Hevana Brown Cats
The Havana Brown, also known as the Swiss Mountain cat, is a breed of cat well known and shown in England in the 1890s. Similar to the oriental shorthair, full color cats, also known as non-blue eyed Siamese, were known to interbreed with the pointed cats of Siam.
During World War I and World War II, the breeding programs of pedigreed cats suffered. It was not until the post World War II era that cat fanciers renewed their breeding efforts. In the early 1950s a group of English cat fanciers began working together to restore the breed.
The breed has been recognized for championship competition in both the US and Britain since the late 1950s. It is considered an endangered breed, since the breeding pool is very small. In the late 1990s, there were only 12 CFA-registered Havana Brown catteries and under 130 unaltered cats.
History of Hevana Brown Cats
Physical Characteristics
The Havana Brown is a moderately sized, muscular short-haired cat with a body of average length. The coat color must be brown, typically reddish-brown, with no tabby markings. Whiskers should also be brown and the eye color should be green. The head should be slightly longer than wide and the nose should have a distinct stop at the eyes. Males tend to be larger than females and are average in weight compared with other breeds.
Temperament
Blessed with a pixyish soft voice, the traditional Havana Brown usually exhibits the peculiar trait of using his paws to feel, touch, and investigate items as opposed to other breeds who characteristically use their sense of smell to investigate curious items. One of their endearing qualities is their typical greeting of elevating and stretching out one paw to touch their human friend, or offer a paw in friendship. These charming cats quietly require human companionship. Affectionately sociable, sweet, and considerate by nature, they are quite even-tempered, gentle, and intelligent.
Havana Browns tend to use body language to get their point across, and this breed is known to take well to a harness and lead.