Mary Allen
The Australian didn’t suddenly crawl out of the Australian bush somewhere but was quite unspectacularly mixed together from Burmese, Abyssinians, and domestic cats. Find out everything about the origin, character, nature, attitude, and care of the Australian Mist cat breed in the profile.
The Appearance Of The Australian Mist
The Australian Mist is medium-sized and muscular. Hangovers are usually larger and heavier than cats. The chest is broad, the legs are of medium length and strong. The hind legs are slightly longer than the front legs. The paws are small and round. The tail fits proportionately to the body and is gently rounded at the tip. The head is in the shape of a rounded wedge. The nose, cheeks, and chin are broad. The eyes are large, bright, and set wide apart. They stand slightly at an angle, permitted colors are gold and green. The ears are medium-sized and turned slightly outwards, the tips are rounded. The Australian Mist’s coat is short, silky, and shiny. It has symmetrically arranged delicate dots that appear to be covered by a veil (hence the name “mist” = English for “fog”). The tail is ringed. In addition to the characteristic spotted variants, there are also marbled tabbies. The colors are brown, blue, chocolate, lilac, gold, and fawn. The dots are dark compared to a lighter base tone.
The Temperament Of The Australian Mist
The Australian Mist is bright, lively, easygoing, and alert. They are playful and curious. The entire environment is always carefully examined and explored. They have a gentle nature and are very sociable. They get along well with other animals and children. They are very intelligent and make friends quickly with their humans. They value the company of humans almost as much as that of their own kind.
Keeping And Caring For The Australian Mist
Due to its calm and balanced nature, the Australian Mist is well suited as an indoor cat, despite its joy of movement. Faced with a choice, many cats of this breed would even prefer to go indoors with their human family than hunt mice in the wild. The gentle cat is good for children or the elderly. Keeping multiple cats is recommended for these sociable animals. So that the cats don’t get bored in the apartment, there must be enough climbing and playing facilities. The short coat of the Australian Mist is easy to care for. Dead hair can occasionally be removed with a cloth or soft brush.
Disease Susceptibility Of The Australian Mist
The Australian Mist is healthy and robust. There is no known breed-specific susceptibility to diseases. Of course, like all other cats, she can also fall ill with regular diseases. These include diseases of the upper respiratory tract and bacterial infections in the stomach and intestines. To limit the risk, the Australian should be vaccinated against diseases such as cat flu and cat disease. If the cat is allowed to run free, there is an increased risk of parasite infestation. However, here there are special collars and means. The vet knows what to do. When the Australian Mist is allowed to roam freely, it must also be vaccinated against rabies and feline leukemia.
Origin And History Of The Australian Mist
The Australian didn’t suddenly crawl out of the Australian bush somewhere but was quite unspectacularly mixed together from Burmese, Abyssinians, and domestic cats. The breeder Dr. Truda M. Straede wanted to breed a breed of cat that would have a calm demeanor and be suitable for apartment living, so in 1976 she began her breeding program in Sydney, New South Wales. She wanted to combine the physique and the human-relatedness of the Burmese with the ticking and the temperament of the Abyssinians and the coat pattern of spotted domestic cats. The successful result was the Australian Mist, Australia’s only native cat breed to date. The breed was officially recognized in Australia in 1986. The Australian Mist has not yet made the leap to other countries. Although individual animals are scattered all over the world, they are only bred in Australia.
Did You Know?
Originally this breed was actually called “Spotted Mist”. Today it is called the Australian Mist to emphasize the origin of the breed, but also because not all representatives of the breed are spotted. Since a cat breed in German-speaking countries cannot be described in a friendly way with either “mockery” or “crap”, German fans call it the “Australian Veil Cat”.