Domestic Shorthair cats aren't like your typical cat breed, which you can pick out at a store. They vary in ancestry. If they look alike, it's a coincidence, not a genetic trait. Cats were domesticated initially in Egypt in 2000 BC. Cats were brought here on the Mayflower ship to help prevent rodents from being on the ship. Barnyard cats are the nickname that Domestic Shorthair Cat's got because they were kept as pets and gatekeepers to keep out prey for the pilgrims in their villages and barns.
**Picture from chatGPT
These cats have several other nicknames, such as House Cat [great family pet] or Alley Cat [which can negatively reference these cats, but each Domestic Shorthair Cat is different and has its own personality and behavioral traits.] I don't like the name Alley Cat, as I am on my second Domestic Shorthair Cat. Both cats were great for families and house cats, except one cat [that I currently have] will only be around me and no one else, compared to the Domestic Shorthair Cat I had growing up at my parent's house. To separate these cats for this article: the Cat I had growing up was named Daisy, whom a car hit and ended up killing her, and the cat I have now, who is afraid of everyone except me, is named Lizzie. Daisy was an inside/outdoor car who would love to come into my room at nighttime and sleep on my chest. Daisy would also love to lay on my IT Project Management book while I was reading for college, as thick as that book was, considering it was a paperback. Daisy would go outside during the day to claw trees with her nails instead of doing it to furniture or a cat tree as Lizzie does. Daisy would also kill birds and bring them to our family's back porch as a gift for letting her live there, but we never wanted any dead birds as much as Daisy thought we would. That was just her showing her love for us. My Cat Lizzie goes crazy over birds chirping or singing outside. She broke my blinds in my bedroom and made my curtain rod loose after I replaced those blinds with a curtain. Lizzie will dangle from the curtain with her nails. Lizzie is still a natural hunter in the house. Lizzie tracked down a Wolf Spider that I killed, a Centipede, and a Bee crawling up the wall. How that bee got inside and couldn't fly, I don't know. I'm glad Lizzie got my attention to get it before it could fly off.
Domestic Shorthair Cats come in various colors, such as gray, black, red, brown, tan, white, orange, or tabby. However, the only Domestic Shorthair Cats I have had are gray and black with a mixture of colors on their fur. Their eyes can be green, hazel, brown, blue, or a combination of two colors. Lizzie's eyes are green, and they look majestic. They can weigh between 6 and 16 pounds; the last time Lizzie was weighed, she weighed 10.6 LBS at a little over a year old. She had a growth spurt out of nowhere, and at the time, I was only feeding her half a cup of food a day and around 6-10 temptations a day. Since domestic shorthair cats may differ, they may share some common traits, such as muscular body types, rounded heads and paws, and medium-length tails. Domestic Short Hair Cats can live from 12 - 14 years or longer. Daisy was getting pretty old until her unnatural death, caused by someone speeding through a 25 MPH neighborhood street. Domestic Shorthair Cats don't have one personality; they go through mood swings, just like me, if I wasn't on mood stabilizers and an antipsychotic. Although, unlike humans, I have never seen my cat get angry with me, and I have had her for over a year. She just wants to get the birds and kill the insects that get in my house, which all cats do. If you decide to get a Domestic Shorthair cat, get the cat up to date on shots and do frequent wellness checks, and the vet will most likely want to collect some feces samples to check for worms or other parasites, even if it is an indoor cat. I recommend doing these separately between getting your shot and a wellness check, or you will be looking at a bill over $200. Be careful how much you feed your Domestic Shorthair Cat because they will eat all the temptations you give them, so please don't overfeed them. That will cause health issues, just like it would a human.
My opinion on Domestic Shorthair Cats is that they are friendly and lovable, protectors and guardians, and can be playful but show dominance. When I got Lizzie, she was sitting in the SPCA, and no one was on the list to visit her. As soon as I was told, I set up a visit. Lizzie was only four months old and was very tiny. I was in a room with just her and me. She walked around the room, sniffed objects, put her paw on a trashcan, and almost fell in. I came over and swooped her up. She still gets on countertops and tables, just like she did when I first met her at the SPCA, but that's just something I will have to deal with. She truly is a blessing. I wish others would want to adopt more Domestic Shorthair Cats that are gray and black because it seems like they are always last to go home. Daisy was a stray when we took her in; she was also gray and black. It's almost as if Daisy chose our family, and we took her in and never looked back. Now, my future belongs to Lizzie; it will be twenty years.
M, H. (2015, January 1). Domestic Shorthair Cat Facts. Aspcapetinsurance. Retrieved January 1, 2020, from https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com/resources/domestic-shorthair-cat-facts/