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A popular breed with a short thick coat in a wide variety of colours and pattern combinations.
Health and welfare issues
European Shorthairs are generally a robust breed without too many problems. Because they have been bred with Persians in the past there is small chance of a being affected by polycystic kidney disease. This disease causes kidney problems because of the cysts or fluid filled holes which develop progressively. There is a gene test available so it is definitely worth asking the breeders about the status of their cats – good breeders should know about it.
Important
We have limited the information about inherited disorders to those conditions that are known and proven to exist within a breed. For many breeders and many conditions, insufficient information may be available at this time to know whether any particular breed is necessarily free of any particular condition.
In general, pedigree breeds use a much smaller gene pool for breeding than domestic cats and therefore have a higher risk of developing inherited disorders. In addition, a number of ‘newer’ pedigree breeds are derived from matings between one or more ‘older’ breeds, and in these situations perpetuation of inherited problems that were seen in older breeds is likely within the newer breeds.
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