Domestic shorthaired cat

A Domestic shorthair (DSH) is the proper name for a common-or-garden moggy. Any shorthaired cat that does not have a pedigree or belong to a recognised cat breed is referred to as a domestic shorthair.

Domestic shorthair are characterised by a wide range of colouring and typically 'revert to type' after a few generations, this means they express their coats as a tabby. This can be any colour or combination of colours. DSH also exhibit a wide range of physical characteristics and as a result domestic shorthairs in different countries tend to look different in body shape and size, as they are working from differing gene pools. However they are all recognizable as cats, and any male (tom) cat could successfully breed with any other female (queen), meaning they are the same species.