen Perry Berkeley, author and feral cat expert, “As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat.”

Let's find out which are the five most popular cat breeds and how we can become their best friends.

Persian cats top the list of the most popular cat breeds, and experts consider them one of the oldest documented cat breeds dating to the 1600’s.

Their roots are in ancient Persia where their ownership was reserved for the religious and the royals. The breed was introduced into the United States in the 1800’s and quickly became popular.

Persians are extremely high maintenance cats in terms of grooming, due to their thick dense coats, but they more than make up for that inconvenience with their loving personalities and gentle temperaments.

They are good family pets, excellent lap cats, and are nicknamed “lounge lizards,” by cat lovers. Unlike most cats, that are accomplished jumpers, Persians rarely jump because of their heavy boned legs.

Regulation coat colors for the breed are:

• Solid
• Silver
• Golden
• Chinchilla
• Tabby
• Particolor
• Bicolor
• Himalayan

The average adult Persian weighs about nine to twelve pounds.

Maine Coon cats are considered by most to be the Native American longhaired cat.

Bred to standards for a breed needing to withstand harsh climates, they are well suited to thrive in their native state of Maine and are the Maine state cat.

Adult cats range from nine to 18 pounds; males are larger than females, and the breed is often nicknamed “gentle giants.”

They are average maintenance pets in terms of grooming; good companions but not highly affectionate. The breed is known for its distinctive voice and playing catch or retrieving games with owners.

Highly intelligent, good mousers, and easy-going in temperament, the Maine Coon cat is a highly-sought out pet.

While they are a hardy breed, before you get one it is a good idea to research the common health problems of Maine Coon cats so you can make a better decision.

The breed was officially registered and recognized in 1980. Coat colors and patterns are: basic colors, tortoiseshell/tabby pattern effects, smoke or shades, ticked tabbies, and so forth.

Exotics look extremely familiar to most people, and they should. Imagine a Persian with short-hair and you have the exotic cat.

Bred to Persian standards for eye, nose, chin, and so forth, but outcrossed to produce a dense “teddy bear” coat, rounded body, and adorable pushed-in face.

These lovable lap cats are extremely popular and make good family pets.

Nicknamed the “lazy man’s Persian,” exotic cats are low maintenance in terms of grooming, and good-natured and affectionate with the males being the most affectionate.

The breed was recognized by the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) in 1967. All coat colors are acceptable and cover a wide range of hues from cameo tabbies to tortoiseshells to pure white and so forth. Adults weigh between six to 14 pounds, with females being smaller.

Persians may be the world’s oldest and the most popular cat breed, but Abyssinians are known as the smartest breed.

In fact, they are often referred to as the “border collie of the cat world,” according to Cats 101.

While you probably would not train an Abyssinian to herd sheep, you might want to train your pet for CFA feline agility sports.

The exact breed origin is unknown, but the modern day Abyssinian bears an uncanny resemblance to drawings discovered in ancient Egypt of cats. The breed arrived in the United States in the 1900’s.

This affable breed is nicknamed the “clown of the animal kingdom,” and they are excellent family cats, and extremely low maintenance in terms of grooming. Adult cats weigh from nine to sixteen pounds, and accepted coat colors are: tabby ticked, red, fawn, blue, and ruddy.

While not the smartest or the oldest, Siamese do have a breed trait that sets them apart from the others. Siamese are known as the most vocal of cat breeds, quick to voice both happiness and displeasure.

The breed originated in Thailand, and like its relative the Persian, ownership of the Siamese was reserved for monks and the royal families.

Siamese are good pets and require very little in the way of grooming. They are instantly recognizable due to the distinct “points” or darker fur on the the extremities of the body. Siamese cat coat colors are:

• Lynx point
• Seal point
• Blue point
• Chocolate point
• Lilac point
• Red point
• Tortoiseshell point

Adults average between five and ten pounds when full-grown.

Most people are fascinated by the doings of the rich and famous, so let’s take a quick peek at some famous people who currently own or have owned one of the five most popular cat breeds.

Celebrity Persian Owners

• Raymond Chandler (author) – Taki
• Florence Nightingale (nursing pioneer) – Bismarck, Disraeli, and Gladstone
• Thomas Hardy (author) – Cobby
• Queen Victoria – White Heather
• Beverley Coney Heirich (author) – Perpetua
• Kim Bookout (“Starting Over,” television series) – Snowy

Celebrity Maine Coon Owners

• Gene Shalit (movie/book critic) – Fellini

Celebrity Abyssinian Owners

• Robert Bigelow (real estate) – Taxes, Mortgage, and Writeoff

Celebrity Siamese Owners

• Vivien Leigh (actress) – New Boy
• James Dean (actor) – Marcus
• Former President Jimmy Carter – Misty Malarky Ying Yang
• Beverley Nichols (author/composer) – Numbers One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Seven, and Eight (aka Oscar)
• Frank Bruno (boxer) - Samson
• Former President Rutherford B. Hayes – Siam (who was a celebrity in his own right – the first Siamese in the United States.)
• Snoop Dogg (musician) – Miles Davis and Frank Sinatra
• Former President Gerald Ford - Shan

Animal Planet, Cats 101, “Popular Cat Breeds,” accessed 07/10/2010

Fanciers.com, “Maine Coon Cat Profile,” accessed 07/10/2010

Cat Fanciers’ Association, www.cfainc.org

Abyssinian Cat Association, “A Brief History of the Abyssinian Cat,” Caroline Macauly, accessed 07/13/2010

Citizen’s Lunchbox, “Index of Famous People’s Cats,” accessed 07/13/10

Cat Writers, Ellen Perry Berkeley profile, accessed 07/13/2010