Unusual and Rare Cat Breeds

Cats are among the most popular family pets on the planet. These often aloof but loving creatures can be a constant source of amusement, and they certainly know how to get their own way, very often wrapping their owners around their tiny paws when they want something.

The majority of breeds are pretty well known, from the elegant Siamese to the gorgeous Bengal. But have you ever heard of a Khao Manee or a Japanese Bobtail? Below are 10 rather unique and strange breeds and all them are adorable looking creatures!

The Garfield Looking Scottish Fold

This adorable looking breed does in fact, have a dominant genetic mutation and it is this that makes the cartilage in the cat's ears appear the way they do. At birth, the ears are normal but over the course of the next three week or so, the ears start to flop forward which gives the breed its very distinctive appearance and it's all down to the mutation of cartilage found in the breed's ears.

If the ears have several folds in them, they lie the closer to the cat's head which means three of more folds give the breed a very unique look. Scottish folds boast a fantastic nature and love to be cuddled, as a bonus they also tend to get on well with other pets. They do have a rather strange way of sleeping which is in the “Buddha position”. In Canada, these delightful Garfield looking cats are called Coupari.

The Delightful Devon Rex

The breed first came about during the sixties and are not related to either the German or Cornish Rex breed of cats. These funny looking felines don't have fur as such, but they do have a type of “down” which is really soft. What sets them apart from the other breeds is the fact their down is lovely and curly.

The breed has enormous eyes and they boast low-set, large ears giving them a very unique look. Character wise, they are extremely playful and extremely active little creatures. The other peculiarity of the breed is they just adore perching like parrots on people's shoulders.

The Devon Rex is an extremely intelligent cat, they can pick up loads of tricks really easily which includes being able to walk on a lead and fetch things just like a dog!

The Dainty Japanese Bobtail

This dainty breed is actually born with a small rabbit-like tail and some of the cats have a habit of hopping just like a rabbit does instead of running like other cats do when they want or need to put on a spurt of speed!

In 1602 by law all cats in Japan had to be released so they could keep the number of rodents down in the much prized silkworm fields. This meant buying and selling cats at the time was made illegal. Bobtails were therefore, street cats during that period of Japanese history.

Today, Japanese Bobtails come in all sorts of colours with the most popular being “calico” which in Japanese translates to “mike”. Some people may be familiar with a Japanese good luck charm known as the Maneki Neko or “beckoning cat” which is much prized in Japan and which depicts a similar cat to the Bobtail.

The Eye Stopping Khao Manee

Once considered a “royal cat” in Old Siam, the Khao Manee has amazing eyes which are known as “silver and gold”in colour. Their eyes are indeed different colours with the “gold” eye being an amber/green and the “silver” eye being silvery blue. The translation of Khao Manee is “White Jewel” and the cats boast fur that's pure white in colour.

The breed was never found outside of Thailand until quite recently. It was only in 1999, that a breeder called Colleen Freymuth, got two Khao Manees sent to her from the breeds native homeland of Thailand, She then began a breeding programme from her two cats which introduced the breed to the rest of the world.

This lovely breed with amazing eyes was mentioned in the “Cat Book of Poems” way back in 1350, which means the Khao Manee has been around for a very long time, but only in Old Siam which is now known as Thailand. The breed is one of the most expensive in the UK with kittens fetching thousands of pounds.

The Fascinating Savannahs

Savannahs have to be one of the most fascinating felines on the planet. The breed is the result of breeding standard domestic cats with the serval, which is an African wild cat. The very first of the breed boasted a Siamese mother but today Savannahs can have one serval ancestor to qualify as being part of the breed.

They are amazing cats to look at, covered in spots, stripes and other markings with the patterns in their coats differing depending on the domestic cat used to breed from. Savannahs are generally larger than most breeds and they are often compared to dogs because they are very loyal creatures. A Savannah will follow their owner incessantly, and they love to play games. They are also very good to train and walk on a lead unlike many other domestic cats.

When a Savannah greets anyone they do so with their heads – they literally head butt the people they meet, although some like to pounce on anyone that comes along too! Unlike other feline friends, the Savannah actually likes water and will jump into the shower with owners at the drop of a hat.

Other fun characteristic behaviour includes playing with the water in the bowls until they have managed to empty it out all over the floor – they just love to make a mess. When it comes to their jumping ability, it's hard to beat a Savannah because from a sitting position they can leap at least three feet into the air without a second thought.

The breed is also well kown for being incredibly vocal and will chirp, meow and hiss away whenever they can. The hissing noise they make is a throwback to their serval ancestors and it's a sound more reminiscent of a snake than a cat!

The Amusing & Silent Pixie-Bobs

The Pixie-Bob may sound like a smallish cat but in truth they're a relatively big breed of feling. These lovely looking felines are fully domesticated, although they do look very much like a small wild bobcat! The breed came about by introducing exotic looking strays with wild cats and as such they are not actual Bobcat hybrids.

One very distinct characteristic of the Pixie Bobcat is they hardly ever or never, ever meow. Instead, these very distinctive looking cats chirp. They are incredibly loyal by nature, following owners around the house as much as they can. The Pixie Bob is also a very intelligent feline and adores playing games like fetch and can be taken for walks on leads, understanding commands very much like their canine counterparts.