Highlander Lynx/Cat 101 : Breed & Personality

  • 3 years ago
With their distinctive good looks and charming personalities, this relatively rare breed is attracting the attention of cat lovers from around the world.

The Highlander Cat.

Highlanders are most known for their curled ears and naturally short tails, but their bright personalities also charm almost anyone. These cats are friendly, energetic, and would like to be involved in every household activity you could think of.

Originally called the Highland Lynx, the Highlander breed was created in 1993, by breeder Joe Childers.

Joe had taken the Desert Lynx and bred it to the Jungle Curl and voila, We now have the Highland Lynx. The description of the Highland Lynx was curled ears, a natural short tail, and some were polydactyl. The goal to the breeding was to have that wild look with a domestic, fun-loving personality.”

Although still known as Highland Lynx in the Rare and Exotic FelineRegistry, the name changed in The International Cat Association, so that “lynx” wouldn’t imply wild blood.

In late 2004, Highlander became the name to identify these cats as a breed of their own. The Highlander breeders have worked diligently to educate the public, in order to bring about an awareness of how truly unique these cats are. But mostly to earn respectability for this breed. When the breed of beautiful cats was brought to The internationcal cat association, they were known as Highland Lynx, but we could not use the word “lynx”, due to “lynx” meaning wild cat, or description in markings. So, the name Highlander was accepted at that time for the name of our new breed.”

(TICA) accepted the Highlander as a Preliminary New Breed in 2008.

The naturally short tail ranges in length from 1 inch to hock length. It is thick and articulated, and sometimes has kinks and curls in it. It also has a fat pad at the end. The Highlander’s tail is an incredibly expressive element of the breed and will wag like a dog from sheer joy, and signal its happiness and playfulness.

The top third of their distinctive ears is loosely curled. Those ears, are set as much on the top of the head as on the side, and stands tall and open with good width at the base.

Currently, Highlanders are available in multiple colors and patterns, including solids, tabbies, minks, torties, torbies, points and smokes. Some will have a litter of five with five different colors and patterns. They cannot, however, have white spotting, white feet or medallions.

Whatever an individual Highlander looks like, the ultimate result is the same, a wild-looking exterior with a friendly and playful interior. Breeders have worked hard to achieve these perfect balance.

They are very easy to train to play fetch, walk on leashes and even sit. They have a doglike personality. Most Highlanders are very social, they love to be the house clown, some even love water. They are also a very kid-friendly breed. If you can’t find your Highlander, the first place to look is with the children. As for other pets like dogs, rept

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